Expectations That Fall Short

Mary Magdalene, John, and Simon Peter come to where they thought Jesus was with certain expectations. That expectation was that Jesus was dead, and the tomb stone was to be in place and sealed. Their were to be Roman guards in place. That was their expectations. Their expectations were really low. At the same time let us show Mary a little grace. She was at the tomb as early as possible to stick with Jewish sabbath law. She was going to take care of his body by putting the burial fragrances and herbs on it. Again like Nicodemus and Joseph, she was doing the best she knew how given the circumstances. Yes she had heard Jesus talk of his resurrection, but in times of great stress are always prone to go back to what we have been told? I think most of us, if not all in their positions would have done the same. Also you got to realize at this point the Holy Spirit had not yet came to rest in them.

Why would there expectations be so low?

They lacked understanding and did not grasp what Jesus had been saying (20:9). An advantage we have is the Holy Spirit.

They were in a culture that did not believe in Jesus. Some were of the view of let us get our weapons and pray and go kill some Romans. Some were let us show religious obedience for our own benefit. Some were lets just ignore the world’s problems and hide and wait on God to do his thing. Then lastly some Jews were of lets please God and politicians. Judaism had lost site of waiting for the Messiah. This was the culture they were surrounded by. Cultural expectations can give us faulty expectations.

What did low expectations make them miss out on?

Mary was weeping outside the tomb. Jesus was alive and resurrected.The Pharisees and the Romans did not win. Jesus was victorious, and Mary was weeping. She should have been rejoicing. Her and the disciples should have been outside the tomb raising an hallelujah. She was missing out on celebration.

She spent a weekend in weeping rather than expectation.

How are your expectations low?

Tonight as you come here what expectations have you brought? What life experiences have shaped your expectations? Are you walking into church with the expectation Jesus is a dead man? What expectations do you need to pick up and what expectations do you need to lay down?

As I read this, I couldn’t help but to think of how my expectations at times have fallen short.

Sometimes we pray to God half-heartily. We pray for miracles while in our heart believing God only did miracles in Bible days.

I think many low expectations are the result of many cultural infused expectations. Our culture has it is all good attitude towards religion. If it feels good it must be right, and we bring that to our Christianity sometimes. If it sounds and makes me feel good it must be good religion.

Or the culture tells us we are in a scientific era that supposedly shows the shortcomings of religion. Then we get the mindset of we too good for religion.

What is causing you low expectations?

Culture (already discussed)

Life experiences. Sometimes things happen to us in life and we are not surrounded with godly people or don’t much about the Bible and then those experiences affect the way we approach God more than his word does.

Lack of being in Scripture.

Forsaking fellowship. You are who you choose to surround yourself with. If you are not spending time with other beleivers it is going to be easier for your faith to go askew.

What have low expectations caused me to miss?

When we let our expectations limit how we see God move, we miss out on blessings and opportunities.

It has caused me to miss out on celebrations of victory.

Low expectations can also unnecessarily prolong a process.

Don’t let your expectations keep you from waiting in expectation of what God is going to do in the midst of a storm.

How can we let Jesus readjust our expectations?

Side-note on v 12-15: Jesus’ body gives us a clue of how resurrected bodies may look. They do not look like angels. When you die you do not get angel wings. Mary recognized the angels for angels, but Jesus she mistaken as a gardener. Our bodies will be similar to now but resurrected

You must recognize Jesus as teacher (V. 16). You must have a teachable spirit.

Right expectations encourage us to be missional (v.18)