Earthly Expectations
Last week we read about the sacrifices the disciples made to follow Jesus. They left family, friends, careers, and everything else behind to join Jesus’s ministry.
Although they exchanged the known for the unknown, I wonder if the disciples had any assumptions or expectations of Jesus early on.
Hear me out.
In our human nature, we can often think, “Well, what’s in it for me?” I don’t think it’s too far fetched to believe that thought crossed the disciples’ minds a time or two.
By following Jesus and being his chosen group, the disciples probably expected to gain some things: notoriety, status, and perhaps protection from Roman persecution. We see this idea affirmed when James and John request to sit on each side of Jesus.
Mark 10:35-45 (NIV)
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
“What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
“We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Can you imagine being one of the other ten disciples? I can imagine a lot of eye-rolling took place when they heard of James and John’s request, or at least it would have in my household. But to be honest, the other ten were probably jealous that they didn’t think of the request first.
James and John thought that a kingdom would begin on earth immediately. So when they made this request of Jesus, they were really asking for positions of power and authority. They wanted to be right next to Jesus when this new kingdom finally came to fruition. Frankly, they were pretty smart.
However, what James and John failed to realize, is that Jesus was not after an earthly throne. He had his expectations set much higher.
I can’t imagine how the disciples must have felt on that Friday. Although Jesus spoke of his impending death on three different occasions, I’m certain there was still a sliver of hope among the disciples. He was the Messiah. Surely Jesus would not perish along with all their hopes and dreams for a new world.
Sometimes as humans we are near-sighted. I’m certain, at that time, the disciples could only see everything they had lost. They were more than likely disappointed, confused, sad, angry, frightened, and a multitude of other emotions.
But oftentimes we may think we are setting high expectations, when in reality God has something better than we could have ever anticipated.
So although the disciples’ expectations of Jesus were lost when he went to the grave, they were multiplied and magnified when Jesus rose from the dead.
Jesus gave them a new set of expectations that they could not originally conceive. And He made the disciples’ lives exceedingly and abundantly more than they could have created on their own.
Over the next few weeks, you can find reflections here at vineyardrichmond.com. Use them to prompt yourself to focus on your faith in a fresh way. Each week we will consider a different theme as we build up to the resurrection event. On Mondays, we will draw your attention to a biblical focus on a character in the gospel accounts. On Wednesdays, we will reflect personally on how that theme affects our spiritual lives. On Fridays, we will focus outwardly as we consider how God is inviting us to engage the world around us for his kingdom. If what you are learning is meaningful to you, click one of the share buttons at the top of these posts to share it with your friends. Let this be a time of personal reflection and careful examination of our own hearts and minds.