DAY FIVE
What are you
talking about . . . ?

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.
LUKE 24:13–14

DESPAIR NOT ONLY clouds our vision; it hardens our hearts. We get cynical. We get calloused. And when good news comes, we don’t want to accept it for fear of being disappointed again. That’s what happened to two disciples on the road to Emmaus.

As they walk, they talk “about everything that had happened” (Luke 24:14 NCV). It’s not hard to imagine their words.

“Why did the people turn against him?”

“He could have come down from the cross. Why didn’t he?”

“He just let Pilate push him around.”

“What do we do now?”

Later on they say these words: “And today some women among us amazed us. Early this morning they went to the tomb, but they did not find his body there. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels who said that Jesus was alive! So some of our group went to the tomb, too. They found it just as the women said, but they did not see Jesus” (Luke 24:22–24 NCV).

When reading Scripture, we can’t always tell in what tone the words were spoken. Sometimes we don’t know if the speaker means to be jubilant or sad or peaceful. This time, however, there is no question about what they’re thinking: As if it’s not bad enough that Jesus was killed, now some grave robber has taken the body and duped some of our friends.

These two followers aren’t about to believe the women. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Cleopas and his friend are putting their hearts in a shell. They won’t take another risk. They won’t be hurt again.

Common reaction—isn’t it? Been hurt by love? Then don’t love. Had a promise violated? Then don’t trust. Had your heart broken? Then don’t give it away.

There is a line, a fine line, which once crossed can be fatal. It’s the line between disappointment and anger. Between hurt and hate, between bitterness and blame. If you are nearing that line, let me urge you, don’t cross it. Step back and ask this question: How long am I going to pay for my disappointment? How long am I going to go on nursing my hurt?

At some point you have to move on. At some point you have to heal. At some point you have to let Jesus do for you what he did for these men.

Know what he did? First of all, he came to them. He didn’t sit back and cross his arms and say, “Why can’t those two get with the program?” He didn’t complain to the angel and say, “Why won’t they believe the empty tomb? Why are they so hard to please?”

What did he do? He met them at their point of pain. Though death has been destroyed and sin annulled, he has not retired. The resurrected Lord has once again wrapped himself in flesh, put on human clothes, and searched out hurting hearts.

We’re talking heartbreak. We’re talking about what two friends of Jesus were feeling a couple of days after his death. Their world has tumbled in on them. It’s obvious by the way they walk. Their feet shuffle, their heads hang, their shoulders droop. The seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus must feel like seventy.
HE STILL MOVES STONES

1. There are many stories of disappointment, confusion, and sorrow in the Scriptures, and some writers bared their hearts and shared their pain.

• How does David describe the state of his heart in Psalm 38:8?

• What does sorrow do for the spirit, according to Proverbs 15:13?

• In the face of heartbreak, what promise from Psalm 34:18 can we hold on to?

2. Though these two disciples didn’t realize it, their Lord was right there with them. What promise from Deuteronomy 31:8 was he keeping?

3. Jesus had told them what was to come, but they didn’t understand. Their own expectations got in the way. Their disappointment clouded their perspective. How did Paul describe this kind of understanding in 1 Corinthians 13:12?

See, O LORD, that I am in distress; my soul is troubled; my heart is overturned within me.
LAMENTATIONS 1:20

Disappointment is caused by unmet expectations. Disappointment is cured by revamped expectations. So Jesus sets about the task of restructuring their expectations. You know what he did? He told them the story. Not just any story. He told them the story of God and God’s plan for people. “Then starting with what Moses and all the prophets had said about him, Jesus began to explain everything that had been written about himself in the Scriptures” (Luke 24:27 NCV).

Fascinating. Jesus’ cure for the broken heart is the story of God. He started with Moses and finished with himself. Why did he do that? Why did he retell the ancient tale? Why did he go all the way back two thousand years to the story of Moses? I think I know the reason. I know because what they heard is what we all need to hear when we are disappointed.

We need to hear that God is still in control. We need to hear that it’s not over until he says so. We need to hear that life’s mishaps and tragedies are not a reason to bail out. They are simply a reason to sit tight.

4. What does Jesus claim to fulfill in Luke 24:44?

O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
LUKE 24:25

5. In Acts 10:43, what does Peter say about the prophecies of the Old Testament?

6. What do the Messianic prophecies and the New Testament scriptures reveal about the character and ministry of Christ?

Prophecy	Revelation
Exodus 15:11	2 Corinthians 5:21
________________	________________
________________	________________
Isaiah 9:1-2	Matthew 4:12-17
________________	________________
________________	________________
Isaiah 53:12	John 10:11
________________	________________
________________	________________

7. If we are wise, what will we pay attention to, according to 2 Peter 1:19?

8. How did the two who were on the road to Emmaus describe the experience of being taught by the Lord, according to Luke 24:32?

9. John begins and ends the book of Revelation with blessings. What are they?

• Revelation 1:3

• Revelation 22:7

The way to deal with discouragement? The cure for disappointment? Go back to the story. Read it again and again. Be reminded that you aren’t the first person to weep. And you aren’t the first person to be helped.

Read the story and remember, their story is yours!

The challenge too great? Read the story. That’s you crossing the Red Sea with Moses.

Too many worries? Read the story. That’s you receiving heavenly food with the Israelites.

Your wounds too deep? Read the story. That’s you, Joseph, forgiving your brothers for betraying you.

Your enemies too mighty? Read the story. That’s you marching with Jehoshaphat into a battle already won.

Your disappointments too heavy? Read the story of the Emmaus-bound disciples. The Savior they thought was dead now walked beside them. He entered their house and sat at their table. And something happened in their hearts. “It felt like a fire burning in us when Jesus talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us” (Luke 24:32 NCV).

Next time you’re disappointed, don’t panic. Don’t jump out. Don’t give up. Just be patient and let God remind you he’s still in control. It ain’t over till it’s over.

Selections throughout this lesson were taken from Just Like Jesus and He Still Moves Stones.

1 . Matthew 11:15; 13:9; 13:43; Mark 4:9; 4:23; 8:18; Luke 8:8; 14:35; Revelation 2:7; 2:11; 2:17; 2:29; 3:6; 3:13; 3:22; 13:9.

2 . Mark 4:1–20.

3 . Revelation 2:7; 2:11; 2:17; 2:29; 3:6; 3:13; 3:22; 13:9 (NIV).

NOTES