Unmet Expectations and God
You prayed or trusted God about something, and it DID NOT work out like you thought/hoped
There can be some pretty major things:
- Health issue
- Relationship Issue
- Family Issue
- Work issue
- Financial issue
- Our story today is called the TRIUMPHAL ENTRY (Palm Sunday)
Matthew 21
21 When they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives, Jesus then sent two disciples, 2 telling them, “Go into the village ahead of you. At once you will find a donkey tied there with her colt. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them at once.”
4 This took place so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled:
5 Tell Daughter Zion, “See, your King is coming to you, gentle, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt; then they laid their clothes on them, and he sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their clothes on the road; others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. 9 Then the crowds who went ahead of him and those who followed shouted:
Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!
10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in an uproar, saying, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Hosanna: Save Now
- Their expectation was for Jesus to do just that – SAVE NOW
Everything about this moment screams ISRAEL’S MESSIAH
- The Donkey
- The Miracles
- The things Jesus had been saying about himself
But what did SAVE NOW MEAN?
- From Roman oppression
- Poverty
- Religious oppression
Here is the question that they did NOT have on their mind.
What if the very thing they wanted God to save them from was the very thing God had sent to bring about his perfect will?
Let’s look at this moment as people from the future…
- Why would God have chosen THIS MOMENT as the MOMENT to come to the world as the MESSIAH?
Israel under oppression
- They would not have felt like they needed a messiah when things were going good
- We never do…
Roman Expansion
- Rome had the largest empire on the planet
- Unified Language
- Roman roads
- Allowed freedom of regional religions**
So we have a moment in time that God chose as THE MOMENT
But that doesn’t mean things are perfect; just the RIGHT TIME
Because things were also PRETTY BAD
- Everyone agreed on that
- But not HOW TO FIX IT
Here comes Jesus, OBVIOUSLY signaling that He believes himself to be the messiah
Colts
Accepting worship
Etc
And they are RIGHT!
- He is the messiah
- The promised one
- The line of David
- The Lion of Judah
- The Ancient of Day
- The Beginning and the End
And riding into JERUSALEM
At Passover
It is all lining up; this must be the moment
- And yet, Everyone missed it
They wanted Jesus to save them, but they had their own EXPECTATIONS
Just to bring this point home…
John 12:16
16 His disciples did not understand these things at first. However, when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.
What everyone missed until after the resurrection is this
- The triumphal entry was REAL
- The messiah DID COME
- That was really Him
But He did not come to rescue from the Romans
Or to make a new EARTHLY KINGDOM
He came riding into Jerusalem all those years ago during Passover because he WAS THE FINAL PASSOVER SACRIFICE
He came to rescue us from what is really wrong with us
There is just something broken in each one of us
Something that you are I cannot fix
Ways we try to fix it ourselves by…
- Believing we can hope it away (Spiritualism)
- Believing we can work our way out of it (Works based religion)
- Believing we can not worry about and do whatever we want to (Hedonism)
- Believing that it doesn’t matter regardless of what we do. (Nihilism)
- Believing we can vote our way out of trouble (State religion)
We must look back at this man, JESUS, riding a donkey into Jerusalem just like it was prophesied
But this ride into town for Jesus only EVER had ONE WAY OUT…
- THE CROSS
Jesus’ answer to HOSANNA…
- SAVE NOW!
…Was the cross
That’s why Paul could write this to Christian churches…
Romans 5
5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 6 God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Instead of “UNMET EXPECTATIONS”
Let’s ask a better question
What expectations do you have of God that he has not promised to fulfill?
Some options:
- Healing
- Escape from a hard situation
- Change in a circumstance
You may be crying — SAVE NOW!
But let’s be of good faith
- Trusting that God has a plan and purpose for the things in our life
We who follow Jesus must also choose to follow the WAY of Jesus
Matthew 16
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. 26 For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life?
God may choose to rescue you
- Or this situation is HOW he will get the GREATER GLORY
Matures Christians can say, “Thank you for not meeting my ORIGINAL EXPECTATIONS.”