Great Expectations (Pt 1)

       
Have you ever had an experience like Ralphie in this clip?  You save up for something you have wanted so badly only to be let down when you actually get it.  Maybe you bought a car that you were certain was going to be the best car you’ve ever owned just to find out it’s in the shop more than it is on the road.  Possibly you bought a new electronic item and it doesn’t do all that you hoped and expected it would and it is going to cost you more money to do all the things you thought it would.  You may have landed the new job that sounded so great when you signed on only to find  that it is a dead end job that you hate. 

I remember one Christmas as a child getting an electric race car track.  I was so excited when I got it.  I tore open the package and put the track together only to find out that when I started playing with it the cars wouldn’t stay on the track and even one of the cars engines burned out after a couple of uses.  I was so disappointed. 

As an adult I still get frustrated when I think something is going to bring me joy only to find out it does not.  I also see the frustration and sadness in my kids when they get a toy which they think will bring joy and ends up breaking within five minutes of playing with it.  No matter what age we may be, we all get frustrated and disappointed when things don’t turn out as we expected.

Well, you can imagine the frustration and anger of the Israelites religious leaders when they found that their Messiah had come and He winds up being nothing more than a Jewish carpenter who lived a life of humility, who said many offensive things that ticked off all of the religious leaders of the time, and He rebuked those who considered themselves religious.  Certainly this Jesus, the Messiah was not what they were expecting!  
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