(Audio version; Music: "Hope Now" by: Addison Road and "Love Is Here" by: Tenth Avenue North)
Introduction
The world, especially Americans,
remember the horrific images from the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade
Center in New York in 2001. It’s hard to believe that in just few days it will
have been fourteen years since that awful day. Of all the images that haunt us
from that day and the days that followed, there was one image that many latched
on to as a message of hope and healing in the midst of crippling sorrow and
despair—the image of a cross that was formed out of structural steel from the
millions of tons of collapsed debris. In fact, it was such a prominent image
that it was carefully salvaged and made into a memorial with a powerful message
of hope. For some though, the image was particularly troubling. I’m not talking
about atheists whose hatred for Christianity knows no bounds. I’m talking about
Christians. Not just Christians who lost friends or family in the tragedy but
many Christians around the world who witnessed those events with the belief
that God would never allow such evil to befall the countless thousands of
Christians who perished in those days and then mark the occasion with the cross
of Christ. I’m sure there are countless Christian families who sent their loved
ones off to work that day trusting their care to God and then never saw their loved
ones alive again. I have no doubt that for some, maybe even for most, of the
Christians who lost someone that day, mixed into the anguish and confusion
certainly had to include disappointment. And I wonder if the image of the cross
made that disappointment all the more acute. It seems inevitable that when we
expect something good from God (and why wouldn’t we expect something good from
a God who is good) but instead receive something that devastates our lives, we
are Disappointed With God.
Some of you
didn’t have this reaction to the events of 9/11 for various reasons but you’ve
experienced your own tragedy that has served to nurture your own
disappointment. You recited your wedding vows as an oath before God and
entrusted your marriage to Him and yet your spouse still walked out on you and
now you’re Disappointed With God.
You’ve poured your heart and soul into your child and dedicated him or her to
the Lord and yet you had to stand at their bedside and watch cancer steal them
from you and you’re Disappointed With
God. You finally got that dream job you’ve been praying for and suddenly,
for reasons beyond your control, you’re let go and you have to start all over
again and you’re Disappointed With God.
You’ve committed your life to being a follower of Christ and His faithful
witness in the midst of a country ruled by the evils of Islam and have had the
watch the execution of your friends and family with no end to the barbarism in
sight and you’re Disappointed With God.
You’ve given up a life of fame and fortune to pursue your calling as a
Christian minister and after years of ministry you have yet to witness even one
person come to Christ as a result of your tireless efforts and now your Disappointed With God. I bet if you
could get Christians to be completely honest with you, they would tell you that
they are now or have been at some point deeply Disappointed With God but were or are afraid that it would be
irreverent to say out loud even though they drag that disappointment around
with them every day like a giant anchor. Well, I’ll let you in on a little
secret—God already knows you’re disappointed with Him so putting on a show for
public consumption because you’re afraid that God might be offended or others
might think you lack faith is simply dishonest and benefits no one. What do you
think would happen if you just came out and said it—I’m Disappointed With God? Well there were a couple of guys in the
Bible who in essence did just that so let’s take a look at how things worked
out for them.
Subject Text
Luke 24:13-32
13Now
that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven
miles from Jerusalem. 14They were talking with each other about
everything that had happened. 15As they talked and discussed these
things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16but
they were kept from recognizing him. 17He asked them, “What are you
discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast.
18One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to
Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19“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. 20The chief priests and
our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21but
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. 22In addition,
some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23but
didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of
angels, who said he was alive. 24Then some of our companions went to
the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” 25He
said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that
the prophets have spoken! 26Did not the Christ have to suffer these
things and then enter his glory?” 27And beginning with Moses and all
the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures
concerning himself. 28As they approached the village to which they
were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. 29But they
urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost
over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30When he was at the table
with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to
them. 31Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he
disappeared from their sight. 32They asked each other, “Were not our
hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the
Scriptures to us?”
Context
Because of
the Passover, Jerusalem was packed with people so it wouldn’t have been unusual
for the travelers from our Subject Text
to have made the long journey to Jerusalem. However, in the days leading up to
our Subject Text, Jesus was
arrested, tried, tortured, and executed. These events were all witnessed by the
two travelers. However, based on how they recounted the events to the Stranger
that appeared with them along the road, it seems they started their return
journey without answers that must have arisen as a result of the empty tomb.
Nevertheless, they think the story of Jesus was over and all they have to show
for their devotion to Him is unfulfilled expectations. It’s a long walk home
especially with the weight of disappointment they carry with them.
Text Analysis
13Now
that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven
miles from Jerusalem. 14They were talking with each other about
everything that had happened. 15As they talked and discussed these
things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16but
they were kept from recognizing him.
When vv. 13-16 refer to “that same day” they
are pointing back to the events of the text immediately preceding them that
refer to the day when the disciples discovered the empty tomb—resurrection day.
However, it seems clear that the travelers left sometime before they knew why
the tomb was empty. It’s hard to believe that given the magnitude of the events
and the obvious depth of their devotion that they would leave without answers to
the questions that the empty tomb must have generated. But we pick up our
travelers in vv. 13-16 making their
way to the town of Emmaus talking about what they had just witnessed in
Jerusalem. I wish I knew exactly what they were talking about but I wonder if
it wasn’t something like: ‘Can you believe we gave up everything to follow
Jesus. He was so convincing with all those miracles He performed. I was so sure
He was the one we’d been waiting for. We seemed so close to witnessing the
fulfillment of God’s promise to send a Messiah to save us. I feel so stupid
that I got suckered into believing someone else who said they were the One and
turned out to be just a man like any other man who could be put to death on a
cross. Trust me, I won’t make that mistake again.’ Maybe that’s what they were
talking about and maybe not but I wouldn’t be surprised would you? Unmet
expectations have a way of turning even the most devoted follower into a cynic.
When our greatest hopes and dreams are crushed, it seems almost natural to be Disappointed With God who we believe
holds our hopes and dreams in the palm of His hand.
During what
may have been the darkest moment of their lives, look who shows up—Jesus! But
they don’t recognize Him. Did Jesus change His appearance? Did God somehow
obscure their perception? Maybe. Or perhaps it was something else. Remember
when the disciples were out on the lake in a boat fighting a storm as they
tried to row to the other side and Jesus came walking to them on the water?
They thought he was a ghost. He had to reassure them that it was Him. And
remember what Peter said? They could see Jesus clearly but somehow still didn’t
believe it was Him because Peter says, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you on the water (Mt
14:28).” What do you mean ‘if?”
You’re looking right at Him. Did Peter not recognize Jesus or did he not
believe that it could be Jesus out there walking on the water? I wonder if it’s
possible that the two disciples on the way to Emmaus were so distraught at the
death of Jesus and their hopes and dreams that they didn’t even recognize Him
when He was standing right next to them. We’ll find out later that the two
weren’t members of the twelve disciples so they may not have spent as much time
with Jesus as the chosen twelve. Add to this that they left before learning why
the tomb was empty, and all they knew as that Jesus had died, was buried and
now his dead body is missing even though some of the women were running around
saying they saw him alive, no one else saw Him. They had no reason whatsoever
to believe He would walk up and start talking to them. Perhaps that’s why they
didn’t recognize Him. Does it matter why they didn’t recognize Jesus? Probably
not, unless we consider that perhaps Jesus is closer than we think during our
darkest hours; during the times when we are most Disappointed With God and we just don’t know it.
“The story
depends on this element of dramatic concealment. The lack of recognition is
more due to a spiritual blindness by the disciples than to something unusual
about the appearance of Jesus. Its purpose is to enable the disciples to be
prepared for the revelation of the risen Jesus by a fresh understanding of the
prophecies of his resurrection; it may also be meant to show that one can know
the presence of the risen Jesus without being able to see him, and thus to give
help to Christians living in the era after the cessation of the resurrection
appearances. It would, however, be difficult for later people to believe that
their experience was related to the unseen, risen Jesus, if there were no
evidence, such as this story provides, that Jesus really rose from the dead.”[1]
17He asked them, “What are you
discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast.
18One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to
Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19“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. 20The chief
priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they
crucified him; 21but 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. 22In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the
tomb early this morning 23but didn’t find his body. They came and
told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24Then
some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had
said, but him they did not see.”
It’s not
really unusual for someone to join another group of travelers especially if the
travelers were fellow Passover pilgrims. It was also safer to travel in groups
as opposed to traveling alone in the ancient world. So in vv. 17-24 we find Jesus joining the two disciples traveling the
road back to Emmaus. As usual, Jesus doesn’t force belief on anyone. Instead,
He leads these disciples to a fuller understanding of what they thought they
believed. If you’ve been reading my lessons for a while then you know I’m fond
of saying that I don’t just want you to be familiar with what you believe, I want you to know why you believe what you
believe. And that’s Jesus’ goal as well. You see, until we see the why of our belief, the what can sometimes be interpreted
incorrectly. In order to correct the disciples’ understanding, Jesus feigns ignorance
about the events that centered around Him.
So the
disciples recall who they believed Jesus was and what He did among the people
during His earthly ministry. They accurately recounted the passion story of
Jesus’ arrest, trial, and execution. They tell Jesus about the women who
discovered the empty tomb and the women even said they saw Jesus alive. It
seems clear that the two travelers didn’t see Jesus alive and didn’t believe
that the women saw Him either. And I base that on something they said right in
the middle. At the beginning and at the end of their story, they told Jesus what they believed but in the middle
they disclosed why they believed what they believed. They are Disappointed With God because they
“hoped he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.” Close, except they
interpreted “redeem” temporally and nationally. In other words, their why was too small. The Jews anticipated
the coming of the Messiah but they expected a Messiah that would rescue them
from their earthly enemies and reestablish Israel as a nation to national
prominence. The Jewish Messiah was divine so His miracles were within the expected
norm for the Messiah they were looking for. What they weren’t expecting was a
crucified and dead Messiah. That didn’t fit their Messianic paradigm. But
Jesus’ death was about more than the redemption of Israel from the control of
Rome. That was insignificant from an eternal perspective. Jesus was after the
redemption of all humanity from a far greater enemy than Rome—sin. And since
the redemption price for sin (a.k.a. the wages of sin) is death, a life had to
be sacrificed. But God was done with animal sacrifices as the payment for sin
because they had to be constantly repeated. God was after the atonement for
humanity’s sin once and for all. However, atonement for sin against an eternal
God would require an eternal atonement—an eternal atonement that was made by
the divine Messiah with His own life. A perfectly devised plan that could only
be carried out by God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. Ultimately, the
disciples needed a bigger why for what they believed and Jesus was about
to give it to them.
“Christ’s
death ended apostolic hopes. Here Cleopas in a very important passage
summarized the hopes of Jesus’ disciples before Jesus’ death. They thought
Jesus would redeem Israel. This Greek verb for redeem (lutroo) appears only here and in Titus 2:14 and 1 Peter 1:18 in the
New Testament. It has a strong Old Testament background, appearing ninety times
in the Septuagint [translation of the Old Testament into Greek], usually as a
translation of Hebrew gal’al, ‘to set
free, redeem.’ It is rooted in the Exodus story of God redeeming Israel from
Egyptian slavery. Luke used a related noun as Zechariah prophesied the work of
his son John [the Baptist]. God is coming to redeem his people. Anna [the
prophetess from Lk 2:36-38] explained the significance of the child Jesus to
those who waited for the ‘redemption of Jerusalem.’
The term is
often used in the process of paying a ransom or price to gain the freedom of a
slave. Luke sees Israel in captivity just as they had been in the time of the
Exodus. In sending John and Jesus, God had repeated the miracle of the Exodus.
He had paid the ransom price and freed his people from slavery. But the freedom
was not through military victory as in Egypt but through the work on the cross,
paying the price for slavery to sin. Paul used a related verb to confess that
by Christ’s death we are set free, redeemed, ransomed from our slavery to sin
and death. Christ is the one who sets us free, that is, redeems us. He came to
give his life as a means to liberating or redeeming us.
The
disciples saw in Jesus the one who would bring a new Exodus and free the nation
from it Roman captors. Instead Jesus proved to be something much more—the
Redeemer who freed them from sin and death. But at this point the two on the
road to Emmaus had no idea of this.”[2]
25He said to them, “How foolish
you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26Did
not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27And
beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said
in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
You can
almost picture Jesus in this scene can’t you? He stops in the road when they’re
finished telling their story holding his hands out to his side in exasperation as
the disciples stop and turn around and ask Him, ‘what?’ It reminds me of the
repeated interaction between Jesus and the religious leaders who where
constantly trying to tell Jesus what
they believed as they studied the Scriptures but they refused to understand why they believed it. Jesus was equally
exasperated with them when He said, “You study the Scriptures diligently
because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very
Scriptures that testify about me (Jn 5:39).” Jesus is, in essence, saying the
same thing to the disciples in vv. 25-27.
Here’s the difference though, Jesus knew the religious leaders weren’t
interested in the truth because He didn’t fit their definition of the Messiah
according to the way they interpreted the Scriptures. They were trying to get
rid of Jesus because He was a threat to their authority and influence over the
people. The disciples, although they didn’t fully understand the redemption
they hoped for, really did long for the truth. They were Disappointed With God because they thought they knew the truth. But
they were lost because they thought the truth died with Jesus. So Jesus, like a
patient parent teaching the same lesson for the umpteenth time to His child,
goes over it all again beginning with Moses and the Prophets. Jesus draws them
a roadmap through the Scriptures as they continue on their journey back to
Emmaus that leads right to Him.
“The two
disciples are reprimanded for their unbelief on the grounds that the suffering,
death, and resurrection of Jesus are set forth in Scripture, and they should
have known. Throughout this Gospel we have observed Luke’s insistence not only
that Jesus and his followers properly obeyed the Scriptures but that Jesus
fulfilled the prophecies of the Scriptures. These prophecies pointed both to
his ministry and to his suffering, death, and resurrection. For this reason,
Luke regards the Scriptures as sufficient for the generation of faith. That
portion of Israel which rejected Jesus as Messiah did so because of their failure
to understand their own Bible. This ignorance God will forgive, but now that
the risen Christ and the Holy Spirit have opened the true meaning of the Old
Testament texts, repentance is in order. For Luke, then, the gospel of Jesus
Christ continues and brings to fulfillment the law, the prophets and the
writings.”[3]
28As they approached the village
to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. 29But
they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is
almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30When he was at the
table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it
to them. 31Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and
he disappeared from their sight. 32They asked each other, “Were not
our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the
Scriptures to us?”
By the time
Jesus and the disciples reached Emmaus in vv.
28-32, they still didn’t realize it was Jesus talking to them and walking
with them. Nevertheless, the disciples invite Jesus to stay with them because
if was getting late in the day. The code of hospitality practiced in the
Ancient Near East virtually required the disciples to invite this Stranger to
stay with them for protection and provision. Jesus wasn’t finished with His
lesson yet so he accepted the invitation and went in to dine with them. Jesus,
the Bread of Life, broke the bread of their meal and served it to his hosts and
the light came on for the disciples and they recognized Him. Picture a smaller
version of the last supper where Jesus did the same thing with the disciples
and you’ll probably see what these two disciples saw. Jesus’ work was done the minute
they recognized Him because the text says He immediately disappeared. But the
seed of the resurrection quickly took root in their hearts because everything
Jesus told them on the road suddenly made perfect sense as the winding path of
the promised Messiah through the Old Testament finally converged with the Way
of the incarnate Messiah of the New Testament.
“People
often sense the presence of God before they recognize or articulate it. The
disciples sense in Jesus something they cannot verbalize or identify. The
Resurrected One, vicariously and unbeknownst to them, is having an effect on
their faith. The two disciples do not know who Jesus is, but they know they do
not want to be without him. Jesus indulges their desires rather than his and
remains with them. Like the Christ of Rev 3:20, he enters and eats with them
and they with him…
Then their eyes
were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. The
obscure confounding is now enlightened and revealed for what it is. Jesus, the
guest at [the] table, now becomes host of the meal. He who seemed blind to
events in Jerusalem now opens the eyes of the disciples. The disciples who
lament not seeing Jesus now recognize him. The setting is not simply another
Lukan banquet scene, nor is it a simple precursor of early Christian communal
meals in Acts. This table belongs to three distinctive meals in Luke, along
with the feeding of the five thousand (9:16) and the Passover celebration
(22:19). All three share six elements in common, and in the same sequence:
Jesus (1) took (2) bread, (3) blessed/gave thanks, (4) broke it, and (5) gave
it (6) to them. Although the liturgical elements are the same, the results are
not. In the feeding of the five thousand, ‘all were satisfied’ (9:17); at the
Passover, the apostles ‘remember Jesus’ (22:19); now ‘their eyes are opened and
they recognize him’ (v. 31). The effects of the three meals progress from
satisfaction to recollection to revelation…
Once
recognized, ‘[Jesus] disappeared from their sight.’ His sudden and inexplicable
disappearance is the only obviously supernatural element in the Emmaus episode.
The opening of the minds and eyes of the disciples to understand Scripture and
see Jesus is the result not of miracle but of Christian fellowship in which the
resurrected Jesus is present as Lord…the divinely ordained disappearance
occurs…following the accomplishment of the essential task. Jesus reveals enough
of himself to make faith possible, but only enough to make faith necessary. The
disappearance is an object lesson that henceforth Jesus will abide with the
disciple not in his precrucifixion body, but as a spiritual presence. The
disciples’ testimony implies an awareness of their new relationship with
Jesus…Loss, grief, and disappointment are past. Burdened hearts are now burning
hearts! The disciples now know why they did no want the Stranger to part from
them. No more essential calling is set before preachers, teachers—indeed the
church itself—than that of v. 32: to
open Scripture so that hearts are set aflame!”[4]
Application
I’ll admit
that this can be a frightening lesson. Jesus says that if we just have the
faith the size of a mustard seed we can move mountains. So when we are Disappointed With God, doesn’t it mean
that we lack even the slightest bit if faith? Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t think
it’s that simple really. Did the disciples on the road to Emmaus lack faith? I
suppose they did to some degree but it’s always easy to say that we would have
reacted differently in the same situation. The problem with that thinking is
that we know what the disciples didn’t yet know. What if we look at it
differently, what if being Disappointed
With God actually demonstrates a great deal of faith? Think about it, would
you be Disappointed With God at the
end of your turbulent marriage if you didn’t have faith that He could restore
your marriage? Would you be Disappointed
With God at the death of your child if you didn’t have faith He could heal
your child. Would you be Disappointed
With God when a family member is hurt if you didn’t have faith that He
could protect your family. A strong argument can certainly be made that being Disappointed With God demonstrates a
clear lack of faith and I can understand that argument. And when my life is going
smoothly I might be tempted to agree with that argument. But my life, and maybe
yours too, is rarely smooth and as a result, I am often Disappointed With God. I used to pretend that I wasn’t disappointed
because I was afraid God would be mad at me. I’ll let you in on a little
secret—God knew all along I was disappointed with Him and I honestly believe He
was waiting for me to bring that disappointment to Him and lay it at His feet.
You see, when I pretended not to be disappointed with Him, it manifested itself
in pushing Him away and keeping Him at a safe distance. However, by laying my
disappointments at His feet, I have to draw close to Him and that’s the place
where He draws me in and the place where the healing can begin and my
relationship with God can grow stronger.
Jesus
wasn’t afraid of the disciples’ lack of faith. He wasn’t angry that they were
disappointed. It presented an opportunity for Him to reveal Himself more fully
to them. And it’s no different for you and me today. If you can endure the
struggles of your life with perfect faith and have never been Disappointed With God then I applaud
you. So I want to talk to those of you who feel like your being crushed under
the struggles of your life. Your faith in God is so strong that you live daily
with being Disappointed With God but
you’re afraid to admit it. So you pretend that everything is alright and you
keep God at a safe distance in case He finds out you’re disappointed with Him.
Guess what? He already knows you’re disappointed with Him so you can stop
pretending. Instead, why don’t you take that disappointment and drop it right
at the feet of Jesus and see what happens. See if He doesn’t reveal Himself
more deeply to you. Life is just as hard for Christians as it is for anyone
else and maybe even harder because we have faith that God can do anything. And
guess what happens when God doesn’t do what we know He is capable of doing? We
are left disappointed. Your disappointment can do one of two things, it can
keep you away from God or it can draw you closer to God. The choice is up to
you. What will you do when you are Disappointed
With God?
[1] I.
Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke—The
New International Greek Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids, Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co., 1978), p. 893.
[2] Trent C.
Butler, Luke—Holman New Testament
Commentary, (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2000), p. 417.
[3] Fred B.
Craddock, Luke—Intepretation, A Bible
Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1990),
p. 286.
[4] James R.
Edwards, The Gospel According to Luke—The
Pillar New Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Company, 2015), pp. 723-725.
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