Series Title: Resurrection Encounters

Sermon 2: An Encounter with Disappointment

Text: Luke 24: 13-35

‘Desert Island Discs’ is a radio program in the United Kingdom. On the program celebrities are asked to choose their favourite songs, ones they would take with them if they were on a desert island. If I was ever asked to select one section of the Bible to take with me to a desert island, I would select Luke 24. I love the account of the walk to Emmaus. I believe it is the best story ever written. The whole meaning of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is found in the story. Here on the most human road in the Scriptures Jesus cares enough for two people that He walks with them, He listens to them, He talks with them, and He reveals Himself to them.

On the pilgrimage of life we all have to walk along different roads of experience. There are days when the road is Marvellous. Wonderful things happen. Thank God for those interludes. There are days when the road is Monotonous. We just have to get up and get on with the daily routine of life.

There are days when the road is Mysterious. We cannot work out what is happening. The Emmaus Road falls into this category. It is a road each of us walks along at some point in our lives. It is the Road of Disappointment, the road of dashed hopes; the road of shattered dreams; the road of the broken heart.

On the road are two. They are walking away from Jerusalem. They are going home. Things have not worked out the way they had expected. They had pinned their hopes on Jesus being the Messiah. They had left everything to follow Him. But now He was dead. They were going home. One is called Cleopas. The other is not named. There are days I like to think the other is Mrs. Cleopas because I have walked many times on the road of disappointment with my wife. On other days I think the second is anonymous because I can slip my own name in there. It is me.

Let’s walk with the two.

Vv. 13-16: Jesus Draws Near

The conversation of the two had been dominated by the tragedy of the events of Friday. They had traced over the circumstances and put themselves in the centre. Things had not turned out the way they had hoped. Despair fed despair as they talked. But in v. 15 a ray of light enters the picture: Jesus draws near. The important point of this verse is that when a Christian feels all alone on the Road of Despair they never are.

In Matthew 21:17 there is another road out of Jerusalem. Jesus had ridden on that road into Jerusalem in the morning as crowds hailed Him as King. They had thrown their coats before Him. He rode on a carpet of palm branches. But that evening He walked out of Jerusalem all alone. He walked alone so we would never have to. He died alone so we would never have to.

Did He not say to His followers, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you”? Did He not tell the parable of the lost sheep and how the shepherd left 99 together to seek the one on its own? Here He put the parable into practice. Here He seeks two in danger of being lost. He was determined that darkness would not overtake them.

Are you on the Road called Disappointment? Is the word that dominates your mind “why?” Know this. Jesus is closer to you than you can ever imagine. He died forsaken so that you never would be.

I read of a painting entitled “Hope.” In the picture a woman sits blindfolded. She is downcast. In her left hand there is a stringed instrument with all of its strings broken but one. She is playing one string. Her life has lost its music. There is not much hope when you focus on the woman. But above her shines the morning star. Behind her the sky is growing lighter. The sun is about to rise. Soon she will be bathed in light. The darkness will pass.

Do you feel like the strings of your life have broken? Is your worldview dark? Hold on. The Morning Star is nearby. You can play life on one string. There is one string that will never break. The promise of Jesus, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”

V. 27: He Turned Them to the Scriptures

Starting with Moses, Jesus showed them the golden thread of grace that runs through the whole of Scripture. Alongside it, He showed them the scarlet thread of redemption. He then showed how the two were inseparably intertwined. What a sermon that must have been. That is one tape I want to hear when I get to heaven.

He pointed them to the Scriptures. There is no better guide on the Road of Disappointment than the Word of God. An old preacher once told me, “Jesus almost died with a ‘Why’ on His lips. But He broke through the ‘Why’ barrier and asked a more important question: ‘To whom can I turn?’ And He died saying, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’”

When faced with the “Whys” of life, we too have to ask deeper questions. What happens now? Where do I go? To whom can I turn? Jesus pointed them to the Scriptures. He showed them that grace and redemption have been working together all along. He showed them there is a higher purpose, that God is still in control, and He knows exactly what is going on. Nothing has ever taken Him by surprise and He has His way of “making all things beautiful in His time.”

I am greatly indebted to that old preacher I mentioned earlier. He taught me about the Resurrection. He told me, “I believe in the Resurrection of the Third Day. I believe there is a third day when God will vindicate the righteous and light will pierce the darkness.”

Child of God, if you are on the Road called Disappointment, the best guide you could ever have is the Word of God. Even though the heavens seem like brass, like there are no answers to your “Whys,” and it appears as though evil has the upper hand, hold on. Grace and Redemption are still at work. Hold on to the promises of God. He is still in control. Nothing has taken Him by surprise, and you too will experience the Resurrection of the Third Day.

Vv. 30-35: He Revealed Himself to Them

They go to an inn because night is falling. They order their food. It is their usual routine. They have done this many times before when they travelling. They were mindful to invite the stranger to join them for the night. It is business as usual. But with Jesus, life’s most common moments can become sacred and special. The miraculous is often found in the ordinary. As the meal was served, “They knew Him in the breaking of the bread.” There was something characteristic about how Jesus broke bread. They had witnessed Him bless food many times before. And here at supper they looked beyond their despair to see Him, to recognise Him; to gain another perspective.

That look was all they needed to have their perspective changed. With hindsight they realized Jesus had been with them as they walked on the road. “Suddenly” their eyes were opened and they returned to where they should have been. Sometimes the miraculous can be found in the ordinary. Sometimes we can get a new perspective in the routine of life. It has been my experience that the miraculous is found in the ordinary. I became a Christian kneeling by my bedside. I was sanctified holy at a regular Sunday evening service. I was called into full-time ministry in a midweek missionary meeting. Often the miraculous is found in the ordinary.

Are you on the Road of Disappointment? Is “Why” on your lips? Jesus is nearer to you than you think. He wants you to know that Grace and Redemption are still at work. He wants to reveal himself to you so you can get a new perspective.

This is an ordinary Sunday. We are not doing anything that we don’t usually do on Sundays. The miraculous can be found in the ordinary. As you sit, open your heart to the Lord and let Him minister His grace to you. You are on the most human road in the Word of God. Let Him draw near to you. Let Him speak to you through the Scriptures. Let Him reveal himself to you. Ask Him to turn the Mysterious into the Miraculous for you today.