Recall with me some of the post-resurrection appearances made by Jesus. Mark’s gospel tells us that early on Easter Sunday Jesus made his first appearance to Mary Magdalene. In his gospel John gives us the details of that meeting. Mary was bawling her eyes out over what she thought was the senseless desecration of Jesus’ tomb. Through her tears she pleaded with a man that she thought was a gardener. “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him,” she blubbered. “Mary,” was Jesus’ warm response. Luke’s gospel tells us that Jesus also appeared to Peter sometime during that same glorious resurrection day. We are not told what Jesus said to Peter but their visit was no doubt exactly what Peter needed. In the evening of the first Easter Sunday Jesus appeared to ten of the disciples and said, “Peace be with you.” He then went on to prove that he was alive by inviting them to touch his body. Jesus also ate a piece of broiled fish in front of them. A week after his resurrection Jesus again appeared to the disciples to prove to Thomas that he was indeed alive. Remember how adamant Thomas had been about not believing that Jesus rose from the dead unless he received physical confirmation of the fact. Later on Jesus also appeared to seven of the disciples while they were fishing in Galilee. In 1 Corinthians the Apostle Paul tells us that Jesus appeared to him, to more than five hundred believers, and to James (who seems to have been Jesus’ half-brother.)
Although all of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances served the purpose of proving that he was alive they also met the specific spiritual needs of individuals. From Mary Magdalene, to Peter, to Thomas, to James, and concluding with the Apostle Paul, Jesus interacted with people after his resurrection to comfort them, encourage them, and to strengthen their faith.
In the gospel lesson for this Sunday we heard about one of the many post-resurrection appearances by Jesus. He appeared to two disciples who were walking from Jerusalem to a village called Emmaus. The very detailed account illustrates the point of how the resurrected Jesus appeared to his followers not only to prove that he was alive but also to meet their spiritual needs.
Each of us here this morning is in need of a visit from our living Lord Jesus. Through his many post-Easter appearances Jesus comes to us and meets our spiritual needs. We now ask him to walk beside us as he did beside Cleopas and the other unnamed disciple. I invite you to:
“WALK WITH YOUR LIVING LORD”
I. He will deal with your disappointment
II. He will clear up your confusion
III. He will fire up your faith
This portion of Scripture takes us back to Easter Sunday. “13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.” We don’t know a lot about these two disciples or why they were going to Emmaus. But we do know what was on their minds. “14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.” Jesus could have stopped these two disciples and simply said, “Hi, I’m alive.” But instead he wanted to walk with them for a while. As he walked next to their bodies he led their souls on a walk into the Scriptures. That spiritual journey was exactly what they needed. Jesus dealt with their disappointment, cleared up their confusion, and set their hearts ablaze with the fire of faith. Today as we walk with our living Lord he will do the same things for us. We need Jesus to deal with our disappointment, clear up our confusion, and to set our hearts on fire with faith in him.
I.
It is a challenge for us to truly appreciate the disappointment that the two disciples must have felt concerning Jesus. Like so many others at that time Cleopas and the other disciple saw some promising things in Jesus. For a while it seemed as though he was the Messiah for whom they were waiting. He taught with authority, performed miracles, and showed concern for everyone. But on Good Friday Jesus’ lifeless body was placed in a tomb. It looked like he wasn’t what they had hoped for after all.
To begin addressing their disappointment Jesus asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” Luke describes the depth of their discouragement. “They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 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?’ 19 ‘What things?’ he asked.” After Cleopas expressed his amazement that Jesus apparently hadn’t heard about what just happened in Jerusalem the two disciples spilled their guts to Jesus, “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. ‘‘He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.” The events of Good Friday had dashed the hopes of these disciples. They were living under a dark cloud of disappointment. They had carefully observed the facts about Jesus but they had been hoping for a very different conclusion to his story. To them it seemed as though they would have to keep waiting for the redeemer to come.
But even though they didn’t know it they were walking with their living Lord. He cared enough to listen to them and hear what was weighing heavily on their hearts. He also came to them not only to prove that he was alive but also to deal with their disappointment. The sunshine of his presence and the truth about what he had accomplished would give them hope. Never again would they have any reason to be disappointed in Jesus. He had indeed redeemed Israel as they had hoped. Actually he had redeemed the whole world through his suffering and death. His lifeblood was the ransom price required to buy souls back from slavery to sin. In addition to the truth about redemption the fact that Jesus was alive and walking with these two disciples was proof that their hopes had not been misplaced. As Peter declared in his First Letter, “In his great mercy he [God] has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Because Jesus rose from the dead Cleopas and the other disciple had a living hope. Once they grasped that truth they would never again be disappointed concerning anything connected to Jesus.
Several thousand Sundays later let’s imagine that you and I are taking a walk with our living Lord this morning. Jesus asks us, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” We might respond, “Are you only a visitor to planet earth? Don’t you know about the things that go on here?” “What things?” Jesus says to us. “Well, we’re followers of Jesus. He is God’s Son. He suffered and died for our sins and through faith in him we believe we have eternal life. He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. The Bible tells us that he rules everything for our good. But we had hoped that things would be better for us as his followers. We thought that we would always be healthy and wealthy as disciples of Jesus. But we face all kinds of trials and troubles. Our bodies still get sick, and wear out, and die. Our relationships with others often fall apart. At times we struggle to make ends meet. And we also had hoped that Jesus would do something about the evil in the world. Violence, murder, and hatred seem to thrive while all things good are looked down upon. It’s not that we don’t love Jesus or believe in him it’s just that we had higher hopes for him and for our lives in him.”
I am sure that each of us could add our own personal feelings and experiences with disappointment. And because Jesus loves us he is willing to listen us. That’s why we need to regularly walk with our living Lord. He is always ready to deal with our disappointment. As we walk with Jesus he reminds us that he lives and reigns eternally. That fact sufficiently answers all our disappointments in life.
II.
The two disciples on the road to Emmaus were not only disappointed about Jesus they were also very confused about him. They went on to say, “And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” It was the third day since Jesus had died and been buried. His tomb was empty. And some angel messengers had stated in no uncertain terms that Jesus was alive. Could the facts about Jesus’ resurrection have been any clearer? Everything happened the way Jesus said it was going to happen. But still these disciples were confused.
After patiently walking with them and hearing firsthand of their disappointment and confusion the living Lord Jesus speaks. “25 He said to them, ‘‘How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” What a change of events. This guy who seemed to have been living under a rock unaware of everything that happened in Jerusalem suddenly had all the answers. Starting in the Book of Genesis and continuing on in the Old Testament Jesus walked these two disciples through the plan of salvation. He opened their hearts and minds to see the Savior in the Scriptures. That was the key to clearing up their confusion.
This morning as we take a walk with our living Lord let’s be honest with him about our confusion over all that he has said and done. Like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus we at times struggle to believe what we cannot see. And like them we need to hear Jesus call us foolish and slow of heart to believe. Not accepting the Bible’s record of Jesus’ life and all the promises connected to it is sin. It is a sin we have committed. Even though we may not be confused about Jesus’ resurrection don’t we often live our lives as if we were? Jesus’ resurrection assures us that he keeps his promises, our sins have been paid for, and we too will rise from the dead. There is nothing confusing about it we just struggle to accept it. Or worse we live our lives as if it hadn’t really happened.
Thankfully Jesus takes us back into the Scriptures and clears up our confusion. He shows us how he fulfilled the prophecy made in the Garden of Eden when he crushed the devil’s power. Through the prophecies in the Psalms, and through the books of the prophets Jesus walks with us from confusion to clarity. Through the record of his life in the Four Gospels, through the application of salvation in the New Testament letters, and through the Revelation that he gave to John, Jesus explains who he is and what he has done. That is why we keep taking walks with our living Lord. Through the Scriptures he clears up our confusion. Every time we gather here for worship and Bible study, whenever we open the Bible for our personal devotions, and each time we walk with our living Lord through his Word, our confusion is once again clarified.
III.
By the time they reached their destination Cleopas and the other disciple had been transformed. Their disappointment over Jesus had been removed and their confusion about Jesus had been cleared up. Through it all their living Lord had fanned their smoldering faith into flames. And they still didn’t even know that Jesus was alive! Luke goes on to tell us, “28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. 29 But 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. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, ‘‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” 33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem.” These disciples were totally stoked. They were jazzed up to tell the other disciples that they had seen Jesus. A seven-mile walk in the dark couldn’t keep them from sharing what they had experienced. And I am sure it also safe to say that their walk with Jesus through the Scriptures would always keep their faith burning brightly.
Our walk with our living Lord doesn’t have to end today. If we ask he will come in and stay with us. Jesus said in Revelation 3, “20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” Jesus also asks us to keep walking with him and to keep listening to his Word. Then our heart will always burn brightly in faith.
Martin Luther described the fire of faith that our risen Lord works in our heart. “Faith is a living well-founded confidence in the grace of God, so perfectly certain that it would die a thousand times rather than surrender its conviction. Such confidence and personal knowledge of divine grace makes it possessor joyful, bold, and full of warm affection toward God and all created things—all of which the holy Spirit works in faith. Hence, such a man becomes without constraint willing and eager to do good to everyone, to serve everyone, to suffer all manner of ills, in order please and glorify God, who has shown toward him such grace.” That is the kind of faith that we can have when we walk with our living Lord.
Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances weren’t just accidental or happenstance. In addition to proving that he was alive there was a purpose behind each appearance. He comforted Mary Magdalene. He offered peace to his fearful disciples. He told doubting Thomas to touch his glorified scars. At the Sea of Galilee he again filled the fishing nets of his disciples. That served as a reminder and an assurance that they would be fishers of souls through their living Lord’s power. Jesus appeared to five hundred of his followers, to James, and to the Apostle Paul. Each of Jesus’ post-Easter appearances met the spiritual needs of those who saw him.
At our post-Easter gathering today we have seen Jesus. He came here to walk with us through life and to walk us through the Scriptures. He is happy to listen to our disappointment and our confusion. But he also tells us what we need to hear. Friends, continue to walk with your living Lord. Let him deal with your disappointment. Let him clear up your confusion. Let him set your heart on fire. Amen.
