The Unexpected Jesus
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8 But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)
Reading through the Bible, I am struck by one interesting pattern: one of the things you can expect from the God of the Bible is that He is an unexpected God.
As we read in Romans 5, Jesus Christ did the unexpected and unfathomable - He died for us before we were “good” or “useful” or “righteous”. His unexpected death is what brings us the opportunity for new life.
When compared to the standards and expectations of the world, God doesn’t just simply fail to meet spec. Rather, God appears to be working from a completely different scorecard. The values of the world are shown to be inadequate when compared to God. So much so, in fact, that the compassionate, slow to anger, merciful, forgiving God of the Bible does not make sense to the world.
God constantly chooses unexpected people, unexpected journeys, and unexpected redemption.
That is what we are reminded of at Easter: Jesus is the solution to the world’s brokenness which no one expected.
Both then and now, the solutions offered by the world to “fix things” include putting yourself first, forcing unity through coercion, and bringing peace through power.
Jesus, instead, modeled for us a life of uncalculating selflessness, unity through the celebration of diversity, and peace through sacrificial love. Jesus’ life, ministry, friendships, death, resurrection, and ascension were drenched in love, saturated in grace, and consistently unexpected.
Because Jesus is the unexpected King. And Easter is the day that celebrates the unanticipated offer of new life with God for all of us.
I would also assert that Jesus needed to be unexpected by virtue of His mission.
Jesus’ mission, both then and now, is to reconcile all of His creation back to Himself. The Mission of God is to heal all brokenness, right every wrong, and eradicate sin and its consequences from the whole of God’s Creation.
If this could be accomplished through traditional, expected means of the world, it would have already been accomplished before Jesus! We see numerous attempts in the Old Testament of the Bible to bring about healing and redemption through the people of God. We also can survey countless attempts throughout human history of kings and rulers seeking to bring peace and stability through the normal methods of empires and kingdoms.
None of it has ever worked.
If Jesus came as a king which the world expected by being like all the other kings of the world, it would have brought about the same results as is always brought about.
In order to truly bring about redemption and initiate the healing work of God’s New Creation, Jesus needed to be a new type of king. Humanity needed something non-traditional and unanticipated.
This is why Jesus time and time again ran into conflicts with rulers and authorities, He didn’t play by the rules of the game of power in the world. He claimed to be a king but didn’t live like a king anyone had seen before.
Where the world expected peace through desolation, Jesus brought peace through sacrifice.
Where the world expected transactional love, Jesus modeled unconditional love.
Where the world expected ladder climbing, Jesus showed us the power of downward mobility.
Where the world expected selfish accumulation, Jesus showed us the freedom of laying everything down.
Where the world expected good news only for the powerful, Jesus brought the Good News to EVERYONE.
Where the world expected life only before death, Jesus brought life after death too.
The Good News of Easter is that Jesus did not do what the world expected. Instead, Jesus offered His life for the world so that the world may find life in HIm.
Jesus died for each and every one of us. And, as we read about in the Gospels in the Bible, things didn’t end there.
Jesus is not only the unexpected King. He is also the King who was resurrected from the dead!
Jesus is the King who died but is not dead. And because He defeated death and sin, Jesus also invites us into a new life, an eternal life, with Him - free from the dominion of death and sin.
This leads us to two important questions:
Will you accept this unexpected Jesus?
And will you reflect that unexpected Jesus to the world?
To accept this unexpected Jesus means to surrender your whole life to Him believing that He will bring total healing in your life as well as incorporating you into His global healing project called “New Creation” work.
What does reflecting an unexpected Jesus look like?
Hospitality to those in need.
Living life with the marginalized and unpowerful.
Giving sacrificially of our time, treasures, and talents.
Sharing the Good News of Jesus, both through loving declaration and faithful demonstration, even in the face of dissent.
Journeying with other Christians in authentic friendships of accountability and love.
Using your skills, time, and resources for the benefit of others rather than simply using them for personal gain.
This Easter may you remember that Jesus was a complete surprise. We have the offer of eternal life because of Jesus’ unexpected defeat of death and sin on that very first Easter.
And maybe, just maybe, if we keep our focus on this unexpected Jesus, we will witness Him do something new, surprising, and unexpected in our world today. Perhaps, that unexpected work will happen through your life.
Yes, Jesus often is not who we expect Him to be. He rarely does what we anticipate Him to do.
And that is Good News. Because that is why we have Easter.
He is risen.
He is risen indeed.
And no one expected that.
