Savior Beyond Expectations
December 7, 2025
Dr. Paul Cannings
“Sometimes Christmas gifts are real surprises. Maybe you’ve had that experience. When I was a kid, I wanted a basketball so badly I could scream. I dropped every hint imaginable. I even made prank phone calls to my mother in a disguised voice, telling her that her son really needed a basketball. I researched the cheapest prices and left them on the breakfast table—anything to get my point across.
Finally, a box appeared under the Christmas tree that looked exactly the size of a basketball. I was ecstatic. I could practically feel myself making shots with it. Christmas morning came, and I tore into that package—only to find a world globe. Have you ever tried to dribble a globe? You can’t even inflate the thing. It was an unbelievable surprise, nothing like what I expected.”
(Chuck Swindoll)
Jesus was a surprise to the Jews. He didn’t come wrapped in the gift paper they expected. At one point they even asked, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?” (Matthew 13:54–55). And again, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?” (John 6:42). Because He did not match their expectations, He was rejected in favor of a Messiah who has yet to come.
The world today still wants a god of its own design—a god who loves everybody on equal terms, puts all the “nice” people in heaven and only the extremely wicked in hell, prevents all suffering for good people, and blesses everyone who behaves well. When God acts differently than their expectations, He becomes a surprise—and is rejected.
Yet Scripture tells us about a man named Simeon:
“And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him… then he took Him into his arms and blessed God, and said… ‘For my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.’” (Luke 2:25–35)
The natural eye saw only a carpenter’s son, a baby born to poor parents. But a life guided by the Holy Spirit—in the midst of a busy temple—saw the promised Christ (Luke 2:25–35; 1 Corinthians 2:10–15). One group was surprised by the great things Jesus said and did; Simeon was excited about a baby who had yet to do anything.
It is impossible for the world to truly see Jesus, no matter how great His works (2 Corinthians 4:4). This is why believers should not wait for the world to understand or appreciate Christ. Instead, like Simeon and Anna (Luke 2:36–38), we rejoice because this season reminds us of the hope of His future coming.