Old expectations
My name is Philip; my friends call me Pip. My heritage is Jewish; my name is Greek. My hopes are old; my anguish is not. Such is life in Bethsaida of Galilee under Roman oppression. While we wait for the hand of God, we experience the fist of Caesar. The promises of Moses seem so distant. God has been silent for a long time. How many hearts have grown cold waiting for the deliverer? We try to live with our hopes up, the reality is we live with low expectations. With each passing generation there is less to kindle hopes fires.
Follow me
That’s what the stranger said to me. Amazing how two simple words can turn one’s world upside down. A simple carpenter. A simple command. I followed. How could I not? This was the one Moses wrote about. Jesus, son of Joseph from Nazareth. He came to Galilee and found me! I found my friend Nathanael and told him about Jesus. He was skeptical but he followed too. Somehow Jesus knew Nathanael before He met him. Jesus promised we would see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. Here were some sparks to kindle hope’s fires.
Watch me
Water into wine. Cleansing of the temple. Healing the ill. Healing the lame. I was amazed at what Jesus could do, yet I didn’t completely comprehend. My test came by the sea of Tiberias. A multitude followed Jesus. He looked on the crowd with sympathy. He looked to me and asked how we could feed them. I relied on my own logic when Jesus wanted me to exercise faith. How quickly one forgets what Jesus is capable of doing. Jesus turned a little boys lunch into a feast for thousands. Some things logic can’t explain. My faith needed maturing. My expectations needed raising.
Imitate Me
It was one thing to witness the authority of Jesus. Exercising it was entirely different. The day came when Jesus called us twelve together and gave us the authority to cast out evil spirits and heal every kind of disease and illness. We preached that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. The sick were healed. The dead were raised. Lepers were cured and demons were cast out. Sinners repented. Roman oppression cannot touch the Kingdom of Heaven. Unlike the hand of God, Caesar’s reach is limited.
Show us
Three years with Jesus and I still had more to learn. Jesus was teaching us about a home He was going to prepare for us. He was teaching us about the Father. Words I wasn’t comprehending. I wanted something tangible. “Lord, show us the Father,” I said. “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know Me, Philip? Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father.” Jesus had shown us the Father for three years. I didn’t recognize the tangible. No wonder I didn’t comprehend the words.
Exceed Me
Jesus was going back to the Father. He was going to send the Holy Spirit. The command to follow now gave way to the promise of exceeding. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in Me, will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” Jesus came to Galilee and found me. He called me to follow Him. I abandoned everything in obedience. I wasn’t quick to grasp the significance of His teachings. Who was? Walking with God on a daily basis takes some getting used to. So do great expectations. With the Holy Spirit indwelling us, hopes fire will burn perpetually.
New reality
As impressive as the physical miracles are, they cannot compare to those in the spiritual realm. God took this Jew with a Greek name and used him to help convert the Gentiles. Stone hearts were made alive. Sinners were turned into worshipers. Amazing what happens when you follow a carpenter. Humbling when old expectations become new realities. Jesus came to your Galilee and found you. He gave you the simple command, “Follow me.” God has the greatest expectations of you. He has equipped you to do the greatest work. May He find us faithful to the calling.
“Whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” – John 14:13-14
“I found myself with a perseverance worthy of a much better cause.” Charles Dickens, Great Expectations