Great Expectations - Benedict Allmand-Smith

Date: Sunday 22nd June 2025

Location: Trinity Baptist Church Charlesworth

Title:  Great Expectations

Text: 2 Kings 5:1-15

Please listen to the audio of Benedict's sermon below:

https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermons/623251723354475

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Great Expectations: When God Rewrites the Script

In this sermon, there is a challenge to a worldly understanding of ‘great expectations’. Drawing from 2 Kings 5 and the story of Naaman, a powerful Syrian commander, the message confronts how worldly success means so little in the shadow of deeper spiritual need.

Naaman had everything – status, wealth, popularity – but one devastating problem: leprosy. Just as leprosy marked and ruined Naaman physically, sin infects every one of us spiritually. We may dress it up with career success or social status, but sin still renders us “unclean” before God. Like Naaman, we may have “great” earthly prospects, but spiritually, we face a grim future without forgiveness.

Leprosy in the Bible symbolised the isolating, destructive nature of sin. Leviticus 13 shows how it made people ceremonially unclean, excluded from the presence of God. Sin does the same – cutting us off from the holy God. It’s not just about feeling guilty or acting selfishly. It’s about being under God’s just judgment. “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?”

1. Bad Expectations

Naaman's worldly status is impressive – he's successful, influential, and admired. But his condition ruins it all. This picture forces us to ask: are we chasing things that look fulfilling but leave us spiritually bankrupt?

Naaman’s leprosy represents sin: something that separates us from God and poisons life. Even with all his accolades, Naaman is still unclean. So are we, if we remain in our sin, and sin brings not only guilt but misery. We may look good on the outside, but if we ignore the spiritual problem, our expectations for the future are truly bad.

2. The King’s Expectations Disappointed

When Naaman approaches the King of Israel for healing, the king panics. He’s powerless. This shows how earthly powers and human wisdom can’t solve the problem of sin. Whether it’s self-help, politics, or religion without Christ, these approaches offer no real cure – only surface-level comfort.

Today, many offer “solutions” to our deepest issues without mentioning sin. But if sin is the root problem, nothing less than God’s intervention can help. Let us not be fooled by worldly expectations – they will disappoint when it matters most.

3. Naaman’s Expectations Disappointed

Naaman expects a grand gesture, a dramatic healing. Instead, Elisha sends a message: wash in the Jordan River. Naaman is offended – both by the messenger and the method.

This reflects many people’s response to the gospel. They want God on their own terms, not through repentance and faith in a crucified Saviour. But God’s way is not about spectacle –

it’s about humility and obedience. Naaman’s eventual submission is a model for us: don’t let pride keep you from the cleansing only God offers.

4. Naaman’s Expectations Exceeded

When Naaman humbles himself and obeys, he is healed – not just physically, but spiritually. His skin becomes like a child’s, and his heart turns to the true God. This is grace: beyond all expectations, God restores and renews.

The Jordan River becomes a symbol of salvation – a washing away of sin, a passage into new life. Only through repentance and the blood of Christ can we be cleansed. Like Naaman, we must not stand on the bank. We must step into the river – into the sacrifice of Christ – by faith and be made whole