I. INTRODUCTION
A. Every person's life has its disappointments. Because no one has every expectation fulfilled, we must all learn how to overcome disappointments.
B. Perhaps the greatest disappointment of all time occurred among the disciples of Jesus in the hours leading to and following His crucifixion.
1. The disciples of Jesus were utterly devastated by the quick arrest, trial, and crucifixion of their Master. These events completely disappointed all of their expectations concerning Jesus.
2. This disappointment can be summarized in the words of the disciple Cleopas, who said, "But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel" (Luke 24:21).
C. Presently, let us consider the disappointment of these disciples and learn how to recover from our own disappointments by seeing how they recovered.
II. OVERCOMING THE GREATEST DISAPPOINTMENT OF ALL TIME
A. The expectation of the disciples of Jesus was that He had come to establish His kingdom on the earth.
1. This is indicated by the words of Cleopas noted above, but there are other indications as well.
a. In Luke 19:11, the Scripture says that as Jesus approached Jerusalem in the days before His crucifixion, His followers "supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately."
b. Christ's disciples were prepared to fight for the Lord as if His kingdom would be won in battle as most earthly kingdoms are (Luke 22:38, 49-50).
c. Even after Christ's resurrection, in Acts 1:6 the apostles asked Him, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?"
2. Of course, Jesus did not come for an earthly kingdom, and the disciples' expectations were false.
a. In John 18:36, Jesus explained to Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm."
b. The Lord took His throne and began to reign when He ascended to heaven (Acts 2:29-36), and He will not set foot on the earth again (Acts 1:11; 1Thess. 4:17).
c. Thus, the kingdom is now in existence, but it is not an earthly kingdom (Matt. 16:28; Luke 17:20-21; Col. 1:13; Heb. 12:28).
B. Jesus had predicted both His crucifixion and His resurrection, but the disciples' false expectations apparently prevented them from understanding His words.
1. When Jesus began showing His disciples that "He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day," Peter said, "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to you" (Matt. 16:21-23).
2. As Jesus continued to teach these things, the apostles were "deeply grieved" and did not understand Him (Matt. 17:22-23; Mark 9:31-32). Notice Luke 9:43-45:
And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples, "Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men." But they did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.
C. When at last the Lord was crucified, His disciples' hopes were crushed.
1. Consider the experiences of the Lord's apostles in those historic events.
a. One of their own number betrayed their Master for thirty pieces of silver (Matt. 26:14-16, 47-50; Acts 1:16-17).
b. The corrupt Jewish leadership, whom Jesus had rebuked many times, had apparently triumphed over their Lord.
c. The people were so fickle that they hailed Jesus as He entered Jerusalem, and then a few days later they cried out for Pilate to crucify Him (Matt. 21:8-11; 27:15-25).
d. The Lord's trials were completely unjust, for no true charges and no evidence were brought against Him. Pilate even declared that there was no guilt in Him, yet he sentenced Jesus to die on the cross (John 18:38; 19:4, 6, 16).
e. Peter even denied the Lord three times, and the other apostles fled as well (Matt. 26:69-75).
f. Ultimately, Jesus, whom the disciples had loved dearly, was brutally abused and put to death by crucifixion (Matt. 27:26-50).
2. These experiences had taken the disciples of Jesus from an excited confidence for God's coming kingdom to a state of despair and confusion (Mark 16:10).
D. When at last the disciples turned their minds to believing the truth about Jesus, their despair turned to joy and potent resolve.
1. When Mary Magdalene and the other Mary discovered the empty tomb and heard the angel's message of Christ's resurrection that ran with joy to report it to His apostles (Matt. 28:1-8).
2. Peter and John ran to the empty tomb when they heard the news, yet the apostles still did not understand or fully believe in His resurrection (Mark 16:11-14; Luke 24:11-12; John 20:3-10).
3. When Jesus appeared to them, "the disciples therefore rejoiced when they saw the Lord" (John 20:20). When Thomas finally saw Him, he said, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28).
4. Over the course of forty days, Jesus presented Himself to the apostles and prepared them for their mission (Acts 1:3-8). By the time He ascended into heaven and sent the Holy Spirit, the apostles had been transformed from a disappointed, despondent, confused group of men into the champions of the gospel of Christ who would change the world with their testimony of Christ's resurrection. No longer were they expecting a worldly kingdom, but they were preaching the truth of the spiritual kingdom of Christ.
III. CONCLUSION -- THE SOLUTION FOR YOUR DISAPPOINTMENT IS THE SAME
A. Disappointment in this world comes in many forms.
1. You may expect to always have good circumstances in this life only to be disappointed. Loss of health, loss of employment, tragedies and accidents, failures, age, and death are just a few of the factors that can lead to disappointment.
2. You may have high expectations for others only to be disappointed. "No one is good except God alone" (Mark 10:18), so any man, woman, or child can fall short of your expectations.
3. You may have high expectations for yourself only to be disappointed. One of the most disappointed persons in the events we have considered in this lesson was Peter, for he was certain he would never forsake Jesus, and then he failed just a few hours later (Matt. 26:31-35, 69-75).
4. Like the apostles, many disappointments come from false expectations. We create these ourselves and have no one else to blame when we are disappointed.
B. How you handle disappointment will determine whether you will overcome it.
1. Your disappointments may cause you to become despondent, depressed, and disinterested. You may give up, quit, and allow disappointment to consume you.
2. However, if you want to overcome disappointment, then you will have to persevere. If your expectations are disappointed, then set new, truthful, and reasonable expectations and start over.
C. The right way to handle disappointment is to set your mind on the Lord Jesus, and your despair will turn to joy and resolve.
1. The disappointed disciples of Jesus emerged from their despair when they believed in their resurrected Lord. We can do the same.
2. Do not discount this solution. You may think that your situation is different, but it is not.
a. The cause of the apostles' disappointment was the death of Jesus. Naturally, they overcame their disappointment when they saw Jesus alive again. Their false expectations of the kingdom were replaced with the truth of Christ's spiritual kingdom.
b. However, your disappointment is not about the death of Jesus. How can belief in Him help you to overcome you disappointments? Consider Colossians 3:1-4:
Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
c. Genuine faith in Christ is the answer to all disappointment because it surpasses every concern of this world. "For the Scripture says, 'Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed'" (Rom. 10:11).