Wrong Expectation of Jesus
Have you ever bought a
product—been excited about it—saw the advertisement, thinking it’s a great
purchase, and then been completely disappointed in it? Maybe it was a new car
you bought. At first it worked great—good handling, good acceleration--- but 6
months later—the weird noises from the engine start. You take it to the
dealer---they say they take care of the problem, nothing major—and you get it
back. But a month later, it starts again,
this time louder, and you actually feel shaking in the car. Going from dealer
to dealer, mechanic to mechanic, you realize you have a lemon on your hands.
Maybe you ordered something
off an info-mercial you saw on TV—and it looked so great. You will have perfect
abs by just using this 8 minutes a day. You buy it—and you realize that your
stomach just keeps growing. Or if you
buy this stain remover—you never have to worry about spilling anything
again—just spray it, and any stain is gone. But the stains are worse than
ever. You were given unfair
expectations. You want your money back.
During Christmas time—we feel this way about many products we buy.
We think this way—when our
expectations are not met by a certain product. At first it looked so great---so
appealing—but the end results—are highly disappointed. It is not just material
products we have that reaction about. Sometimes we feel this way about Jesus,
and people in the Bible also had that same reaction about Jesus. They had a
certain expectation of him—who they expected the Messiah to be—but their
expectations were not met. Jesus was different than what they expected. We know
about how the Jews wanted a military ruler—they expected the Messiah to free
them from the Romans, and when he turned out to be completely different than what
they expected, they question whether he was the Messiah.
But today we will look at a
passage where someone who we would not expect to be disappointed in Jesus---
will actually question Jesus’ true identity and actions—because Jesus did not
meet his expectations. Then we will see what happens today—when people in the
world are disappointed with Jesus, and when we as Christians are sometimes
disappointed with Jesus—when he doesn’t meet our expectations. Why does this
happen—how should we react?
The passage we will look at
is found in Luke chapter 7. Jesus’ ministry was spreading. He was going around,
from town to town, preaching the Gospel of the
People are realizing that
this is someone unique. But at the same time—another man received report of
what Jesus is doing. We read in verse 18 that 18
John's disciples told him about all these things.
John is John the Baptist.
Jesus’ cousin. John —at this point—is in prison. He has been thrown into prison
by Herod for condemning Herod’s immorality.
And as Jesus is performing
his ministry—some of John’s followers visit him in prison. They tell him everything that Jesus is doing.
You would think—John the Baptist would rejoice in what is happening. John and
Jesus have been tied from the beginning of their lives. John’s mother, at an
old age--- became pregnant with John just a few months before Mary miraculously
became pregnant with Jesus. Mary and Elizabeth even visited together while both
were pregnant, and
They must have surely had
contact as kids—maybe playing together growing up. John ultimately went into
the dessert and started preaching—but preaching about what? Repentance—why?
Because he said one greater than me is coming—he was the forerunner—he was
preparing for the Messiah---Jesus to come, and for people to listen to his
message. John was baptizing people as they repented, and even Jesus came to be
baptized by him—not because Jesus needed to repent—but because he wanted to
show that he was representing sinful people during his ministry and his coming
death. So John knew about Jesus before Jesus started his ministry—and surely he
would be rejoicing now—even if he himself was in a horrible life state.
But what is John’s reaction
when his followers tell him about Jesus’ ministry? Luke 7:18-19 Calling two of them, 19 he sent them to the Lord to
ask, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone
else?" That’s a weird question by John. It seems like he is
questioning whether Jesus is really the Messiah. Actually It doesn’t just seem
like he is questioning that--- he really is. Are your really the Messiah whom I
had preached about?
But why
would John ask this question? Why would he, out of all people, doubt whether
Jesus was the Messiah?
It seems
like, despite everything he was doing,
Jesus was not meeting his expectations. It seems like John was
disappointed with Jesus in some way. He had been let down in some way.
But at
what? Surely he couldn’t be thinking like the Pharisees and the rest of the
Jews—expecting an earthly ruler who would overthrow the Romans. That might have
been nice—but that cant be at the root of John’s concerns. No—John had other
expectations of Jesus. Let’s read what John had said about Jesus before Jesus’ ministry
began.
Luke 3:16-17 16 John answered them all,
"I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the
thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the
Holy Spirit and with fire. 17
His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather
the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable
fire."
Look at
that last verse. John is saying that Jesus will bring judgment. He will judge
the wicked, and he will bless the repentant. All these hypocrites who were
around would be judged. The righteous would received their due blessing. That
was John’s expectation. The Messiah would make things right—spiritually.
But the
way things are now—it doesn’t seem like Jesus is fulfilling these expectations.
The hypocrites are still rampant. People still are practicing the outward form
of the religion, without truly worshipping God. A wicked king like Herod is
still reigning. And not only is he reigning, but a righteous man like John is
sitting in jail, about to be executed. Jesus seems to be focusing on healing,
and helping. That’s good. The Messiah was supposed to do those things. But
Where is the justice? Where is the judgment against evil? Where is the reign of
righteousness and the rule of the
John had certain expectations
of the Messiah, of Jesus. Jesus only partly met these expectations. John was
disappointed. So John began having
second thoughts about whether Jesus was who he was supposed to be. We will see
how Jesus responds to John a little bit later—but having seen John’s
question—we are reminded that to this day—people have expectations of Jesus
that are not fulfilled.
Sometimes the expectations
are wrong, and sometimes they are not— but often he will work in a completely
different way than we expect. So the real issue is—how will we react when that
happen? How will we react when Jesus does not act like we want him to act—when
he is not being the Jesus WE want him to be?
There are a couple of
different types reactions that are wrong. The first type of wrong reaction
comes from many people in society, and some people in churches. Many people use
the name of Jesus—but their expectation of Jesus is that he will be someone who
will make them feel good about themselves. Someone who will affirm who they
are already. They don’t want a Jesus who will be threatening.
So when they see that this is
not the real Jesus—this is not the Jesus we find in Scripture—their reaction is
not necessarily to abandon Jesus—but just change who they think Jesus is. Still
use the name of Jesus—but just make him into the person that you want him to
be.
That is why many
people—non-Christian, and many who call themselves Christians—when they are
asked who they think Jesus is—they will say, I believe Jesus was a great
teacher, a great man. He was a moral revolutionary. A great example of how to
love. He brought change to the world. A great human being. He came to set an
example we should follow. But is he God? Is he God incarnate? Well—that’s going
a bit too far. We don’t have to make theological points like that to really
believe in Jesus.
Even though it is abundantly
clear in Scripture—that is he fully God—even though he claims to be God—even
though if you look at it logically—as CS Lewis has said—the only thing Jesus
can’t be is just a good teacher or person. If He claims to be God, he can be
liar, he can be crazy, or he is really God. But he cant just be a good person,
because a good person wouldn’t lie about who he is. But people don’t want to
believe he is God—because if God is calling you to do something—you have to do
it. If someone is just a great person—then I don’t have to submit to him—I
don’t have to change my life in any way. I can say—great ideas—and go on with
my life. But if Jesus is God—then my own kingdom is threatened.
So one way people react
when Jesus does not meet their expectations is to just change who they think he
is. But most of us don’t do that. Most
of us here will still acknowledge that Jesus is God. We will sing that he is God. We will worship him.
But havent you ever felt like Jesus is disappointing you? What do we expect of
him? When we make a commitment to Jesus,
and we have that expectation of eternal life when we die, but what do we
expect from him now?
We want him to make our lives
better. We want a smoother life. We want an abundance of answered prayers, and
happier times.
And how do we react when
Jesus doesn’t meet this expectation as we want? Many of us will just become
apathetic about our spiritual lives and following Jesus. We will grow cold and
uninspired in our commitment to him.
We become apathetic because
we become disappointed with him. First we are disappointed when he doesn’t
do I want him to do—when he does not act in the way I want him to act—like John
the Baptist was. I realize that all my prayers are not answered the way I
want them to be when I’m following him. I realize that my job doesn’t become
the perfect job—and I’m waking up and not excited about getting out of bed, and
I still have to struggle financially. My family is not perfect. There are still
arguments—there are still tensions.
Some Christians look at Jesus
and pray that he would work in the hearts of certain people in their lives,
their parents, their siblings, or especially their kids—they keep praying to
him about it—change them the same way you changed me—but there is just no sign
of that. In fact, things are getting worse. We think and ask-- I thought you
wanted people to be saved Jesus? Are you really the one I thought you were?
Some of us look at tragedies
in our lives---we see people who we love that are suffering, or we have lost people we loved—and thought—cmon—this
is the powerful and loving Jesus we read about in the Gospels? If he could heal
the worst of diseases and raise people from the dead then---then why couldn’t
he heal the person that I loved so much? Why did I see them suffering so
much—where is Jesus? I am praying in your name—do something! Are you really who I thought you were?
So we are disappointed in
Jesus when he doesn’t do what I want him to do--- and second we are
disappointed in him when we do realize that following him is not easy—it is
harder than we ever thought it would be. Yes—we are saved only by our faith
in Him—but once we start following him—once we start really understanding what
it means to live the Christian life—we realize that there is a lot demanded of
us. In many ways—life doesn’t become easier—it becomes harder.
We are called to make him the
central aspect of our lives. He needs to be our main priority—our main priority
in our money—in our time, in our affections. We are called to consider him and
his will in every decision we make. But With all the different things going on
in my life—I can’t handle what he wants from me.
So because he doesn’t meet
all our expectations, a lot of times we become less excited and more apathetic
in our spiritual lives. But how does Jesus want us to react in theses
situations-- what is the correct response when we feel like our expectations
are not being met—when we feel like this Christian life is not what we thought
it would be?
To answer this question,
let’s see how Jesus responds to John’s doubts—how he answers John’s followers
who come to him and question him about his identity. Luke 7:20-23 20 When the men came to Jesus,
they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who
was to come, or should we expect someone else?'" 21 At that very time Jesus cured
many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who
were blind. 22 So he replied
to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and
heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are
cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached
to the poor.
Interesting response by
Jesus. First he shows them his actions—how he continued to heal. Then he makes
a statement to them about his actions. If you notice in your Bibles—what Jesus
says is indented or bolded—he is referring to a couple of Old Testament
passages from the prophet Isaiah. 355 Then will the eyes of the
blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Isaiah 61:1 The
Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to
preach good news to the poor. He
is saying—this is what the Messiah was supposed to do! Your Scriptures say it!
The Old Testament made it clear. I am the Messiah—my actions show that I am the
Messiah! So yes John, I am the one who
was to come. I am the one you were expecting.
But he is also telling John
and his followers--- I have my own program.
Remember—John expected Jesus not only to do these great actions that the
Messiah was doing, but also to bring divine justice and vengeance. And right
around the passages in Isaiah that Jesus refers to—we read that John was
right--- that the Messiah was indeed supposed to do those things. Isaiah 35:4 "Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he
will come to save you." Messiah comes not only Isaiah 61:2 2 to
proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, Jesus
doesn’t mention those verses. John was right—the Messiah was supposed to bring
justice and vengeance. So then, what’s the problem? Why isn’t Jesus bringing
justice and vengeance? What John didn’t understand was—Jesus would come
twice. The first time—he came to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. To
preach the Gospel—to die, to bring salvation to those who would believe. He
wouldn’t bring judgment yet.
But he
would return one day—and he would bring judgment—he would bring the vengeance
of God—he would bring complete justice. Now why didn’t Jesus just tell John
that? Why did he just quote one part of those verses? It seems as if Jesus is
telling John—just trust me! I don’t have to explain to you everything. I am not
here to meet your expectations. I will do things in a way you don’t expect, in
my own time I am the same person who
came to earth in the lowliest manner—the ruler of the universe born in a lowly
manger—who would expect that? Even if things don’t look like you want them
to---understand that my way is perfect—just submit to me.
Coming
to Jesus with questions is not wrong. Coming to him in confusion about what is
going on is not right. It doesn’t seem like Jesus condemns Johns for his
honesty—his honest questioning. In fact, in the following verses—he praises
John and his ministry.
When
Jesus does not meet our expectations—there is nothing wrong with expressing our
doubts, our questions, to him. There is nothing wrong with being completely
open with God—and pouring our hearts out to him. There is a huge difference
between the skeptic who condemningly questions who Christ is and what he does,
and the sincere believers who wants to understand and follow Christ.
But when
we have this feeling of disappointment, after we are open with him, the most
important thing is our response. Jesus knew that the temptation would be to try
to turn him into someone we want him to be, or to completely turn away from
him. That is why he completes his response to John’s followers by saying: 23 Blessed is the man who does
not fall away on account of me."
Blessed is the person who is honest with Jesus, and sincerely wants to
follow him. So the most important thing in dealing with our disappointment is
our respone. We should first ask ourselves:
Why do I
feel disappointed? We should examine our expectations. Are my expectations
confirmed by the Bible, or are they something I made up? Does he really promise
an easier life for Christians? Does he really promise smoothness in all life
circumstances? Does he promise that your prayers will be answered the way you
want them to? No—he does not promise any of these things. In fact—he does make
it clear that in a sense—living as a Christian will make your life more
complicated. So we should examine our expectations---correct them if they are
not based on Biblical promises.
But Even
when there is nothing wrong with our expectations—just like there didn’t seem
to be anything wrong with John’s expectations—there is nothing wrong with
wanting someone we loved healed, nothing wrong with wanting people we love to
leave their sins and come to Christ, we should want and ask for those
things—but even in those circumstances—Jesus’ answer to John, who was suffering
in prison, and to us is—trust me. Trust me when you don’t understand why I am
doing what I am doing—I am working—for the good of those who love me—in my
time, in my own way, according to my purposes.
In the
meantime—because I am your God-- you submit to me—you submit to my expectations
for you—follow me wholeheartedly, and trust me.