What If Jesus Doesn’t Meet My Expectations? (Matthew 21-22, Mark 11-12, and Luke 19-20)
What do you do when Jesus does not meet your expectations? He came not to fulfill our agendas but to transform hearts and establish a better kingdom.
Matthew 21-22; Mark 11-12; Luke 19:45-20:47
Today's Scripture Passage
A Few Thoughts to Consider
How do you respond when Jesus doesn’t meet your expectations?
In Matthew 21, Jesus travels from Jericho to Jerusalem on a Roman road about 30 kilometers long, passing through Bethphage and the Mount of Olives, which rises about three hundred feet higher than the temple hill. From there, Jesus instructs them to get a donkey and a colt that will be waiting for them in the village—further demonstrating his divine knowledge.
From there, Jesus made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. This happened on the Sunday of Passion Week, just a few days before his crucifixion. Significantly, it was on the 9th of Nisan, A.D. 30, fulfilling a prophecy made 483 years earlier in Daniel 9:24-26. The city was packed. More conservative estimates say around 150,000 people were there, while others guess there could have been as many as 2.5 million due to the Passover crowd. Either way, Jerusalem was buzzing with excitement, and Jesus’ arrival stirred things up even more.
When Jesus rode into the city on a colt, he fulfilled the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9, which said, “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you; he is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
As Jesus entered Jerusalem, people threw down their cloaks and palm branches to honor him, welcoming him like a king. They shouted “Hosanna,” which means “save now,” recognizing him as their Savior. N.T. Wright says, “Welcoming Jesus as ‘son of David’ was about as explicit as you could get; this was, after all, the city which King David had made his capital a thousand years before, and for nearly half that time the Jews had been waiting and praying for a king like David to arrive and save them from oppression. Surely, they thought, this was the moment!”[1]
Unfortunately, while they had some idea of who he was, they hadn’t fully grasped the truth. “The story of Jesus’ grand, though surprising, entry into Jerusalem, then, is an object lesson in the mismatch between our expectations and God’s answer.”[2]
A Meditation to PRAY
Praise | Lord, I praise you for your divine knowledge and authority. You are the promised king and the fulfillment of what was prophesied. I honor you for the peace you bring, even when I don't fully understand your plans.
Release | I release my expectations of how I think you should act in my life. Like the crowd in Jerusalem, I sometimes want you to meet my desires for change or justice in a certain way. But today, I let go of my agendas and trust in your greater plan for my heart and your kingdom.
Ask | I ask for the wisdom to recognize when my priorities are misaligned with yours. Help me see when I am tempted to use your message to further my own goals. Guide me to focus on your mission of peace, love, and salvation instead of my personal ambitions.
Yield | I yield to your purpose, Lord, even when it doesn’t match my expectations. Teach me to live according to your kingdom, one rooted in peace and not force, in the transformation of the heart rather than external revolutions. I surrender to your will, knowing your ways are higher than mine.
