Expectations

Whenever I have ice cream, I usually have chocolate chip.
It has always been a favorite of mine.
No extra toppings.
Just one scoop…in a dish rather than a cone.

When I was growing up, the ice cream we usually bought was made in Philadelphia.
Their ads proudly described how their ice cream was made.
ALL NATURAL!

Often, local ice cream shops would have that particular brand.
It was ice cream you could count on…ice cream you trusted.
There I was, at the rounded glass counter, looking at all the flavors.
Finding mine, I pointed to my selection in the large, cardboard tub.
The girl in the striped uniform scooped out my single scoop.

I couldn’t wait to take my first bite.
I put the spoon into the ice cream, anticipating that first taste.
It was awful!

The “all natural” campaign took out any food coloring they had added to their flavors.
My chocolate chip ice cream…was MINT chocolate chip!
I do not like the flavor of mint.

It is a terrible thing to expect something and get something else.

I had a similar experience during a family dinner.
My mother had prepared a wonderful meal.
I can still remember being too little for the dining room chairs.
Too old for a booster seat…telephone books were used!

There I was, sitting on two telephone books.
Suddenly, the right height to comfortably eat with everyone else.
Sitting on two telephone books guaranteed that you wouldn’t wiggle during dinner.
If you wiggled too much, the small tower of books would fall.
A precarious position for any young child.

There was roast beef, potatoes, string beans, and carrots…all on lovely serving dishes.
I took some carrots as the dish went around.
After prayers were said, I put my fork into the delicious carrots.
They were terrible!
The dish contained sweet potatoes and not carrots.
It took me years to really enjoy sweet potatoes, which are now a favorite of mine.

Expectations.
Expecting something…and getting something else.

When John (the Baptist) heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask Him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Matthew 11:2,3)

John, the cousin of Jesus.
John, whose mother, Elizabeth was a cousin of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
John, who leapt in his mother’s womb when Mary came to visit Elizabeth.
The joyful leaping was because Jesus, though not yet born, was recognized as Lord.

That John.

John, who prepared the way for Messiah to come.
A voice of one calling in the desert,
Prepare the way for the Lord,
Make straight paths for Him. (Matthew 3:3)

John, who preached repentance and the confession of sins.
John, who baptized in the Jordan River.
John, who baptized Jesus…the perfect, spotless lamb.
Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)

As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is My Son. whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.
(Matthew 3:16,17)

That John.

John knew Jesus first hand.
John saw moments in Jesus life that surely solidified his faith.
Yet, when John was put in prison, for telling Herod that it was not lawful for him to have his brother’s wife, he probably expected Jesus to act on his behalf.

No one was quite sure how to define Messiah.
Was Messiah coming as a political deliverer to overthrow the Romans?
If so, John was imprisoned for doing the right thing.
He was sure Jesus would intervene.

Jesus was not a political Messiah.
Jesus was so much more.
Jesus came to save sinners…which included the Romans.

John could not understand.
His expectations were not met.

Jesus sent John’s disciples back to him with this explanation.
Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 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. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of Me.
(Matthew 11:4-6)

Jesus’ Kingdom was unlike anything John or anyone else expected.
It was a kingdom that turned the world upside down.

It was a mint chocolate chip and sweet potato kingdom…when all the while, chocolate chip and carrots were expected.

There was nothing wrong with Jesus.
There was everything wrong with the expectations.

Expecting something and getting something else.
Something more wonderful.
A Savior…a Lamb…who takes away the sins of the world.

The Holy Spirit brings clarity to our thinking.
The Holy Spirit corrects our wrong expectations.
It is when we lay our expectations down, that we really begin to see Jesus.
Jesus…the Something more Wonderful!