Jesus Is Worth Waiting For

Introduction

Perhaps, nothing in life can set forth a more earnest desire for a messiah than the proper pain or struggle. Seemingly, it is out of the pains that we experience as humans that we develop a yearning for a deliverer or rescuer. Think back to the moment, you actually accepted Jesus as Christ. What was going on in your life? What pains were you experiencing? I am willing to suggest that whatever you were facing in that moment, helped you understand your need for a savior that would save you from your sins AND the current conditions that led you to recognize just how sinful you really were.

In fact, the messianic expectations of Jews during the times of Jesus were based upon the issues they were facing on earth as a result of their sins. Therefore, there was no separation between one’s spiritual status and their earthly living. Any reading of Jewish writings written from the Second-Temple Judaic period and beyond reflects hope for a messiah that comes to the rescue of God’s people who are facing real-life circumstances they are seeking deliverance from.

An example of this is Simon Bar Kochba. In 132 AD, he began his plan to overthrow the Roman Empire. This was the case, because Israel had faced several challenges in the past, as the Roman empire maintained its prominent rule over the entire world. In 70 A.D., the Roman empire, crushed the Jews’ attempt at revolting by destroying Jerusalem and her temple. Just over 60 years later, Bar Kochba was hailed by the most influential rabbi of the time, Rabbi Akiva, as the Messiah. This endorsement gave Bar Kochba all he needed to build an army of troops who would attempt an uprise against the Roman government. And after a few small victories over their oppressors, the Jews were beginning to believe in the eventual liberation and redemption of the Jewish people.

In 135 AD, Israel’s supposed Messiah led his troops and supporters in a revolt against the Roman Empire and were brutally beaten. As a result, fortresses were destroyed, nearly 1,000 cities and villages were demolished, and an estimated 600,000 Jews were killed and surviving Jews were exiled or submitted to slavery. The acclaimed Rabbi Akiva, along with other rabbis suffered an humiliating death. And just like that—another messianic claim was snuffed out by the Roman Empire.

Nearly every example of hope for a messiah in Jewish antiquity is deeply rooted in someone who would deliver, not simply from sin, but also from present trouble. Essentially, there’s no way to separate our need for a Messiah from our tangible experiences. That is, our need for a Messiah is often best identified by what we need God to do in our life naturally, because whatever is happening in our life naturally is often the result of our status with God, spiritually. Somehow, my spiritual need and my immediate need raises cause for a Messiah.

But here lies a potential problem. If my need for a Messiah is impacted by a tangible and experiential circumstance, on what can I base the reliability of my Messiah? To what extent can the Messiah be absolute and not simply relative to my personal experiences? In other words, how can I be sure I am believing in the true mMessiah instead of creating one that can solve all my problems?

Some people would say, well, let’s just get rid of the tangible and experiential. Let’s write it off as irrelevant. Shouldn’t our basis of belief in Jesus as Messiah be a purely theological conclusion or argument—making the acceptance of the Messiah a purely logical, theoretical exercise? Essentially, this does not work. We can never truly dispel what we experience. Experience is too powerful of a force to simply ignore. And truthfully, God never intended for us to ignore our experiences.

Rather, we must make a concentrated effort to discern what a biblical Messiah looks like and determine how He addresses both our immediate and eternal needs. That is, we don’t seek to define our Messiah by our needs, but rather our needs are determined by our Messiah. Jesus came to serve a particular purpose and that purpose for which He has come is our greatest need.

Premise: When we are unclear of what a biblical Messiah looks like, we are more prone to create one of our choice that is neither able to redeem or transform us.

John The Baptist’s Messiah

And this is essentially the problem John the Baptist is having in our scripture reading for today. He is wrestling with his perception of a messiah and what he is actually witnessing from the Messiah.

In Luke 7:18-19, we find a bit of an enigma. John the Baptist and his disciples have a question. In Luke 7, two miracles were performed. However, these miracles are not the dominant reason for their inquiry. Rather, it is the entire impact and aura that is being created because of the things Jesus has done. Furthermore, it was the things being said about Jesus.

Luke 7:16–17 NLT

Great fear swept the crowd, and they praised God, saying, “A mighty prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people today.” And the news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding countryside.

Did you catch that? Notice how they described Jesus. A mighty prophet? The Jews of this time were not looking for just a prophet. They expecting a mighty and royal king!

The radical nature of John the Baptist did not anticipate a Messiah that was simply a prophet. John the Baptist is depicted as a wild man, who disregards the established religious system, preaches in the wild, and speaks out against political leaders becauae he perceives this is the time of the Lord’s judgment. When asked about whether he was the Messiah, he stated,

Luke 3:16–18 NLT

John answered their questions by saying, “I baptize you with* water; but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.* He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.” John used many such warnings as he announced the Good News to the people.

Notice how John the Baptist’s understanding of the Messiah is intense and imminent. He sees the Messiah as this ruling king who has come to clean house. But, this is not what John is getting in Jesus. Instead, Jesus is found among the poor, sick, and destitute. He’s working miracles and healing the sick (Luke 7:22). The report that is coming back to John the Baptist is that Jesus is a prophet. There expectations were that the Messiah would be a king-priest figure.

Notice how Jesus does not play into the lofty and grand ideas of the messianic groups of his time. While many were expecting him to ride in on royal carriages and overthrow the Roman government, Jesus was spending time with the castaways of the society. And from them, he was building a kingdom that would ultimately rule the world. This is a reminder of the kind of Messiah Jesus was. He is the one that spends time with the worthless, sinful and degenerate and he makes of them people of glory, honor, and character. Aren’t you glad Jesus never walked away from you.

Because Jesus isn’t meeting John and his disciples expectations, they asked in Luke 7:19 “and he sent them to the Lord to ask him, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting,* or should we keep looking for someone else?””

Question: How does John go from declaring Jesus as the Lamb of God and Messiah (John 1:29-34) who takes away the sins of the world to asking if they should look for someone else?

I think the major detail is in Matthew’s gospel. John the Baptist is in prison (Matthew 11:2) and he has had time to think about the things He’s encountered since his initial contact with Jesus. And quite frankly, the Messiah who takes away the sins of the world may have answered the eternal need, but He is not answering the immediate need. The Messiah he imagined would not allow him to stay in prison. His Messiah would not allow Israel to remain in captivity. He would not be more concerned about poor and sick people than the entire status of the nation. John’s Messiah would have gathered a troop like the Maccabees and freed him as the launch of a new revolt against the forces of this world—establishing the worship of God in Jerusalem and freeing the people of God.

Jon was perplexed. “Where’s the resurrection of Israel Isaiah and Ezekiel spoke about? Where’s the Lord’s coming? The way has been prepared. Why hasn’t the Messiah acted on behalf of Israel?” He was completely stunned, because Jesus fit none of the popular stereotypes of a Messiah.

Question: What happens when Jesus no longer meets your expectations? What happens when He does not seem to fit your immediate needs, even if He meets your eternal ones? What happens when you have a Messiah that seems to heal everyone while you sit in prison after giving everything you have?

Just Wait

What we are reading concerning the life of one of the Bible’s greatest evangelists is so common among Christian believers. At times, we are deeply disappointed by unmet expectations. And while we are driven to maintain a pious position, we remain quiet and polite. However, deep down, in our heart we are asking, “Jesus, are you the Messiah? Did I get this right? Am I trusting the right one?”

Here is another example, among many, where a believer is disappointed in how Jesus is performing in their life. And here I want to make it abundantly clear—this does not seem to be a matter of disbelief. Rather, this is a matter of disappointment. It is a question of, “why aren’t you helping me…I know you can” rather than “I can’t believe you couldn’t help me.” This is an issue of Jesus not doing what could be done, because what Jesus wants to do is altogether different from what man desires Him to do.

It is when we are disappointed that we find ourselves struggling most with what we know is true. When we feel God is taking longer than we expected, we begin looking for another Messiah.

Maybe there’s someone here today struggling with their faith, because Jesus has been taking longer than you expected. He has not answered the way you desired or He simply behaves in a way that is unlike the Messiah you anticipated, and you’re considering another messiah. You are considering the messiah that makes you richer, popular, more satisfied with your appearance or self-esteem. Maybe you’re looking for the Messiah that gives you a perfect life or a level of comfortability. This message is for you, because perhaps what you’re looking for in the Messiah is not what He has come to give. This is God’s way of reminding you He is who you know He is. You don’t need to look for someone else.

If we have the right Messiah, then what are we to do while sitting in the prison of our lives? How do we deal with the tortures of waking up trapped by the thing we hoped we’d be free from?

Notice Jesus’s response to John the Baptist in Luke 7:23 “And he added, “God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.*”” Jesus is saying here the true believers are those who are able to follow me because of the proofs that I have chosen to give rather than the proofs they expect.

Have you ever prayed for something and said, “Lord if you do this, I will believe you are who you said you are.” While Jesus may give us reason to believe, we [believers] don’t get to set prerequisites or criteria for why will faithful rely on Jesus.

Luke 7:22–23 NLT

Then he told John’s disciples, “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” And he added, “God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.*”

This is how we accept the proofs God has given than the proofs we expect from God:

Accept God’s will.

Accept God’s way.

Accept God’s timing.

Conclusion

There’s someone here today contemplating their decision and commitment to Jesus Christ, because for some reason, Jesus, who you know is real, has not given you what you thought he would, or should give you. So, you’re considering a switch. There’s also someone here who is considering a switch, because the Jesus of scripture does not fit your status quo.

I am begging you to stick with the Messiah of Scripture. Here’s why.

No other Messiah can do what Jesus has done for you. Here’s what He’s done. He’s more than just a compassionate miracle worker. He is the appointed man for the appointed time, who was destined to fulfill the will of the Father for us and in us.

Ephesians 1:4–5 NLT

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.