Expectations

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, ¹⁵ and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” ¹⁶ Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” ¹⁸ And immediately they left their nets and followed him. ¹⁹ And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. ²⁰ And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

As Jesus did not meet expectations then, so he does not now. What is essential is to understand Jesus on his terms. Throughout his gospel Mark raises the question: Do you get it?  Do you understand now who he is?  The difficulty is not Jesus’ inability to match our expectations; it is our own inability to shed ourselves of the expectations that skew our understanding of him.  This is the Son of God, the divine being who takes on flesh; the eternal God who dies; the Holy One who takes upon himself the sins of the world.  This is the Glory of Israel who displays his glory through humble service.  He is not easy to comprehend, and we must be careful not to perceive him through our preconceived filters.

Jesus, furthermore, does not meet our expectations of what it means to follow him. Our salvation can never be tied up merely to the nurture of our own souls.  We are called into a kingdom to serve in that kingdom, and that kingdom work is to bring in all who would know the joy of the Lord.  We have different gifts and different tasks, but still the same calling to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to whomever will listen and believe.

And it is good news indeed.  The Son of God has come to heal the brokenhearted, to free the captives and prisoners, to comfort those who mourn – he has come to bring the kingdom of God.