The hope and disappointment of Jesus Christ

For the full context of this post read John 19:19-27.

Are you waiting with anticipation for God to do something marvelous in your life? Or, have you ever been disappointed because the plans that you believed God had in store for you didn’t turn out in the way you had imagined or in the timeline you had planned? Do you have the resolve to continue to serve God when your hopes turn to disappointment? The Gospel of John records an interaction between Jesus, his mother, and John, one of Jesus’s disciples. The interaction is brief, yet full of hope, disappointment, and resolve.

26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home (John 19: 26-27).

Mary was chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus Christ. She watched Jesus grow from infancy into a man. She stored up all of the memories of his childhood and she pondered them in her heart. She watched Jesus teach in the temple, was present for his first miracle, and followed his ministry. She was full of hope for him, for her family, and for herself. Mary watched her son be crucified. Hope disappointed.

John was one of Jesus’s closest friends. He was one of the twelve disciples. He gave up everything that he had for Jesus. He walked with him, ate with him, asked him questions, and loved him. John believed that Jesus was the son of God. He watched Jesus be crucified. Hope disappointed.

Jesus was fully God and fully man. In his deity, he knew that he was sent to earth to become a living sacrifice which would atone for our sins. In his humanness, he didn’t want to endure death on the cross. He loved his friends. He loved his mother. He also knew he would love you and he would love me. In his deity Jesus knew that his crucifixion would soon bring hope. In his humanness, he knew that hope had been disappointed.

In what ways have you been disappointed because the plans that you believed God had in store for you didn’t turn out in the ways you had imagined or in the timelines you had planned? Have you recently lost a loved one? Did you think you’d be married by now? Have you felt like a bystander watching your dreams be shattered and crucified? Have you believed that God has disappointed you, only to realize that your true disappointment was in your hope, the hope that you created, not God? What do you do when hope disappoints?

John took Mary home and cared for her as if she was his own mother. Even with disappointed hope, John resolved to obey Christ. How will you respond when hope disappoints? When your own hope which you created disappoints you, will you be able to trust God, his plans, and his timelines? Will you be able to resolve to continue to obediently follow Christ?