SCRIPTURES: 
Old Testament 
Isaiah 40:1-2, Daniel 2:44, Zephaniah 1:14-15 
New Testament 
Matthew 4:17, Matthew 10:14, Matthew 11:2-6, Matthew 14:3-5, Matthew 16:24-27, Luke 2:25-26, Luke 10:8-12, Luke 24:13-49, Acts 1:6-7, Romans 9:33, Romans 15:8, Hebrews 9:27-28, 1 Peter 4:7, 2 Peter 2:18-19

Tim Miller

Christ/Cross

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<li>Expectation and Disappointment
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<li>expect: “2: to anticipate or look forward to the coming or occurrence of…4 a: to consider probable or certain…b: to consider reasonable, due, or necessary…c: to consider bound in duty or obligated…expect implies a high degree of certainty and usually involves the idea of preparing or envisioning</li>
<li>Disappointment: “to fail to meet the expectation or hope of”</li>
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<li>Israel’s and John’s expectations concerning the restoration of Eden and the kingdom of Israel shaped by centuries of cultivation in the Hebrew Scriptures</li>
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2:25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon who was righteous and devout, looking for the restoration (Gk. paraklēsis; “consolation” [ESV, HCSB, NIV]; “comfort” [CJB]; “deliverance” [NET Bible Notes, Lk. 2:25) of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 2:26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. (Lk. 2:25-26, NET)
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<li>40:1 “Comfort, comfort (LXX. parakaleō, the verb from which paraklēsis [used at Lk. 2:25] is derived) my people,” says your God. 40:2 “Speak kindly to Jerusalem, and tell her that her time of warfare is over, that her punishment is completed. (Is. 40:1-2)</li>
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6Now those who had come together began to ask him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Ac. 1:6-7, ISV)
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<li>“Are you the one who was to come?”
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<li>John’s imprisonment</li>
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3 Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4 for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered him a prophet. (Mt. 14:3-5, NIV)
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<li>John’s struggle</li>
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2 When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” 4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 6 Blessed is the man who does not fall away (Gk. skandalizō; “who takes no offense” [NET]; “who do not stumble in their” [NCV]) on account of me.” (Mt. 11:2-6, NIV)
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<li>The BSL defines skandalizō in this context as “to be appalled &lt;-&gt; trip—to be or become filled with disgust or revulsion for someone (and therefore reject him); conceived of as stumbling and falling (BSL, Mt. 11:6, sv)</li>
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<li>“Look, I am laying in Zion a stone that will cause people to stumble (Gk. petran skandalou; “a stone of stumbling” [YLT]) and a rock that will make them fall, yet the one who believes in him will not be put to shame.” (Rom. 9:33, NET, quoting from Isaiah 8:14 and 28:16)</li>
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<li>Eventually John beheaded in prison (see Mt. 14); not quite the outcome he was expecting</li>
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<li>John was not alone in his disappointment, questions, and struggle
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<li>The two on the road to Emmaus</li>
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13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him. 17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 “What things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” (Lk. 24:13-24, NIV)

THE PAIN OF UNMET EXPECTATIONS

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<li>How do the first coming of the Messiah and the second coming of the Messiah relate to each other? Our answer to the is question directly impacts our expectations; right now there are a lot of disappointed people in the Body of Christ; we need Jesus to give us clarity</li>
<li>Jesus, like John, declares that “the Kingdom of God is at hand”</li>
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17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Mt. 4:17, ESV)
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<li>Jesus means the same thing as John</li>
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8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. (Lk. 10:8-12, NIV)
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<li>14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. 15 I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. (Mt. 10:14, NIV)</li>
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“First-century Jewish hearers would have heard in this proclamation [i.e., Jesus’ proclamation that the ‘kingdom of heaven is at hand’] a warning of the imminent day of judgment.” [bracketed comments mine]
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<li>Jesus explains</li>
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25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. 28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” 33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. 36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”…44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Lk. 24:25-36, 44-49, NIV)
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<li>In light of this, how are we to make sense of Jesus’ proclamation that the “Kingdom of God is at hand”? Different answers have been offered to this question.
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<li>The consistent-but-failed view. According to this view, Jesus’ understanding of the Kingdom of God/Day of the Lord was fully consistent with the hope set forth in the Hebrew Scriptures, and with the general expectation of Jews in Jesus’ day. However, he just missed it. Jesus was a “deluded (if heroic) apocalyptist dreamer.” When the kingdom didn’t come, he had to resort to “plan B” and “sought to force God’s kingdom to come by suffering.”
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<li>Strengths: It is consistent. Takes the historical context seriously. Doesn’t try to explain away the clear Day-of-the-Lord nature of Jesus’ message. Doesn’t try to divest the message of its Jewish elements. OT texts can be read straightforwardly. </li>
<li>Weaknesses: Obviously, marked by serious unbelief, as is common among liberal scholars. Poor Jesus, he just got all excited about being the Messiah, and it got him killed. The cross has no real meaning; simply the place where Jesus’ hopes were dashed. This is very irreverent way of relating to the Messiah’s sufferings, with serious implications (eternal fire)</li>
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<li>The consistent-but-postponed view. According to this view, Jesus’ understanding of the Kingdom of God/Day of the Lord was fully consistent with the hope set forth in the Hebrew Scriptures, and with the general expectation of Jews in Jesus’ day. Jesus did indeed proclaim the Day of the Lord/Kingdom of God to the nation of Israel, but Israel as a whole refused to repent, and so the offer was rescinded and the Kingdom postponed to the future.
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<li>Strengths: It is consistent. Takes the historical context seriously. Doesn’t try to explain away the clear Day-of-the-Lord nature of Jesus’ message. Doesn’t try to divest the message of its Jewish elements. OT texts can be read straightforwardly.</li>
<li>Weaknesses: How are we to understand the cross? What if Israel had in fact repented? Proponents of this view certainly believe in the importance and saving significance of the cross as part of God’s plan, but still a bit confusing.</li>
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<li>The kingdom now view. According to this view, the kingdom of God fully arrived at the first coming, but in a spiritual sense, and advances in triumph throughout the world through the church prior to the return of Christ. The return of Jesus simply crowns the already-accomplished takeover of the world by the kings who make up the church. Some groups might stress advance through things like political reform, others might stress advance through revival.
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<li>Strengths: Acknowledges that something very important happened at the first coming. Acknowledges the greatness of King Jesus, who has all power and all authority as the God-man.</li>
<li>Weaknesses: It is fully inconsistent with the historical context of Jesus’ message, the hope set forth in the Hebrew Scriptures, and with the general expectation of Jews in Jesus’ day. Stripping the Messianic Kingdom of anything Jewish, it redefines the Biblical hope such that it would have been completely unrecognizable to the very people who prophesied it, who suffered for the God who promised it, and who were assigned by God Himself to steward it. Jesus ends up looking like a trickster playing word games with his audience. Also, since the Messiah’s Kingdom is by definition (according to the OT) the time when God resurrects the dead, ends all injustice and suffering, vindicates and rewards the righteous, and punishes His enemies, this view is highly vulnerable to self-righteousness, confusion, wrong expectations, and disillusionment. The constant refrain in the NT for followers of Jesus to endure through sufferings, or to live as pilgrims, makes no sense within this framework. Acknowledges the greatness of Jesus and his power and authority at the Father’s right hand, but misunderstands how the Messiah is using that authority.</li>
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<li>The already/not yet view: On the assumption that the Greek word for kingdom (basileia) primarily means “God’s rule,”  according to this view, Jesus teaches that “God’s rule” is here now partly in a spiritual sense (the “already”), but that it will be consummated at the Second Coming (the “not yet). Jesus’ kingdom was inaugurated in part at the first coming, and will be consummated in fullness at the second coming.
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<li>Strengths: Rightly acknowledges already/not yet realities connected to the first and second comings (e.g., different phases of salvation, firstfruits and harvest of the Spirit, firstfruits and harvest of the resurrection); some measure of consistency maintained between the Kingdom of God/Day of the Lord and the hope set forth in the Hebrew Scriptures, and with the general expectation of Jews in Jesus’ day (i.e., the “not yet”); some versions maintain a role for Israel in the future, thereby allowing more room for a more straightforward reading of OT texts. Acknowledges the greatness of Jesus and his power and authority at the Father’s right hand. There are some versions of this view that in many respects aren’t too far from most of us in the Daniel Training Network would advocate (see below).</li>
<li>Weaknesses: Seems guilty of equivocation at times (i.e., arbitrarily changing of the meaning of a word or phrase). The passages adduced in support of the “already” aspect of the Messiah’s Kingdom don’t actually support this upon close scrutiny (e.g., Mt. 4:17 [“kingdom at hand”]; Mt. 12:28 [“kingdom upon you”]; Lk. 17:21 [“kingdom in your midst”]; the parables) (for more, see Appendix in John’s book Gospel of Christ Crucified; Verbal Complex Charts at <a href="http://www.blessedhope.life">www.blessedhope.life</a>). It is partly (an at times very confusedly) inconsistent with the historical context of Jesus’ message, the hope set forth in the Hebrew Scriptures, and with the general expectation of Jews in Jesus’ day. There are different versions. It redefines the Biblical hope such that it would have been unrecognizable (partly so in some versions, completely so in others) to the very people who prophesied it, who suffered for the God who promised it, and who were assigned by God Himself to steward it. To separate God’s “rule” conceptually from, or to prioritize it over, notions of land inheritance and actual space/domain doesn’t really work; all aspects implied in the others; synecdochic aspects (i.e., parts used to represent of the whole as a figure of speech) are not new to the NT. Also, since the Messiah’s Kingdom is by definition (according to the OT) the time when God resurrects the dead, ends all injustice and suffering, vindicates and rewards the righteous, and punishes His enemies, this view can also be vulnerable to self-righteousness, confusion, wrong expectations, and disillusionment. How much is, or is potentially, “already” (degree)? Or which aspects are “already”? On what basis and by what criteria? The constant refrain in the NT for followers of Jesus to endure through sufferings, or to live as pilgrims, can become a bit schizophrenic within this framework. (How can one be a partial pilgrim when a pilgrim by definition means not living in one’s homeland?) Acknowledges the greatness of Jesus and his power and authority at the Father’s right hand, but confusion around the interpretation of how the Messiah is using that authority. Confuses signs pointing to and confirming the certainty of the future kingdom (miracles not being new the NT anyway), with the arrival of the kingdom itself.</li>
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RELATING THE FIRST AND SECOND COMING

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<li>Jesus, the greatest Prophet (though of course much more than a prophet—the God-Man Himself!) proclaimed the Day of the Lord boldly like the prophets before Him. None of them “missed” it. Nor did the apostles who proclaimed after Jesus.</li>
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19 “What things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. (Lk. 24:19, NIV)
14 “The great day of the Lord is near— near and coming quickly. Listen! The cry on the day of the Lord will be bitter, the shouting of the warrior there. 15 That day will be a day of wrath…(Zeph. 1:14-15a, NIV)
44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. (Dan. 2:44, NIV)
7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. (1 Pt. 4:7, ESV)
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<li>The events of the first coming confirm the reliability of the promised hope, and Gentiles now invited to share in it; this assurance functions to help us endure</li>
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18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. 19 And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it… (2 Pt. 2:18-19, NIV)
8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs 9 so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy (Rm. 15:8, NIV)
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<li>The main revelation: Messianic suffering before glory. The Messiah uses His power in this age to strengthen us through suffering, in hope of His coming Kingdom.</li>
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27 And just as surely as it is appointed for people to die once, and after this to face judgment, 28 so too the Messiah, having been offered in sacrifice once for all time to “bear the sins of many,” will appear a second time, not for the purpose of atoning for sin, but to bring salvation to those who are so eagerly waiting for him. (Heb. 9:27-28, BHT)
“Standard Jewish messianic concepts did not accommodate a suffering Messiah (most Jewish references to that idea are from the second century or later). Although Jesus saw this idea in the Scriptures (24:44–46), Jewish tradition’s different way of reading the Bible (normally passages about suffering were not applied to the expected triumphant Messiah) makes it difficult for the disciples to fit their belief in Jesus as the Messiah with the plain words he speaks.”
“Some later rabbis said that a Messiah would suffer and spoke of two Messiahs, one who would suffer and one who would reign, but the Christians seem to have been the first to proclaim the concept of a suffering Messiah.”
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<li>Setting our Eyes on the Prize</li>
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24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me… 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. (Mt. 16:24, 27 NIV)
6 Blessed is the man who does not fall away (Gk. skandalizō; “who takes no offense” [NET]; “who do not stumble in their” [NCV]) on account of me.” (Mt. 11:2-6, NIV)

THE CONSISTENT PROPHETIC VIEW

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In Matthew 11, John the Baptizer sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus, 
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