When Jesus Doesn’t Meet Your Expectations
A Better Way to Live - Matthew 8-11 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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I want to start today by asking the question- “Does Jesus meet your expectations?”
As I prepared for this passage, I started by reading the passage through a few times and thought to myself- what on earth am I going to preach on this, and for 30 minutes? And I don’t think in that moment I expected Jesus to show up, through His Word and lead the way.
Then, my week unfolded, I’d made a scheduling error that I had to fix and Ilast minute I got to a conference on Friday. (Thanks Hayley for making it work). AndJesus showed up, it was a great conference and I felt Him open my eyes, and lead to me to what I might share today through the text. I often don’t expect Jesus to show up and do the work- I either try to do it on my own or I don’t consider Him or I don’t find myself 100% behind what He is doing. Usually, that’s a result of pride or even disappointment that I feel toward Him.
Have you ever been disappointed, in God or by God? What did you expect from Him? Have you self-assessed and considred you had the wrong expectations? Or perhaps even usurped His throne and determined for yourself what He ought to do?
I don’t have my usual three points today, I just want to walk through the text and invite you to respond at the end. So let’s go-
When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.
Words are important. This is the fourth time Matthew uses this phrase or similar to indicate Jesus would “preach and teach”. I want to stop here quickly because I see a subtle, overarching teaching from Matthew show by a rhythm of Jesus ministry and therefore the rhythms of His Church. Jesus would routinely preach, which means to proclaim. Then Jesus would teach and the Greek word means literally to instruct or train. Jesus wouldn’t just proclaim and leave, nor would he just instruct and not move onto the next towns who also need to hear it. Jeus would proclaim the Gospel (Good News) of the Kingdom of Heaven and where the Gospel seed took root, Jesus would sit and instruct us in what it would now mean to be a part of this new Kingdom He had proclaimed. And that’s the rhythm. A proclamation of a coming Kingdom and instruction in how to live in it and then how we too can proclaim it.
The greek word for preach is also that used for a herald- someone who’d arrive at speed into the town centre, blows on a trumpet and announces significant news to the town. This idea is similar to the parable of the sower that Jesus later teaches, which Brad mentioned last week. Like a farmer would indisciminately through seed, to get as much fruit as possible, so too Jesus indiscriminately proclaimed Good News to anyone, everyone, anywhere. He does not care if you’re poor or rich, educated or not, Jew or Gentile, a sinner or a saint- the Gospel, the Good News is for you.
So, if you find yourself this morning, first time at church, first time in a long time and perhaps just feeling “is this faith for me”? The answer is yes. No matter how far you may feel to the edge of the field, far from God, the seed of the Kingdom is being sown- will you let it take root in your heart? Jesus is for everyone, Jesus is for you.
However, people had an expectation of Jesus before he had even began this ministry. Some saw Him to be a valiant commander who’d liberate the physcial Kingdom of Israel, to others He was to be the perfect politician- a blend of eloquent legislation and a firm hand to accomplish the impossible, some still preferred a version of Jesus as the wisest scholar and scribe who would sit in the mountains and teach a new, lofty wisdom that would bring about spiritual enlightenment and renewal. Jesus was in some ways all of them and none of them at the same time.
Jesus would conquer kingdoms and empires but it would be through the humble obedience of fishermen, tax collectors and outcasts. He would instruct them to teach as He did and he would entrust them with treasure more precious than gold- the means to forgiveness and salvation. A formula that would bring Good News to the ends of the world. And I just don’t think the world ever expected it.
And I don’t think John the Baptist, the Herald of Jesus and this Kingdom expected it either.
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?”
This is pretty strange considering it was John who baptised Jesus and proclaimed him as the One to come-
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! .… And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
John recognised Jesus. He knew who He was and confirmed that Jesus was the Son of God- so, logical questions- what happened? Why the doubt?
John had been arrested by this point, in fact Jesus begins His ministry only after John had been arrested. That’s in chapter 4 and best estimates say he probably sat in a prison cell for 12 months by this time in chapter 11. Likely, he mind and his body were struggling with his physical reality- like we all do!
Often our spirits are so willing, are all-in and desire the presence and experience of serving God with all of our hearts- but our bodies fail us. Our humanity fails us. And I bet, John was sitting in that prison cell thinking to himself- “this isn’t where I expected to be.” It’s porrably a case of unmet expectations on John’s behalf. I can’t fail him for that- John is the herald of the Messiah, wouldn’t you have expected to have been Jesus’ righthand man? Or atleast Jesus would have kept you in the fight to go and proclaim the Kinbgdom until your body fails you?
Instead, his body is failing him as he rots in chains and wondering “did I perhaps get it all wrong?”
And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.
Jesus responds to John’s disciples by listing some of the mircales he had performed and invited them to see and hear for themselves. Almost like an invitation to make up their own minds. However, it appears he was also alluding to a series of OT prophecies from the Prophet Isaiah. I’ll read some of them now for us, keep in mind two things: 1. The prophet Isaiah dates back to 700 years before Jesus and 2. Keep in mind all what we have read over the last few weeks and what Matthew has previosuly written for us. I’ll prompt us as we go too.
Isaiah 61:1–2 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;”
Jesus brings vengeance to comfort those who mourn. Right wrongs.
Isaiah 29:18–19 “In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord (Matthew 5 - beattitudes), and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.”
Isaiah 35:5–6 “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness (John the Baptist - baptise with water), and streams in the desert;”
Isaiah 42:1–9 “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights (my Son - I am well pleased); I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations (Matt 10). He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law. Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.””
The idea of “a covanant for my people” and “a light to the nations” are the fulfillment of some long-standing promises God made to His people. John and his disciples would have known these passages. As Jesus rattles of the miracles, especially the poor having Good News preached- they would have made the connection.
Jesus is showing John’s disciples and us that His miracles were a sign of a greater thing- the coming of the Kingdom, as foretold by Isaiah- Jesus is He whom they are looking for. A new covenant, which is an agreement and a promise, is being struck. The Kingdom is here, a light to the nations, God promised Abraham that his descendants would this light. The light would open the eyes of the blind and lead those in darkness out of prisons and it isn’t just a physical sense, the miracles allude to the greater- a spiritually healing. A spiritually awakening, a seeing and hearing and freedom from the darkness of sin and decay into the newness of life. Both physical and spiritual restoration are important.
But notice what wasn’t mentioned? Prisons and captives being set free. Some commentators believe this omission is an intentional message to John- “You may be execting, hoping, that you may walk free and join me- I’m sorry, but you won’t.” Jesus has been unafraid to warn His followers, that prison cells will be the finality of many Christians.
And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
This line is interesting because it feels so abrupt. Most commentators see it as Jesus calling out John. “You recognised me as foretold to you, John, don’t waiver now because you don’t like what is happening to you”.
Jesus regularly offends people. His teachings hard to swallow. His ministry style against the expectations and presuppositions which we bring with us. Or to impose unrealistic expectations on Jesus. It is easy, should we be ‘puffed-up’ to be put off, by Jesus. It is likely and a good place to start with recognising that Jesus won’t meet our expectations.
And that’s Good News. John’s expectations as we see in chapter 3, was one of swift retribution and judgement- that was and is still coming, but Jesus instead lead a ministry of mercy, compassion and restraint. John prepared the people, but he was in no position to inform the Messiah of how he ought to carry out the mission.
The original greek word for “offended” is “skandalizo” literally where we get the word scandulous. The modern meaning of scandulous is something morally or legally wrong- originally it meant literally ”to cause someone to stumble”.
Did John and others find Jesus approach scandalous? “How could this man be the Messiah??” He isn’t doing what we expected- or what we want, or what he is asking us to do is too much.
The same word “skandalizo” appears in the parable of the sower I mentioned before-
As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.
“he falls away” is the translation.
Once, I took Sam, along with my dad to watch the Broncos vs the Cowboys at Suncorp. Sam was pumped, he loved the train ride, the atmosphere of the crowds as we walked to the stadium and of course the fireworks show beforehand. And then, 5 minutes after kick off he turns to me and says- “Dad, can we go home now?” Obviously, my response was a “no” with a stern look of doom and dismay. “It’s the XXXX darby, son” I said. I don’t think Sam’s expectations of pure-adrenaline fun were met well with the often arduous boredom that comes inbetween the excitement of the big plays. I think what he had seen on the TV, in the comfort of our home and comfortable couches aligned with the reality of being there in person, high in the nosebleeds on plastic flip-chairs, whipped by the wind. It wasn’t what he expected, or what he wanted had come and gone, and he wanted to leave.
Often, as people embark on the faith journey, the flutters-in the stomach of something new and exciting, new faces, new community, hope, purpose and direction- but then we come to the teachings of Jesus and the fanfare fades to the endurance of a life-long obedience in the same direction. The requirement of disipline, self-control, sacrifice and surrender can wear on us. Many do not follow on at this point. Sometimes, the reality of who Jesus is and what he asks is too much, and, like the rich young rulker, the cost is one they are unwilling to pay.
“Blessed is He who follows me and does not fall away. Blessed is He who is not ashamed of me.”
Blessed is he who finds scandal not in me but in the world.
Do not be put off by Jesus - His words and teaching are like rushing waters in the wilderness. He restores the spiritually thirsty.
As John’s disciples leave, Jesus turns to the crowd and in the same way he just affirmed his identity to them, He affirms John’s identity to the crowds. He starts with some rhetorical questions:
As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written,
“ ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’
“A reed shaken by wind...” the people, did not traverse, by foot, into the dangerous wilderness to see a water weed blown by the wind- no, they went to see a strong, defiant man, unswayed by public opinion or even threats on his life. His message and how he preached showed authenticity as being from God- and the people went to see it.
“A man in soft clothes...” Jesus is throwing a shot with this one. There were two types of prophets in the OT, those called by God and those paid by Kings. Whom do you think preached the authentic message? Most of God’s prohpets were rejected, suffered violence and exile and lived in the wilderness. Those whom preached a soft message, that others wanted to hear (met the expectations of their overlords), had seats of privelege at the tables of kings and fine clothes to wear in the courts. Soft garments- soft message, as it were.
This is not the way of the Kingdom.
They saw John, or atleast suspected him to be a prophet. And for those who knew their OT texts, the next prophet = the last prophet. The fulfillment of the OT and promise of a NT, the New Covenant- the delivery of the promises of the old. For this reason, Jesus says
Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
John is the signifier of the new age. For this reason He is the greatest- but then Jesus says whoever is least is greater than he. What gives? John is not great because of who he is, but for what he represents- the coming of the Kingdom and fulfillment of the promises. Those in the Kingdom are those who would witness the cross, recieve the Holy Spirit and participate in the Kingdom. We are greater, not because of any sense of greater value, but because we get to participate with the Spirit of Jesus in what John, and the other OT prophets only got to see from a distance.
Then Jesus says,
From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.
What we read in Chapter 10 over the past four weeks is being played out in this passage as John is in prison, suffering the violence Jesus warned us of, but the translation here is actually disputed. It can be tricky getting old Greek into an understandable modern, English version, but the meaning is relatively the same. There are two accepted translations- the ESV has one. Since John, the Kingdom has suffered violence, and the violent take it, seize it.
The NLT, which many of you have, has the alternative translation which I actually prefer as it fits the previou chapter and this section better-
“And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it.” (NLT)
This rendering makes the most sense in the context- though the Kingdom is facing opposition, as is expected, it is moving forward, the Law and Prophets are being fulfilled, the time of promise has now become the time of deliverance- the Kingdom is here.
This proves true in church history. Where ever “violent people are attacking it” the church generally surges back. Like trampled grass it springs back.
Take Iran as one example, recent figures show the Church in Iran has grown from between 2-300 000 to over one million in 5 years. After the 12-day war in 2025, the Iranian regime accused Christians of being spies, foreign agitators and even Zionist Mercenaries. This significantly increased the rates of hatred, abuse arrest and prison terms for Christian converts- and despite this reports show the church added almost 200,000 converts in 2025, from Islam- a crime in Iran which carries the death penalty.
This is the Kingdom of Jesus, which advances with force- not physical force through arms and war, but through the undeniable revelation of Jesus Christ in the hearts and minds of those willing to accept Him with “ears to hear”.
Until now, in verse 13, this Kingdom had only been prophesised. Now it is here in power.
For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
Jesus makes the claim we touched on, John is this final rendering of the OT prophets as the Kingdom draws near. However, Jesus highlights what he’ll finish off with- the truth is only appealing to those who are willing to hear it.
“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,
“ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”
Jesus paints an image. He and John are like children in the marketplace, they find other children (this generation)- potential playmates, and they call for them to join them, they dance, sing and play instruments for them to intice them to play. But the children refuse. Unable to be appeased. The imagery around dancing and flute playing paints the idea of an imaginary wedding, a dirge is like a eulogy that is sung at funeral. They are the two most emotional spaces where humans gather in this life.
Jesus and John have coming signing songs of heaven.
John came in songs of mourning for carnage of sin, the state of the world and the state of our souls far from God. He called us to “repent and believe”
Jesus came in celebration for the appoiunted time for victory of death and sin was near, a great union- one of heaven and earth was drawing close and He longed to celebrate the freedom which was to be won for us.
What we cannot do is respond in apathy. We cannot respond in apathy to the sin in our own hearts, we cannot sit in apathy for the reality of countless friends and family who are heading to hell without hope in Jesus? If you’re feeling apathetic to the missional call on your life to be instructed in the ways of the Kingdom and to proclaim it- sign a song with John, pray to God and mopurn the indifference.
Would you, if you and not yet a follower of Jesus- would you not sit in apathy to faith? It is freedom on offer for you. If that is you, pray to God and simply ask “Lord, would you reveal yourself to me?” I’ll be down the front with the prayer team, I’d love to speak with you.
Jesus’ last comment in our passage- “Wisdom is justified by her deeds”, in other words- time will tell. All will be revealed- and the world’s indifference to the Gospel will condemn it.
What did we expect of Jesus calling on our life, when he invited us to follow him? Is our faith and church attendance simply a notch in our belts? Are we feeling apathetic to the cause of the Gospel? Let Jesus be our teacher, let us be the student.
As we finish our time together this week in signing and songs- would you cry out to him in your hearts and let Him draw you into songs of celebration?
