Reconciling Expectations

Luke 7:18 – 23

 

One of the more amusing parts of growing up as the owner’s son is that when you reached a certain age, when you looked like an adult, was when people who came looking for the boss found you instead.

 

It’s like the whole pickup truck analogy I used a couple of weeks back, there were times when I looked more like the boss than my dad did, and sometimes that led to confused salespeople.

 

My dad, who hated dealing with sales reps and inspectors, learned to take advantage of it and eventually delegated me to deal with them so he didn’t have to. He didn’t seem to like it much, though, when I spent money like I was the boss.

 

But, nonetheless, people would come onto our farm, see me and expected me to be the boss, even if I wasn’t. Normally, unless it was someone on a cold call trying to sell me something that even I had no interest in, I’d make it clear that I indeed did not have the final say. I would try to manage expectations from the start because expectations end up affecting how we perceive not only situations, but people too.

 

“Expectations ruin relationships” is a phrase my wife has used to teach the truth about expectations many times, not only to our kids but to other adults as well. The reality is, expectations are ok, so long as they are reasonable and grounded in Scripture. Like your spouse having the expectation of you being faithful to them is reasonable and scriptural.

 

But it is true that so often people get frustrated because someone else, be it their parent, their spouse, their children, their boss, their customers, their coworkers, their friends, and even their pastor doesn’t live up to or meet an unreasonable or misplaced expectation that someone else has for them.

 

The sad reality is that sometimes those unmet expectations, especially if they’re unexpressed or unrealistic, leads many people to doubt if a particular relationship or connection is worth maintaining. It can lead to doubt if who they thought this person was at first really isn’t, and the real sadness comes when that leads to despair.

Every one of us comes to Jesus with expectations. Some come expecting Him to solve every problem. Others expect Him to affirm every opinion they have. Still, some expect Christ to work on their timeline, not God’s. The question isn’t whether we have expectations, because we do, the question is whether our expectations are shaped by Scripture, by the inerrant word of God, His self-revelation to us.

 

In today’s passage, we see Jesus Himself gets asked the question, are you the One? But that question comes from an unexpected source, John the Baptist, and for the common reason of unmet expectations. So, open your Bibles with me to Luke 7:18 – 23, and let’s read God’s Word.

 

The question of who Jesus is, remains at the center of this chapter. The Gentile centurion recognized Jesus as someone with divine authority over distance and disease. Last week we saw Jesus demonstrate His power and authority over life and death itself.

 

And now someone, very unexpected, asks the question, are you the One? Not the Pharisees, not the crowds, not His disciples, but John the Baptist. The very same guy who, in fulfilling Scripture, announced the coming of the Messiah, of arrival Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God, is now asking, are you really Him?

 

The last time we saw John the Baptist was back at Jesus’ baptism in chap. 3. There John spoke about the “one who is more powerful than I will come,” and he baptized Jesus and witnessed the heavens open up as Jesus came out of the water praying, the Spirit descending on Jesus like a dove, and God the Father speaking from heaven saying, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

 

And Scripture tells us that, “And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.” But John didn’t just proclaim the good news of the gospel, he didn’t just preach love and forgiveness and acceptance. He preached and called people to repentance, and in doing so he often called out those who were living in sin.

 

One of those was Herod Antipas, “But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.”

John faithfully preached repentance, and clearly it got him locked up. John faithfully pointed everyone to Jesus, saying behold the lamb of God who comes to take away the sin of the world. And yet, nothing in the world seems to have changed.

 

Rome still rules over Israel. Herod still sits on his throne. John is still in chains locked up in Herod’s prison, likely knowing that his days are numbered. You see John isn’t asking his question from a place of comfort, he’s asking it from a jail cell.

 

Nothing looks like the kingdom that John expected. Now, that doesn’t excuse unbelief, and that’s not what’s going on here. John isn’t having a crisis of faith so much as he is just understandably confused.

 

Understand that every Jew was awaiting God’s promised Messiah, to come like King David, as a conquering king to overthrow Rome and reestablish the kingdom of Israel. Every Jew was waiting for the day that the Messiah would come and sit on His throne and execute judgement and serve out justice on their enemies.

 

And John the Baptist’s understanding of the Messiah was even closer to the mark than that, though he also misunderstood the nature of Christ’s coming. In chap. 3, John rebukes some in the crowds that came out to him saying in v.7, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance.”

 

Then in v.9, “Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” Repentance and impending judgement was the core of John’s preaching.

 

And remember what he said in v.17 about the Messiah’s mission, “His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

 

John expected the Messiah, whose arrival and kingdom he had announced, to come in judgment, not only against Israel’s enemies, but also against those among God’s people who trusted in their own righteousness instead of relying on God and obeying Him with repentant hearts.

And make no mistake, John isn’t wrong. Jesus will come in judgement when He comes again riding on the clouds. But Christ’s first coming wasn’t like that, and many, including John the Baptist and Jesus’ own disciples, didn’t fully understand His first coming.

 

So when John’s disciples tell him of all these things that Jesus is doing, and all these things includes how He healed the centurion’s servant and raised the widow’s son from the dead, he has more questions than answers.

 

Have you ever misread signs, or misinterpret a situation? Have you ever driven the wrong way down a one-way street or gone into the wrong bathroom by mistake because you didn’t see the signs?

 

What did y’all think of Y2K, or the end of the Mayan calendar, and so logically the world, in 2012? Do you guys remember my story of ignoring the road sign on Hwy 1 and driving like a 100 miles to a closed road just to double back?

 

John can’t understand why Jesus hasn’t set the world on fire yet and flipped everything upside down. Oh, but Jesus has been flipping the world on its head, John just doesn’t recognize it for what it is.

 

And so the one who recognized Christ while still in his mother’s womb, is now left wondering if he missed something. Because if he did, then his ministry, and his suffering, would have all been in vain.

 

He calls two of his disciples to himself in prison and sends them to ask Jesus, “the Lord” adds Luke, this question. “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” John’s problem wasn’t Jesus; his problem was his expectations.

 

John just didn’t recognize what Jesus was doing as the work of the Messiah because he had preconceived expectations, a bit ahead of himself, about what the Messiah’s coming was going to look like.

 

John isn’t asking because Jesus has changed. He’s asking because his expectations have collided with his circumstances. And that raises a question every Christian must answer: When life doesn’t make sense, will you redefine Jesus by your circumstances, or will you let God’s word define Him?

Because Jesus is exactly who God’s Word reveals Him to be.

 

So, John’s disciples take his question to Jesus, and Jesus answers in the most Jesus way possible. By showing them exactly who He is. Luke writes in v.21, “At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sickness, and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind.”

 

Jesus takes John’s question from his disciples, and in their presences, in that very moment, He heals people, drives out demons, and restores eyesight. Restoring eyesight alone answers John’s question because that was something not done by anyone in the OT.

 

Then in v.22 , and only then, does Jesus respond to John’s question. “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news preached to them.”

 

Jesus doesn’t answer John’s question with a simple yes. He tells the disciples to tell John, “Look at what I’m doing. There’s your answer. It’s all in Scripture John, the Scriptures that you already know and love. I’m in them, and I’m here fulfilling them.” Basically, Jesus tells John, “Compare what I am doing with what God promised through Isaiah.”

 

You see, these works of Jesus’ all point to prophecies about Him in the book of Isaiah. Look at Isaiah 29:18, the deaf will hear and the blind shall see. Look at Isaiah 35:6, the lame shall jump like a deer. And look at Isaiah 26:19, the dead will rise.

 

And Isaiah 61:1, the passage that Christ read about Himself in the synagogue in Nazareth, healing the brokenhearted, freeing captives, and bringing good news, the gospel of our salvation, to the poor.

 

When John expected judgment to dominate the Messiah’s arrival, he was drawing from real promises God had made in Scripture. So Jesus does not deny those judgment prophecies.

 

Instead, He points John to the other promises Isaiah gave about the Messiah, promises of healing, restoration, good news, grace, and mercy.

 

Instead of leading with judgment, Jesus is healing Gentiles, raising a widow’s dead son, preaching the good news of salvation to the poor, and extending grace and mercy.

 

The simple answer to John’s question is yes, Jesus is the One. But Jesus doesn’t just tell John who He is, He shows him through the fulfillment of God’s Word. Why?

 

Because Jesus is exactly who God’s Word reveals Him to be. He cannot be shaped by our expectations, rather our expectations must be shaped by Him.

 

Jesus was fulfilling those merciful prophecies about Himself, along with many others. They are just as much evidence that He is the Coming One, the Promised One, as the judgment prophecies He will fulfill when He comes again.

 

And when you look closely, what Jesus is doing is reversing the effects of sin and the Fall of man in the garden of Edens. Blindness, lameness, leprosy, deafness, death, poverty, everything broken is beginning to be restored.

 

Jesus doesn’t just cite prophecy, Jesus visibly draws together the promises of Isaiah while also pointing John to the works the disciples had just witnessed. The blind see, the lame walk, the dead live, the poor hear the good news, and even lepers are cleansed.

 

Jesus isn’t just quoting isolated verses; He’s showing that the entire messianic age that Isaiah anticipated has arrived in Him. Jesus is God’s Promised One who has come to fulfill His promises.

 

You must trust Jesus as He has revealed Himself in Scripture.

 

Why? Because Jesus is exactly who God’s Word reveals Him to be. Confidence in Christ rests not in expectations, but God’s revelation.

 

All too often today people constantly create and recreate their own personal Jesus in their hearts and minds that fits their wants. A political Jesus, a revolutionary Jesus, a prosperity Jesus, or just a good moral teacher Jesus.

But Jesus isn’t a republican or a democrat, He isn’t your way to get rich, and He is so much more than just a good teacher. He isn’t someone you keep in your pocket that you only remember to pull out when you need something, and He’s not a genie in a lamp.

 

Jesus doesn’t ask you, “Who do you want Me to be for you?” No, He asks, “Who do you say I am?” And the answer is not found in your feelings or your desires, but in the very Word of God. Jesus says, “Look at what God has revealed about Me through His Word.”

 

The Jesus you trust in for your salvation, the Jesus who died on the cross for you, who took away your sin and shame, the Jesus who ascended into heaven and speaks for you on your behalf to God the Father will never be different than the Jesus revealed in Scripture.

 

Yes, you will have your own personal experience with Jesus. You do have your own personal walk with Christ, your own testimony of what He’s done in your life, but I tell you it will not ever contradict what God’s Word has revealed about Jesus.

 

And Jesus says to John, “Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” Blessed is the one who doesn’t fall away because of me says Jesus. Blessed is the one who isn’t scandalized or is offended by the real me says Jesus. The blessing belongs to those who refuse to stumble over Christ because He doesn’t fit preconceived expectations.

 

You are blessed when you trust in Jesus Christ as He is revealed in Scripture. That blessing is your salvation that is found in no other name other than Jesus Christ.

 

So this week, I want to challenge all of you, to let Scripture continually shape your understanding of Christ. John already knew Jesus, they were cousins and John announced His arrival. Yet, even John needed God’s Word to continue correcting and refining his understanding of Jesus.

 

None of us will ever outgrow that need. Your understanding of who Jesus is must be constantly reformed and refined by Scripture. So spend dedicated time in God’s Word. Carve it out in your day, start your day with it if you can, but carve it out. And ask God when you read the Bible to show you Jesus in His Holy Word.

Next, I want you to trust Christ even when His ways don’t match your expectations. John expected judgement on the world, and instead he witnessed mercy, leaving him confused and uncertain.

 

The same is often true in our lives. Sometimes, God works in ways that leave us with more questions than answers. Not because He’s changed, but because our understanding of His work needs to grow.

 

Maybe you expect healing, but God is teaching you endurance. Maybe you expect your struggle to pass, but God is deepening your dependence on Him. Maybe you expect a door to an opportunity to open, but God is shaping your character while you wait instead.

 

Maybe you want God to remove the trial you’re facing, but He’s revealing that in the middle of it all, He is enough. Don’t judge Christ’s faithfulness and who He is by your circumstances, rather judge your circumstances by the Christ revealed in Scripture.

 

Genuine faith doesn’t demand that Christ conform to our expectations. Genuine faith trusts Christ because He has already revealed Himself to be faithful. So stand on the promises of God’s Word.

 

When the diagnoses isn’t what you hoped for, stand on God’s promise, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” When the answer to your prayer seems delayed, trust that God’s timing is always perfect. When the future seems uncertain, remember that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

 

When John had questions, Jesus didn’t remove John’s prison. He gave him Scripture. And when your expectations are shaken, Christ still meets you the same way today.

 

John never received an explanation for everything God was doing. He wasn’t released from prison (he dies), but he was reminded that Jesus hadn’t changed. Jesus is exactly who God’s Word revealed Him to be.

 

And because that was true then, it’s still true today. Blessed is the one who refuses to stumble over Christ because He trusts Him as He has revealed Himself in Scripture.