Expectations
Read Luke 7.
Over and over again, Jesus failed. He did not meet the people's expectations. He did not do what they wanted him to do. He never led by popular vote. He did not take a poll as to whether he should go this way or that. Never was this clearer than when John the Baptizer, in prison and facing execution, sent word to Jesus that he was doubting. "Are you sure you're the one? Have I wasted my life?"
Picture John, deep in a hole of a prison. He's been arrested. He knows he's going to die. He has very few friends left, and so he sends some of them to Jesus to ask, "Are you the one?" After all, what he's heard about Jesus has not lined up with what he expected. The Messiah's job, as far as John and "everyone" knew, was to get rid of the Romans. The Messiah's job was to set up a political kingdom of Israel and to rule it from Jerusalem. The Messiah's job was to save them—politically—and to return them to the "glory days" when life was good.
But this Jesus—he shows no indication of doing that. He's healing sick servants (and the servant of a Roman centurion, no less!). He's raising dead sons (who cares what happens to a single widow?). Just after this, he's going to let a "sinful woman" touch him at a dinner party; "everyone" knew the Messiah was better than that! And yet, he has been preaching to the less fortunate, the poor, the oppressed (just like he said he would) and not going up against the power brokers and the important people like "everyone" knew he was supposed to. Even John, who knew from the beginning who Jesus was, began to doubt because Jesus simply was not who he expected Jesus to be.
Jesus failed John, and that led John to the brink of despair.
He fails us, too, more often than we will admit, because we have expectations of who and what Jesus will be. We want him to serve us, not others. We want him to pay attention to us and be who we think he ought to be, He does not meet our expectations. He is not who we think he ought to be.
And so, we will crucify him. We will nail him to a cross and insist that he stay where we put him. And even then, he will not be who we want him or expect him to be.
Jesus constantly upends our expectations. He is who he said he will be, but he is not who we said he should be. He never has been and never will be, no matter how hard we try to domesticate him or force him into our image, into what we want. He wants to be near us, but on his terms, not ours.
What expectations do you have that Jesus has failed to meet? Can you allow your life to align with his, rather than trying to force his life to line up with what you want?
+++++++
If you're into historical fiction, I just read a good book based on the story of the centurion in Capernaum. You can check it out here.
Over and over again, Jesus failed. He did not meet the people's expectations. He did not do what they wanted him to do. He never led by popular vote. He did not take a poll as to whether he should go this way or that. Never was this clearer than when John the Baptizer, in prison and facing execution, sent word to Jesus that he was doubting. "Are you sure you're the one? Have I wasted my life?"
Picture John, deep in a hole of a prison. He's been arrested. He knows he's going to die. He has very few friends left, and so he sends some of them to Jesus to ask, "Are you the one?" After all, what he's heard about Jesus has not lined up with what he expected. The Messiah's job, as far as John and "everyone" knew, was to get rid of the Romans. The Messiah's job was to set up a political kingdom of Israel and to rule it from Jerusalem. The Messiah's job was to save them—politically—and to return them to the "glory days" when life was good.
But this Jesus—he shows no indication of doing that. He's healing sick servants (and the servant of a Roman centurion, no less!). He's raising dead sons (who cares what happens to a single widow?). Just after this, he's going to let a "sinful woman" touch him at a dinner party; "everyone" knew the Messiah was better than that! And yet, he has been preaching to the less fortunate, the poor, the oppressed (just like he said he would) and not going up against the power brokers and the important people like "everyone" knew he was supposed to. Even John, who knew from the beginning who Jesus was, began to doubt because Jesus simply was not who he expected Jesus to be.
Jesus failed John, and that led John to the brink of despair.
He fails us, too, more often than we will admit, because we have expectations of who and what Jesus will be. We want him to serve us, not others. We want him to pay attention to us and be who we think he ought to be, He does not meet our expectations. He is not who we think he ought to be.
And so, we will crucify him. We will nail him to a cross and insist that he stay where we put him. And even then, he will not be who we want him or expect him to be.
Jesus constantly upends our expectations. He is who he said he will be, but he is not who we said he should be. He never has been and never will be, no matter how hard we try to domesticate him or force him into our image, into what we want. He wants to be near us, but on his terms, not ours.
What expectations do you have that Jesus has failed to meet? Can you allow your life to align with his, rather than trying to force his life to line up with what you want?
+++++++
If you're into historical fiction, I just read a good book based on the story of the centurion in Capernaum. You can check it out here.
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