By Ife J. Ibitayo
Relationships are like vases, beautiful and fragile. We meet that special someone, we get to know them, and we fall in love with who we believe they are. When our illusion of that person is shattered by reality, our relationship will likely fall apart. We find ourselves saying, “They aren’t who I thought they were.”
Background
John the Baptist had this very same experience with Jesus. From the womb, he was Jesus’ greatest cheerleader (Luke 1:41). He dedicated his career to promoting Jesus and preparing the way for Him.
However, during the course of his ministry as a prophet, John the Baptist denounced king Herod for marrying his brother’s wife. The tyrant imprisoned him for his impudence. From a dank, rat-infested dungeon, John heard stories of his cousin’s miracles: raising the dead to life, curing the sick, healing the demon-possessed, helping everyone except His own flesh and blood.
In John’s despair, his faith wavered, and he sent his disciples to ask Him, “‘Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else’” (Luke 7:20 NLT)?
Jesus replied, “‘Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.’ And he added, ‘God blesses those who do not fall away because of me’” (Luke 7:22-23 NLT).
Shortly thereafter, John the Baptist was beheaded.
Expectation
We all relate to God differently. Some love Jesus as their blessed savior or honor Him as their incomparable example or cherish Him as their best friend. These distinct views are par and parcel to our beautiful diversity. However, we run the risk of embracing an unbalanced view of God. We can love Jesus as our big brother but dismiss Him as our lord. We can accept Him as our helper but reject Him as our master. When we make this mistake, we set ourselves up for disappointment just as John the Baptist did.
A few chapters earlier in Luke, Jesus read this prophecy from the Old Testament: “‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for He has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free” (Luke 4:18 NLT). And Jesus said He was the fulfillment of this prophecy.
This very passage must have been on both of their minds during this exchange. Jesus’ statement in Luke 7:22 is very similar to it, yet He leaves out the parts about “releasing captives” and “setting free the oppressed”. Did Jesus forget about these verses? Are God’s promises only true when we don’t need them, or do they apply to everyone except us?
I know I’ve been tempted to believe this. God promised, “I’ll never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5 ESV), yet I’ve never felt more alone in my life than during this quarantine. Apostle Paul said, “My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NASB). But where are “His riches” for the needy millions who’ve been wrecked by this economic recession?
Reality
John the Baptist’s error lay in two assumptions he made: God’s timing and God’s focus. John assumed that if Jesus was setting others free now, now must be the time for his freedom as well. But God’s timetable rarely aligns with ours. Apostle Peter said, “We must not forget that a day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day” (2 Peter 3:8 NLT). Yet we forget this all the time!
Secondly, we often limit God’s promises to the physical realm. God, of course, cares about our physical body and our physical circumstances, but we aren’t purely physical beings. We’ve been endowed with a spirit that has a health of its own. Not only do our bodies need liberation from physical struggles (imprisonment, isolation, poverty), our souls also need saving.
Even though Jesus did not “set the captives free” the way John the Baptist had expected Him to, He was faithful to keep His promise. When He died on the cross a few years later, Jesus freed us all from slavery to death and richly supplied us with eternal life.
Conclusion
Disappointment with God is a normal part of the Christian walk. Reality will shatter our expectations about Him and shake our faith. When it does, we must decide whether to “fall away” or turn to a different Jesus–the real Jesus–and believe in Him again.
“At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, ‘Are you also going to leave?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.’”
(John 6:66-69 NLT)
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