The Road of Confusion

This morning, Dave Blow starts us into a new series looking at what it means to be resurrection people. What do we do know that Christ has risen and death is defeated?

Please find the slide deck for this week's teaching here.

Home Church Questions:

1. What stood out to you from this week's teaching?

2. Describe a time when something made sense only in hindsight. What changed your perspective?

3. Read Luke 24:13-35 (preferably in multiple translations). What stands out to you from this passage? What emotions do you notice in the two disciples? What surprises you about how Jesus interacts with them?

4. The disciples say, “We had hoped…”. What does that reveal about their expectations of Jesus?

5. Why do you think they were kept from recognizing Jesus at first? What might this teach us about how God works in our lives?

6. Jesus opens the scriptures to them before revealing himself. Why is this significant? What does it say about how we come to understand Jesus?

7. Have you experienced a “we had hoped” moment in your life? What did that season feel like?

8. Can you think of a time when you later realized God was present… but you didn’t see it at the time? What does this story teach us about doubt, confusion, or disappointment in faith?

9. Where might Jesus be walking with you right now—even if you don’t fully recognize him?

10. Pray with and for one another, our church community, and our world.

Instagram: @theharbournewmarket
Website: theharbournewmarket.ca
Email: david@theharbournewmarket.ca

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:18

A quick word about Paul Tuck, who you saw up on the screen. Paul and I have been friends, oh, probably for about 20 years. You know, when fellows and uh ladies are released from prison, they struggle to find community, they struggle to find spiritual care and um and an opportunity to explore their faith in a safe space. Um Dismas Fellowship Network is um, well, Dismas in Catholic theology or lore, maybe for a better word, was the name of the good thief who um received Jesus on the cross, which is a powerful mental hook. So um these Dismas Fellowships operate around the province. They started in uh in Toronto, and uh it's grown organically, a place where volunteers and um ex-uh ex-offenders can just be together in a safe space that no one has any labels. They do life together, and uh yeah, there's a time of reflection and meal, and uh and for them it's their church. So I I uh I think you'll find the presentation interesting. I know Paul has a vision for something in York region. Um just saying, and we'll just leave it there for now. Alona and I have a secret plan that we're gonna roll out in the next in the next few weeks. Anyhow, we're gonna talk uh for the next few weeks on what it means to be resurrection people. Um Easter is now gone. Um and sometimes it's a bit of a you know a bit of a letdown. Everything hasn't automatically changed all of a sudden, and now we see a beautiful journey to the uh to the kicking off of the early church. So we're gonna start today on the walk to Emmaus, found in Luke 24, 13 to 35. That same day, two of Jesus' followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. As they walked along, they were talking about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. But God kept them from recognizing him. He asked them, What are you discussing so intently as you walk along? They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. Then one of them, Cleopus, replied, You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn't heard all of the things that have happened here in the last few days. What things? Jesus asked. The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth, they said, he was a prophet who did powerful miracles. He was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago. Then some of the women from our group of his followers were at the tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report. They said his body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus was alive. Some of our men ran out to see, and sure enough, his body was gone, just as the woman had said. Then Jesus said to them, You foolish people, you find it so hard to believe all of the prophets wrote in the scriptures. Wasn't it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory? Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and the prophets, explaining from all the scriptures the things concerning himself. By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he was going on, but they begged him, Stay the night with us, since it is getting late. So he went home with them. As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared. They said to each other, Didn't our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the scriptures to us? And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There they found eleven disciples and the others who had gathered with them, who said, The Lord has really risen. He appeared to Peter. Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus appeared to them as they were walking along the road and how they recognized him as he was breaking the bread. Perhaps you've had an experience like that. I think we all have, you know, maybe a restaurant that didn't quite live up to the uh the big check that came at the end of the meal. Maybe a vacation that wasn't what you expected. Um a career situation or a marriage situation. And for many of us, that can describe our experience, of course, with the with the church and with Christ. Um sometimes we think Christianity is one way, but it ought to be this way, and it's not really kind of jiving as how we've experienced it to be. And often we're disappointed or disappointed. And uh well, this was the experience of our two friends walking along the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. It was right after Easter, and they were distraught, they were disappointed, and it took an encounter with the risen Jesus to, well, to change their viewpoint on life. Yes, it's true, Easter Sunday had come and gone. The celebration, the joy, the decoration, he is risen. We've lived in that space. But if we're honest, resurrection doesn't always erase our doubts and our confusions. And that's where we find our two disciples today walking, talking, trying to make sense of what's happened. So we know one of them was Cleopas. He was a follower of Jesus, but not a disciple. We're not sure who the other person was. We're not told. Perhaps that's intentionally. I'm not sure. There's been speculation over the years. Um possibilities have included Luke himself, just another random follower of Jesus that felt like walking seven miles, possibly Cleopas's spouse. But the text is silent about that. But it is clear that they were walking away in disappointment. That very day they were going to a village named Emmaus. And that little detail matters because they're leaving Jerusalem, leaving the place where everything happened, leaving their community, leaving the hope they once held. And as they walk, they're chatting about what had taken place, and I can imagine the tone of that conversation. Confusion, disappointment, sadness. And I think they uttered probably one of the most important and honest phrases in all of Scripture. We had hoped. Verse 23, we had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. We had hoped he was the one. We had hoped things would be different. We had hoped God would act. And that phrase carries so much weight. And I think that's because many of us know it. Some of us battle health challenges. We had hoped the diagnosis would be different. Some of us throughout our lives have had relationship challenges. We had hoped that the relationship would last. We had hoped our prayers would be answered in the way we imagined. I can think a multitude of times where when I've looked back, I had hoped. And that's the language of faith meeting reality. And I think the beautiful thing here, and one of the things we can take away this morning, is Jesus meets them not in certainty, but in incredible disappointment. Verse 15 says, as they walked and discussed these things, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them. The disciples are walking away, Jesus is walking towards. That's a beautiful image. They're processing their loss, their grief, their disappointment, and Jesus joins them in the conversation. But there's a plot twist. They don't know it's him. And that raises an important question. Why is that? Why didn't he just come up and say it's it's me? Why would he conceal his identity? And I think it's because sometimes recognition of Jesus is not necessarily the first step. His presence is. Verse 16, again, we're told that their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And that suggests something intentional when you read that passage carefully. Divine action, a spiritual condition, not just a simple failure on Jesus to act. And here's what could be going on here. Because I think it's important. Why was Jesus' identity revealed? Well, I think one of the reasons would be so they would come to understand before they recognize. And before revealing himself, Jesus walks them through the scriptures painstakingly. And he explained to them how the Messiah had to suffer. And that order matters. First, understanding, then recognition. And it's as if Jesus is showing that faith isn't based on just seeing him physically and seeing miracles in our own lives, but grasping God's story. And when they finally recognize him, it's interesting, it's the breaking of bread. Well, that confirms what they're already beginning to understand. I think another reason could be spiritual blindness and a revelation of how spiritual blindness can work. We've spent the last 12 weeks or so working in the Beatitudes, and we've had clear, you know, clear direction of how Jesus would like us to live. People have seen Jesus throughout the Gospels, they've seen Him do miracles, yet they continue to do all kinds of stuff that really have nothing to do with Jesus. Well, here it's reversed. They walk with Him, they hear truth, but they still don't see. And I think it echoes a bit of a broader theme that spiritual sight, well, it's a gift, not just a physical ability. I think it's uh beautiful that uh there's this moment of revelation at the table. And the recognition happens when Jesus breaks the bread. And that moment, friends, is not without meaning. It echoes the Last Supper. It points towards how the early church would encounter Christ in word and sacrament. And we're gonna see that over the next two weeks as we continue to move towards the book of Acts and the New Testament church. The delay builds to that powerful moment where everything just suddenly clicks. And it's also to show that the risen Jesus is often to us both the same and different. Jesus is recognizable, but not always immediately. The Gospel of John shows Mary Magdalene not recognizing him at first, but then it didn't take a multi-mile walk before she recognizes him. The disciples by the sea, who we're going to see in a couple of weeks, well, they hesitate before realizing it's him. And the biggest takeaway I can leave with you this morning from the story is that God is present before we perceive it. I can state that with certainty. And that's comforting. They say later in verse 32, didn't our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the scriptures to us? Meaning Jesus was already at work before they knew it was him. And before they see him clearly, Jesus was walking with them faithfully. And friends, that matters because there's seasons that we don't see what God is doing. Moments when his presence feels hidden, but the story reminds us the absence of recognition does not mean the absence of Christ. Again, they're downcast. And they launch into this story of everything that's happened. Kind of funny, they're explaining the story to the center of the story. Um, but what does Jesus do? He doesn't say, Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. I've got the scars. He listens. Very simple. He listens. Novel concept. Listening, listening well. Yeah, I don't always do that that well. But that's important. He allows them to speak, he lets their confusion come out in the open. Jesus was not threatened by their questions, and he's certainly not threatened by our questions. Jesus is not impatient with our processing, just like he wasn't impatient with theirs. And the Emmaus Road shows us that faith can look like walking, talking, processing, questioning, and Jesus is quite happy to meet us right in that space. Well, then something shifts. Jesus rebukes him a bit. How foolish you are, and slow to believe. And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself. And in that moment, the entire story of Scripture was reframed around Jesus. The Old Testament bringing us to Jesus. And what they thought was failure was actually fulfillment. What looked like a bitter defeat was actually victory. And the cross is not the end of hope and was not the end of hope. It is the story. It's the hope of the world. And later, of course, they say, were our hearts not burning within us while we talk while he talked with us on the road and opened the scriptures to us? This is what resurrection does. It doesn't just change circumstances, it changes understanding, it reinterprets the story. And things that felt meaningless now carry purpose. And their hearts begin to burn. Something stirs inside them still before they begin to see. Now they reach Emmaus, and Jesus acts like he's going further, but they urge him, stay with us. You know, there's so much more to learn. So Jesus goes in, he sits at the table, he takes the bread, he gives thanks, he breaks it and he gives it to them. And suddenly their eyes are opened, and like that, they recognize him and then he disappears. What an incredible moment. I I can't believe the power of that. It's overwhelming. They recognize him not in spectacle, not with pyrotechnics or whatever the pyrotechnics of the day. They recognize him in a familiar act, the breaking of bread, a quiet, ordinary, sacred moment. And it echoes something deeper. And that reminds us, church, that we often encounter the risen Christ in ordinary, sacred rhythms. And community, shared meals, communion, not always in dramatic displays, but in simple, faithful practicing practices. Well, they've walked a lot of miles, five miles, no golf cart. It's a long way. Seems hard. So then they're almost there. They turn around. They turn around and return at once to Jerusalem on the same road but in a different direction. And they've been walking away, and now they're returning back. And resurrection has turned them around completely. And they go back to the very place that they left, back to community, back to the story. And I'm glad they did because they begin to tell others the Lord is risen indeed, and this is the first glimpse of what will become the church. They weren't polished preachers. They might not have been fearless leaders, but just ordinary people who encountered Jesus and couldn't keep it to themselves. So what does this mean for us as a church? Well, I think resurrection meets all of us on the road we're already walking. Not just in sanctuaries, not just in certainty, but often in confusion, disappointment, certainly unanswered questions. And it means that if we're in a we had hoped season, you're not alone. Jesus walks with you. And it's thinking of a we had hoped season. And those three words have resonated with me all week. It was two years ago, this week, Sherry and I had returned from Myrtle Beach. As you know, and I've shared quite openly, our funding was precarious for our circles of support and accountability program with Mennonite Central Committee. They were carrying the weight. And we felt we're in a good space as a staff. We came back from vacation. I had a meeting where my mileage was kind of mapped out, and I could go here and I could go there, and we were great. And uh came home and reported to Sherry that all is well, and uh then HR showed up to the next week's staff meeting. And those of you that have had any dealings with HR knows the outcome isn't always um good. Um this uh this one certainly wasn't. And uh we were told that um you know our program was valuable, but it couldn't be funded anymore, and it was gonna be wound down, and it was gonna be wound down very, very quickly. Basically, we wound it down within within 30 days. And that was my we had hoped moment. I thought it was the end of the world. I had been there a long time. Um at that time I had dabbled in some pastoral ministry like this, but the doors shut for a variety of reasons, and I loved my restorative justice work. And I had felt that this was awful. Yet uh, you know, we carried on, and Sherry and I prayed together, and uh my forced retirement lasted about two months, where Sherry then suggested strongly I should perhaps seek some employment somewhere, if only uh if only to uh get me out of the house and uh prevent me from any more bright ideas. So we uh you know we started the journey, and I ended up at the John Howard Society doing mental health and addiction peer support right here in New Market in a entirely different um context in a not-for-profit world, not faith-based, yet opportunities have abounded. God was faithful, he knew. And then, of course, um this past fall, I'm here where I'm supposed to be. So the fact that our faith was uncertain, or my faith was uncertain, it never meant that God was absent, it meant he was present. And I think in the last couple years, it's probably the road where Jesus has met me more deeply. So I say that to encourage you, if you're in a we had hoped season, that you're not alone. And finally, there's a small but important moment in the story that I don't want to just gloss over. They invite Jesus in, stay with us. And that's our invitation today. Not to have everything figured out, not to see everything clearly, but simply to say, Jesus, stay with me. Stay with me, stay with me in my questions, stay with me in my uncertainty, stay with me in this season. Because transformation doesn't always begin with clarity, it begins with presence. And Jesus loves us, he is our Savior, and he wants to walk with us. So, church, the story of the early church begins here, and I'm really looking forward to the weeks ahead. Um, maybe we'll see a few miracles along the way, I don't know. But uh we'll start with two discouraged disciples on a dusty road encountering a risen Savior, and I think that's a great place to begin. Their hearts burned, their eyes opened, and their direction changed. And that's where resurrection begins for us as well. Not all at once, but step by step, on the road, singing in our car, listening to podcasts, having conversations, at the table, at home church, wherever there's opportunity for community. And I say today that however this week plays out, that Jesus is already walking beside you and beside us as a community. Amen. Let's pray together before the band comes back. Well, gracious God, again, we thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you that you're already here. Thank you that you know. Thank you that you choose to reveal yourself to us in your time. Lord, help us to be a people who care for each other in the we had hoped moments. It's a joy to serve you and walk with you, and we're we're gracious. Uh we're graciously waiting for the opportunity just to continue to serve you well. In Jesus' name. Amen.