Dare To Journey Again – “Up From the Grave” Lent 2003
Luke 24:13-35 March 29/30, 2003
Intro:
The journey of life sometimes catches us by surprise. Many of you were likely surprised by Niels’ announcement of his resignation as our Minister of Music this morning. I know he and Ingrid are wondering where God is leading them next, recognizing God’s call to change the path of their journey. And we are wondering where God will lead us next in our worship leadership. I’m sure there will be lots of questions and discussions in the weeks ahead, and the pastors and elders welcome any questions or feedback or suggestions you may have. And as our elders and admin boards have information to share, we will gladly do so. And in it all, the words of Paul in Philippians 1 come to mind for both the Reinholdts and for us: “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” I have that confidence – God is doing some exciting things, and He won’t abandon them, He promises to complete them.
Today I want to talk about journey. About the journey that each of us are on in life, and what role God plays in our journey. Throughout Lent we have been concentrating on Jesus’ resurrection and what that means for how we should live. Today I want to suggest to you that the fact that Jesus is alive means that we journey with Him. Everyday.
Luke 24:13-35
The Gospel of Luke records for us a fascinating story of one the Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances. It is in the last chapter – 24 – beginning at verse 13. Let me read it with you:
Where are you on your Spiritual Journey?
1. Have your dreams been shattered?
The story begins with two of Jesus’ disciples walking along the road – likely returning to their home. The text tells us they were “talking” – the word conveys an intense, emotional conversation. They were trying to make sense of all that they had seen and heard, trying to understand how the one they had believed was the Messiah could have suffered as He did – could have been crucified like He was. A common criminal – was that really all He was? But if so, how could He have taught with such authority? How could He have done the miracles He did? How could He die so soon? It just doesn’t make sense.
These two disciples begin their journey in pain. Isn’t that true of you and I also? For many of us, the journey begins in pain. For those of you who came to faith in your adulthood, I know this is often your story – there was a crisis or a series of crisis, or else there was an emptiness and a loneliness. Something happened along the journey that left you crying out for God – sometimes out of the midst of some very deep, personal pain.
Some of us came to faith early in life, but even there we recognize the beginning of our journey with God came out of the pain of sin. Even if we were very young, we had some basic understanding of the separation from God caused by our sin, and we wanted to end that pain. To be forgiven. To be restored in relationship.
For some of you here today, that describes exactly the point you are at. Your journey is full of pain. Full of shattered dreams. Full of confusion. Maybe you have even asked the question, is it even worth continuing in this journey? I have wonderful news for you today – let’s keep looking at the story to discover what it is…
In the midst of the pain of their conversation, they are approached by a stranger. He hears the intensity of their conversation and asks them what they are talking about. Luke demonstrates his skill as a writer here, letting his readers in on the true identity of the stranger while also making it clear that the two disciples didn’t recognize Him. Jesus asks them about their pain: “18 They stood still, their faces downcast. One 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?"”
Notice this: Jesus’ question stops their journey. “They stood still, their faces downcast.” Doesn’t that ring true? They don’t even recognize that it is Jesus, but the question stops them in their tracks. It cuts right to the middle of the pain, gets right to the issue. I love how Jesus does that in Scripture, and how He does that in my life. Sometimes I come to Him in prayer with a whole list of stuff to talk about, and – when I stop to listen – He always has a way of cutting right through all of that to the things that are most important.
And then Jesus listens. He lets them tell the story – “Jesus was this great prophet – did all kinds of great stuff – but our chief priests and rulers handed Him over to be crucified – and He died three days ago – but we had hoped He was the one – and then some of our women have really confused us because they went to the place where He had been buried and they saw two angels – and so some of our companions went to check it out and saw the tomb was empty but they didn’t see Jesus.” The story rattles out – some facts, some feelings.
“we had hoped.” See their grief? Can you relate?? Are there things in your life where you need to say to Jesus, “but I had hoped you would heal. I had hoped you would provide a job. I had hoped my kids would be following you. I had hoped that Jesus you really would be the Messiah and intervene in my life and bring the things I had hoped for.
Do you catch Luke’s irony? These two disciples are telling the resurrected Jesus, who has just finished truly redeeming all of humanity from the punishment and slavery of sin, that they “had hoped he would have been the redeemer.” I picture a beautiful suppressed smile on Jesus’ face. And then He responds.
But just before looking at Jesus’ response to their pain, let me observe that Jesus still does the same thing today.
o He joins us in the midst of the pain.
o He invites us to talk about it; even asking questions that get to the heart.
o He listens as we pour out all the things we are thinking and feeling.
o And I even think He suppresses a small smile as He sees the “big picture” and sees how all of this really is working according to a far greater plan, which will bring great joy again.
2. Have you started to journey again?
Jesus responds to their pain. He sees the bigger picture – then and now.
In a Jewish culture quite comfortable with directness and confrontation, Jesus jumps into the middle of the conversation with some strong words. He calls them “foolish” and “slow of heart to believe.” I don’t know what your experience has been, but I know this is the reaction we are afraid of. So some of us never let Jesus respond. We stay in the place of pain, we linger in the misery. We take the statement, “I had hoped…” and we repeat it over and over without ever stopping to listen to Jesus. Because we are afraid He might be harsh – He might be confrontational – He might point out that we are being foolish and slow to believe. And we get stuck in that place in our journey. We stop like these two, but then we dig in our heels and get stubborn. We blame, we hold our grievance close, we nurture the anger and resentment. My friends, that is not a good place to be! And in all honesty, I believe that fear of Jesus being harsh is a false fear – He uses strong words in this story but in a culturally appropriate way – He didn’t offend these two disciples or hurt them or drive them away: in fact, he piqued their curiosity and opened their minds to what He had to show them. And let me tell you, that has been my experience also. Jesus has always been so gentle with me – even when pointing out things that need to change, He has been incredibly kind and gentle. If you don’t believe me, try it. Dare to journey again. I have a strong confidence that you will experience the kindness of God; even if that needs to lead to repentance.
The text doesn’t tell us this specifically, but I believe it is at this point that they begin to journey again. And as they walk, Jesus opens the Scriptures to them. Remember, they still don’t know who He is – but the stuff He is telling them is sure making sense! Don’t you wish you had been there?? For probably close to 2hours Jesus walks them all the way through the OT pointing out how the Messiah had to suffer. That would have been one great Bible study! They disciples later reflect, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
This underscores for me how incredibly important the Word of God is, and how critical it is that we spend time in it. I began with the question, where are you on your Spiritual journey – and I think it is fair to read from this Emmaus road story that the key to continually growing in our journey is to spend time in God’s Word. Are you? I see in this story of journey the centrality of the Word of God.
3. Have you come to a Point to Choose
The travelers come to a fork in the road – they arrive at Emmaus. Jesus is prepared to go on – He doesn’t impose Himself then, and He doesn’t impose Himself today. He will not come where He is not invited.
Maybe this is the place of your journey. You’ve come from a place of pain, but have walked some distance now from it. Others have come alongside, you have learned some good things from God’s Word that have made sense and have really helped. But now a choice must be made. The disciples invite Jesus into their home. The text actually says, “they urged him strongly” to come and join them. You see, they wanted more. They had tasted something as they walked and talked, and now they wanted more.
Is that where you are at? Do you want more? Will you, like the disciples, invite Jesus to join you in the privacy and intimacy of your life??
You see, I believe this too still happens today. Jesus comes and walks with us, and then we get to a fork in the road where we need to choose – will we invite Jesus into a deeper place of intimacy? Will we invite Him not just to walk with us in our pain, but to come right into our home – to come right into the middle of our everyday life.
Sadly, I think many who would call themselves Christians in our world have left Jesus at the fork in the road. They experienced Him a little bit at one time – maybe they were even really intent on reading God’s Word – but when they got to a point of deciding whether to head off on their own or to invite Jesus to come right into the core of their being, they chose to go on their own. It might have gotten too intimate. Too close. I mean, if Jesus was in my living room…
4. Have you recognized Jesus with you?
But do you notice what happens in this story? It is when the disciples invite Jesus right into their home, to “stay with them,” that the really great part happens. They recognize the true identity of their “mystery” companion. I think it is highly significant that Jesus takes the bread and says the blessing. This is very unusual – this mystery companion is the guest, not the host. It would have been the host’s job to offer the blessing. The text doesn’t give us any explanation, but it does teach a dramatic truth – inviting Jesus in means letting Him become the master. And as these disciples take this step – as they choose to invite Jesus to, in Luke’s words, “stay with them,” in their journey, “their eyes were opened and they recognized him.” They saw the resurrected Jesus. They were sitting there at the dining table with a man they had seen die three days earlier, and He was breaking bread with them. Perhaps they saw the nail marks in His hands as He passed the bread – more likely I think it was at this point that Jesus allowed their spiritual eyes to be opened and see that it was truly Jesus.
There are many things I love about this story, perhaps this one above all the rest: when we make the choice to invite Jesus into a more intimate relationship with us – when we “urge Him strongly” to “stay with us,” – we recognize who it is – and that He has been with us all along. We recognize that along the entire journey, it has been Him – He has been there through the pain. He has been teaching. Molding. Protecting. Nurturing. Inviting.
The response:
We read how these two responded after recognizing Jesus – they jumped up, even though it was evening, walked back to Jerusalem, and shared the incredible news. Like Mary, they could now say, “We have seen the Lord!” That is where true evangelism comes from – the excitement of us personally meeting the Risen Lord, and bursting to share that with others.
Cleopas who??
Let me point out one last thing before asking you once again where you are on your spiritual journey: do you have any idea who these two disciples were? Luke tells us the name of one of them, Cleopas. The other goes un-named; I like the idea that it was Cleopas’ wife, but we have no clue. Who was Cleopas? We know nothing of that either. This is the only place his name is mentioned. Why do I point that out? Because it makes this a universal journey. It isn’t the story of a disciple we know lots about. He wasn’t part of Jesus’ inner circle of 3, he wasn’t even part of the 12. But Jesus appears to him on the road to Emmaus. So I conclude that you don’t have to be some spiritual super-hero to meet the Risen Lord. I’m convinced Jesus appears to this guy that we’ve never heard of before to make exactly that point – He has come for everyone. He journeyed with Cleopas; He wants to journey with you.
So…
So where are you on your spiritual journey? Beginning in pain? Stopped dead in your tracks? Have you started to walk again, started to seek Jesus in the Bible? Are you at a fork in the road, needing to make a choice? Or are you experiencing the presence of the living, risen Son of God living with you on a daily basis?
I want to encourage you – take the next step. Journey again. Maybe you need to respond for the first time, maybe you need to decide to walk more deeply, maybe you need to pour out the pain. I promise you this from this story: Jesus is here. He will journey with you.
