He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. (Matthew 28:6, ESV)
The women thought they would find Jesus in the tomb. But he was not there. The tomb was empty. The angel invites them to see for themselves. It was an unexpected surprise.
Back at Christmastime, we sang the song, “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.” But I don’t think that Jesus was who anyone expected him to be. Jesus was full of surprises. No one expected him to be born in a stable or grow up in Nazareth. No one expected him to die on the cross and not fight back. But the resurrection is the biggest surprise of them all.
The ironic thing was that he had told his followers he would rise again. Somehow they missed it, or they did not believe it. Whichever the case, the point was that they had different expectations for Jesus than Jesus had intentions.
We easily fall into the trap of seeing Jesus as we expect him to be rather than as he reveals himself. If we read the Bible, Jesus is often more radical than we picture. He demands more of those who would follow him than we would like to believe. But he is more grace-filled towards the broken than we ever hope. In a simple way – Jesus is more than we could ever expect. He is unexpected Jesus.
Susan Fall says
I really enjoy reading and meditating on the reflections you write. Thank you for doing this important work for the Lord.