I Come to the Garden and I Leave in Hope

Our Scripture lesson this morning is Luke 24:13-35:

Luke 24:13–35 ESV

That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and 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 and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

May God bless this the reading of His holy and infallible Word.

Dashed Hopes

Our text opens with two of Jesus’ disciples walking to the nearby village of Emmaus. They were discussing the whirlwind of events that had happened over the past week. The week began with such high hopes, as Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem. It was their hope that He would be coronated as King there, but even that day the hostility of the Jewish authorities only grew in intensity. Rather than seizing the moment and rallying the crowds behind Him, Jesus passively accepted it. Even going so far as to say it was the Father’s will that He suffer and die at the hands of wicked men. It was really no surprise that Judas betrayed Jesus, many felt betrayed by Jesus. He had led them on to believe that He was the Messiah, but when the moment came to “put up or shut up”, Jesus literately “shut up” and did not answer the Jewish leaders’ accusations! As Jesus was led away to die on a cross, their hopes and dreams died with Him. If this was not bad enough, some of the women had come back from the tomb this morning claiming Jesus had risen from the dead. That was the final straw for these two men; they decided to leave the chaos of Jerusalem behind and go to the village of Emmaus to clear their heads and mend their hearts.

We all can identify with these two men. We have all had hopes and dreams that have fallen through. Sometimes they are minor disappointments, and other times they are major. Things such as broken marriages, lost friendships, rebellious children, failed businesses, cultural and political decline. All these things dash our hopes and shatter our dreams. Most of the time we can avoid thinking about this graveyard of broken dreams, but from time to time we cannot avoid seeing the carnage and our hearts are broken and a lump forms in our throat.

It is at such times we need Jesus to join us and lead us back to the garden.

That is what happened to these two men—Jesus joins them on the way. The first thing He does is He rebukes them for having misplaced hopes.

Misplaced Hopes

Clearly these two men were hurting, but rather than empathizing with them, He rebukes them.

Luke 24:25–26 ESV

And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”

Contrary to conventional wisdom, sometimes empathy is the worst thing you can give a person. These two men shared in the cultural expectations of their fellow Jews; the problem was these were delusional expectations. They had so distorted Scripture they were unable to see Jesus for who He really was; and as a result they were unable to see the necessity of Jesus’ suffering and resurrection.

We too have our hopes and dreams, but if they are not founded upon God’s Word, they are a distortion of reality.

A surprising example of this is found in the book of Ecclesiastes. I say surprising, because on the surface all of this man’s hopes and dreams seem to come true:

· He dreamed of wisdom—he became the wisest man on earth!

· He dreamed of wealth—he became the wealthiest man of earth!

· He dreamed of power—he became the most powerful man of earth!

· He dreamed of wine, women and song—he had all three in abundance!

Everything a man could desire, this man had; yet, after listing all of his accomplishments his conclusion is always the same, “This too is futility and a great evil!”

The greatest existential crises a person can face is not failure, but total success! At least with failure we have the illusion of a satisfying future, with total success their remains only vanity!

But God did not create us for vanity—He created us for unending and ever-increasing joy!

The hope we all long for lays in of all places, in an empty tomb! Although the tomb does not contain the body of Jesus, it is full hope!

Renewed Hopes

The resurrection reminds us where our hopes and dreams should have been in the first place. The resurrected Jesus is the terminus (that is, the end point or goal) of all true hopes and dreams. He is living proof that life does not have to be vain, because His life was not lived in vain.

In Hebrews 12:1-2, we read these words:

Hebrews 12:1–2 ESV

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Let’s break this down:

First, Jesus, we are told is “the founder and perfecter of our faith”. He both defines (that is He is the founder) and He is the goal (that is He is the perfecter) of faith.

Second, He did this by “enduring the cross” for “the joy that was set before Him”. In other words, there is a joy worth not only living for, but dying for as well!

Third, the proof that He obtained this joy is found in the fact that He “is seated at the right hand of the throne of God”. In other words, because He was resurrected in glory!

Finally, we are to forsake all false hopes, and look to Jesus and His example as our ultimate hope.

This does not mean, that there cannot be real hopes and dreams in this world, but these hopes and dreams only have reality in so far as they find their goal in the resurrected Christ. For example, in Ephesians 5-6, covers the most common areas of life we have hopes and dreams in. First, he speaks of our personal development, then our marriage and family, and finally, our vocational and business hopes and dreams. In each of these areas, he ties them to Christ. As we strive to be a better person, Christ is the standard of our hope. As we strive to love our spouse, Christ and His relationship to the church is the standard of our love. As we labor to be a great business owner or employee, Christ is the standard.

The resurrected Christ, seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty renews hope and makes if real, not vain.