Downcast Hearts, Opened Eyes
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
Introduction:
When you lose someone, all the “FIRSTS” are tough. The first birthday without them, the first Thanksgiving, the first Christmas, and the list goes on.
After 3 1/2 years of fellowship, friendship, and ministry, the disciples are faced with the first weekend without the Savior of the world.
Their hopes are shattered. Their dreams are crushed. Their goals and plans have come crashing down. In the passage before us today, we have a front row seat to what it must have been like on that Easter Sunday morning before they had seen the Risen Christ.
The truth be told, there are some people in this room today who are living with:
Shattered hopes
Crushed dreams
Crashed goals
Destroyed plans
Discouragement for you is never very far away. You never imagined life would be the way it is right now. But it’s reality for you. Day after day, week after week, month after month...you struggle, you paint a smile on your face to try to disguise the conglomeration of emotions you are feeling and dealing with.
As we look at this passage of Scripture today I want us to discover some important truths that will help us, even if we have downcast hearts...I pray we will leave here with OPENED EYES...
This is what happened with two of the disciples on the Emmaus Road. Take a look...
Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.
And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”
Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?”
And He said to them, “What things?”
So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.
The first thing I want you to notice from this passage is...
Sometimes Jesus is Closer Than we Think (vv. 13-20)
Sometimes Jesus is Closer Than we Think (vv. 13-20)
It is interesting to me that they had no idea who they were talking to. They had no clue that Jesus was right in the middle of it. The Nible says in verse 16...”their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.”
There are a variety of opinions as to WHY they did not recognize Jesus:
Some think it was their unbelief that kept them from recognizing Him
Some believe that they did not recognize Him because the setting sun would have been shining in their eyes
Some believe that God, in His sovereignty kept them from recognizing Him. The passage could literally be rendered: “their eyes were held in order not to know Him.”
While we may not be 100% sure why they didn’t recognize Jesus, we know that they did not and the truth is there are times in our lives, when Jesus is with us and we do not recognize it either!
Our eyes are blinded by tears, our hearts are crushed by unrealized expectations, our minds are clouded by tragedy, and Jesus is right there with us, right there walking alongside us, right there holding us, YET WE DO NOT EVEN RECOGNIZE AND ACKNOWLEDGE HIS PRESENCE because of the circumstances through which we are walking.
But listen: CIRCUMSTANCES DO NOT DICTATE THE NEARNESS OF CHRIST! We have the promise as believers that HE WILL NEVER LEAVE US OR FORSAKE US, so no matter how we “feel” we can know that God is there!
Do not mistake God’s SILENCE for God’s ABSENCE, but if we know Christ as our personal Lord and Savior we can be sure that He is not ABSENT!
Sometimes we don’t see God in the middle of our mess because we are looking for a different version of Him.
Someone put it this way:
The story of the Emmaus disciples teaches us that Jesus often meets us in unexpected ways and in unexpected forms . We might be looking for grand, miraculous interventions, while He is quietly walking alongside us in the midst of our everyday struggles. Our grief, pain, and disappointment can narrow our focus, blinding us to His presence. We might be so consumed by what we've lost or what we hoped for that we fail to see the One who is truly with us, offering comfort, guidance, and understanding.
Notice what happens next as they continue their conversation in Luke 24:21-27
But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. And certain 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.”
Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
A few years ago a friend of mine and I were having a disagreement. In the process of this disagreement she told me how she “felt” about my decision and why she felt that way. In return I basically told her that her feelings were not based in reality.
I thought my words would SOLVE the problem, but it only ADDED FUEL TO THE FIRE. She let me know that I had not AFFIRMED her feelings, but had really DISCOUNTED them.
That was not my intention. I was not trying to say that her feelings weren’t genuine and real. What I was trying to say was that she may have FELT my motives were one thing, but I knew my motives and what she THOUGHT about my motives weren’t really true. Actually, my motives were based in something else.
Let me give you an illustration. One Christmas I had asked for an Atari 2600. That was the gaming system to have in the mid-1980’s. That’s all I wanted that year for Christmas. I had asked, I had hinted, I had circled it in the Sear’s catalog…my HOPE and my THOUGHTS were only on the Atari 2600.
The problem was I didn’t see a gift under the tree that was shaped like an Atari 2600. I opened gift after gift, only to be disappointed that the ONE GIFT I wanted and begged for that Christmas was no where to be found. I tried to act thankful for the gifts I had received, but the SADNESS was written all over my face. Finally, after letting me sulk in my selfishness for a little while, my dad went and got ONE MORE PRESENT that had been hidden elsewhere. Anyone want to guess what was inside...YES, AN ATARI 2600!
Was my sadness real? Absolutely. You could cut my disappointment with a knife. BUT MY SADNESS AND DISAPPOINTMENT was not based in reality, it was BASED UPON MY PERCEIVED REALITY! MY FEELINGS WERE REAL, BUT THE REASON BEHIND MY FEELINGS WAS BASED IN FALSE PERCEPTION.
So let’s see how the disciples FELT…Let their emotions and their words SINK IN THIS MORNING...
Notice again Jesus’ question in Luke 24:17
And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”
They looked SAD, GLOOMY, DISCOURAGED...their faces were DOWNCAST.
It’s the same Greek word used in Matthew 6:16
“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
You could see their sadness WRITTEN ALL OVER THEIR FACES!
Wiersbe said:
They had hoped that Jesus would redeem Israel (Luke 24:21), but their hopes had been shattered. We get the impression that these men were discouraged and disappointed because God did not do what they wanted Him to do.
We Must Always Filter What we “Think” Through the TRUTH of the Scriptures! (v. 27)
We Must Always Filter What we “Think” Through the TRUTH of the Scriptures! (v. 27)
Notice again what they said in Luke 24:21
But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.
We were HOPING...
They had placed the entirety of their HOPE and EXPECTATION into Jesus as the Messiah, but just a few days ago they WATCHED HIM DIE!
Not only that, but look at what else they were dealing with
Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. And certain 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.”
Now Jesus’ body is missing, and they are wondering what to make of this word they had heard from the women about seeing angels and hearing about a resurrection!
Were their feelings REAL? Absolutely they were real. Were their feelings BASED upon truth? No, they were based upon misunderstandings of truth and the PERCEPTION that all of their hopes had been shattered!
Let me share a story with you.
There’s an old Native American tradition that marked the moment a boy became a man. When a boy came of age, the elders of the tribe would lead him deep into the forest. They would blindfold him, sit him on a tree stump, and leave him there—completely alone. The test was simple but terrifying: he had to remain on that stump, blindfolded, all night. No matter what he heard. No matter how scared he was. He couldn’t cry out. He couldn’t run. He had to sit and endure the night.
Imagine the fear that boy felt. Every snapping twig sounded like a wolf. Every gust of wind stirred panic. He believed he was alone. And in his mind, he was.
But when the sun began to rise, he removed the blindfold—and to his surprise, there sat his father… just a few feet away. Bow in hand. Silent, watchful, and faithful. He had been there the whole time.
Isn’t that what these disciples were walking through.
They were blindfolded by sorrow and fear. Their hearts were overwhelmed. Their hope was gone.
But Jesus, the risen Savior was walking with them, talking with them—faithful and present, even when they didn’t recognize Him.
And listen, the same is true for us:
Your sadness may be real. Your confusion may be crushing. But just because you feel alone doesn’t mean you are alone.
That’s why we must always filter what we feel through what is true. Because the truth of the Word of God will remind us: He will never leave us. He will never forsake us. He is closer than you think.
The TRUTH was that the RISEN CHRIST was right there with them
The TRUTH was that CHRIST came to SUFFER, BLEED, and DIE to rescue them and the rest of humanity from the righteous judgment of sin
The TRUTH was that it would take HIS SACRIFICE to redeem these disciples
The TRUTH was that even though Jesus had died, He walked out of that tomb on the third day VICTORIOUS OVER DEATH, HELL, AND THE GRAVE!
Ultimately whatever we are going through, we know...
God WILL Exceed our Expectations (vv. 28-32)
God WILL Exceed our Expectations (vv. 28-32)
Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.
Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.
And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”
Imagine what a Bible Study they had as the incarnate Word of God went all the way back to Genesis and revealed everything there was to know about how He tied into the OT. Maybe when we get to Heaven we will get to experience this same conversation!
As they got to Emmaus Jesus acted as if He was going to keep walking, but they invited Him to come and stay with them since it was getting late...so He did.
They still didn’t recognize Him. They still didn’t know who they had been talking to and traveling with.
But as they sat down to the table, Jesus took the bread, just as He had done the night before His crucifixion, BLESSED it and BROKE it and gave it to them...
...And when He did, THEY RECOGNIZED Him!
Notice what they said when they were reunited with the rest of the disciples...
And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.
Maybe as He reached across the table to hand them the bread they caught a glimpse of the ragged scar in His wrists where the nails had pierced Him. Maybe it was the way He broke the bread...the same way He had done a few nights before.
Or maybe the Holy Spirit removed the veil from their eyes at that exact moment and they got a fresh glimpse of the their Lord.
REGARDLESS OF HOW IT HAPPENED GOD EXCEEDED THEIR EXPECTATIONS EXPONENTIALLY!
It’s because of the resurrection of Jesus, after His SACRIFICIAL death, that GUARANTEES our expectations will one day be exceeded as well.
But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
As we close this morning let me ask you a few questions:
Are you walking with a downcast heart?
Are your eyes clouded to the truth?
Have you allowed grief, disappointment, unanswered prayer, or something in life that hasn’t gone as planned shatter you?
Maybe today you are walking on the “Emmaus Road.”
A road of sadness, confusion, unmet expectations.
IF YOU KNOW JESUS AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR YOU HAVE THE PROMISE THAT HE IS WALKING WITH YOU EVEN IF YOU DO NOT RECOGNIZE HIM!
Invite Him to abide with YOU. Let Him OPEN YOUR EYES to the TRUTH today!
Someone wrote these words to a poem entitled: He Was There All Along
He Was There All Along
When sorrow's shadow veils the light,
And dreams have faded out of sight,
When prayers feel lost in empty air,
And grief becomes too much to bear—
Remember this: though you can’t see,
The Savior walks with you and me.
Not in the thunder or the flame,
But whispering gently, just the same.
When you think you walk alone in pain,
And joy will never rise again,
He’s in the silence and the song...
He never left. He’s been there all along.
Christian are you willing to invite Jesus back to the table with your broken heart? Are you willing to trust that He has not abandoned you regardless of how you “feel.”
JESUS IS ALIVE AND HE IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK!
SALVATION
To Those Who May Not Yet Believe:
Maybe as you’ve listened today, you’ve realized that your heart is also heavy... but not just from grief or disappointment. Deep down, you know you’re missing something—or Someone. Maybe you’ve been searching for answers, for hope, for peace, for purpose.
Can I lovingly tell you today what the disciples on the road to Emmaus discovered?
The answer is Jesus.
Not religion.
Not rituals.
Not just trying harder to be a good person.
But a relationship with the risen Christ.
He didn’t just die to be an example.
He died to be your Savior.
He rose again so you could rise from the emptiness of sin and find new life in Him.
Friend, if you’ve never trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, don’t let this moment pass you by. Just like He drew near to the two disciples on the road, He’s drawing near to you right now. He’s closer than you think. You may not see Him with your eyes, but He’s speaking to your heart.
And just like their eyes were opened when they received what He offered, yours can be too—if you’ll turn to Him in faith today.
