What are You Waiting For? (Matthew 1:1-17)
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.
Expectating
My expectations dramatically influenced my experience when I was pregnant with my son. Growing up, I heard my mother tell stories about her pregnancies and deliveries. Then, because I am ten years younger than my sister, I watched my sister get so sick that she almost died while carrying my niece. Intense morning sickness (lasting all day and all nine months) seemed to be the norm for the women in my family. However, both mom and sis delivered two weeks earlier than their due dates, and they had fairly uncomplicated deliveries.
A pleasant surprise
So, when I was sick but not constantly, when I was able to continue working while pregnant, I was ecstatic. My expectations set me up for a pleasant surprise. Things went better than I thought they would.
Then, when the time approached for me to deliver Judah, I didn’t even realize my thought process, but I was totally expecting to go into labor two weeks early. When that day arrived without an appearance from baby, suddenly I got very impatient.
My expectation collided with my actual experience
My expectation collided with my actual experience. I started scrubbing floors, walking miles and miles, anything I had heard would get the process started. Waiting got really, really hard.
The first God’s people hear of the Messiah is in Genesis 3. When sin enters the world after the serpent tempts Eve, God curses the serpent and tells of how the “offspring of the woman” will “bruise his head.” Four to five THOUSAND years before Jesus is born, they start longing and waiting for the Deliverer.
Longing and Waiting…HOW LONG???
That’s worse than an elephant’s gestation period! Throughout Genesis, prophecies reveal more about the Promised One – descendant of Abraham, descendant of Isaac, from the tribe of Judah. Then, prophets throughout the rest of the old testament tell of how he will be born in Bethlehem, born of a virgin, spend a period of time in Egypt, and much more.
Imagine if you are the Israelites hearing of the One who will deliver you…and waiting. Every pregnancy could seem ripe with hope. Will this be the Messiah?
Waiting is hard
Any woman who has been pregnant knows that it is hard to wait for the baby. As the due date gets closer and closer, it feels like time slows down. Repeatedly, the Jewish people go through difficulties and trials and yearn for the Messiah to come.
Many people probably stopped anticipating as the time grew longer and longer. They stopped looking for a Messiah and focused on their day-to-day lives. They grew frustrated. Throughout the old testament, we see the character of God revealed as He extends mercy time and time again to the Israelites while they are impatient and disobedient.
Generations
Matthew 1 details the generations from Abraham to Jesus, each one longing for the Messiah. For centuries, the Israelite people had been waiting, anticipating, expecting. Then, when their hopes are fulfilled, most of them did not even see the Promised One right in front of them. Their expectations for what the Messiah would be like and do collided with what Jesus actually was and did.
What are you waiting for?
What are you waiting for? Are you expecting God to do what He says or have you become impatient, frustrated and focused on your day-to-day life?
I know sometimes I get tired of waiting on God. This Christmas, I want to renew my expectation of the great things God will do. I want to be on the edge of my seat, leaning in, to see what He will do next in my life, in our country, in the world.
Action Step:
Let’s pray today for God to open our eyes to areas where we have become complacent and impatient rather than expectant. Let’s use this advent season to build our expectation for what God will do. He has always been the same. We are the ones who choose not look for Him anymore.
For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. Psalm 86:10 (ESV)
Prayer:
Dear God, open our eyes. Enable us to recognize where we have traded anticipation for frustration, impatience, and complacence. Help us to transform ourselves into people who are expectantly awaiting what You will do next because You are who You have always been – You do great things. In Jesus’ name, amen.