Let's turn back in our Bibles this morning to Luke's Gospel, 24, where we've read again just one verse just to help us focus our thoughts a bit.
!
Lord, we need your help today. Both I as preacher and we as a congregation of listeners, we need to hear what you are saying to us, and we need your help.
Give us, therefore, clarity and certainty, and help us, Lord, with the work of the Holy Spirit today, confirming to us the things of God.
And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
You know, it's funny on an Easter Sunday to start a sermon by talking about how, at times, the world and our lives can feel particularly hopeless.
I've been kind of maybe wondering a bit about that over the last wee while, just as you look at the way global conflicts seem to kind of spiral out of control a wee bit,
and you end up thinking, what on earth is going on? How do we make sense of the world in which we live?
The same can be true almost down to the level of our own lives.
There can be times and experiences of confusion and uncertainty.
Sometimes it's mundane small things.
If you're a visitor today and you manage to get to the island, maybe you're anxious about how you're going to get off because of the ferries.
If you're from here and you're wanting to get away still the second week of the school holidays, maybe there's confusion over that.
It could equally be that there's profound turmoil in your life because of great sorrow and sadness.
This week was a sad and difficult week for many of us in the Free Church, particularly in the Free Church ministry.
The last 30 years, Donald MacDonald, Dr. Donald, as we knew him, he was one of our lecturers in the seminary who passed away after a long illness with MS.
It seems a profound passing of the seasons and the time that is going on.
And yet, we come to the resurrection.
We come to this story of the disciples, Cleopas and the other, leaving Jerusalem on this resurrection Sunday.
And that feeling of confusion seems to characterize, it's the best word, to characterize what's actually going on in their hearts.
Because as we read these verses, the temptation is to think they don't know what happened in the first 12 verses of Luke 24.
You're almost tempted to say, well, maybe they didn't know that, you know, some of the women had been to the tomb and the angels had said he's risen.
Or that Peter and the other disciples had been to the tomb and seen it was empty.
And that Mary Magdalene had actually seen the Lord himself and come with a report of it.
And you're thinking, no, no, that's not the case.
They were familiar with all of this.
They knew the whole story up to this point.
And yet, as they're leaving Jerusalem to go out in the opposite direction of Christian fellowship, as we'll see,
as they're leaving Jerusalem, Luke uses an interesting word where he says they were discussing this together.
The word that's used there for a discussion is a heated discussion.
They were arguing about what had happened.
And they were confused by all of this.
And their confusion, its root is found in one simple idea.
It is that they had given up hope.
The cross for them had seemed too hopeless.
Jesus, who went to the cross, for them, had promised something other than what they had come to realize.
And in the midst of all of that, there was absolute confusion in their experience.
And so that's where we have to start today, in what seems to be the hopelessness and the confusion of the cross.
And perhaps for some people here today, that's where you are.
You're familiar with the Christian message.
You know that Jesus died.
And you know that the Christian teaching is that he rose again.
And that our teaching is that he went and resides now in heaven with the Father after his ascension.
And that there is a promise that one day he will return.
You know that story, that narrative, the point.
But at the center of it all, there is the cross.
And that is a bit confusing for you.
It can be for a lot of people.
When Paul spoke about saying he preached Christ and him crucified,
he acknowledged that the message of the cross was to the Jews foolishness and hopelessness.
And something that was utterly despicable to the Gentiles.
The cross is a place of weakness and apparent defeat.
A God who dies?
What on earth was all of that about?
And so, when we think about the cross,
we have to begin by understanding what has actually happened in that place.
The victory of Jesus in the resurrection
is a victory over death.
And the cross served as a means of death for Jesus.
We need to be absolutely certain about that.
The notion that somehow Jesus, as Muslims would teach us,
that Jesus didn't really die at the cross.
That a holy prophet of God could not possibly experience death.
And would be whipped away at the last moment.
Whisked away by sovereign power of God.
And replaced with some kind of mannequin.
It just doesn't bear out the truth.
Jesus died there.
He experienced the consequences of sin that were promised
all the way back in the Garden of Eden when Adam first sinned.
And in Adam's first sin, he was told,
On the day that you eat of that fruit, you shall surely die.
And that day, Adam experienced death.
Not the physical death of his body,
the separation of body and soul.
But he experienced on that day
a separation of death
from the easy and living fellowship
he had with God the Father.
On that day, when Adam ate of the forbidden fruit,
he didn't even have to wait for God's judgment to be announced.
Adam became terrified of God.
Fearful of God's judgment.
And so Adam, on that day, had hid himself.
Concealed himself in the garden
when God came looking to meet with him.
And the terrifying and awful thing
of the cross of Golgotha
was that Jesus experienced
that breakdown in fellowship with God.
He experienced a death of friendship with God.
Where at the cross,
he was no longer able to speak of God as his Father,
but said,
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
And that experience of abandonment at the cross,
that experience of a death of relationship
was part and parcel of the awfulness of that event.
And the consequences of that broken relationship
is itself physical death.
Without God,
our bodies just can't keep going.
They just won't.
And so Jesus,
at the cross,
experienced then not only
the death of that relationship,
but he experienced then
physical death as well.
And in the midst of all of the brutality of the cross,
you cannot lose sight of that.
Now,
for these disciples
who are on the way out to Emmaus,
for them,
part of the confusion is
they're thinking,
well,
they didn't doubt that Jesus was the Messiah.
They seem to have placed
all of their messianic hope on him
because they say in verse 21,
when they're explaining to
this mysterious stranger
who's come alongside them
who they don't recognize as Jesus himself,
they say,
we had thought,
we had not just thought,
we had hoped
that he was the one
to redeem Israel.
We had thought he was the one
who was going to restore
the majesty of the kingdom of Israel.
He was going to restore
the potency of the throne of David.
He was going to restore
national heritage and pride.
He was going to bring everything back
to the way we wanted it to be.
And now,
because he had experienced death,
our hope is crushed.
For them,
things were not
as they wanted them to be.
It's interesting as well
that they don't deny
the death of Jesus.
They don't even deny
the stories of the fact
that the grave is empty.
They treat them as idle rumor.
For them,
the resurrection story
just cannot be true.
It just can't be the case
that Jesus is risen.
It is so far
outside their experience.
And so,
a providence
has come into their path,
a situation has come upon them,
which they just are unable
to reconcile
with what they had wanted,
with what they had thought
ought to be the case.
So they had their own
conception of what God's
work in their lives
and in the lives of Israel
and their people
was going to be
and what had actually happened
was completely
foreign to that.
And so today,
maybe you're someone
who knows the story
of Christianity
and knows what we believe,
but you're confused
by what happened
at the cross.
Maybe that's one group
of people who are here today.
But equally,
there's another group
of people who could be here today
and who are experiencing
in their own lives
an experience of God's providence
that is disconnected,
shall we say,
disconnected
from what their concept
of God is.
I mean,
isn't God meant to be
a loving
and powerful God
who can deliver us
from all manner
of problems?
Isn't God
a wonderful character
who doesn't allow suffering
or somehow,
if he is
somehow allowing suffering,
then there must be
a very temporary reason
for it
and it can be overcome
very quickly and easily.
And yet,
my experience
is one of prolonged suffering.
So why is God allowing this?
Is that fair of him?
Is it good of him?
Is that true of a loving God?
Is that his character?
Is that what God does?
Maybe today,
your experience
or the experience
of someone close to you
is so far
from what you think
it ought to be
that it's leaving you
just like these disciples were.
They know the story
but they just don't believe it
and they've lost confidence
in the possibility of hope
with such a God.
The reason I say that
is because I know it's common.
It's become common.
Some people found,
for example,
the COVID pandemic
far too difficult.
It's hard to reconcile
the burdens
and the hardships
of that season of life
with what God is really like.
Some people have been fed
a diet
of
what I would actually call
false hope
but in the form of
prosperity gospel teaching
on YouTube
and on the internet.
Word of faith teaching
that says
you just need to name it
and claim it
and God will give it to you.
You just need to hold out
for things being
the best they can be
and believe in it
and it will be so.
As if somehow
Christianity works
on the power
of positive thinking.
And that's so different
from the real experience
of our lives,
isn't it?
where so often
the real experience
we have
is one where there's
bitterness and sorrow
and hard things
that come into our path.
And we should not be mistaken.
The disciples
leaving Jerusalem
that day
were in that place
of great
and difficult sorrow.
So much so,
in fact,
that they're leaving
Jerusalem.
This is the thing
I find really interesting
about the story.
The rest of the disciples
are still gathered
in the upper room.
The rest of them
are still gathered
presumably even
where they had been
for the Passover
with Jesus
just a few days before.
And yet,
these disciples
are heading out
towards Emmaus.
Why are they doing that?
Well,
I presume they're doing it
because for them
at that moment,
the fellowship
of the other disciples
had become
maybe a bit uncomfortable.
They're cutting
themselves off
as it were.
They're going away
in a different direction.
And so,
they're moving away
from fellowship
rather than
into fellowship.
That's what the devil
tempts us with
when times are hard.
When times get difficult
for us,
what the devil does
is he says to us,
you don't need to be
in Christian fellowship
just now.
That'll just depress you.
That'll just be
too much for you.
That'll just be unhelpful.
Keep your own company.
They might not understand
anyway how sorrowful
you are,
so stay away from them
and have nothing
to do with them.
And perhaps
everything will pass.
Yet it doesn't.
The old stories
of the coals
of a fire
that are taken away
to a separate place
that tumble
out of the hearth
and onto the floor.
These coals,
they don't stay burning
and warm for long.
They go out
because coals
need to be
in the presence
of other coals
for a fire to burn
and keep them going.
And so,
this was a place
of real hopelessness.
And yet,
what is amazing
in God's providence
is that it's into
this most hopeless
situation
that Jesus comes.
In fact,
I do wonder,
in fact,
is this simultaneous
to the appearance
of Jesus
in the upper room
or is it very
in close proximity
to it?
When Jesus disappears
at the end
of this incident,
when they're breaking
bread together
and they then,
you know,
Jesus then immediately
afterwards
as they're talking
about these things,
a short time later
Jesus appears
in the upper room.
I wonder,
is it simply the fact
that Jesus in this place,
in his great grace,
goes to perhaps
the most needy disciples
first
and appears to them?
It's only afterwards
that he appears
in the upper room
to the rest.
And it's out of
his great love
that Jesus appears.
Not
a million miles away
from where these
disciples are.
It's not like
he sends an angel
to them to comfort them
and to say something
to them.
He comes himself
in person.
That's what verse 15
says to us
whilst they were
talking and discussing
together.
Luke almost
puts attention
on this.
Jesus himself
drew near
and went with them.
That these disciples
who are so dismayed,
who are so sorrowful,
who are so overwhelmed
by this terrible
situation
that they find
themselves in,
at this very moment,
Jesus himself
comes close
to them.
And he's very
patient with them
because we remember
our doctrine.
Jesus is God.
God is
omnipresent.
He is all-knowing.
He sees everything
so he already knows
what's going on
in their lives
and what's going on
in their discussion.
He already knows
the details of it
but it's almost as if
he pleads ignorance
with them.
He wants to hear
from them themselves.
What's the matter?
Are you a stranger
in Jerusalem
that you haven't
heard these things?
They're almost incredulous.
They can't believe it.
And so they start
spilling out to Jesus
all of the things
that have confused them,
all of the things
that they found
so difficult,
all of the things
that they found
impossible to talk to,
perhaps to Peter
or to the other disciples
but they're able to talk
about it here
amongst themselves,
the two of them.
And they spill
all of this out to Jesus
who they assume
is actually just a stranger
and Jesus listens to them
patiently and gently
and hears all of
their concerns.
I would say to you today
if you're a Christian
going through these
perplexing,
difficult valleys,
excuse me,
pour it out to Jesus.
Tell him
the confusion
of your moment.
Or today
if you're confused
as well about the cross,
if you haven't come
to a place of faith yet
and you're still
in that place
of anxiety
and confusion
and perplexion
about what exactly
does the cross even mean?
I would say
talk to Jesus about it.
Pray about it.
Pray about that confusion
and ask God
what it all means.
Because he is patient
and he is willing
to come down
to the level
of mere humans
like us
and who will
patiently minister to us
by coming alongside us
and hearing our complaints
and moans
and understanding
what it is
that we are really
battling through
because he will
listen to us.
And this Jesus
comes alongside them,
listens to what
they're saying
and then
he begins
to open things
up to them.
Verse 25,
is it?
O foolish ones
and slow of hearts
to believe
all that the prophets
have spoken.
The idea
of the foolish ones
there
is a very
gentle rebuke.
But the idea
of the fool
in the Old Testament
is the one
who simply
just denies
the work of God.
The fool
is the one
who in his heart
has said
there is no God.
And Jesus is saying
you need to remember
in all of your confusion
at the moment
you're forgetting
God.
And so beginning
in Moses
and all of the prophets
he begins to show them
the necessity
of Christ
suffering these things.
He begins to show them
the necessity
of the cross.
Now
we're not told
what emphasis
Jesus drew out
from the Old Testament
on this occasion.
but we can imagine
what that would have been.
Perhaps it is the fact
that there is a necessity
for a sacrifice
to provide a covering.
And so that idea
of a sacrifice
providing a covering
it doesn't begin
on the teaching
of the law
on the Day of Atonement
it actually begins
on the Day of the Fall
in Genesis 3
when Adam
and his wife Eve
are ejected
from the garden
having tried
to make coverings
for themselves
from fig leaves
God provides
for them
a better covering
in the form
of an animal skin
that he fashions
into a garment
for them.
God clothes them
covers them
from their nakedness
and their shame
and their exposure
as they're cast out
of the harmony
and peace
of the garden
into the wilds
of the sinful world
that has now
unfurled itself
because of Adam's sin.
Perhaps it's that
God will provide
a lamb
a substitute
again it's there
at the beginning
in Genesis
where God says
that the seed
of the woman
will one day
bruise the head
of the serpent
and he will
bruise his heel
there's that sense
of God sending
a redeemer
of some sort
but then there's
more than that
you go into
the story of Abraham
just a few chapters
later in Genesis
and God provides
a lamb
when Abraham
goes up the mountain
to sacrifice his son
perhaps it's that
God will provide
a remedy for salvation
it's there in the story
of Noah
we were looking at that
a couple of weeks ago
where God
carries Noah
through the flood
and God remembers
his covenant with him
and his promises to him
but the book of
the law
the books of Moses
just the book of Genesis
alone in the first
20 odd chapters
there's loads
of detail there
about how the Messiah
would have to suffer
these things
and it's there
in its proto-form
there at the beginning
of the books
of the Torah
and then the prophets
simply expound on that
and explain more
and more
what God's redemption
is going to look like
and why it is so
utterly necessary
because we
are so
utterly sinful
we can't save ourselves
and so God
has to do something
to save us
and it culminates
ultimately
in God
sending his son
to die
in the place
of sinners
the Christ
of the anointed
Messiah
and then
he enters
his glory
and that idea
of glory
in Luke's gospel
it's a wonderful
study
you can go in
and have a look
through it yourself
today perhaps
but the idea
of him entering
his glory
in Luke's gospel
is bound up
in the cross
there is no glory
without the cross
itself
it's a key theme
in certainly Luke's
theology
it grows out of
Paul's theology
as well
it's necessary
for Christ
to suffer
in order to
enter the glory
so the path
to glory
is through
the cross
not sidestepping
it
not getting
around it
not getting
away from it
but through it
it is necessary
and these disciples
are left
in that position
where
you know
their questions
the things
they've been
arguing about
are being addressed
the things
that they've
been uncertain
about
Jesus has
very gently
taken them
to the scripture
and shown them
very openly
on the pages
of scripture
and said
this is how
it all fits together
there's a reasonableness
to our faith
as Christians
it carries
an internal
consistency
it makes
sense
when people
mock and deride
Christianity
one of the things
they often say
is your faith
is a blind faith
it doesn't believe
in anything concrete
it is nothing certain
except you would
turn around
and say hang on
a minute
there are literally
hundreds if not
thousands of years
of written
recorded history
in the Bible
that find
their culmination
and their climax
and their fulfillment
in the cross
of course it makes sense
dozens of writers
approved by God
down through the centuries
all pointing us
towards the same
moment
when God's own son
would come
and bear
the sins of the world
at the cross
and then furthermore
they need to grapple
with the resurrection
itself
death could not
hold him
it has no grip
upon him
because
he is
the perfect
sinless one
he is the one
who emerges
triumphant
from the dark
realm of Sheol
and who comes
back with victory
and gifts
to share
with us
to pass on
and one of them
is in fact
his own presence
because the wonderful
thing is
when these disciples
they urge
Jesus
this unknown
stranger
they urge him
to come in
with them
for supper
that night
and to stay
with them
because
the light's
getting on
and so Jesus
stays with them
and what's
fascinating
is it's in
that moment
of close
intimate
personal
fellowship
that their
eyes are
opened
because Jesus
took bread
and blessed
it and gave
it to them
and their
eyes were
opened
and they
recognised
him in that
so I
find it
fascinating
their trajectory
remember
is away
from Jerusalem
away from
fellowship
with the rest
of the
disciples
away from
probably
the upper
room
where bread
had been
broken
together
and these
two
disciples
are now
finding
Jesus
in the
breaking
of bread
together
what they
discover
is
fellowship
restored
is fellowship
entirely
renewed
and
God
is found
there
we can't
pause
or escape
rather
this reality
that the
path of
real
progress
and maturity
in the
Christian life
is a path
of real
fellowship
with other
believers
in which
is found
fellowship
with Jesus
and it's
actually
the fellowship
with Jesus
that spurns
us on
and that
enlivens
and
enfreshens
us
and so
when Jesus
breaks bread
with them
they then
the consequence
of Jesus
breaking bread
with them
and them
realising
Jesus is
in this
look what
he's just
told us
and we
have to
what they
then realise
is we
have to
share what
Jesus
has told
us
with
others
and the
first place
they want
to go
is go back
to the
other
disciples
that they've
just
left
they want
to get
back
into
Christian
fellowship
with these
disciples
to
embolden
them
to encourage
them
to bless
them
just as
Jesus
has blessed
them
so what
Paul
writing in the
New Testament
in one of his
letters
he talks about
the importance
of us
comforting others
with the
comfort with
which we
ourselves
have been
comforted
this is
what it
is
to live
as a
Christian
to walk
as a
Christian
to go
on as
a
Christian
in a
discipled
way
led
and taught
by Jesus
ultimately
it is to
share that
blessing
with others
and to
encourage
them
and to
build
them
up
that's
why I
was saying
to the
kids
this morning
the hope
of the
resurrection
is a
hope
that we
dare
not
share
Christ
is
risen
and this
changes
all of the
dynamics
of the
church
and everything
of our
experience
and everything
that we
are going
through
hard and
difficult and
dark places
that we
have to
walk
they are
all
transformed
because
Jesus
has come
into them
with us
and because
we discover
the fellowship
of Jesus
with us
in these
dark places
that we
must therefore
be bold
and say
to others
Christ
is there
to be
found
and Christ
is there
to comfort
you
in the
dark
places
you have
to go
to
particularly
the places
of your
own sin
particularly
the places
of your
own
failing
the places
of your
own
inadequacy
the places
where you
have stumbled
and fallen
completely
short
Christ
is there
for you
his cross
has paid
for that
sin
and now
we get
up
and we
rise
with renewed
strength
it might feel
like it's on
broken wings
but you know
what
God has
healed you
he's healed
you
through his
son
Jesus
who has
come
and ministered
in your
experience
and so
the disciples
they run
back to
Jerusalem
they run
and when
they get
back
they hear
the stories
the Lord
has risen
indeed
and has
appeared
to Simon
and then
they say
well he's
appeared
to us
as well
and he
made himself
known to
us
in the
breaking
of bread
that simple
fellowship
of Jesus
that miracle
of the
life of
Jesus
now
it's revealed
I think
bizarrely
not in
grandiose
miracles
and angels
singing in
the sky
but rather
it's revealed
in the simple
things
these simple
places of
love
and fellowship
and companionship
where Jesus
comes alongside
and encourages
us on the
way
and so
today I
would ask
you
whether you
are in
that place
of confusion
whether you
are in
these places
of sorrow
in the
darkness
of hard
experiences
I would
urge you
to find
that Jesus
is there
already
and that
he has
come alongside
you
and that
he is
showing you
the truth
and he is
showing you
the way
because he
is ultimately
the life
of your
hope
see him
for who he
is
and love
him
and worship
him
and follow
him
and he
will lead
you to
good places
let's pray
heavenly father
we thank
you today
for the
presence
of your
son
Jesus
we thank
you
that although
he is
enthroned
in heaven
and at
your right
hand
he still
sends the
holy spirit
to convey
to us
the presence
of almighty
God
that he
still comes
alongside us
himself
in his
word
and that he
speaks to
us
that we
hear from
him
and we
hear from
him
words of
life
and blessing
and hope
and so
Lord fill us
today with
that confidence
in who you
are
who your son
is and what
he has done
and the work
of the Holy
Spirit as it
goes on in
our lives
and we
ask these
things in
Jesus name
Amen
we're going
to sing in
conclusion
in words of
Psalm 16
this is
Sing Psalms
verses 8
to 11
the last
four stanzas
this is the
confidence that
David had
in knowing
the Lord
was with
him
I often
suggest this
as we're
singing the
Psalms
that where
David uses
the word
of the
Lord
the name
of the
Lord
Yahweh
we can
clearly
and fairly
and with
absolute
consistency
substitute
in the
name
of
Jesus
if that's
how we
want to
understand
it
before me
constantly
I
set the
Lord
alone
because
he
is
at my
right
hand
I'll
not
be
overthrown
therefore
my heart
is glad
my tongue
with joy
will sing
my body
too
will rest
secure
in hope
unwavering
so although
David is
writing
prophetically
in the
Psalm
about the
resurrection
ultimately
of Jesus
there is a
sense in
which that
is also
true of
us
that our
bodies
when we
die
will rest
in the
grave
but not
without
hope
because
Christ
is risen
and there
is hope
for us
and so
death
will not
have its
hold
over God's
people
forever
but there
is hope
for the
children
of God
who have
Christ
at their
hand
at their
side
with them
and who
will lead
them
ultimately
through
death
itself
and to
the path
of life
divine
ultimately
so we
are rooted
in these
verses
because we
are rooted
in Christ
and that
I hope
is true
of each
one of us
today
that we
would be
rooted
in Christ
Jesus
and therefore
find our
hope in
him
so before
me
constantly
I set
the Lord
alone
let's
stand to
sing to
God's
praise
before
me
constantly
I
set
the
Lord
alone
because
he
is
at
my
right
hand
I'll
not
be
overthrown
therefore
my
heart
is
glad
my
tongue
with
joy
will
sing
my
body
too
will
rest
secure
in hope
unwavering
for you
will
not
allow
my
soul
in
death
to
stay
nor
will
you
leave
your
holy
one
to
see
the
tombs
decay
you
have
made
known
to
me
the
path
of
life
divine
please
shall
thy
know
at
your
right
hand
joy
from
your
face
will
shine
now
the
grace
of the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
the
love
of God
the
Father
and
the
fellowship
of
God
the
Holy
Spirit
be
with
each
one
of
you
now
and
always
Amen
to
!
to
!
to