Jjesus Lived Up To The "Hype" And Became Our Hope

What Did Jesus Do?

“...everything that John [the Baptist] said about this man was true.”
John 10.41

I met my good friend Steve for lunch yesterday. While we waited for someone else who was to join us we perused the menu. My eyes wandered down to the list of sandwiches where I saw they had Reubens. I like Reuben sandwiches, good Reuben sandwiches that live up to all the hype in the menu's description: “succulent, lean corned beef piled high, a layer of tangy sauerkraut, topped with aged Swiss cheese and our delicious Russian dressing, all served on scrumptious grilled dark rye bread.” I remarked that the Cracker Barrel (where we met for lunch) made a pretty good Reuben, that came pretty close to living up to expectations. A month ago I had a Reuben at Fatz Cafe that was a real disappointment. As I reflected on my history of taste buds satisfied and disappointed I declared, “You know the old Howard Johnson's Restaurants made the best Reubens.” To which Steve replied, “Yes! They were the best. Are there any Howard Johnson's anymore?” The answer to that very important question is, “Maybe.” Checking on the web I found a posting from January 22, 2007 which reported that at that time there were only three Hojos left, and in fact they had nothing to do with the Howard Johnson's corporate enterprise anymore, which now only operates motels (Sorry, Steve).

My musing about Reubens, and tale of disappointment at Fatz prompted Steve to share about his esteem for Philly Cheesesteaks. One can have a myriad of different experiences, most of them bitter let-downs, when sampling the many sandwiches that claim to be Philly Cheesesteaks. I started laughing, and Steve asked what was so funny, about him so often having to settle for something called a Philly Cheesteak that was nothing remotely like a Philly Cheesesteak. I couldn't help but laugh because just last week I past a sign at a little country convenience store proudly proclaiming on the whiteboard out front “Best Philly Cheesesteaks in McDowell County,” about five miles from our home out here in the Western North Carolina mountains. What was so funny was that the owner of the store is not likely to have ever been within ten miles of a real Philly Cheesteak sandwich, but since the competition over best Philly Cheesesteak in McDowell County is not all that intense, he may not have been over-hyping his creation.

You may be wondering what all this rambling has to do with Jesus, and I don't blame you. By the end of the last paragraph I was starting to lose interest myself. But here's the thing, the world is full of Reubens, and Philly Cheesteaks, and the next Mickey Mantles that all fall far short of their hype. Many of the sandwiches might not be all that bad, but they simply are nowhere near as good as their claims and descriptions. And there have been some pretty good ball players, who have had nice careers, but never come close to the early assessment that they would be the next Mantle (the late Bobby Murcer, for one, comes to mind). Most of us have come to be suspicious about all the hype we hear every day. And with good reason.

Some two millenia ago the people of Israel had been hearing about the coming Messiah for generations. No few hopes and expectations had been dashed and disappointed along the way between the reign of King David and the time of Herod. Many still looked anxiously for the coming of the Christ, which had been predicted in Scripture and foretold by the prophets. Many others had become somewhat doubtful that the prophecies would ever be fulfilled, while still others had come to believe in what amounted to a lot of baseless hype about the Messiah. Into the midst of all the hope and hype about the coming of God's Anointed One stepped John the Baptist, with his call to “Prepare the way of the Lord” (Luke 3.4), and his warning to repent in preparation for the arrival of one “mightier” than he (Matthew 3.11), and his declaration that the one whom he had baptized, and upon whom he had seen the Holy Spirit descend like a dove, was indeed “the Son of God” (John 1.32-34). Many refused to listen to John. There were even people who actually met Jesus, heard his words, witnessed his works, yet refused to believe the testimony of their own ears and eyes.

But many, who had certainly been aided by the Holy Spirit, reflected upon all that John had said, about Jesus, which, I grant you, probably sounded at the time like a lot of hype, and they had to admit that Jesus had done all that John had prophesied that he would. And these followed Jesus when he left Jerusalem for a short time and removed himself to the region where John had originally been baptizing on the far bank of the Jordan (John 10.41). The ones who acknowledged that Jesus had lived up to John's “hype” exchanged the hype for hope, and became believers (John 10.42).

In our world full of jaded people who have been burned many times by hype, we do well not to try and “sell” Jesus with lots of hype, but rather share him, and explain how we have traded in all the world's hype for the certain hope that Jesus has lived up to all that has been said about him. In fact, he has accomplished, and is accomplishing still, far more than we could ever ask for or imagine (see Ephesians 3.20). In sharp contrast to all the disappointing Reubens, and Philly Cheesesteak wanna-bes, and very good but not great Bobby Murcers, Jesus has exceeded all the “hype” and has become our one hope.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4