On Discouraged Believers

A teenager anticipating turning 16 asked his dad if he could go get his driver’s license.  His father set 3 conditions:

1.  Get your grades up

2.  Clean up your room

3.  Get your hair cut

A few days after he turned 16, he once again approached his father and asked if they could set up a time for him to go take his driver’s license test.  His father said; “Well, you have gotten your grades up and the cleanliness of your room has certainly improved.  However you still haven’t cut your hair.”  The son protested and argued that Jesus had long hair.  The father replied “Yes, that’s true but Jesus also walked everywhere he went.”

 

This morning we’re going to look at two gentlemen who we also find walking.  From their look and pace, it’s pretty clear that there is not a lot of energy or enthusiasm in their walk.  If you could look into their faces you’d no doubt see that glassy-eyed, glossed over look that reveals that something devastating has recently happened to them.  It’s the kind of walk that occurs after your boyfriend or girlfriend dumps you, or when your spouse tells you that they’re divorcing you, or the kind of walk that occurs after you’ve received a very bad medical report or after you’ve received a notice in the mail that you’ve bounced several checks.  It’s that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach that seizes you after your bubble of hope has been blown to smithereens. 

 

For these two gentlemen it’s the kind of walk that occurred after the man they had been following and listening to – believing He was the long-awaited Messiah - is arrested, brutally beaten, nailed to a cross, ridiculed by the bystanders, dies.  He’s laid in a grave guarded by Roman guards to make sure no one tampers with the body.  These occurrences blow up your bubble and cause that sickening feeling in the pit of your stomach.  It’s now Sunday morning (three long days have passed since this all occurred).  They’ve apparently been with the disciples sharing in their shock and grief and have decided that it’s time to quit nursing their destroyed dreams and move on with life as usual, or as close to that as they can get once again.  As we pick up the action they’re heading away from Jerusalem and back home to a small village called Emmaus (seven miles away). 

 

Read Luke 24:13-24

Did you catch the bubble-burst picture – “their faces were downcast” (That’s a very descriptive word, “downcast” it conveys that the corners of your mouth which turn up for a smile have instead gone south.)  And “but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.”     We once had hope but no longer.  Our hope has been crushed and sucked out of us.  It’s time to go back home and move on with our lives. 

 

Have you ever questioned God’s plan and hand in your life?  Things have been happening that don’t make a lot of sense in how you envisioned your life turning out.  And the assumption is that if there were a God these events in my life would not have happened.  Somewhere in that stage of fuzziness is where these men are at right now.  Everything seemed so crystal clear four days ago, but then came Jesus’ crucifixion and like a tornado sweeping in, everything has been shaken up and so much of what we had counted on four days ago is gone.  Jesus lies dead in a tomb along with their hopes and dreams. 

 

Max Lucado describes Good Friday as the day when man was at his worst and God was at His best.

 

Jesus joins them and asks them what they’re talking about.  They look at him like he’s from another planet.  How could he not know about the events that had taken place? 

 

The reply is rather sarcastic, “Are you the only person in Jerusalem that is unaware of what took place this past weekend?”  Apparently the talk in the city had been all about Jesus’ death. 

 

“And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.” 

In much of Jewish thought and teaching it was believed that after a person died their spirit would hover around the corpse for three days and then leave.  So, for Jesus, not only is he dead but his spirit has departed as well.  There’s no reason to hang around any longer.  They may have been hoping that something miraculous would occur – but now that three days are up – it’s over!!!  Perhaps you’ve felt like your life has been over at one point.  But just when you’d about given up, God stepped in and restored your hope. 

 

The challenge often is for us to awake out of our devastation long enough to recognize what God is trying to accomplish through restoration in our lives.  And that’s true of these two gentlemen as well.  God’s been trying to get through to them that it’s not over but they’re refusing to recognize His handiwork. 

"In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive.  Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.""  (Luke 24:22-24) 

 

God had sent them early warning signs that something was brewing, but they refused to recognize it.  Why? 

1.       The early reports came from “women”.  Women, in that culture, didn’t qualify as legitimate witnesses.  Their testimony wouldn’t even count in a court of law.  And so, they are unbelievable and unreliable.

 

2.       Some of the other disciples went and checked out the women’s story and while their story checked out they still hadn’t found Jesus himself. So, there is no reason to check it out any further.

 

 

"He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!  Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?"  And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself."  (Luke 24:25-27) 

      

What did Jesus talk about?

·    Perhaps he took them all the way back to the Garden of Eden when God gave the devil a foreboding prophecy:  (Genesis 3:15)  "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.""

 

·    Perhaps Jesus explained the severity of man’s sins and the importance of the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sins.  "For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life."  (Lev. 17:11)

 

·    Maybe Jesus explained how all the thousands of sacrifices offered over and over throughout the ages were all imperfect and could never fully pay the penalty for their sins. 

 

·    Perhaps Jesus began to explain how our sin separates us from God.  And that mankind, and specifically a Jew’s, greatest need was not for political freedom but rather for spiritual freedom.  Their greatest need was for a Messiah who would deal with their sin problem. 

 

 

 

 

 

Can’t you just imagine Jesus laying down this groundwork and then beginning to open up Isaiah 53?    "Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.  But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 

 

 

 

 

 

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth."  (Isaiah 53:4-7)

 

 

 

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I can just imagine Jesus carefully quoting to them and walking them through Scriptures that they had never been taught applied to the Messiah before because the perception would be that the Messiah would come as a conquering King.  I think Jesus carefully and systematically corrected their understanding of Scripture and the prophecies concerning Him.  And this whole time I imagine him teaching with compelling authority and accuracy and passion.  I base that belief on the fact that earlier in his ministry when he was laying the basic kingdom teaching down for the people they remarked that they had never heard anyone speak with such power before.  If that was true then I believe that at this moment it was probably even more so.  For on this day He’s laying out for these two disheartened believers God’s cosmic game plan to reclaim all of mankind back to Himself.  You don’t get any closer to the constant beat of God’s heart than this topic. 

 

This would be like a general laying out a battle strategy for his troops.  That’s precisely what this is all about.  It’s the largest and most important battle that had ever been waged in the entire history of the world.   Yet while every other battle plan ever conceived involved bringing one’s army’s greatest strength and power against the enemy,  this battle plan involved Jesus leaving his place in heaven and coming down to earth to willingly give up his life in exchange for the souls of those he loved most dearly.  At this point in his teaching, I imagine Jesus speaking with a trembling voice because this is what He cares about so intensely.  It’s this very point that compelled him to go all the way to the cross for you and for me.  I know that in the book of Revelation it says God will wipe every tear from our ours – I wouldn’t be at all surprised if at this moment there were tears of love and joy welling up in Jesus’ eyes as He recounted this well-conceived battle plan that was now entering its final stage.

 

 I love how one author put this.  “The crucifixion appeared to be the end.  All the building blocks seemed to come tumbling down that day.  What appeared to be a demolition project upon closer observation was actually a construction project carefully engineered by the God of the universe in order to save the world.  God specializes in taking those things that Satan intends for bad and turning them into something intended for good.”

We’re not that much different from these two men.  At times we’re confused by the Bible.  At times we absolutely do not understand God’s plan for our lives and why He allows certain events to happen.  We can reach a point where we could also say, “I had hoped.”  Sometimes we choose to draw closer to Christ and sometimes we choose to walk away from the action (from Christ). 

 

While going to church is safe and okay, drawing closer to Jesus is way different. 

 

"As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther."  (Luke 24:28) 

Jesus acted like he was going further.  He’s a gentleman; he doesn’t force himself on you.  In the famous painting by Holman Hunt of Jesus knocking on the door, there is no handle on the outside.  He waits for you to open it up and then by your invitation will come in. 

 

 

 

 

 

"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."  (Luke 24:29) 

These men didn’t know who Jesus was but they enjoyed his company.  Jesus always enhances our lives.  If you invite him to come in, he comes in to stay with anyone.  There are no more- or less-important people in Jesus’ eyes. 

"When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them."  (Luke 24:30) 

Jesus takes the bread and gives it to them.  He’s the guest but he acts here like the host.  He takes the bread and says the blessing.  Jesus doesn’t just want to be the guest in your life, he wants to be the host – he wants to take control of your life. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We often entertain people in our home.  And we tell them “Make yourselves right at home.”  Here’s the fridge, plates, cups and cans of cold pop are in the fridge downstairs.  Help yourself.  Our house is your house.  But there are certain areas I don’t feel real comfortable letting just anyone into (bedroom, checkbook, backroom downstairs).  We’re not sure we want Jesus to take control of every area of our lives. 

 

"Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight."  (Luke 24:31) 

Perhaps when he served them the bread his sleeves went up on his arms and they saw the nail prints.  What a show stopper.  Their hearts started pounding, the hair on the back of their necks stood up; they lost their breath for just a moment.  Notice it doesn’t record that at that moment they said anything, they were speechless.   And then Jesus disappeared.

 

"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?""  (Luke 24:32) 

Two weeks ago I attended a preaching conference out at the Mall of America.  It was a great privilege to sit and listen to the current president of Ozark Bible College, Matt Proctor, talk about how to preach through the book of Revelation.  While he’s presenting the material he started talking about why preachers ought to preach through this book.  As he talked he got more and more passionate about helping people understand the nature of God.  How once we fully understand the nature of God as so visually and beautifully portrayed in chapters four and five of Revelation, it ought to compel us to live lives that seek to honor God with every ounce of our heart, soul, strength and mind.  As he’s talking, I noticed my heart beginning to beat faster and I had goose bumps forming on my arms and the back of my neck and then tears started forming in my eyes.  Right there sitting at that table and listening to the difference these images contained in the book of Revelation have made in his life, it started a fire deep within me as well.    

 

I think that’s what these two men felt as well.  As Jesus was walking with them and explaining God’s word and plan, their hearts began to race and they got goose bumps like they had never experienced before.  That’s what happens when you draw really close to God.  It’s unlike anything you’ve ever encountered in your life. 

 

"They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. "  (Luke 24:33) 

Why did they go back?  They just came from there.  It’s dark and dangerous.  I bet it took a little less time to travel that distance than it had earlier in the day.  When you’re excited about something you want to share it with someone else who has the same passion for it as you do. 

 

“There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread."  (Luke 24:33-35)

Before these two men could tell the disciples what had happened, they said, “it’s true – Jesus appeared to Simon as well.”   And they said we know what you’re telling us is true because we just spent time with Him as well.  They’re probably all talking so fast. 

 

"While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."  They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.  He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?  Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."  When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet.  And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?"  They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.  He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."  Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.  He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things.  I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."  When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them.  While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.   Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.   And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God."  (Luke 24:36-53) 

 

Lessons:

1.      No matter how deep your despair there’s still hope.

These guys were despondent.  Their shoulders were drooped, their spirits were downcast, they had no hope.  But once they met the risen Christ and headed back to Jerusalem, they were filled with joy, hope, expectation.  Are you walking the road to Emmaus today?

Jesus wants to take you with your hope bubble burst and give you a whole new hope; a hope that can never be taken away.  You see, everything and everyone in this world can be taken away, but our relationship and hope for an eternal life spent in His presence can never be taken away.

 

2.      No matter how disoriented your life – you can invite Jesus in

These two men were devastated, but they invited Jesus in and He straightened out their thinking and transformed their lives.  Some people say, “I’m going to invite Jesus into my life someday – but I’ve got some habits I need to fix first, I’ve got some relationships I need to straighten out, some attitudes I need to change.”  That’s pride saying I can do it on my own.  Jesus Christ wants to come into your life just as it is and He will make things right.

 

Martin Luther said he once had a dream that Jesus was approaching his house.  But he didn’t want Jesus to see his house in such disarray so he quickly began to straighten it up while Jesus was knocking at the door.  But the harder he tried to straighten it up, the more it was in shambles.  Frantic that he couldn’t get it straightened up, but afraid Jesus would leave, he went and opened the door and invited Jesus in saying – “if you don’t mind coming into a place as messy as this come on in.”  Then he turned and the house was in perfect order.  You can’t straighten your life up on your own.  When you open up your heart and invite Jesus in, He cleanses your life from all past sin and He begins to give order to your thinking.  He gives a purpose to your future. 

 

The Bible is filled with all sorts of true stories of Jesus’ encounters with various people like these two men.  Over the past four weeks as we’ve gone through this series on the Impact of the Cross, we’ve seen people who reacted quite differently to Jesus dying on the cross. 

·    We’ve some who held firm in their despising and rejection of Jesus through it all. 

·    Others no doubt stood on the sidelines as casual observers.

·    We saw two thieves dying with Jesus on the cross – one later that evening found himself in Paradise with Jesus and the other went from one pain into a lifetime of pain in Hell.

 

But as I close this sermon and this series the real question is: which role are you living out? 

 

It says that the purpose of the words in the Bible is not just for fascinating reading or for material for Brian’s sermons. 

No, the Bible was given to us to point us to Jesus and that by believing in Him we might truly have hope and eternal life. 

 

There was a very poignant moment during the Easter Drive-By this past Friday night.  I was portraying Jesus dying on the cross.  On each side of me were Russ Judson and Keith Peters, portraying the two thieves.  Part way through our second shift, Keith falls off his perch on the cross holding the two spikes in his hands that had come loose from the cross.  He caught himself from falling face down and with the two spikes in his hand declared, “I’m free!  I’m free!!”  And that’s the point of Easter.  Jesus said "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.""  (John 8:31-32) 

 

Do you desire to be set free from the pain of crushed dreams and hopes?  To have the confidence that you have at least one thing in your life that can never be taken away from you?   Your relationship with the Heavenly Father and the guarantee that one day you will have the unbelievable privilege to live forever with the God who willingly gave up his life on the cross so that you might truly live.  Before you make that kind of commitment, let me properly prepare you for what’s ahead by letting you know that your life from that point on will not be a bed of roses.  God never guarantees that a life with Him will be trouble free, but what He does promise is that in the midst of trouble, heartache and destroyed dreams He will be with there in the midst of it all walking right beside you to give you the strength to get through it all in order to display His remarkable love through people like you and me. 

 

If it’s your desire to accept this Jesus Christ as your Savior and to put Him in charge of every area of your life we invite you to come forward as we stand and sing our hymn of invitation.