If you had been a Jew in Jesus' day, would you have been disappointed in the Messiah? Why did Jesus choose to come as a suffering servant rather than, say, a triumphant army general?

He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

~Isaiah 53:3

I don't think I would be disappointed; I believe Christ came to us in the form he did to show that it is better to be humble than to be full of pride, like an army general might be.

Do you think God is using powerful leaders today to accomplish his will? How?

There are powerful leaders that are appointed to their positions, but not all of them have been following God's will.

Try to put yourself in the circumstances of the Jews back then. Would you have found the prophet's words comforting?

but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

~Isaiah 40:31

I believe that I would felt comforted by these words.