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Main idea: Even when you can’t see it, Jesus is moving
Last week we talked about unmet expectations, and how when Jesus exceeds our expectations, which is what his birth was all about, we can celebrate, and we should!
This week we’re jumping right in to Who Are You Expecting?
So let’s go!
Some context.
This is Jesus reading a quote from the prophet Isaiah, who 700 years before Jesus was born, wrote this prophecy about the Messiah, God’s the anointed one.
The one who would come bringing salvation and freedom to all.
Let’s jump into Luke 4:18-21
(Slide)
Luke 4:18–21 (ESV)
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.
And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
So right here Jesus is telling us exactly who He is.
He doesn’t leave room for doubt, He takes the prophecy of Isaiah and the credentials provided in it and He assumes them as His own.
He says, this is who I am, I AM the hope you’ve been expecting, and I have come to do what the prophets said I would.
Let’s pray
Who here likes surprises?
Okay okay, who here hates them, you like to know the plan, you want to know what’s going on.
Alright, well since a couple of you don’t, I’ll just let you know where we’re going today, sound good?
We’re talking about expectations, we’re talking about Jesus, and then i’ll talk about John the Baptist, and then for you surprises people, then you’ll get your turn.
Great
Let’s talk about expectations, I know we spent a lot of time on them last week, but there’s some more to it, ready?
It’s important to talk about them because we all have them.
You have expectations for your parents, your teachers, your siblings, friends, your future, and God.
But more often than not, there’s a pretty big difference between how we expect things to go, and how they actually do.
For instance
(slide)
Our new years resolutions
(slide)
Have any of you ever seen fast food commercials?
The food always looks amazing, then you go and well, it’s just disappointing.
(slide)
Or that day to do nothing you were hoping for.
Let’s be real, we’ve all been here.
Anyway
Maybe you’ve also experienced some unmet expectations.
Maybe you finally got the courage to talk to your crush and they totally blew you off.
Maybe you had hopes that this school year was going to be different, but it’s not any better.
Or maybe you prayed really hard for your parents, but they still got divorced.
And
When our reality doesn’t meet our expectations there ends up being a space.
And it’s in this space we experience frustration and disappointment, which left unchecked can turn into anger, mistrust, and even bitterness.
Because we expected things to go one way, and we end up getting hurt because it didn’t turn out like we planned.
Which leads me to John the Baptist
Here’s some backstory, if you were here 2 Sunday’s ago you heard me talk about his mom Elizabeth and her minister husband Zechariah.
Well, they were one of two couples visited by an angel, they were told that they’d be blessed with a baby who would lead the way for the messiah, and that John would turn the people’s hearts back towards God.
That same angel then goes and visits, Elizabeth’s cousin, Mary, a virgin who was engaged to Joseph and tells her that she would give birth to the Son of God, the Messiah, and name Him Jesus.
So this makes John, not only Jesus’s cousin, but also a very important person to Jesus’s mission.
This is what John devoted his whole life to, making a way for the Messiah.
So much so, It was said that he lived in the desert, he wore camel hair, (which is uncomfy) and ate locusts.
Before Jesus started his public ministry John paved the way with his own ministry.
He spoke to the people preaching a message of repentance, baptizing, and leading many people to return back to God.
When it’s time for Jesus to be baptized, it’s John who he goes to.
Which baptizing Jesus, is a major flex.
But he didn’t use it.
In fact, the more people see and hear about Jesus’s miracles, the less people are going to John.
But instead of getting jealous, he responded with humility because he knew his role.
John said, “He must become greater, and I must become less.”
And he did all of it with the hope that the Messiah would come, that he would free his people from oppression, which at that time looked like the Roman empire and a corrupt priesthood.
And he would get to see it!
And everything is finally happening, Jesus is starting his ministry, He’s doing miracles, and
God is moving!
This is exactly what John’s been waiting for.
Until.
Until the day John corrects the wrong person, and he’s thrown in prison.
And what does Jesus do?
He keeps doing what He’s been called to.
And John stays in jail.
Look at this
Matthew 11:2–3 (ESV)
Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples
and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
Ok, so how did John go from knowing fully that Jesus was the Messiah to now questioning Him completely.
Remember, John is Jesus’ cousin, he’s known this guy for a long time, and he knew that he was the messiah.
I think it’s because this is not what he expected.
He expected the Messiah to bring freedom from oppression, not imprisonment.
Remember the prophecy Jesus read, it said that He would set the prisoner free.
The Messiah is here, but John’s not free.
There is a space between what hoped would happen and what he’s seeing.
And you can feel the frustration, the hurt, the disappointment in his question.
Matthew 11:3 (ESV)
“Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
This doesn’t seem like the super Christian we thought he was right?
He was full of faith, studied all the scriptures, even committed to living in the desert wearing camel hair and eating locusts and honey.
But now he’s looking at Jesus and he’s full of doubt, because what he expected isn’t happening.
Now my question is… Don’t we do the same thing when our expectations aren’t met?
Because what do most of us expect of Jesus?
Answer my prayers when and how I want you to.
Make my life easier.
Not let anything bad happen to me.
Forgive me when I mess up, but don’t ask me to give up too much.
We tend to think, and myself included, that if these things aren’t happening Jesus isn’t showing up.
Because if those things are happening, Jesus is doing his job, but if they’re not we tend to get frustrated.
It goes from God you’re amazing! to
God where are you?
Do you even see me?
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