Second Sunday of Easter (Preaching Easter Evening Text)

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, we are using some different readings for today than we normally would. The reading for today is normally reserved for Easter Evening, when the events in this passage would have taken place, but it is good for us to go here and see what our Lord and Savior did for these two disciples who were doubting the resurrection of Christ and left the Jerusalem that day with hearts weighed down with sorrow as they traveled to Emmaus.

Now we know about Thomas, and Thomas’ doubts about the resurrection of Jesus, but here we find that these two men had heard the news that Jesus was alive, that the vision of Angels had been reported to the group by the women and by the disciples who went to the tomb to verify that these things were true, and yet they were still sorrowful for even though the message of Salvation had come to them they did not yet believe the wonderful news that had been given.

So here comes Christ to enlighten their hearts and their minds and to reveal to them the truth and to restore to them the joy that is found in Him alone. This is the joy that Christ wants for you as well, and for all people that they might find in Him the hope of eternal life.

Now when Jesus draws near to them, you will notice it says that their eyes are kept from recognizing Him. Now faith is not something that comes from within ourselves, we find this in Scripture that no one can say that Jesus Christ is Lord apart from the Holy Spirit.

Now this is something that we confess in our Small Catechism, in the 3rd article of the Creed, that I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to Him, but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel enlightened me with his gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. So here for a time the truth is hidden from them which is not surprising since they do not yet understand what Christ had come to do.

For they do not yet believe what Moses and the Prophets had said about Him. They are very weak in their faith, indeed it is on the verge of being extinguished even though they had great hope in what Jesus had done during his ministry, and what they thought He was going to accomplish, but at his death they have reached nearly the point of despair.

Jesus draws close to them, this is important for we find that Christ cares about those who are doubting and in need. For their Savior who had come to earth to redeem them, now comes alongside them on the road. I love this part in the text. When Jesus asks them what they are talking about and they look sad, and ask if he is the only one in Jerusalem who doesn’t know what has happened, and what is Jesus’ response, what things? As though He doesn’t know what happened.

Look as they unburden their hearts, about who Jesus is and what their hope was, you will notice that they truly believed that Jesus was a prophet, that He was powerful in word and deed before God and all people, and they thought that He was the redeemer of Israel. So they would have been in that crowd singing Loud Hosannas that the Son of David, the King of the Jews had come into the city of Jersualem, laying down palm branches and throwing their garments on the ground before him. But on Good Friday they believe that Jesus failed, they believe that He is still dead, and so their hearts are filled with sorrow.

They had in mind a different redemption for Israel and a different purpose of Christ than what Jesus had come to do. When they speak here about the redemption of Israel, they were thinking of God rescuing them from the oppression of the Romans and the Pharisees they thought of Jesus more like a new Moses who would lead them out of bondage. They misunderstood the Scriptures and were disappointed when their idea and their expectations were unmet.

Now this still happens today, what do people expect from the Church, what do they expect from God, and Christ? When people hear that God loves you and cares about you and that with Him there is great joy. They think well, if there is great joy, then God must want me to be happy, and so God would never do anything that would stop my happiness or my desires. If God cares about me, then God must not want me to suffer, and if He loves me, then He will love me for who I am, and nothing will ever go wrong.

Consequently there are many Christians who are shocked, and they become greatly disappointed when they hear that God doesn’t approve of what they are doing, and it makes them feel bad, and they wander away from the truth because God is not doing what they think God should do or giving them what they want. Never considering that perhaps it is not God that is wrong, but what they believed about Him.

That’s hard, think about it these men had heard that Jesus had risen from the dead, but they did not believe those who were telling them the truth for this was not the redemption they were looking for, they already had set their mind on something else, and they were walking away from the truth for it did not fit their desires.

You can see then why Jesus calls them foolish, and slow of heart, because they were chasing after the desires of their heart and their minds, though Christ is the light of the World they were trapped in darkness, they were blind to the truth of the Gospel. For Jesus’ death and resurrection is the very work of God for our redemption, but not a redemption from Roman authorities or societal problems, or economic troubles. Christ came to redeem sinners from the powers of sin, death, and the devil by dying and rising again.

If people are looking for something other than that from Jesus, then they are rejecting the purpose that Christ came to earth, and they are foolish and slow of heart, even if they call themselves Christians. Now that is some serious Law, but it is needed lest people misunderstand why Jesus came to earth, and what He came to accomplish for their sake and wander away from the truth. So if you have turned Jesus into something other than the Savior of sinners, who saves you from sin, death, and the power of the devil by his dying and rising again, repent. For that is what God sent His Son to do.

Now Jesus does not leave these men in this sad and sorry state, but look at what He does. He opens to them the Scriptures, and beginning with Moses and the Prophets reveals to them what was taught about Himself. Now they had a journey of 7 miles to make to Emmaus and so they had a Bible study that went on well over an hour on what Jesus Christ had come to do.

Now this is where many well-meaning folks have gone astray, when they read the Bible, because the Bible is not about you. They come to the Bible with the wrong expectations, and they are looking for how God will make them feel better now, how God will solve their finances, how God will save their marriage, how God will make our nation godly, how God will cure their loved one from a dreadful disease and when it doesn’t turn out they get frustrated and disappointed with God when that is not what the Bible is about.

The Bible is about Jesus for you. The Bible tells us that Jesus dies for you, Jesus rises for you, forgives you, and saves you. That is what the Bible tells us that it is all about Jesus and everything we need to know about who Jesus is, and what Jesus has done is found here in the Word. The tragedy is that are many that are like these disciples and when what they hope for doesn’t happen, like these men on the Road to Emmaus, they wander off not considering that it wasn’t God or Jesus who failed them, because they were expecting God to do something that He didn’t promise to do.

When Jesus speaks these harsh words to them, does Jesus hate them? Not at all, he doesn’t take them through the Word because He hates them, but because of His great love for them, and He shows them who He is, and that God’s plan had always been for the Messiah to suffer these things and enter into His glory.

He takes them from false belief to true belief to see what the Messiah had come to do, that He was a Savior from sin, death, the power of the devil not with gold or silver, but by shedding his holy and precious blood for their sake. This is what Jesus has done for you that you might be here, hearing the Words of God, and being pointed to Christ’s work for your sake. This is why we spend each Sunday in the Word, learning about what Christ has done for you that you might be strengthened and see Christ before your eyes.

As Disciples of Christ, you also ought to be prepared to share this with others. For if you think about this, how many do you know that are disappointed or frustrated with God, Jesus, or the Church? Were they like these men walking away because Christ is not the savior they expected? Take them back to the Word, show them who Christ is and what Jesus has done for them, that the joy of Salvation might be restored to them.

This is needed desperately, the world and nation is in a sorry state, for most folks know even less about Jesus then these men who are on the road to Emmaus. They have heard many things about Jesus, and they may even own Bibles but they do not open and don’t know what is inside. As Christians we have to be able to point them to the Word to see who Jesus is and what Jesus has done, and to do that well we need to be in the Word ourselves. Now doing that on our own is tricky, but that is why we have Bible Studies. That way you can be equipped and ready to show people who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for them.

So my brothers and sisters in Christ, your neighbor needs your help just like these men needed help. Christ has called you to be His disciples and revealed to you what He has accomplished, but to be ready to share that news, we must make sure that we ourselves are ready to share with everyone what the Bible has to say about Jesus and who Jesus really is that they may share in the joy and peace that has been fanned into flame inside of our hearts through the Word. In Jesus name. Amen.