Matthew 46
Right expectations (Part 1)
Even Jesus warns us about keeping the right expectations
Matthew 11:1–6 (ESV)
1 When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.
2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples
3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see:
5 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.
6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
Expectations defined
· a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future.
· a belief that someone will or should achieve something.
Expectations are everywhere!
The expectations that we set, dictate pretty much everything!
· How to respond in any given situation
· Our mood
· Our attitudes,
· All this is controlled by the expectations we set!
The wrong expectations!
VS 2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples
VS 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
· We are talking about the one and only John the Baptist
o The cousin of Jesus
o The one who went out ahead of Jesus
o And was wearing animal hides and eating bugs
o Telling everyone to repent!! The end is near
o That’s right, that John
· He is in prison
o Awaiting execution
o And hears about what Jesus is doing
o The verse says “the deeds of Jesus”
· And he sends his Disciples to ask a simple question
· Are you the Messiah or should we keep on looking?
· WHAT, really you are John the Baptist, the one that everyone was calling the prophet Elijah?
· And you don’t even see who this is?!?!?
SO how does someone so vital to the process of preparing the way for Jesus not even see Him for who He is?
· WRONG EXPECTATIONS!
By the time Jesus had entered human history, there were a lot of different ideas about who Jesus was and what His agenda would be!
Theologically a wide range of messianic hopes existed in Jesus’ time.
· Militaristic,
· political,
· priestly,
· and spiritual understandings of the Messiah competed for people’s commitment.
· If John was hoping for a militaristic Messiah, he naturally would question Jesus’ ministry because it failed to challenge Roman domination.
· At the least, John could have expected the Messiah to set him free from prison.[1]
** none of these came from God's word, these were assumptions that turned into expectations!
· You see he had wrong expectations!
Let’s dive into how we get wrong expectations about anything!
· First, we set expectations too high (so no one will ever meet them)
· Second, that everyone thinks and acts like me! (well they should)
· We assume way too much!
· We let our past dictate what we expect from others
o This is dangerous
o We almost create an outcome from our wrong expectation
o Example: this kind of car was a lemon so, every car like that will be too
Jesus straightens him out
4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see:
5 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.
· The description of the miracles in verse 5 includes almost exact quotations from Isaiah
· 26:19; 29:18; 35:5–6; 42:18; 53:4; and 61:1[2]
· The bible (old testament) pretty clearly lays out what the Messiah was coming to do
· I know I have preached over the years
o It talks about Jesus suffering
o His mission
o And How we will know who He is
· But when people start to assume and cherrypick God's word
· Bad expectations are sure to follow!
And that can be applied anywhere in life!
· We start assuming:
o that people should act a certain way
o Our Job owes us more than a paycheck
o Our kids should achieve things without proof
o Heck, our dogs, cats, or horses should act a certain way
o That the world owes us anything!
· (unmet expectations are sure to follow)
But it is especially dangerous when bad expectations are applied to the gospel!
· With the advent of social media
o YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and the like
· A new breed of false teachers has arisen, and the birth of the “Prosperity Gospel” is rooted in our culture!
· They give a lot of false expectations
o Of the promise of wealth
o And health
o If you just give
o They twist the gospel and God's word
· And the really bad part is some many people assume what they say is true
· Without ever researching it for themselves!
And then Jesus lays this knowledge on us all about setting the right expectations!
6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
· After Jesus lays the truth on John’s Disciples
· He makes an extremely profound statement
o With the right expectations of following Me
o You will never be offended by Me!
Here are the right expectations of a follower of Jesus!
6 Things You CAN Expect
Based on what Jesus promised, and on what other followers of Jesus have experienced, here’s what you CAN expect as a Christian:
1. Transformation
YOU will be different. Your motivations, the way you see the world, your heart, your character, what matters to you – all that will change as a result of knowing Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Your transformation won’t happen in a day, but it will happen if you stick around.
2. Trouble.
Yes, Jesus promised trouble. Tribulation. Conflict. Even persecution. If you have truly been changed because of Jesus, the kingdom of darkness will notice and will oppose you in some way. That’s normal. It’s expected. It’s evidence that God is at work in and through you.
3. Life.
Everything about you will be made fully alive. The same power of God that was working in Jesus is working in you. That means your body can be vibrant, your mind and emotions fully engaged, your relationships meaningful, and your spirituality resilient. You aren’t finished yet, but you’re fully alive.
4. Significance.
You may not always know how your life will count for the Kingdom of God, but you can be sure that it will. Just as with the 5 loaves and 2 fishes with which Jesus fed the multitude, if you bring what you have to Him, He will bless it, break it, and use it to feed others.
5. A Future.
Both in this life and in eternity. You can live without limits now, knowing that this life is not all there is. Looking forward to the hope of heaven changes how you live your life today.
6. Never Alone.
Others in the family of God are there, whether you always feel their presence or not. And even more important, Jesus has promised to be with you always. ALWAYS. Whether you are sick or well, rich or poor, happy or sad, young or old. That’s His absolute guarantee.
[1]Hahn, R. L. (2007). Matthew: a commentary for Bible students(p. 146). Indianapolis, IN: Wesleyan Publishing House.
[2]Hahn, R. L. (2007). Matthew: a commentary for Bible students(p. 147). Indianapolis, IN: Wesleyan Publishing House.
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