EASTER: “WE HAD HOPED…” --Luke 24:13-35
On a Sunday, about 2000 years ago, 2 disciples were walking down the road. It might have been 2 men, or a man and wife. They were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus, about 7 miles. It was a walk of despair, for their hopes and dreams were gone.
Read Luke 24:13-24.
Everything they were feeling was in that one statement: “We had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.”
WE HAD HOPED…
How many of us haven’t said something like that: We had hoped…
We had hoped the child would live, the marriage would survive, the loved one would be healed.
We had hoped the headaches would go away, the stress would fade, the load would be lifted.
We had hoped the business would do well, or the new boss would be better.
We had hoped the Easter bunny would have delivered a bigger nest egg for retirement.
We had hoped the world would find peace and prosperity for all, and worries would be gone.
We had hoped the kids would be more settled, and we could relax and enjoy life.
We had hoped that these years would be the good years, the years we dreamed about.
“We had hoped…,” they said, but their hope was dead. They had pinned their hopes on a prophet named Jesus, but he was dead—killed on Friday, by the most horrid method known to humanity.
And on this Sunday morning, they are going back to their dull, lifeless, too-routine lives.
But Jesus doesn’t want that to happen!—not to them, and not to us! Jesus wants to keep the door of hope open, so he joins them—there, on their journey of hopelessness.
JESUS OPENED THE CONVERSATION
(verse 17) “He asked them, ‘What are you discussing together as you walk along?’ They stood still, their faces downcast.”
Jesus already knew what they were discussing! But he wants in—he wants them to open up to him.
I wonder whether this morning, Jesus would say to us, “Let’s talk.” Let’s talk about the crisis that fills your thoughts, so you can hardly think about anything else. Let’s talk about the emotions you don’t even share with your wife. Let’s talk about the fear, the bitterness, the shame, the doubt.
When Jesus asked, “What are you discussing?...They stood still, with a sad look on their faces.”
They assumed that the man talking with them was uninformed about the crucifixion, so they told him what had happened. Jesus just let them talk:
“One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, ‘Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?’ ‘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. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 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.’”
Their answer revealed a lot about their expectations of Jesus, and about their faith in God. They knew Jesus as a man from Nazareth, a prophet, with amazing words and deeds. But they had hoped he was more than just a prophet. They had hoped he was the promised Messiah, the ruler who would redeem Israel. They may have been looking for a Messiah who would drive out the Roman oppressors, and rescue God’s chosen people from a life of poverty and struggle.
They thought Jesus might be the one who would redeem Israel. When he healed the sick, cast out the forces of evil, they believed in the God who saves. When he took on the pompous Pharisees, and taught the people with such wisdom and grace, they saw a true prophet. When he talked of the kingdom of God, they thought he must be planning to re-establish the throne of David.
But now he was dead—dead at the hands of the Romans, dead by the scheming of religious authorities. “We had hoped…”—but those hopes died with him.
“We had hoped…” We—you and I—had hoped that the world would be fixed by now…that science and technological progress would have overcome disease, poverty, and injustice. We had hoped that people would be better: our families, our heroes, our leaders, our friends. We had hoped that we would be better, even while we know our failings.
Jesus is listening, as we tell him our hopes and dreams.
After the 2 disciples shared their dashed hopes, Jesus shared the depths of God’s plan for salvation.
JESUS OPENED THE SCRIPTURES.
Read Luke 24:25-27.
I wonder what Jesus said to them about the Messiah.
Maybe he started at the beginning: How Adam and Eve lived in perfect harmony with God and the world, until their sin forced them out of the garden, into a world of pain and suffering. I suppose he talked about God’s covenant with Abraham, promising to bless all people through him and his family. I suppose he talked about the strife in Abraham’s family, and how they ended up as slaves in Egypt. I suppose he talked about how God REDEEMED his people from slavery, saving them by the blood of a lamb, bringing them through the sea, and feeding them in the wilderness. Perhaps he talked about the Messiah as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
I suppose Jesus talked about kings of Israel, and God’s promise to David of a Messianic king, who would rule forever. I suppose he talked about the prophets, and how Israel had killed the prophets who spoke for God.
I imagine he spoke of the servant songs of Isaiah 42-53, which prophesied that the Messiah, representing God’s chosen people, would suffer. I imagine he quoted from Isaiah 53:3-12, “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain….Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering…But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed…After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
Perhaps he spoke to them of the greatest messianic hope of the Old Testament, as stated in Psalm 16:9-11, “Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
As Jesus spoke, the lights were coming on. As they said later, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
When Jesus is with us, the Holy Spirit opens up the Bible for us. We understand how sin and evil have corrupted the world, leading to pain and alienation and confusion—globally as well as personally. We understand the continued failure of God’s people, including ourselves, and we long for salvation: forgiveness, righteousness, and justice. We understand that to fix all that is wrong, the Son of God entered the world, to suffer and die, and then rise to life, defeating sin and evil and death itself.
We understand that Jesus died as the Lamb of God, the atoning sacrifice to take away the sin of the world. We understand that Jesus is the true prophet, who speaks the authority of God. We understand that Jesus is the true king, who brought the firstfruits of the kingdom to earth, and will come again to reign forever in a kingdom of righteous, peace and joy.
We understand all that, because we have the rest of the story, the New Testament!
But this morning, even as we understand all that, we still say, “We had hoped…” We had hoped that sin would be gone, evil eliminated, and righteousness established. We had hoped that our world would be set right.
Understanding is not enough. Even while the lights came on, they were still thinking, “What difference does it make? Jesus is dead. We had hoped he would be the Redeemer.”
Jesus had opened the conversation, and he had opened the Scriptures. One more thing was necessary:
JESUS OPENED THEIR EYES.
Read Luke 24:28-32.
Why hadn’t they recognized him? Were his nail-scarred hands hidden beneath his robe? Were they not close enough to him to be familiar with his voice? Or was it something else?
Why is it, that when we need Jesus most, it may be the hardest to recognize him. We wallow in disappointment, self-pity, even panic. We are so busy, with so many things on our minds, that it hard for us to listen for the Spirit of Christ. We are so focused on what we need to do to fix our problems and make things right, that we don’t recognize Jesus with us.
That’s human nature, I suppose. The 2 disciples were so focused on putting their lives back together, that they didn’t recognize Jesus right next to them.
Yet they did one thing right: They invited him to stay with them. Was it simply hospitality to a guest, or was there something more? Was there something they couldn’t quite pin down, a feeling they couldn’t shake?
They put together a simple supper. He sat with them, and gave the blessing. And as he looked toward heaven, and broke the bread, they saw! Was it his nail-scarred hands, his eyes, the peace in his face, or something more?
“It is Jesus! He is alive!!!” The hope he was describing was not just words; it had substance. The missing piece of God’s plan of redemption is in place: He is not dead, he is alive!
Just like that, he’s gone. At once, they are out the door, no longer tired, as they race the 7 miles to Jerusalem.
By the time they arrive, the resurrection is old news, for Peter has also seen Jesus. While they are all still talking, Jesus appears, saying, “Look at my hands and feet. Touch me and see.” He eats some broiled fish, revealing that his resurrected body is more real than ever! (Yes, Jesus’ spiritual body was more, not less, as he passed through the wall as if they were only vapor.)
Cleopas and his companion listened, as Jesus filled in the disciples: Read Luke 24:44-49.
Jesus is alive, and because Jesus lives, hope is alive.
“We had hoped…”
We all have hopes—hopes that might seem unfulfilled at times. When we do…
…Jesus opens the conversation. “We need to talk,” he says. We need to talk about your life—your false expectations, your obsession with your own wants and needs, and your doubts and fears.
…Jesus opens the Scriptures. Maybe your knowledge is limited to a few stories: Moses, David, Daniel, Jonah. Maybe the story is too familiar; you know all the stories, without really understanding. Maybe, like me, you are sometimes “slow of heart”—slow to see the connection between the plan of God and your reality and hopes.
…Jesus opens eyes to see him as the risen Lord. It would be nice to see him break bread and see him eat fish, but we don’t have that.
Here’s what we do have: 2 disciples who had lost all hope, against all expectation met Jesus alive on the road. Their story rings true, because it is honest about their struggle to see and believe.
Other accounts in the gospels also ring true: Women as witnesses, the suspense of the empty tomb, and the initial doubt of the apostles, who tell the story. The fact that the apostles needed to have Scriptures explained to them. The change from a defeated few to people who would die for Christ.
Did Jesus rise from the dead, or didn’t he? No question is more important!
If he did not, there is no real hope for the world, or for us.
As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:14, “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”
But if Jesus is alive, our hope is alive. 1 Peter 1:3 says, “He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
It’s Easter…and Jesus (through his Spirit) meets us today—Where are you on your journey?
Are you just beginning a conversation with Jesus? That’s OK; open up where you are in real life.
Are you opening the Scriptures? Come back next week, and open your Bible on your own as well.
Are your eyes being opened, even today? Today, you can experience the joy those 2 people knew:
Jesus is alive, and that makes hope come alive!
