I Wasn’t Expecting That

Luke 7:22(NIV) —

‘So he replied to the messengers, ’Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.'

Once, I was proof-reading an essay and discovered one of my ‘friends’ had decided to insert the lyrics from the Fresh Prince of Belair in the middle of a section as a joke. It was quite the shock to go from reading about Levitical laws in the ancient near east, to Will Smith's antics in west Philadelphia - I wasn’t expecting that.

From his prison cell, John has sent word to Jesus asking if he is the Messiah. Jesus sends a message back. On the surface It seems like he is simply recounting what he has been up to, but in reality it is a coded message. Jesus is referencing Isaiah 35 and 61 – two prophecies that foretell what the Messiah will do. Upon hearing the message John would immediately pick up on the reference and know what Jesus meant - ‘Yes John, I am the Messiah’. But slipped in the middle is something John wasn’t expecting… ‘the dead are raised’.

This may surprise you – it did me – nowhere in the Old Testament prophecies does it say that the Messiah would raise the dead.

The prophecies set the expectation of what the Messiah would do – and they were high; blind eyes opening, lame walking, lepers cleansed! But Jesus exceeded even the high expectations of the Jewish people by raising the dead.

What are you expecting God to do today? This week? This year? Maybe it’s time to raise them, or better yet, expect the unexpected!

After all we have a God who can do exceedingly, abundantly more than we can ask, think or even imagine. Our God is an expectation exceeder.

Prayer - God, give me greater faith, help me believe you for even more.