Message: Luke 24 shows the mood and response
of the people after the crucifixion of Jesus. The biggest miracle of all time
had just taken place but they couldn’t see it because it didn’t look they way
they were expecting it to look. For generations there had been prophesies and
promises of a Messiah that would rescue Israel. The men on the road to Emmaus
said “We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This
all happened three days ago.” They were looking for a hero to rescue them
from the oppression of their government, but the purpose of Jesus was so much
bigger than that. He had come to rescue all of mankind from the oppression of
sin. Before his death he had warned them and prepared them by reminding them of
the old prophesies and explaining that those were about to be fulfilled with
suffering, death and resurrection. He had repeatedly told them that his kingdom
was not of this world. Yet still, they were looking for a messiah that fit their
own agenda. They were looking for a hero that would come in and overthrow the
government. To them it appeared that the government had successfully defeated Jesus.
They were so distraught and lost that they didn’t even recognize Jesus as he
showed up among them. He had told them he would return after three days. Why
weren’t they looking for him, and why did they not recognize him when he was
right there in front of them?
Command: Look for God, not our own agenda.
Promise: God is faithful to fulfill everything
he has promised.
Warning: The promise doesn’t look like our
agenda. If we are looking for our own agenda, we will miss the promise
fulfilled right in front of us!
Application: As I read this I thought about how
easy it is for us to see where they missed it. We read the story with all of
the details laid out so neatly in front of us and we wonder how they missed it.
We don’t have the emotional connection to what was going on in their world so
we are quick to believe we would have seen this differently if we were there. Over
two thousand years later, we are waiting for the return of the Messiah. There are
promises and signs all throughout the bible pointing to his return, but we
really have no idea what this will actually look like. We can only relate it to
the way we see the world, and the way we hope it will happen. Most of us aren’t
really even thinking about the overall promise of the Messiah. It’s something
we hear about and talk about often, but we’re looking for a hero to come in and
save us from our personal hardships and circumstances. It’s difficult for us to
see which of our hardships that God is intentionally allowing in our lives
because it will pave the way for an even greater promise. I’ve been thinking
about this for quite some time, but reading this chapter really opened my eyes
to the situations I have been praying for in my own life. Things that I know
God wants to change and move on, but I wonder if there is something bigger than
that is happening right in front of me, but I’m not seeing it! Am I so focused
on the thing that I am praying for that I’m missing the greater miracle? Is it
possible that I’m face to face with God and don’t even know it? This thought is
both amazing and terrifying at the same time. In the story of the men walking
with Jesus on the road to Emmaus, they didn’t know they were with Jesus that
entire time until dinner when he broke the bread and their eyes were opened. My
challenge to myself is to allow my own ideas of what the promises of God should
look like to be broken so that I can Jesus as he is and not as I want him to
be.
