Pastor John Eich

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

Alma, MI

Luke 24:13–35

He Lives to Restore My Hope

I think it is uncanny how I can spend 5 minutes looking for the chip dip in the refrigerator, but Sue walks in and finds it in 10 seconds. It was right there in front of me. I just couldn’t see it. Now chip dip isn’t all that important if we can’t find it. But if it is something important and we can’t see it, we lose hope. Hope is most often what we lose sight of because it is a confident expectation of future, unseen realities rather than a present, visible possession. It is frequently hidden by overwhelming despair, fear, and personal struggles.

Here a just a few key reasons why hope is not seen:

• Definition of Hope: Often people think hope should be the open door or window they see to escape a current situation. But we often don’t see what’s right in front of us because of the situation.

• Overwhelming Circumstances: Personal hardships, such as grief or economic difficulty, can make it seem impossible to see a positive future.

• Negativity Overload: Constant exposure to or thinking about negative news leads to hope blindness.

• Misplaced Expectations: Misplacing hope in uncertain things like finances or other people, outcomes instead of trusting in a higher purpose, leads to disappointment, making hope feel absent.

That is where we find the two men in our reading. They felt hopeless. The last time these men saw Jesus he was dead. But now they’ve heard from several women that angels had told them Jesus is alive. They don’t believe the what the women said, focusing instead on the sadness of what they saw.

They had come to Jerusalem for the Passover feast and now it was time for them to go home. As they leave town, blinded by grief and confusion, Jesus comes alongside them hiding his appearance. After a brief conversation about the events of the last days, they tell Him, “our hope was buried with him.” What is revealing about their mindset is that they call Jesus a prophet. They no longer say Jesus was the “Messiah” or the “Christ.” They’ve lost faith. Since Jesus is dead, he must have just been a prophet like the prophets of old who died. He can’t possibly be the Messiah chosen by God. When things get dark in life, when we lose our jobs or a loved one dies, a war, serious illness, or tragedy, and our hearts don’t sense Christ, it’s easy to say, “Maybe he’s not God, maybe Jesus is not as powerful as I thought.” They couldn’t see hope in that moment, even though hope was right next to them.

So, Jesus rebukes them, “O foolish ones,” he says, “and so slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken.” And as they walked Jesus begins in Genesis and goes through all the prophets, showing them that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer first and then to enter his glory. The work of the Savior and the hope that He would bring was right in front of them in the Old Testament. They just didn’t see it.

But there’s an important theme that is developing. We heard it Easter morning when Jesus appeared to the women and to Mary Magdalene. We heard it last week when Jesus appeared to the disciples and later to Thomas.

He tells them He is going to be with them in a very different way. He won’t walk physically with them, as He did before the crucifixion. Rather he will be with them according to his resurrected glory. They will have him not according to his normal bodily presence, rather they’ll have him according to his word.

That’s why he says to Mary Magdalene, “Don’t cling to me.” That’s why he says to Thomas, “Blessed are those who believe and have not seen.” That’s why he hides himself from the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Instead of opening their eyes to see his physical form, he opens their ears to hear the word.

Why? Why are we so much more blessed if we believe without seeing? Too often the natural man stands in the way of faith. It is easier to trust the senses than it is to trust God. Led by our senses (seeing is believing) we are blind to the spiritual truth that can only be discerned in the heart. True faith is not a reaction to physical evidence, but a spiritual conviction that leads to a deeper relationship with God. Physical sight is limited to the temporary world, while faith connects believers to eternal glory and the "unseen" reality of God's kingdom, which is more real and enduring than the material world.

That’s why Jesus wants us to have the sure testimony of the holy scriptures, so that we would know the truth that defies our senses. The truth is that Jesus is God in the flesh, that Jesus is crucified for us and for

our salvation, and that Jesus is truly risen from the dead. The grave is empty and he sits at the right hand of God the Father until the day coming soon when he returns for us.

This is the hope that we have. As Jesus Christ suffered in this world, so do we. Only here is the difference. We are guaranteed the victory. We will conquer in Jesus Christ. God is with us if we get sick or a loved one does. He is with His children in their time of suffering. Even if the sickness brings an end to our lives in this world, we are still the victors because an imperishable, undefiled, unfading inheritance awaits us. Nothing on this earth can destroy the hope God gives us in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. To destroy our hope, you would have had to kill Jesus Christ and kept Him in the tomb. But God raised Him from the dead and therefore nothing can steal our living hope away from us.

It’s that word that rings in our ears from the pages of Scripture that gives us hope. When our eyes see trouble and despair, we can hear the voice Jesus calling us over the tumult. When we see fear and desperation, we hear the voice of Jesus say, “Don’t be afraid. I am your refuge and strength.”

Zoe Yens, and you three adult confirmands, Dean, Fred and Zoe, that’s what I have worked to instill in you through our study together. It is seeing Jesus through your ears as you listen to His word. That’s why there were so many Bible passages that we studied together. You have the whole of God’s plan for your salvation in writing. You have the promises of God written down to give you hope. You have the unwavering hope that even when you don’t see God before your eyes, you will hear Him in your heart through that word. Our eyes can deceive us, but His word never will.

When we’re struggling, fatigued or frustrated, when we can’t see Jesus and can only think of everything wrong with our lives, we should pause and check our memories and ask, “Am I being selective in what I am remembering?” How has Jesus done good things for me and shown himself to me in ways in the past. If he’s been good for years and years, why would I assume he would stop now?” Lord, may we not have selective memories but memories full of the goodness of Christ. When you can’t see what Jesus is doing in your life look to the Scriptures. Go to your Bible. See him there. Hear him there.

As these three approached a village towards evening, Jesus pretends to keep going but like good hosts they invite Jesus in to stay with them the night. When he breaks the bread, much like he did at the feeding of the 5,000 and the Last Supper (Luke 9:16; 22:19), they finally recognize him for who he is. Then he’s gone. And what do they immediately afterwards?

They marvel at—the scriptures!

They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

Once they understand how all of Scriptures point to the Messiah needing to suffer and die and rise it changed everything. They believe! Their hope is restored.

There is a movie called The Sixth Sense. Have any of you seen it? You can only see that movie twice because once you know the ending it changes how you see the whole movie. It came out in 1999, so this is a spoiler alert. Bruce Willis, a child psychologist, is trying to help a young boy who sees dead people. You go through the whole movie with that plot line and at the end it turns out Bruce Willis is one of the people who is dead. Now if you go back through the movie it’s so obvious he is dead. His wife doesn’t look at him or interact with him. No one really talks to him except for the young boy. After knowing the ending, you can’t help but see the whole movie differently.

Easter is like that. The gospel is the good news that the hero of the story is alive and well. Now as you go back through the Scriptures you can’t help but read them in light of that good news. It’s all about him. It’s all about the hope that He brings. Knowing the ending we can’t but help look at all the troubles, trials, setbacks and problems we experience with a whole different understanding. It’s all about Jesus, his suffering, his death, and his life-giving resurrection so that anyone who puts their faith and trust in him will one day come out victorious!

For you confirmands this morning, and for all of you, may this be your confidence, your comfort, your wisdom, and your peace.

As the hymn says, “O God our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home.”

And all God’s people will say, “Amen.”