Take An Easter Walk With Jesus

What are some world-famous walks or hikes? The first one that probably comes to mind is the one that is in our neighborhood: a hike into the Grand Canyon. Another famous walk is the Inca Trail in Peru to the ruins of Machu Picchu. Still another walk on many people’s bucket list is the trek to the Mt. Everest Base Camp. It’s the scenery that makes each one of these walks famous. But a walk can also be memorable because your travel companion is so agreeable. If your spouse or a grandchild is with you, even a walk around the block can lift your spirits as much as a hike into the Grand Canyon can.

We’re going to look at one such walk in our devotion together. The walk was seven miles long, about the distance from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon down to the river, or from here to your friend’s house in Fort Valley. The scenery on the walk we’ll discuss isn’t particularly stunning, but an unexpected traveling companion made all the difference for two disciples who made the journey. Come, let’s take an Easter walk with Jesus and leave bitter disappointment and find joyous understanding. We’ll learn about this walk from the perspective of one of the travellers named Cleopas. (The sermon now continues from Cleopas’s first-person perspective.)

When’s the last time you had such a bad day that you wanted to run away from it all? A friend of mine, a fellow follower of Jesus, and I thought we were having one of those very bad times in our life on Easter Sunday. I know, I know. This is the day on which Jesus rose from the dead. It’s the greatest day in the history of mankind! And what did we do? Skip town—like what I bet some of you do when you leave the ballgame in the 8th inning because your team is down 10 runs and there seems to be no hope for a comeback.

Everything we expected of Jesus—all the hope he had given us of being the Messiah—the one who would free us from Roman occupation—all that was dashed when he was crucified. How can I get you to understand how we felt? Maybe a friend recommended a restaurant at which you spent quite of bit a money, but you walked away disappointed at the quality of the food and the service. Or maybe you took a job that seemed to be a great fit, but it turned out to be a nightmare. After waiting for hundreds of years for God to send the Messiah, we thought Jesus was the one. The events of Palm Sunday with many cheering Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem seemed to confirm our belief. But by the end of the week, Jesus was dead…and so was our joy.

What expectations do you have about Jesus? Do you expect him to make it possible for you to take a couple of vacations every year? Do you expect that he’ll open the eyes of your coworkers and friends to what a genius you are so that everyone will finally listen to you? Do you expect that he’ll cure your arthritis and your bad back? While Jesus can do any of those things as easily as you and I can slip on a pair of beach sandals, are they the primary blessings that Jesus, the Son of God, came to deliver?

That was essentially the question that a “stranger” asked my travelling companion and me. He joined us on our walk to Emmaus and wanted to know what we were talking about. We couldn’t believe that he didn’t seem to know anything about Jesus’ crucifixion. We shared the details with him, but then when we told him how we were disappointed in Jesus’ death, he said: “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” (Luke 24:25-26)

Now normally I would ditch anyone who called me a fool. But we couldn’t shake this traveller. He matched our steps and began to review the Old Testament prophecies that explained why the Messiah had to suffer and die. Passages like this one from Isaiah make clear the Messiah’s actual mission: “…he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him.” (Isaiah 53:5)

Have you ever looked at the bottom of a pair of shoes? There’s nothing pretty about them. There are gouges from stepping on rocks and thorns, stains from walking over manure and other messes. If you were to compliment me on my footwear, you would be admiring the top part and not what’s underneath. Yet the bottoms are the most important part of footwear, aren’t they? They protect your feet. They allow you to go where you normally would not be able to.