Sunrise Surprise

I. The master of surprise
A. Jesus did and said many, many things. What did they all have in common? They were all surprising. Jesus, from beginning to end, was a fountain of surprises.
B. There is hardly anything He said or did which was NOT surprising. In Matt.4:6 and Luke 4:2 we’re told that after eating nothing for 40 days in the wilderness Jesus was hungry. That’s not surprising, but that’s something said about Him, not something He did or said.
C. Jesus surprised people by:
1. The way He was born. The story of the birth of Jesus is pregnant with surprises. Angels appearing to people, an old barren woman getting pregnant, her husband unable to talk during the period of her pregnancy, a virgin getting pregnant, a baby leaping for joy in his mother’s womb when Jesus, in the womb of Mary, enters the room, the heavens opening up and thousands of angels seen praising God, before a bunch of dirty old shepherds in the middle of the night, the King of Kings born in a stable.
a. As might be expected, when these things keep happening, it leaves a lot of dazzled people standing there in amazement.
(1) When the angel spoke to Mary, Luke.1:29 says, “But Mary was greatly troubled at the angel's statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be.”
(2) When the shepherds spread the news of what they had seen, Luke 2:18-19 says, “And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.”
(3) And after Simeon blessed the baby Jesus in the temple, Luke 2:33 says, “And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him.”
2. What He said
a. Right after Jesus finishes the Sermon on the Mount, the Bible tells us “When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching.” (Matt.7:28)
b. Luke 4:22 “All were...wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips.”
3. The miracles He performed
a. Matt.15:31 “The crowd marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.”
b. Matt.9:33 After the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”
c. After healing a man who was deaf and dumb, Mark 7: 37 tells us that the people “were utterly astonished, saying, ‘He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.’”
d. After healing the paralytic, we are told in Matt.9:8 that “when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.”
4. Who He spent time with: twelve uneducated, unsophisticated disciples — and even women!
5. Who He was kind towards: sinners
6. What and who He got angry at: the “righteous”
7. Things that happened to Him: the transfiguration, etc.
D. He smashed their expectations.
1. The expectations of John the Baptist were so shattered, that the one who had been said to declare that Jesus was the promised one began to wonder if Jesus really was the One.
2. See Lk7:19ff. John sent two of his disciples to Jesus, saying, “Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?” 23 “Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”
E. He even surprised people by the shock of the cross — no one was prepared for it.
F. But perhaps the greatest surprise of all was the resurrection — even though Jesus had said repeatedly that it was going to happen. That first Easter dawn was perhaps the greatest moment of surprise in human history.
1. All four gospels have accounts of what happened that first Easter morning. They’re quite different from one another, though not contradictory. But they do have some things in common, and one of those is that everyone was surprised by the resurrection.
a. The twelve disciples were surprised, the women who visited the tomb were surprised, the guards were surprised, the believing community was surprised.
b. If I would read you the parts of the resurrection story where people are surprised, I would have to read the entire record of the story from all four gospels. Every single episode involves people having their minds blown.
c. Here’s one for illustration: Luke 24:36–41 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling...”
(1) I love that expression: “they disbelieved for joy.”
(2) That’s exactly what it says in the Greek.
(3) It’s not that they thought it wasn’t Him — it’s just that it seemed too good to be true.
G. The surprises continue after the resurrection in His ascension to heaven, in the salvation of the chief of sinners (Saul of Tarsus), etc.
H. The story of Jesus is filled with amazed people. It’s filled with people wondering what’s going on. It’s filled with people trying to figure out who He is, or what He meant, or how He did that.
II. Why does God surprise us?
A. Part of it is that He wants to teach us that we can’t put Him in a box.
1. The Lion of Judah is not a tame lion.
2. We have to let God be God. We can’t expect everything He does to make sense to us.
B. Part of it is that He is amazing.
1. When Gabriel tells Mary about how the Holy Spirit is going to come upon her and she is going to give birth to a son named Jesus who will be called the Son of God, he ends by saying, “For nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37).
2. This is one of God’s favorite things to say, it would seem. He loves to amaze us. He loves to display His glory and power to us. And God loves to hear us say, “Nothing is impossible with God.” He loves for us to live in wonder, to be constantly mindful that, though I can’t see Him, there is a very big God Who is very close.
3. God doesn't want us to figure Him out, He wants us to worship Him. He wants us to learn to trust Him, to know that with Him all things are possible, even when things look hopeless.
C. By the way, the greatest surprises are still to come.
1. The end of history has us with eyes and mouths gaping open.
D. Join with me as we worship and follow this great God of wonders, and His Son, the Master of Surprise.
1. You never know what He’s going to do: a life with Jesus is full of surprises!
2. But You always know it’s going to be good!