Depressed , disappointed, and heading in the wrong direction...

At the church where I serve, we have been spending the weeks leading up to Easter looking at various encounters that people had with Jesus that are recorded for us in an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Luke. And as we have looked at these encounters with Jesus, we have discovered several timeless truths that will have the potential to powerfully impact our lives today.

Now this week after Easter, I would like for us to look at another encounter that Jesus had while here on earth on the very first Easter Sunday. And as we jump back into an account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of Luke, we are going to discover another timeless truth that can occur when we encounter Jesus. So let’s discover that timeless truth together, beginning in Luke 24:13:

And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place.

Luke begins this section of his account of Jesus life by setting the context for this encounter with Jesus that we are going to look at this Easter morning. Luke explains that on the first Easter Sunday afternoon, two followers of Jesus were making the seven mile journey from the city of Jerusalem to a village named Emmaus. And as these two followers traveled on foot from Jerusalem to Emmaus, Luke tells us that they were engaged in an intense discussion about the things that had taken place.

After all, there was a lot to talk about and discuss. The person who they were following, who they had come to believe was the Messiah, the person who they thought was the fulfillment of a promise that God had made to send a rescuer, a deliverer, who would bring them back to God, had been arrested and killed. And these two men who had accompanied Jesus to Jerusalem were now returning home without Jesus. These men, who had once walked with Jesus, were now walking away from Jesus. At least, that is what these two men thought that they were doing. After setting the context for this encounter with Jesus, Luke gives us a front row seat to this encounter with Jesus in verse 15:

 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. And He said to them, "What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?"

Luke tells us that as these two disciples were walking away from Jesus and returning back home, another traveler approached them and began to walk with them. While these men were unaware who this traveler was, Luke reveals for us that this traveler was the very person that they had walked with but were now walking away from. Unknown to these two men, Jesus had joined them on their journey.

And as Jesus joined them on their journey, Luke tells us that Jesus joined in on their conversation. Jesus asked the two men that He had joined on their journey "What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?" In other words, Jesus is basically asking these men “You guys seem to be having a pretty intense conversation. So what are you guys talking about?” Luke reveals for us how these two men who thought they were walking away from Jesus responded to Jesus question in the second half of verse 17:

 And they stood still, looking sad. One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, "Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?"

Luke tells us that these men responded to Jesus question by stopping in their tracks. And as they stopped walking, Luke tells us that they looked sad. Actually this word sad, in the language that this letter was originally written in, conveys the sense of gloom. You see, these men were depressed, disappointed, and were heading in the wrong direction.

Luke then explains that one of the men, named Cleopas, replied to Jesus question by stating “"Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?" In other words, Cloepas basically said to Jesus “Where have you been, living under a rock this last week? You must be the only one who was in Jerusalem for the Passover who is unaware of all that had happened. What have you been doing that you are so clueless as to what has been going on?” We see how Jesus responded to the gloom of His fellow travelers in the first part of verse 19:

And He said to them, "What things?"

Now can you imagine what must have been going through Jesus mind at this point? Jesus basically sets these two men up to spill their guts by simply asking “What things?” Jesus places these two men who were depressed, disappointed, and were heading in the wrong direction in a position where they would reveal what they believed about Him to Him. Luke then reveals how these men spilled their guts to Jesus in the second half of verse 19:

And they said to Him, "The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. "But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. "But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. "Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see."

Here we see Luke reveal the story that these men told Jesus when it came to the events that occurred in the past week of them following Jesus. Their story to Jesus about Jesus, if it was communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: “You want to know about what things that happened these past days? The things that happened these past days are all about Jesus. You see, it seemed that everyone thought Jesus was a spokesperson for God who was inspired by God to proclaim God’s word to the world. 

I mean the week started out so well. You should have seen it when we came into town last Sunday. The crowds were laying palm branches on the ground and screaming to Jesus “Save us now”. It seemed like the time that we had hoped for had arrived. We were all hoping that Jesus was the Messiah and that He was going to kick the Romans out and bring us back to God and back to prominence in the world.

But as the week went on, the Pharisees and the religious leaders began to question and challenge Jesus. And we started to sense that people were beginning to turn against Jesus. Then Thursday, as we celebrated the Passover, Jesus changed the script. Instead of celebrating the Passover like it has always been done, Jesus started talking about the bread being His body. Jesus started talking about the cup being the new covenant of His blood.

Then when Jesus went with the twelve closest followers of His to pray, the Jewish religious leaders arrested Jesus and found Him guilty of blasphemy. And if that was not bad enough, the Romans agreed with the Jewish leaders and crucified and killed Jesus. And besides all of that, it is the third day since He was killed. And while we remember that Jesus had said that He would be killed and be raised from the dead three days later, it is the third day and Jesus has not shown up.

 However, some women came running to us this morning saying that the tomb that He was buried in was empty and that angels appeared to them saying that He was alive. Peter and John, who were really close to Jesus checked it out and also said that the tomb was empty, but they did not see Jesus. And we have not seen Jesus. So we decided to head back home. That is why we are depressed; that is why we are so disappointed. That is why we are heading back home.”

Here is a question to consider: How often can we find ourselves acting just like these two men? Maybe you can relate to these two followers of Jesus. Maybe you have checked out Jesus in the past. Maybe you have even investigated the idea of walking with Jesus. Maybe you have tried to perform for Jesus by following the message and teachings of Jesus.

But now you find yourself at a place where you are depressed. Maybe you are depressed because you felt that you could not walk the walk that Jesus seemed to be asking you to walk.  And now you find yourself at a place where you are disappointed in Jesus. Maybe you are disappointed in Jesus because Jesus did not come through for you like you thought He would or should. Maybe you are headed in the wrong direction. Maybe you have walked away from Jesus because of the bad experiences you have had with Christians and the church. Maybe you are depressed , disappointed, and heading in the wrong direction.

Tomorrow, we will see how Jesus responded to the story that these men told…