2008.04.27 Failed Expectations
Scripture: Luke 7: 18-23
Luke 7:18 John's disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 19 he sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"
20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, `Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?' "
21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy n are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 23 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
In the Gospel of Luke, we were first introduced to John the Baptist by way of his parents—Zechariah and Elizabeth. They had no children and were “both well along in years.” John was a miracle baby with a special calling. It was prophesied that “[He would be] called a prophet of the Most High; for [he would] go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation” (Luke 1:76-77).
John did just that. He “went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance” (Luke 3:3). People wondered if perhaps he might possibly be the Christ, the Savior. In Luke 3:16, “John answered them all, ‘I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit…”
Many of John’s characteristics are well known: he was a prophet who baptized (thus “John the Baptist”)—this included baptizing Jesus, lived in the desert, wore camel hair clothes and ate locusts and wild honey. (Locusts were eaten by the poorer people of the desert in ancient times until today.) However, he also had a fiery spirit. When one group of people came to him to be baptized, John saw their insincerity and called them a “brood of vipers.” He was a bold prophet of God—so bold, in fact, that he even rebuked Herod the tetrarch—ruler of the region of Galilee and son of King Herod. John rebuked the junior Herod for marrying his brother’s wife. For this, John was put in prison.
It is from John’s confinement in prison that our scripture today begins. While he is locked up, John’s disciples tell him about the things that Jesus is doing. Upon hearing their tales, John sends them to Jesus with a question: Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?
From what John has heard, this man does not meet expectations. When John was preaching, he declared that the one who will come “will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” He would come with “his winnowing fork.. in his hand to clear his threshing floor.. [and] burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” John, the one who was to prepare the way for the Christ, himself demonstrated this fiery spirit, even landing in prison for his truth-telling.
And here he is, locked up for God’s cause, and John is hearing stories about one who is going to parties, enjoying people, drinking wine. He was teaching that we should love our enemies and turn the other cheek. He wasn’t confronting the Roman leaders—the government that was oppressing their people. Instead, he was healing folks and challenging the “internal” Jewish leaders on Scripture. What kind of Savior was this? Maybe John had baptized the wrong guy! And here he was, stuck in jail, sentenced for death.
The disconnect that John experienced is that Jesus turns out to be someone other than who he thought he was or hoped that he would be. What do you do in a situation like that? Again, what do you do when Jesus turns out to be someone other than who you thought he was or hoped that he would be? In his book, The Jesus I Never Knew, Phillip Yancey writes the following about his realization that Jesus was not who thought he was:
Jesus, I found, bore little resemblance to the Mister Rogers figure I had met in Sunday school, and was remarkably unlike the person I had studied in Bible college. For one thing, he was far less tame. In my prior image, I realized, Jesus’ personality matched that of a Star Trek Vulcan: he remained calm, cool and collected as he strode like a robot among excitable human beings on spaceship earth. That is not what I found portrayed in the Gospels… Other people affected Jesus deeply: obstinacy frustrated him, self-righteousness infuriated him, simple faith thrilled him. Indeed, he seemed more emotional and spontaneous than the average person, not less. More passionate, not less.
The Jesus I Never Knew by P.Yancey, p.23
Yancy’s discoveries were what led him to write the book from which I quoted: The Jesus I Never Knew. What do you do when Jesus is not who you thought he was? Perhaps you have experienced this a moment of crisis. Or when you are confronted by interesting but inaccurate information (like the DaVinci Code), ..or you could just be reading your Bible one day and think—Jesus did what?!?
In his doubt, what John did was to ask Jesus: Are you the one.., or should we expect someone (or something) else?
Interestingly, Jesus does not give a direct answer. Instead, he says
22 .."Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
Just one chapter prior, in Luke 6, Jesus had observed:
43 "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit…45 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart…”
Luke 6:43-45
And John the Baptist, prior to his imprisonment, understood and agreed with that same observation, for he preached to the people (in his own fiery style):
8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance…9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."
Luke 3:9
So Jesus tells John’s disciples: Look at the fruit. The blind can see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. “Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.” What kind of fruit do you see? And he ends with this statement:
23 Blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of me."
Luke 7:23
Another translation of this verse (NRSV) is “Blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.” Yet another version (The Message) says “Is this what you were expecting? Then count yourselves fortunate!”
Jesus is saying—hey, this is who I am. This is what the Christ, the Savior does! (The blind can see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.) Blessed are you if your idea of me, your expectations of me can align with who I really am—with what God is doing in the world.
We will have moments in our faith journey where, like John the Baptist, like Phillip Yancey, we ask the question: Jesus, are you the one? I’m not sure if you are who I thought you were.. or perhaps who I hoped that you would be. You are failing to meet my expectations. What do you do when you come to one of those moments of doubt and confusion?
You could blame it on Jesus—the Christian faith is just bogus and doesn’t work—and move on.
You could blame it on yourself—I am too lazy/too undisciplined/too busy—I just need to restart my quiet times.. again.
Neither route addresses the central issue: doubt.
Jesus’ response to John was to look at the fruit. What fruit is being brought to bear?
In your relationship with Jesus—what kind of fruits do you see in your life? Do they reflect a genuine and good faith? Is it the relationship what you hope it would be? And if not, why? What Yancey discovered was that when he took a closer look at who Jesus really was and is, his relationship with Jesus changed—in a way that was far more fruitful. Blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of me.
Jesus, of course, is the most important relationship that we can grow. However, I also would like to observe that the practice of examining fruit can translate to our other relationships as well. In your relationship with a significant other—what fruits come from that relationship? Are they healthy and whole? In your relationships at work—what fruits come from there?
One specific relationship that I want to end with today is your relationship with the church—specifically, this church. In your time here—whether it has been 10 years, 10 months or 10 weeks, what fruits have come to bear?
At a macro level, the fruit that has been grown through this ministry includes dozens of faithful Christian laypersons who are serving at churches in this state as well as in New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Georgia, Virginia and Massachusetts. There are eight children in this world who have the hope that is brought by sponsorship through Compassion International. There are many good marriages and a lot of happy, God-loving kids.
What requires more effort, though, is examination at the micro level. What fruits have come to bear in your life and through your life because of your time at New Hope? Do you see fruit that is healthy and whole? In Galatians chapter 5, it is written:
22 ..the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
Ultimately, of course, the question of fruits at church is related to the fruits in your relationship with Jesus Christ. Your relationship with Jesus Christ should be fruitful, and the church should be a place that encourages not only your own personal fruit-bearing but does collective fruit-bearing as well.. which will cycle back to encourage you and so forth.
In a very short while, the Steering Committee is going to present to this body 3 options for the future of this ministry. A decision will not be sought today, but instead, the options will be presented and time will be given to allow you reflect on them. As you reflect over the coming days and weeks, I want to challenge you to think about your expectations.
Does Jesus meet your expectations? Or, like John the Baptist, is Jesus failing to meet your expectations? And if the answer to that 2nd question is yes, Jesus is failing, then look at the fruit. Look at the fruit in your own life and look at the fruit of this church. As a church body, we are called to walk alongside one another, to be in this journey of faith together, seeking God’s will, inviting others to experience the joy of knowing Jesus Christ.
Does this ministry, through the grace and power of the Holy Spirit, encourage good fruit to grow? Healthy fruit. Whole fruit. The answer to that question –does good fruit grow from here?—will help us in determining which next step to take. And as Jesus said, “Blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of me." To paraphrase Jesus’ words to our situation, Blessed are we if our idea of what this church should be, our expectations of what this church should be can align with what it really should be—with what God is doing and wants to do with New Hope and through New Hope.
(Pastor SKA)
Luke 7:18 John's disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 19 he sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"
20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, `Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?' "
21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy n are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 23 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
In the Gospel of Luke, we were first introduced to John the Baptist by way of his parents—Zechariah and Elizabeth. They had no children and were “both well along in years.” John was a miracle baby with a special calling. It was prophesied that “[He would be] called a prophet of the Most High; for [he would] go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation” (Luke 1:76-77).
John did just that. He “went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance” (Luke 3:3). People wondered if perhaps he might possibly be the Christ, the Savior. In Luke 3:16, “John answered them all, ‘I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit…”
Many of John’s characteristics are well known: he was a prophet who baptized (thus “John the Baptist”)—this included baptizing Jesus, lived in the desert, wore camel hair clothes and ate locusts and wild honey. (Locusts were eaten by the poorer people of the desert in ancient times until today.) However, he also had a fiery spirit. When one group of people came to him to be baptized, John saw their insincerity and called them a “brood of vipers.” He was a bold prophet of God—so bold, in fact, that he even rebuked Herod the tetrarch—ruler of the region of Galilee and son of King Herod. John rebuked the junior Herod for marrying his brother’s wife. For this, John was put in prison.
It is from John’s confinement in prison that our scripture today begins. While he is locked up, John’s disciples tell him about the things that Jesus is doing. Upon hearing their tales, John sends them to Jesus with a question: Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?
From what John has heard, this man does not meet expectations. When John was preaching, he declared that the one who will come “will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” He would come with “his winnowing fork.. in his hand to clear his threshing floor.. [and] burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” John, the one who was to prepare the way for the Christ, himself demonstrated this fiery spirit, even landing in prison for his truth-telling.
And here he is, locked up for God’s cause, and John is hearing stories about one who is going to parties, enjoying people, drinking wine. He was teaching that we should love our enemies and turn the other cheek. He wasn’t confronting the Roman leaders—the government that was oppressing their people. Instead, he was healing folks and challenging the “internal” Jewish leaders on Scripture. What kind of Savior was this? Maybe John had baptized the wrong guy! And here he was, stuck in jail, sentenced for death.
The disconnect that John experienced is that Jesus turns out to be someone other than who he thought he was or hoped that he would be. What do you do in a situation like that? Again, what do you do when Jesus turns out to be someone other than who you thought he was or hoped that he would be? In his book, The Jesus I Never Knew, Phillip Yancey writes the following about his realization that Jesus was not who thought he was:
Jesus, I found, bore little resemblance to the Mister Rogers figure I had met in Sunday school, and was remarkably unlike the person I had studied in Bible college. For one thing, he was far less tame. In my prior image, I realized, Jesus’ personality matched that of a Star Trek Vulcan: he remained calm, cool and collected as he strode like a robot among excitable human beings on spaceship earth. That is not what I found portrayed in the Gospels… Other people affected Jesus deeply: obstinacy frustrated him, self-righteousness infuriated him, simple faith thrilled him. Indeed, he seemed more emotional and spontaneous than the average person, not less. More passionate, not less.
The Jesus I Never Knew by P.Yancey, p.23
Yancy’s discoveries were what led him to write the book from which I quoted: The Jesus I Never Knew. What do you do when Jesus is not who you thought he was? Perhaps you have experienced this a moment of crisis. Or when you are confronted by interesting but inaccurate information (like the DaVinci Code), ..or you could just be reading your Bible one day and think—Jesus did what?!?
In his doubt, what John did was to ask Jesus: Are you the one.., or should we expect someone (or something) else?
Interestingly, Jesus does not give a direct answer. Instead, he says
22 .."Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
Just one chapter prior, in Luke 6, Jesus had observed:
43 "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit…45 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart…”
Luke 6:43-45
And John the Baptist, prior to his imprisonment, understood and agreed with that same observation, for he preached to the people (in his own fiery style):
8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance…9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."
Luke 3:9
So Jesus tells John’s disciples: Look at the fruit. The blind can see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. “Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.” What kind of fruit do you see? And he ends with this statement:
23 Blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of me."
Luke 7:23
Another translation of this verse (NRSV) is “Blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.” Yet another version (The Message) says “Is this what you were expecting? Then count yourselves fortunate!”
Jesus is saying—hey, this is who I am. This is what the Christ, the Savior does! (The blind can see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.) Blessed are you if your idea of me, your expectations of me can align with who I really am—with what God is doing in the world.
We will have moments in our faith journey where, like John the Baptist, like Phillip Yancey, we ask the question: Jesus, are you the one? I’m not sure if you are who I thought you were.. or perhaps who I hoped that you would be. You are failing to meet my expectations. What do you do when you come to one of those moments of doubt and confusion?
You could blame it on Jesus—the Christian faith is just bogus and doesn’t work—and move on.
You could blame it on yourself—I am too lazy/too undisciplined/too busy—I just need to restart my quiet times.. again.
Neither route addresses the central issue: doubt.
Jesus’ response to John was to look at the fruit. What fruit is being brought to bear?
In your relationship with Jesus—what kind of fruits do you see in your life? Do they reflect a genuine and good faith? Is it the relationship what you hope it would be? And if not, why? What Yancey discovered was that when he took a closer look at who Jesus really was and is, his relationship with Jesus changed—in a way that was far more fruitful. Blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of me.
Jesus, of course, is the most important relationship that we can grow. However, I also would like to observe that the practice of examining fruit can translate to our other relationships as well. In your relationship with a significant other—what fruits come from that relationship? Are they healthy and whole? In your relationships at work—what fruits come from there?
One specific relationship that I want to end with today is your relationship with the church—specifically, this church. In your time here—whether it has been 10 years, 10 months or 10 weeks, what fruits have come to bear?
At a macro level, the fruit that has been grown through this ministry includes dozens of faithful Christian laypersons who are serving at churches in this state as well as in New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Georgia, Virginia and Massachusetts. There are eight children in this world who have the hope that is brought by sponsorship through Compassion International. There are many good marriages and a lot of happy, God-loving kids.
What requires more effort, though, is examination at the micro level. What fruits have come to bear in your life and through your life because of your time at New Hope? Do you see fruit that is healthy and whole? In Galatians chapter 5, it is written:
22 ..the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
Ultimately, of course, the question of fruits at church is related to the fruits in your relationship with Jesus Christ. Your relationship with Jesus Christ should be fruitful, and the church should be a place that encourages not only your own personal fruit-bearing but does collective fruit-bearing as well.. which will cycle back to encourage you and so forth.
In a very short while, the Steering Committee is going to present to this body 3 options for the future of this ministry. A decision will not be sought today, but instead, the options will be presented and time will be given to allow you reflect on them. As you reflect over the coming days and weeks, I want to challenge you to think about your expectations.
Does Jesus meet your expectations? Or, like John the Baptist, is Jesus failing to meet your expectations? And if the answer to that 2nd question is yes, Jesus is failing, then look at the fruit. Look at the fruit in your own life and look at the fruit of this church. As a church body, we are called to walk alongside one another, to be in this journey of faith together, seeking God’s will, inviting others to experience the joy of knowing Jesus Christ.
Does this ministry, through the grace and power of the Holy Spirit, encourage good fruit to grow? Healthy fruit. Whole fruit. The answer to that question –does good fruit grow from here?—will help us in determining which next step to take. And as Jesus said, “Blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of me." To paraphrase Jesus’ words to our situation, Blessed are we if our idea of what this church should be, our expectations of what this church should be can align with what it really should be—with what God is doing and wants to do with New Hope and through New Hope.
(Pastor SKA)
Labels: expectations, Luke 7
posted by New Hope Presbyterian Church @ 1:21 PM
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