Great Expectations

Prophecies of Jesus--


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Heralded by the messenger of the Lord (John the Baptist) (Isaiah 40:3-5; Malachi 3:1; Matthew 3:1-3)



Isa.{40:3} The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness,
Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert
a highway for our God. {40:4} Every valley shall be
exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and
the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places
plain: {40:5} And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the
LORD hath spoken it.


Mal.{3:1} Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall
prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek,
shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of
the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come,
saith the LORD of hosts.


Matt. {3:1} In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in
the wilderness of Judaea, {3:2} And saying, Repent ye: for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand. {3:3} For this is he that
was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of
one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the
Lord, make his paths straight.


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Would perform miracles (Isaiah 35:5-6; Matthew 9:35)


Isa. {35:5} Then the eyes of the blind shall
be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
{35:6} Then shall the lame [man] leap as an hart, and the
tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters
break out, and streams in the desert.


Matt. {9:35} And Jesus went about all the cities and
villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the
gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and
every disease among the people.


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Would preach good news (Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:14-21)


Isa. {61:1} The Spirit of the Lord GOD [is] upon me; because
the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the
meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to
proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the
prison to [them that are] bound.


Luke {4:14} And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into
Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the
region round about. {4:15} And he taught in their
synagogues, being glorified of all.
{4:16} And he came to Nazareth, where he had been
brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the
synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
{4:17} And there was delivered unto him the book of the
prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he
found the place where it was written, {4:18} The Spirit of
the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach
the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that
are bruised, {4:19} To preach the acceptable year of the
Lord. {4:20} And he closed the book, and he gave [it] again
to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that
were in the synagogue were fastened on him. {4:21} And he
began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in
your ears.


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Would minister in Galilee (Isaiah 9:1; Matthew 4:12-16)


Isa. {9:1} Nevertheless the dimness [shall] not [be] such as
[was] in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted
the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward
did more grievously afflict [her by] the way of the sea,
beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.



Matt. {4:12} Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into
prison, he departed into Galilee; {4:13} And leaving
Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon
the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
{4:14} That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by
Esaias the prophet, saying, {4:15} The land of Zabulon, and
the land of Nephthalim, [by] the way of the sea, beyond
Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; {4:16} The people which
sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the
region and shadow of death light is sprung up. {4:17} From
that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand.


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Would cleanse the Temple (Malachi 3:1; Matthew 21:12-13)


Mal. {3:1} Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall
prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek,
shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of
the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come,
saith the LORD of hosts.


Matt. {21:12} And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast
out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and
overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of
them that sold doves, {21:13} And said unto them, It is
written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye
have made it a den of thieves.


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No, the people of Israel, God's chosen people did not want Jesus to come meekly, lowly, in such a way they couldn't hold Him up as king and revere Him. The idea of Him as their Messiah just didn't fit with the reality. They still look for their Messiah and they look for Him as one who will be stately, kingly in all ways. There is so much hype over expectations. Holding fast to expectations as if the expectations hold a greater satisfaction than the reality.


It's something we all can understand though isn't it? We've all had our hopes up for one thing or another and then had them dashed more by the reality of the thing hoped for than the thing not happening. Meaning sometimes the hope brings more excitement and we are loathed to give up that hope for something less than the expectation. Then again sometimes we have to declare things were better than what we ever dreamed they'd be. The reality exceeds the expectation. I've heard people say they don't get their hopes up because they don't want to face that disappointment. They do away with the hope while mostly secretly harboring the hope still but trying to keep it tempered so the let down isn't too great.


One thing we have to agree upon is situations occur that lend themselves towards expectation and they occur fairly regular. Some situations are of greater anticipation than others. We have great expectations for our weddings, our first child, various parties, graduations, new jobs, holidays, lovers. Sometime young women dream of their wedding day from a young age on up until adulthood. Boys with dreams of owning a new car, a house. These dreams and expectations are normal and yes... most of them happen to us all.


When you have hope in a Messiah this is something amazing, something totally different than that wedding, that job, that car. Having hope in an idea that has yet to be realized, an idea that is unique, well it is easy to understand why it could be wrapped up in layer after layer of idealism until the realization of it far surpasses the reality.


The people of Israel rejected Jesus, He fell far short of their expectations. They didn't want a common born man, a mere carpenter's son, a man they'd known as normal to be suddenly special-- let alone be God's Only Son, their Messiah. They believed He was manufacturing situations to suit Himself to make his commoness into something special.


Today they still await their Messiah, while we who believe Jesus fulfilled that role await Jesus' second coming.


There is no danger for us who look to Jesus to return though, no danger of 'missing' Him, of rejecting Him. When Jesus comes again it will be like this--


Rev. {1:7} Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye
shall see him, and they [also] which pierced him: and all
kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so,
Amen


2 Thess. {2:8} And then shall that Wicked be
revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of
his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his
coming


1 Thess. {4:16} For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,
and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise
first: {4:17} Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord
in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord


No, He will not come quietly, He will not return secretly, He will not come up from obscurity. He will come with clouds EVERY eye shall see him. The BRIGHTNESS of his coming will be deadly. The DEAD in Christ shall rise! We which are alive shall be CAUGHT UP together with them in the clouds- to MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR!


Praise and glory to God our Heavenly Father, all mercy and grace through Jesus Christ our Savior. May we be among those waiting and ready when Christ returns, knowing that He will do so in such an amazing way that there is NO question at all that our Savior has returned for us. While others might be looking for Him to rise up quietly on earth to bring a following to Him again, the Bible tells us differently and we have to hold fast to the Word of God.


Thank you Lord, all glory unto you!


Amen.