Have you ever played a game of chess with a great player before? A great chess player can turn what looks like a losing position into a strategic move.
Similarly, God sometimes works in ways that we could never expect. Some doubted that Jesus was the Messiah because he did not come in a way that made sense to them; for example, how could the true Messiah suffer and die on a cross? How could an all-powerful God be weak and die?
We find this pattern throughout Scripture. For example, God made an everlasting covenant with King David. Yet, after King Zedekiah was taken away in chains to Babylon, how could this everlasting promise be true? How was this covenant real if there were no more descendants of David on the throne? How could the God of Israel stand by as the temple and Jerusalem were destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar?
Ahh yes, we see this theme over and over: God works in ways that we do not always understand. Yes, his first coming was misunderstood by every Jewish scribe. Yet, when God wants to do something greater than expected—say, redeem the universe—you have to trust that God's way is better than what we can fathom.
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