A Study of the Book of Luke
Sermon #69
“What Discouragement Can Do!”
Luke 24:13-33
What a weekend it had been for the followers of Jesus. It seemed as if the bottom fell out of their lives. All of their hopes and dreams had seemed to vanish on Friday when Jesus had died on the cross. They were in a state of shock and fear. Everything had happened so fast. Early on Sunday morning (Easter to you and I) the women went to the tomb that held the body of Jesus. They had rushed back to the disciples with the news that they had seen angels who had told them that Jesus was risen. But the disciples at first just dismissed it as hysteria. Peter and John, ran to the tomb and discovered that it was indeed empty. Jesus’ band of followers were leaderless and falling apart, with at least two of them already on their way home. The very afternoon of the report of the empty tomb, two of the discouraged and frustrated believers, Cleopas (kle’-op-as) and an unidentified companion, set out for their home in Emmaus. I can’t say for sure but I think these two were utterly defeated and were throwing in the towel and going home.
On the way they met a stranger. It was actually the risen Jesus, but they did not recognize Him. Part of the delight of this story is that we as the readers know what the characters do not. The encounter between Jesus and the two disciples on the road to Emmaus is one of the most vivid of the resurrection appearances. The account is found only in our text in Luke.
Note with me three things that discouragement
and frustration does in our lives.
First, Discouragement And Frustration Can
Cause Us To Walk Away From The Fellowship
Of Believers. (vv. 14-16)
As they journeyed they were moving away from the fellowship of the other believer’s in Jerusalem. When Christians allow themselves to become preoccupied with their dashed hopes and frustrated plans they often withdraw from the strength found in other believer’s.
“Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. (14) And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
(15) So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. (16) But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.”
For some reason the eyes of these disciples were restrained from recognizing who Jesus was. Perhaps it was their preoccupation on their own disappointment and problems. But I think that it was the Lord’s way of making them verbalize their feelings so He could lead them to solve their problems by seeing the truth for themselves.
They had forgotten the truth found in Isaiah
43:2-3 which says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. (3) For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior…”
Discouragement and Frustration can cause
Us to walk away from the fellowship of
Believers and …
Secondly, Discouragement and Frustration
Can Cause Us To Live In the Past (vv. 17-24)
“And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?" (18) Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?"
As Jesus joins the two disciples as the walk along they are deep in a discussion with each other. The discussion seem to be intense, for three different words are used to describe it “conversed” (homiloun) (v. 14), “reasoned” (suzetein) (v 15) which suggests strong debate and “conversation” (antiballete) (v. 17) which has the idea of throwing words back and forth like a ball. In their bewilderment they were tossing ideas back and forth about what they had learned, heard and understood – and what it all meant in the light of the latest development, Jesus’ death.
Jesus asks them what they are discussing and why they are so obviously sad. In asking this question Jesus allowed these disciples to express their deepest hurts, angers and frustrations. Why did Jesus draw near to two obscure disciples? We can take heart today in the fact that Jesus often made His most remarkable revelations to the least remarkable people. Here we see two people who are never heard of before and never seen again after this. Which just points out there are no unimportant people to Jesus.
As Jesus joins these two disciples He knew their hearts and knew their needs. But he still asked them a leading question, and gave them opportunity to pour out their confusion and disappointment. He has not changed. He will still draw near to us and listen as we tell him what troubles us.
Cleopas is amazed and with great irony says, “You have got to be the only one who travels in this whole area that does not know what has happened?”
Jesus responds to Cleopas by saying, “What things” (v. 19). At that moment these two disciples were living a past tense faith. In the remainder of verse nineteen through twenty-one they list all the things Jesus was. "… So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, (20) "and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.”
He was Jesus the Nazarene…
He was a prophet…
He was mighty in deeds…
He was mighty in words…
He was loved by the common people…
He was hated by the religious leadership..
He was crucified…
They summed up their condition very neatly when they said in verse twenty-one, "But we had hoped that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.” Notice the use of the past tense, “we had hoped,” which strongly implies that this was not relevant to the present or they would not have so discouraged and distressed. The saddest death of all has to be the death of hope. They had hoped but now the flame of hope was all but extinguished as made clear as he continues, “Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.”(22) "Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. (23) "When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. (24) "And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see."
Discouragement and Frustration Can
Cause Us To Live In the Past And…
Third, Discouragement and Frustration Can
Cause Us To Question God’s Care (vv. 25-33)
We might have expected Jesus to respond by saying, “I understand.” But in verse twenty-five He says, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
When He says they are slow to believe “all” that the prophets have spoken, it indicates that disciples were selective. They believed part of the word of God, but not all. These disciples had been guilty of believing the word of God selectively, believing those things that fit in with the neat little box that they had created for God. Their understanding of the Scripture was worked by their assumptions and preconceptions and even by their sin. And so is ours!
Heartbreak happens this way: we think God should do something based on our faulty knowledge of His word. He doesn’t do it. We get discouraged and think God let us down, that He has disappointed us. But the problem is not with God but with us.
His words are not meant to harm or insult but to challenge their belief. What truth are you not believing?
Is It That That God cares about you? (1 Peter 5:7). “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you.” (NLT)
Is It That God can provide for you! (Phil. 4:19) “And my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
If we find ourselves hurting and despairing and do not find that Scripture speaks to our situation, it is caused by one of two things. Either we do not what it well enough or we do not believe it.
The Lord went on beginning in verse twenty-six to show them that all of the Old Testament spoke of Him. "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" (27) And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”
Beginning in Genesis with the promised sacrifice (Gen. 3:15) and going through the suffering servant in Isaiah 53, the pierced one in Zechariah 12:10, and the messenger of the covenant in Malachi 3, Jesus introduced Himself to these disciples through the Old Testament.
As the two travelers approached the end of their journey, the stranger appeared to be going on. Traveling at night was both difficult and dangerous, so they insisted that he stay with them saying in verse twenty-nine, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent." And He went in to stay with them.”
Verse thirty tells us that as they sat down to eat, Jesus played the part of the host, for the host would break the bread at the beginning of the meal for it says, “… He took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them.” Perhaps it was in doing this that their eyes were opened. For verse thirty-one reveals, “Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. (32) And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"
Let me illustrate with the words that Mark Buchanan wrote of his own experience in his book entitled “Your God Is Too Safe.” He wrote that when he was saved, “I hit the ground running. Immediately, I volunteered for everything, anything, that I felt vaguely interested in and marginally qualified for. I led the youth group; I helped with the music, I taught Sunday school; I wrote the church newsletter; I became a camp counselor; I served as a mentor to several young men.
But something, somewhere, went awry. The zeal fizzled. The fire in my bones became only an a ache in my joints. My running became plodding. My lightness became heaviness. My joyfulness became jadedness. I joined the ranks of the murmurers and faultfinders – those that did not like the music or the sermon or the color of the azalea’s behind the church – and I found their number legion.” [Mark Buchanan. Your God Is Too Safe. (Multnomah, 2001) p. 9-10]
Is That Your Story Today??
The truth is that God wants to set our hearts on fire. He wants to give us a burning passion for life. We all long for the eternal but are two easily contented with the temporary. We all want to be a part of something worthwhile but spend too time wasted. Let’ turn back to where we left off. In 2 Timothy 1:6 Paul tells Timothy, “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you..” this verse can be summed up in three words, Again,… Alive,… Fire. Perhaps this is what we need.
The Lord gave these disciples a passion and a purpose where all there had been was pain. And it came from two things. These are still basic to a relationship with Jesus today: spending time with Him – that is prayer and in spending time in the Scripture – that of course is the Bible. A burning heart is found in these two things.
The result in the life of the two disciples was, that although by this point it is already late they cannot wait till the morning. They must tell someone what has happened. They had to share their experience and no one in Emmaus would understand. One of the best signs of recovery from depression is a desire to be back among other believer’s. They had to go back to where the other disciples were gathered. Verse thirty-three tells us that they decide that they must return at once to Jerusalem. “So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem…” So the long discourage walk to Emmaus now became a joyous run to Jerusalem with renewed strength and encouragement. It reminds us of the story of the two lepers in 2 Kings 7:9 “Then they said to one another, "We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. …. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell…"
Their grief had blinded them. Their attention to their own loss and sorrow prevented them from focusing on God and finding out what God was doing for them at that very moment.
