“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?’ 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. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.’” [1]
Who among us will be honest enough to admit that more times than you can count, you have stood at the intersection of Expectation and Disappointment? You had your life mapped out, but somehow things didn’t turn out as you had planned. You thought everything was going swimmingly, but then there came that day when the doctor told you that you needed an urgent surgery if you were to survive. Your life was transformed by the new reality and your dreams died that day. The surgery would mean long weeks of being in bed and weeks of therapy after the surgery. It meant pain—intense, constant pain whether you had the surgery or not. You were standing at the intersection of Expectation and Disappointment.
You were more qualified than another candidate, but they got the job that should have been yours. Now you are forced to work under that very person. Someone who is less qualified than you is your supervisor, and that knowledge gnaws at your heart every day. That person frequently asks you how to do the job she was hired to do; she hasn’t any idea of what she was hired to do. You are at the intersection of Expectation and Disappointment.
You thought that your marriage would last forever, only to see your spouse walk out. Your marriage crumbled, and you were left to pick up the pieces. Now, you work multiple jobs at an income that is never quite enough, and you struggle to raise your children without the help of your husband. You’ve cried enough tears to fill an ocean and you wonder if your children will ever fully recover from the devastation they have experienced. Still, you realise that you’re the only person left standing between your children and self-destruction. You are standing at the intersection of Expectation and Disappointment.
You thought you were set to enjoy your golden years but changing markets have forced you to scramble in order to survive. Retirement! Ha! You’re working more now than ever. You had hoped to take life easy, but now you’re working just to make ends meet. You set aside what you thought would be needed, but somehow it hasn’t proven to be enough. Those who eat up what we have seem to multiply and what you have to survive on is proving to be inadequate.
You didn’t expect to be forced to care for ageing parents, but someone has to sacrifice so that your mother or your father can have the care they need. Modern medicine is a two-edged sword, extending our lives but imposing new necessities on our children. Thus, you are saddled with the privilege of caring for your parents at the time when you know you should be preparing for your own future. You stand at the intersection of Expectation and Disappointment.
You hoped that those you loved, people to whom you had long ministered, would support you and stand with you in your hour of need as you were assailed by people without conscience. However, you found it necessary to walk away, though the disappointment eroded your soul. You are standing at the intersection of Expectation and Disappointment.
If we could only know what God has planned for us, we could perhaps be courageous. We can’t know what God will be doing, and so we feel that we must grapple with a dark unknown rather than walking with confidence through our chaotic situation. We are too “Christian” to admit that we sometimes struggle with doubt, but in our heart, we experience so very often times when we ask, “Is this really what life is all about?” At such times, we are standing at the intersection of Expectation and Disappointment.
You’ve been praying, and no answer comes. You cannot help but wonder whether God hears you when you pray? Does God care about your struggles? Because the response of the Holy One seems non-existent, you find yourself questioning God; you’ve even found yourself asking, “Did Jesus really die for my sins? If I am forgiven, why am I having such a hard time? Why is there so much confusion in my life, if God is in control?” Confusion seems to grow constantly, and you can’t help but wonder why God seems to ignore you. It is almost as though He is unaware of who you are or what you are going through. You are standing at the intersection of Expectation and Disappointment.
Questions come flooding into our minds: Why is there so much hurt in the world if God is good? He could make things right if He wanted to do so. He has the power. Why doesn’t He do something? The question sticks in our throat, but we are too Baptist to let it pass our lips. Admit it, we are often found standing at the intersection of Expectation and Disappointment.
We don’t want people to know that we have been locked up in the dungeon of doubt. Has it all been worth it? Has my sacrifice, my struggle, my sorrow made any difference? Does Jesus care that I am seemingly unable to move beyond my present condition of living in this rut that defines my life at the present? You are on the corner of Expectation and Disappointment.
The message this day is for Christians, for followers of the Christ who have experienced disappointment or for those who will enter into despair. The message is intended to offer hope when everything seems hopeless. The message is intended to be a source of encouragement for the people of God when they are standing at the intersection of Expectation and Disappointment.
DETAINED IN THE DUNGEON OF DISAPPOINTMENT — “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’” [MATTHEW 11:2-3]? “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” The question was asked in a moment of despair, in the midst of a trial so severe that it seemed impossible to believe that God was still working on John’s behalf.
John and Jesus were cousins; they were born six months apart. John had known who Jesus was before either had been born. Mary was told by the angel Gabriel that she had been chosen to bear the Son of God. Reacting to what had happened, and especially to the difficult questions that would be raised, Mary trekked into the hill country to find respite with a cousin.
Perhaps you will remember what happened when Mary arrived at the home of Elizabeth, as recorded in Luke’s Gospel? “In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord’” [LUKE 1:39-45]. The baby in the womb, John, who would be known as the Baptist, recognised Jesus before either was born!
John had been baptising in the wilderness. He was austere, insistent on people looking to God in righteousness and then identifying with God. He didn’t tolerate playing at religion. When a contingent of Pharisees and Sadducees came to him, he excoriated them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” [MATTHEW 3:7-12].
Jesus came to the place where John was preaching and baptising. Do you recall how John responded and what happened when Jesus came to him? “Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased’” [MATTHEW 3:13-17]. Not only did John recognise who Jesus is, but God the Father and the Spirit of God certified that Jesus was the Son of the Living God, in John’s presence! John knew who Jesus was.
When the Jewish religious leaders sent representatives to John to ask why he was doing the things he was doing, the Baptist confessed, “I am not the Christ” [JOHN 1:20b]. When they persisted in their questioning, John appealed to the Word of God, confessing, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said” [JOHN 1:23].
The very next day, John again revealed that he was fully aware that Jesus was the promised Messiah. This is the account of what happened that day, as the Evangelist recorded it. “The next day [John] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.” I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.’ And John bore witness: ‘I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God’” [JOHN 1:29-34]. In John’s mind, there was no doubt that Jesus was the Son of God, the promised Messiah.
Though John knew Jesus, and though he had fulfilled all that had been appointed for him to accomplish, prison had disillusioned John. When he sent his disciples, he was not questioning what he had witnessed—he was expressing his disappointment. I think I’m speaking to some people that know what I’m talking about. You know who Jesus is. You do not doubt that He has saved you; you have no doubt that He is able to deliver you. But at one point, perhaps even at this moment, you are in the dungeon of despair. You are hurting, and you wonder why He doesn’t set you free? You don’t know what is going to happen next, and so, like John, you send someone to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” You don’t even have enough strength left to ask Him yourself, so you send someone else.
John had witnessed Jesus’ presence and had seen divine certification of Jesus’ identity. John boldly proclaimed truth and held people accountable before God. He was not afraid even to confront kings! Herod the tetrarch had taken Herodias, his brother’s wife, to be his own consort. It wasn’t a righteous act, it was despicable, deplorable, demonstrating the depth of degradation to which Herod had descended. Herodias was the daughter of Aristobulus and Bernice, and a granddaughter of Herod the Great. She had first married her uncle, Herod Philip.
Herod Antipas convinced her to leave her husband so he could marry her. Herod Antipas divorced his first wife, a Nabatean princess, to marry Herodias. John saw what happened, and in true prophetic fashion, he rebuked Herod. Scripture informs us, “Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison” [LUKE 3:19-20]. Herodias, the wife of Herod Antipas, hated John and pleaded with her husband to imprison the Baptist.
You do understand that a high price will inevitably be demanded for doing what is right, and that price was now being required of the Baptist. It is a rare thing that an individual is commended for doing what is right. You may be assured that people take note of what you are doing, and many may be pleased that you didn’t expose them, but those who are exposed by your actions when you are doing what is right will be intent on doing you harm. The Master warned, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me” [JOHN 15:19-21].
One of my heroes of the pulpit was quoted as saying, “If you don’t want any trouble, don’t say anything, don’t do anything, don’t be anything.” That advice was true when I first heard it, and it holds true to this day. “Blessed are the nobodies, for they disturb no one.” However, know that when you are moved by the Spirit to exalt the Lord, trouble is certain. When God’s Spirit is poured out on His people, the world takes notice and reacts with choler!
Scripture has warned, “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” [2 TIMOTHY 3:12-13]. You don’t even have to do what is right, you only have to want to do right. However, when you have the desire to do what is right, you will be persecuted. You will be attacked. You may well find yourself in the dungeon of disappointment.
SLIPPING AND SLIDING INTO SKEPTICISM — Maybe you wonder how John got into this state. Maybe you wonder how anyone could move from shouting the glory to singing the blues. It didn’t happen just because John was detained in the dungeon of disappointment. Where he was incarcerated was meaningless, if he understood that this was God’s appointment. I think the answer to John’s depression lies in God’s failure to fulfil John’s expectations. John had some big expectations, but they didn’t fit with God’s purpose.
Many people were wondering whether John might be the Christ, the Anointed One of God. However, John put this question to rest with his testimony, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” [LUKE 3:16-17].
John appears to have anticipated that Jesus would soon burn up those who were committed to being unrighteous. He seems almost elated at the thought of righteous judgement. John was just like many of us who are offended by the assault against righteousness. We are grieved over the exaltation of the godless and the loss of righteousness in our land. We don’t understand why the wicked are commended while the righteous are censured. Why would our nation, a nation we were assured is a Christian country, approve of evil? Why does evil appear to go unpunished? We are deeply wounded in our souls when we witness these conditions in the nation we love. In our pain, we retreat into a place that God never meant for us to occupy.
God will judge the wicked; but He won’t do so according to our schedule. There is a day when the Lord will call to account those who oppose righteousness, but we forget God’s character. We neglect the truth that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Though we are God’s people, we are angry, and we want the wicked to be punished right now and right here in front of us! That is not how God operates, however.
On one occasion when a village of Samaritans refused to receive the Master, the Sons of Thunder eagerly asked, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them” [LUKE 9:54 NASB 1995]? These two men would fit right in with many of us! “Lord, do you want us to destroy those who slaughter the innocent? Do you want us to slaughter those who promote immorality and approve of perversion? Do you want us to take care of those tyrants in black robes who promote wickedness?” We are certainly infected with the spirit of James and John in contemporary churches!
Notice Jesus’ response to this request. “He turned and rebuked them, [and said, ‘You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them’” [LUKE 9:55-56a NASB 1995]. When we speak with eager anticipation of the destruction of the wicked, we betray the Spirit of God who lives in us.
Make no mistake—God will destroy the wicked. God, through Isaiah, warns,
“Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
and shrewd in their own sight!”
[ISAIAH 5:20-21]
We dare not fall under condemnation of attempting to take justice into our own hands. We must hold in mind the caution, “Do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God” [1 CORINTHIANS 4:5].
Through Ezekiel, the LORD has declared, “As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die” [EZEKIEL 33:11]? If God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, then why should we, His people, rejoice over the destruction of the wicked? Those who will be destroyed will include family and friends. Can we actually rejoice in this judgement? Leave this to God and let Him attend to the affairs of judgement.
Those who are Bible readers among us will perhaps be aware that Habakkuk was deeply disturbed by the wickedness of his own people, and he complained to God. The Prophet’s cry anticipated our own cry to the Living God. Habakkuk cried out,
“O LORD, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you ‘Violence!’
and you will not save?
Why do you make me see iniquity,
and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
So, the law is paralyzed,
and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
so justice goes forth perverted.”
[HABAKKUK 1:2-4]
The LORD did not ignore Habakkuk. God did answer His prophet, and the answer dismayed the man of God! When he realised that God’s judgement would be far more destructive than he ever imagined, he was horrified, he was terrified. I doubt that any of us can even imagine how awful that judgement will be when it is unleashed on an evil society. If we truly understood the horror of divine judgement and the cost to people we know, wouldn’t we plead with God to delay judgement? Wouldn’t we make every effort to hold back the hand of God?
Amos, speaking on God’s behalf, warned those who sought the Day of the LORD, the day of divine judgement. Listen to his cautionary words.
“Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD!
Why would you have the day of the LORD?
It is darkness, and not light,
as if a man fled from a lion,
and a bear met him,
or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall,
and a serpent bit him.
Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light,
and gloom with no brightness in it?”
[AMOS 5:18-20]
Divine judgement is far worse than we could ever imagine. Be cautious what you wish for.
I have often noted that the day of the LORD is seen as a special day for the redeemed. Jesus our Lord will return “to be glorified in His saints, and to be marvelled at among all who have believed” [see 2 THESSALONIANS 1:10]. The dark side of His return is that when He is revealed from Heaven, it will be “in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord” [2 THESSALONIANS 1:8-9].
There is no joy in the Lord’s judgement since many whom we know will be included in that dark day. One should never read the account provided in the Apocalypse without being moved with compassion. You recall how John wrote of what is coming for the lost. He wrote, “I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” [REVELATION 20:11-15].
Should we not be moved with sorrow that we know people who have rejected Christ and thus bring upon themselves the wrath of God? Shouldn’t we be grieved at the thought that some of our own children, our own family members, dearly loved friends and colleagues with whom we work day-by-day, will be arraigned before that Great White Throne. When their name is not found in the Lamb’s Book of Life, how shall they answer? Does that not tear at our heart?
The Baptist appears to have anticipated that Messiah would rain flaming judgement down on the religious frauds that had destroyed the faith of so many in Israel and dishonoured the Living God. When the Anointed One, the Lamb of God, did not immediately rain down fire on the wicked, John fell into despair. I remind you that when we are locked in the dungeon of disappointment, we can forget everything we say we know—the pain can be that severe! And the agony is only intensified when we remember the expectation that motivated us in the first place.
John had spoken boldly in Jesus’ Name. He had pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God even when pressure was mounting to silence him, to compel him to be quiet. The Baptist had spoken powerfully on behalf of the Living God, rebuking the king for his wickedness. All that John’s bold righteousness had accomplished was to get him locked away. As the hours dragged on while he was incarcerated in a dark cell in the Fortress known as Machaerus, John grew increasingly despondent. He began to question what he had so boldly declared. His expectation collided with his disappointment; and at that moment, disappointment was prevailing.
JESUS’ ANSWER TO A DESPONDENT DISCIPLE — “Jesus answered [John’s disciples], ‘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’” [MATTHEW 11:4-5].
I’m left with the impression that when John’s disciples questioned Jesus, the Master appeared to ignore them as He continued doing what He had been doing. These disciples lingered long enough to witness Jesus as He ministered. It is difficult for us to truly grasp the impact Jesus’ presence had during the days of His flesh. Though the impact of His presence appears to have left no positive impression on the religious community of that distant day, and though His disciples would need to be endued with power from the Spirit, by healing many, Jesus drew vast multitudes to come seeking healing.
As an example, we read, “When Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there” [MATTHEW 19:1-2].
Elsewhere, after healing a man contaminated by leprosy, despite being told to show himself to the priest for certification of his cleansing, the man “went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter” [MARK 1:45].
Before Jesus had called Levi, we read that He had healed a paralytic. After this, “He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him” [MARK 2:13].
The crowds grew, and when Jesus appointed the Twelve, the crowds grew even larger. As His fame increased, the demands intensified, so that we read, “[Jesus] went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, ‘He is out of his mind’” [MARK 3:20-21].
In the midst of this frenzy, John’s disciples came to question Jesus on the Baptist’s behalf. After asking their question, Jesus continued doing what He had been doing; He didn’t give an answer. However, as they lingered near Him, they witnessed the Master give sight to blind people. They saw lame people enabled to walk. Lepers came, and though the crowds recoiled in horror as they drew near, Jesus cleansed them—perhaps with a word, perhaps with a gentle touch. However it was done, all signs of the disease were gone. Deaf people were able to hear after coming to Jesus. Above all else, they witnessed Jesus as He preached to the poor.
Don’t neglect the impact of this one proof Jesus offered. As Mark opens the Gospel that bears his name, he writes, “After John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel’” [MARK 1:14-15]. This is critical! The proof of Jesus’ power is the proclamation of the Good News to those who are otherwise ignored by society!
After some time, perhaps several days, but assuredly after several hours, Jesus at last answered John’s disciples. “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” [MATTHEW 11:4-5].
Is Jesus the Anointed One of God? Look at His life. The world never witnessed anyone who healed without fail! Unlike so many who claim to be healers today, Jesus never restored health and then asked, “Do you feel it? Are you healed yet?” There was no guessing with Jesus and no discovering after the fact that the supposed “healing” was only psychosomatic, a temporary “fix” that made the person feel good for a brief moment. Jesus never met a funeral cortege that He didn’t break up by raising the dead to life. He never met a blind person that was left in worse shape than before He met the individual. People with oozing wounds witnessed the flow staunched simply by reaching out and touching His clothing. Deaf and dumb people were enabled to hear, and their tongues loosed as He revealed compassion. Those with loathsome diseases were restored to society because He healed them and made them whole—every time! But more important than all else, people who were downtrodden because they were the scum of society were made citizens of the Kingdom of God through the message of life that He delivered.
Jesus preached a message that destroyed the thought that an individual could “do” something to make God accept them. He revealed a God who received sinners so that He could transform them and make them fit for the heavenly kingdom. He spoke of the Living God, not as some austere distant deity Who was unmoved by the plight of those who were despised in this life. Jesus revealed God as our Father, loving and compassionate, though holy and righteous. Jesus declared God as incapable of allowing sin to enter into His presence, but as the wise God who would change sinful people so that they could come into His presence. Never before had anyone heard a preacher encourage people to speak of the Lord God as “Father.”
There are times that the people of God to this day grow despondent. Perhaps you are in that dungeon of disappointment. Perhaps you witnessed the death of your expectations, the life you anticipated died a violent death and you were left with disappointment, discouragement, dismay and dejection. You need to hear the Master as He invites you to look to the Living God.
After John’s disciples left to carry the message back to the despondent Baptist, Jesus challenged those who were standing about him. Next, He denounced the cities in which He had performed the gracious miracles that had served as a witness for John’s disciples. The Son of God lifted His head and prayed, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will” [MATTHEW 11:25-26]. Then, He invited those who were excluded from hope by decent society, people who were exhausted by petty rules, people like you and me. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” [MATTHEW 11:28-30].
OFFENDED IN JESUS? ME? “Blessed is the one who is not offended by me” [MATTHEW 11:6]. Is it possible that someone could actually be offended in Jesus? It is not only possible, it is quite a common occurrence. Obviously, people in that day were offended by the Lord. The religious leaders were offended because they could not co-opt Jesus to exalt them by doing their bidding. Nothing much has changed in this day.
One of the criminals who was crucified at the same time as Jesus was offended because Jesus wouldn’t do what the thief demanded. Doctor Luke records the incident in the Gospel that bears his name. “One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, ‘Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us’” [LUKE 23:39]!
It is difficult for us to admit, but we want a god who is predictable. We want a god who acts according to rules we can define, rules on which we can depend. We want a god who is predictable, but Jesus is anything but predictable. However, our Saviour is reliable. He always comes to us at just the precise time He is needed most. We have the ancient promise,
“He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.”
[PSALM 121:3-4]
In short, we are assured in Scripture that Jesus our Saviour is reliable.
We confuse the two concepts of predictability and reliability. Because God is reliable does not mean that He is predictable! God does what He pleases, not what we want Him to do. Some days it is chicken; other days it is feathers. Some days it is sunshine; other days it is rain. Some days it is laughter; other days it is tears. Some days your child makes you proud; other days that same child breaks your heart. When they are young, we have our children on our knees; when they grow up, they are on our heart. Christianity in this day has been reduced to a series of aphorisms that may or may not have any relation to reality. The pulpit in the western world has reduced the Faith to a series of pious platitudes. In no small measure this is true because we are wealthy—we have all we need, we have no immediate need for God. We can take care of ourselves; and we are content to know that God is available when all else fails.
You’ve heard me say on numerous occasions that modern Christianity is best defined as moralistic therapeutic deism. Moralistic therapeutic deism is a toxic brew of narcissistic spirituality and the innate optimism of humanism dressed up in the language of faith. It is a destructive teaching that the follower of the Christ should never encounter a problem in life. It is the error that if we experience trials, there must be something wrong with us. However, in our lucid moments, we know that if God will use us greatly, it is often true that He must wound us deeply. Let me state the issue once again: For God to use us greatly, He must wound us deeply. This is neglected teaching in this day. God is not in our debt; He is not responsible to make us happy. Christ Jesus came to make us holy, He did not come to make us happy.
This doctrine is hard to take, but it is necessary doctrine if we will make a success of this life. When Jesus demanded that those who wished to follow Him must eat His flesh and drink His blood, the reaction of the most was, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it” [JOHN 6:60]? The wannabe disciples took offense at Jesus, and He marvelled at their rejection [see JOHN 6:61]. They took offence because they were in the flesh and not in the Spirit.
Will you follow Jesus though the cost is dear? Will you serve Him even if He demands that you surrender control over your decisions? I have said, and I am convinced, that God does not call us to easy tasks. If the work He appoints us to accomplish was easy, anyone could do it. The Master calls us to tasks that are impossible so that we are compelled to accomplish them in His strength. Underscore this truth, make it your own, always hold it tightly in your memory. Christ calls us to impossible tasks that can only be accomplished in His strength.
Perhaps we need to hear again the Apostolic instruction delivered to a congregation that had forgotten the One they were to serve. The Apostle Paul cautioned, “Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord’” [1 CORINTHIANS 1:26-31].
Over seven centuries before Paul penned those words, the Prophet Isaiah had written, “The LORD spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: ‘Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken’” [ISAIAH 8:11-15].
Our Master is a “stone of offence” and a “rock of stumbling.” As we serve Him, we will offend those who are set in opposition against Him. Because they are opposed to Him, they will be offended both in Him and in us because we represent His cause. Consequently, the world, and that includes many religious people who are looking for an easy way to please God, will be offended. When an individual is standing at the intersection of Expectation and Disappointment, if their response to disappointment is anger or irritation toward the Lord, it reveals that their hope was in their own strength, their trust was in their own possessions, and they never had hope in the Son of God. However, if you face disappointment in this life by lifting your eyes to the coming Lord, you reveal that your hope is in something far better than what is now visible.
To the people of God who feel disappointed at this moment, I say focus on Christ who appointed you. Recall what He promised and seize the promise, not what you hoped would be. Do not stop serving the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Keep on serving Him and doing those tasks He has assigned, knowing that He will accomplish His perfect will through you.
To any who are outside this holy Faith, the call of the Risen Saviour is a call to receive His mercy and discover His grace. Jesus, God’s own Son, died because of your sin and was raised to declare you right with the Father. His promise is, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” [ROMANS 10:9-10]. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
