But We Were Hoping ...

The two disciples find it difficult to walk the seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Not because of the elevation or distance. It's difficult for them to move with any kind of urgency. Every step is slow and plodding as they head home.

The minds of these two disciples are clouded with disappointment and dashed hopes. Their vision is hazy with fear and uncertainty. The road to Emmaus is a grim place to be this spring Sunday afternoon.

As they're shuffling down the road, they talk about what happened the past week in Jerusalem. The arrest, trials, crucifixion, and burial of Jesus. They're in mourning. This wasn't just a teacher or a friend who was killed. This was the One they believed to be their Savior.

They had staked their lives on Jesus from Nazareth. They had believed that Jesus was the true Messiah who was going to redeem Israel. They believed he was the prophet who was to come. Now, it all appeared to be over. Jesus was dead. They were wrong. They were lost. They were without hope. Their hopes were buried with Jesus in the tomb.

Then they heard stories about Jesus' resurrection. About the tomb being open, Jesus' body missing, and even angels at the gravesite. Now confusion was added to their desperation. So, what could they do? The only thing they could do -- go for a walk.

While they're walking and talking, there's a stranger walking and talking with them. They didn't see him coming at all. It's as if he's an alien who materializes out of the mist. The stranger asks them, "What are you talking about" (Luke 24:17)?

The disciples are mystified and answer, "Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days" (Luke 24:18)? "Where were you the past few days ... living under a rock?!"

The two disciples explain, "Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be condemned to death. And they crucified him. But we were hoping that he was going to redeem Israel. Not only that, but besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Also some women of our group amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning. When they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb. They found it just as the women had said, but they did not see him" (Luke 24:19-24).

"But we were hoping ...". These two disciples had lost hope because what they experienced was not what they expected. They expected Jesus to remain alive, to defeat his religious and political enemies, and restore Israel to its former glory under Kings David and Solomon.

"But we were hoping ...". Doesn't that describe us when we're going through difficult times? We were hoping to get that job promotion, but it went to someone else. We were hoping for a better outcome on our medical tests, but the doctor gave us bad news. We were hoping for two days of rain, but we got six inches of snow. We were hoping that all these young people flocking to Christian churches would turn our nation around, but things seem to keep getting worse.

These two Emmaus disciples had been part of Jesus' larger group of 70 disciples. But they just didn't get it. They thought the cross ruined everything! But that's exactly how Jesus redeemed the nation of Israel! And all nations of the earth! Through the cross!

The two Emmaus disciples concluded that the cross ruined everything they were hoping for! If it hadn't been for the cross, everything would have been great.

This stranger is bold when he accuses, "How foolish you are and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and to enter his glory" (Luke 24:25-26)? Then the stranger leads a Bible study along the road to Emmaus.

Like those two Emmaus disciples who were blessed to have Bible study with the resurrected Jesus on Sunday afternoon, we are blessed when we come to Bible study, too. Whether that's on a Sunday morning, a Sunday afternoon Teen class, a Wednesday evening, a Saturday Men's or Women's study, or an Everyone Outreach workshop. Whether that's reading your Bible on your own or discussing a devotion with your family. Jesus uses his Word to correct his disciples' faulty thinking.

Jesus gave his two Emmaus disciples a strong rebuke. He called them foolish and slow of heart. They should have known these things were going to happen from Scripture. God had spelled it all out. As they walked and talked, Jesus worked through the Old Testament, explaining what they had prophesied about him. Jesus did a Bible study with them on the road to Emmaus. He corrected their faulty thinking.

It is in his Word where Jesus continues to correct our faulty thinking, too. When we lose hope from not getting that job promotion, God reminds us, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to give you peace, not disaster, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11). When we lose hope after the doctor's diagnosis, God reminds us, "Even if our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. Yes, our momentary, light trouble produces for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond any comparison" (2 Corinthians 4:16-17). When we're worried about the lack of precipitation, God reminds us, "He makes clouds rise from the end of the earth. He sends lightning for the rainstorm. He releases the wind from his storehouses" (Psalm 135:7). When we're concerned about Christianity within our nation, God reminds us, "I am confident that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living― Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart, and wait for the Lord" (Psalm 27:13-14).

Wherever we're going; whatever we're going through; however we're feeling; we need to remember that the cross doesn't ruin anything. The cross is the point of everything!

Like those Emmaus disciples, so often we just don't get it! At our confirmation, we made vows to take up our crosses daily to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away as we follow Jesus. But what happens when the crosses we are called to carry become too heavy? The cross might come in the form of unemployment, an empty pantry, homebound by illness, or shut-in by old age.

We've asked Jesus to give us this cross. We've promised to bear the cross in Christ's name. It's silly for us to then complain when God gives us the cross we asked for. We don't learn patience until we deal with problems. We don't learn discipline until we go through difficulties. We don't learn trust until we endure troubles.

Jesus came to these two disappointed and doubting disciples to show them how the cross was not a surprise. It was not life spinning out of control. The cross was necessary. Jesus' death was a necessity. Not for ruin, but for good. Not to shatter hope, but to give hope. The cross was not the defeat it appeared to be! It was always God's plan from before the foundations of the world were laid to use the cross to defeat sin, death, and the Devil (1 Peter 1:20). God had been giving allusions to the cross throughout the Old Testament with the Passover Lamb, the Great Day of Atonement goat, and the snake on the pole. Now God's eternal plan of salvation was completed that very Easter morning.

Jesus has gone to hell and back for us. And we -- like the two Emmaus disciples -- don't get it. So, what does Jesus do? He could have walked up beside them, introduced himself, pulled his hands out of his pockets, and slipped the sandals off his feet.

He didn't do that. He let them struggle with their faith. He wanted them to exert themselves. To think everything through -- the promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the prophecies given through Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the minor prophets; the crucifixion, ravings of the women, and the rumors of his body being stolen. He let them struggle so that their faith would rest where it needs to be -- in the resurrected Christ and his Spirit-inspired Word.

Jesus can very easily make all of this go away. He can heal the disease. He can restore the economy. He can ease the burden. He can remove the cross.

But Jesus wants us to struggle with our faith so that we rest in him. Jesus takes his time going to visit Lazarus, that by the time he arrives, his friend has been dead four days. So, Jesus can raise him to life! God makes Jacob wrestle with him all night long before giving him his blessing in the morning. Jesus seems to ignore the pleas of the Canaanite woman, so she begs for mercy from the Son of God. Then he heals her demon-possessed daughter that very moment.

When things are going well, it's easy for us to become complacent and lax in our faith. When we struggle, that's when we get up and exercise our faith. We go for a walk through the pages of Scripture, we see what we are going through is neither new nor unexpected. It's common. It's a cross. It's a blessing.

Jesus wants us to realize that we are sick, so we look to him for healing. We are weak, so we look to him for divine strength. We are guilty, so we need his forgiveness.

When we are tempted to lose hope because God isn't doing what we expect him to do, we need to look even more intently on what God truly has promised us. God never fails to do what he has promised. God has forgiven all our sins in Jesus, just as he promised. God always works all things for the good of those who love him, just as promised. God will take all who believe in him to heaven, just as he promised. When we go for a walk through God's Scriptures, we will always have hope. When we carry our cross in Jesus' name, we find our hope in Jesus going to his cross.

When you are feeling like you are losing hope like those Emmaus disciples, have a Bible study with the Son of God. There you encounter the alien who came from heaven to be your Savior. You see the stranger who entered our world so we could know him. He is God in disguise -- waiting patiently for his people to seek him. He is the Savior who was not surprised by the cross. He was always looking ahead to the cross. He knew that was the way to win salvation.

When the two disciples arrive in Emmaus, they ask the stranger, "Abide with us for it is almost evening" (Luke 24:29; CW 588:1). As they're reclining at the table, the stranger takes the bread, blesses, and breaks it. (This is not the Sacrament, but it is the actions of the Sacrament.) Suddenly their eyes are opened! After several hours of walking, they finally recognize the stranger. It's Jesus! Their crucified and resurrected Lord! Then he vanishes from their sight. Then they exclaim to each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he was speaking to us along the road and while he was explaining the Scriptures to us" (Luke 24:32)?

The two disciples skip dinner and quickly return to Jerusalem. No longer slow and dirge-like. They sprint up the road to tell the other disciples they've seen the risen Christ.

Fellow disciples, desire a heart on fire for Christ. Crave a burning passion for things of the Lord. Seek the fire that God ignites in you through his Sacraments and Scriptures.

"But we were hoping ...". For these two disciples on the road, their understanding of God's plan of salvation was deficient -- they weren't expecting a resurrection!

When our sight, logic, emotions, and expectations lead us to say, "But we were hoping ...", may our resurrected Lord Jesus come to us, identify the problem, and lead us in a Bible study. We marvel when the Lord opens the Scriptures to us. We are on fire when the Holy Spirit creates a burning passion within our hearts. And we have our hope restored in the Living Lord. Amen.