In this digest, we uncover how societal expectation isn’t just a modern-day issue as even Jesus Christ Himself endured such an experience as this through His close relative; John the Baptist.
Amongst the many who didn’t fully understand what exactly would happen to Jesus during His lifetime on earth, John the Baptist stood right in the midst. I mean, Scripture also backs this up severally; first concerning John’s disconnect and then also concerning the world’s disconnect.
Matthew 3:13-14: “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter Him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”
Matthew 11:2: “When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask Him. ‘Are You the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
1 Corinthians 8:7-10: “No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: ‘What no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human mind has conceived’ - the things God has prepared for those who love Him - these are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit.”
From the initial two verses of Matthew 3:13-14 and Matthew 11:2, it is quite clear that John hadn’t come into terms with the whole reality that surrounded the Son of God. He must have had a little more expectation within his heart that Jesus would turn out as being this self-made (genuinely so) king who didn’t require anyone’s approval to establish what He needed to on earth; least of all Him. In fact, John reckoned that Jesus didn’t need baptism. Perhaps he thought in his wisdom that all that Jesus had to do was assemble a crew of men with good standing so as to seal His Supreme authority on earth as the Son of God. I mean; isn’t this all the worldly leaders do: wage war and conquer territories? I mean, who amongst us wouldn’t have had John’s kind of imagination had we as well encountered the Son of God in His manifest form?
From this point onwards (the baptism of Jesus), John’s disconnect only got worse up until the point when he got thrown into prison for standing in truth. Perhaps he expected to receive some extra immunity from God Himself for preaching the message of His Kingdom. This can be deduced specifically from Matthew 11:2.
In this case, Jesus’ authority wasn’t realized in the level of physical presence He was able to demonstrate but rather; it was exclusively realized in the level of Spiritual presence that He carried. It was His Spiritual authority that enabled Him to truly set the captives free. Captivity in this case always begins spiritually through our mindsets before manifesting physically through the way we get to lead our lives. Think of it this way: it is usually due to the lack of Spiritual knowledge; not the lack of elemental knowledge; that many succumb to all kinds of deception and witchcraft all-around the world. In this way, you’ll find that someone might be the most educated within a certain area but yet he or she ends up in a cult.
At this, I was able to better understand why Jesus Christ was extremely careful while selecting the members of His inner circle: His disciples. I mean, none among His disciples was notable in name; they were all commoners; from fishermen, to tax-collectors etc. He didn’t even include any member of His family; having recognized that a prophet isn’t accepted in His home town. For this reason, Jesus was indeed glad when He said this:
“At that time Jesus said, ‘I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.” - Indeed, the children have been termed as being so not based on their physical stature; but based on their humility in terms of mindset. Modern society lacks in such as these; just as it was during the time of Jesus. - Matthew 11:25
Concerning how careful Jesus was in picking His disciples, Matthew 11:15 makes mention of this:
“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” - It is safe to say that no one else on earth knew about the destiny of Jesus Christ except His disciples; not even John the Baptist. This speaks to just how critical it is to keep your matters to yourself; even from family if it calls for such measures. Wonderful destinies can easily be aborted if the right friends aren’t in place. In this case, I think there is a good chance that John the Baptist would have ended up deterring Jesus’ destiny in one way or the other, what do you think?
Anyway, in this sound way, Jesus Christ was able to handle societal expectations of Him: He only trusted in God; the only reasonable source of wisdom for any human being. Through exclusive reliance on God’s wisdom, Jesus Christ was able to speak and act according to God’s (the Father) grand plan for His life. In this way, Jesus got coronated as King of glory; not just in the physical; but also in the Spiritual realm which is in fact the parent reality (the mind) that governs this “brain-child” of a physical reality which we live in. In this way, Jesus is the King of all earthly kings as He gets to hold each one of the into account according to the standard He’s set for leadership: the leadership of servant hood.
Jesus Christ’s earthly experience applies to that of any one else who has come to the point of genuinely seeking meaning in life. At this, the main battle we face while towards this isn’t at all the weightiness of what we desire to achieve but rather; it is the John-the-baptists who we get to interact with from time to time. I mean; it is appreciable that our close relatives and even friends at times usually mean good for us. A good number of them actually want us to obtain the standard package that life in this world is able to offer any person with all things constant. In this case, there is a limit to what any such man can achieve in life; it is locked up underneath the sky as God; who dwells well-above the sky; is rarely involved in the realities that have been set in place by the elemental forces of this world.
All human imaginations have in this case been capped off by the sky; there’s no access to God-level intelligence to the average human being who hasn’t known the ways of Christ. On the other hand, God; who sits within us as an instinctive, still inner voice; is able to restore a whole lot of meaning to our lives. This inner voice usually finds its authority when we interact with the Word of God which is stored up within Scripture. I mean; there’s always something about Scripture that just speaks to who we truly are; Religion and other human doctrine aside.
This kind of meaning doesn’t shake up in the face of society’s perpetual enticement and criticism. Seek to first understand yourself; don’t seek for society to tell you what role you are meant to play within this elemental world. With the first choice, there is genuine inward fulfillment while with the second one; there is only comfort or convenience at best. Convenience in this fading world doesn’t amount to anything in the coming age; nothing at all! God is able to deal with you in the same way that He does it with His own Son; you only need to yield to His wisdom. There’s a whole lot of life and peace in this; I’m telling you!
