The Lord of the “Letdowns”

Did Jesus ever experience “letdowns?” Since He was tested the same way that we are (Hebrews 4:15), we know that Jesus had to deal with disappointments, frustrations, and “letdowns.”

As we learned in a recent message, one of the biggest “letdowns” had to be the Triumphal Entry. Prophecies from Daniel 9 and Zechariah 9 were fulfilled as Jesus rode a donkey – that had never been ridden before – into Jerusalem! The people carpeted the way with branches and coats. They shouted “Hosanna!” (or “save now”) quoting from Psalm 118:25-26. It was a glorious celebration, followed by what we could only be described as a “letdown:”

“And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.” (Mark 11:11)

Rather than a coronation, the celebration ended with Jesus “looking around.” You see, He is Lord, even in the “letdowns.”Why would the Lord God allow this to happen? When you stop to think about it, you realize that this theme runs throughout the Scriptures:

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Why would the Lord allow His perfect, beautiful creation to be poisoned by Satan – so that almost every human being who ever lived would have his rotting corpse buried in the earth?

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Why would the Lord command His servant, Abraham, to sacrifice his son, Isaac, and burn him as a living sacrifice – and only stop him moments before he plunged the knife into his promised son? (Hint: read Hebrews 11:17-19)

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Why would He give fantastic visions to his servant, Joseph, and then bury those hopes and dreams in Egypt?

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Why would the Lord anoint His servant, David, as king of Israel, and then allow murderous, hateful people to chase him all over Judea?

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Why would the Lord allow the Triumphal Entry of His One and only Son to fizzle into a “look around?”

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Why does the Lord allow His servants to experience frustrations and failures?All of these are illustrated by something that gardeners and farmers do every year: put seed into the ground. When you place the seed into the soil, do you call that a “burial” or a “planting?”

To understand more about the “letdowns,” listen to the message: The Blessing of the Kingdom.

God the Father put the Seed of the woman, the Seed of Abraham, the hope of Joseph, the Son of David, into the hands of murderous men, who killed Him and placed Him in a borrowed tomb. But He rose again! Now the resurrected Lord does not bury His children in a “letdown;” He has planted us to bring forth lasting fruit for Him (John 15:16). And “the rhythms of the Resurrection” resound throughout the Scripture to keep us looking up, even in the midst of “letdowns.”

In preparation for the coming coronation of the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Lord is still “looking around” today. What does He see when He looks upon your heart? Hanani, the seer, once told Asa the king (2 Chronicles 16:9), “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him.” Even in your “letdowns” when Jesus is “looking around,” let Him find a heart in you that crowns Him as King. Greet Him each day with a coronation, not frustration. For you see, the Lord of the “letdowns” is the Lord of the Resurrection.

– Pastor Gordon Dickson