The End of the Beginning
Notes
Transcript
Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 1214 Graham’s Expected Audience
Billy Graham, looking over the 200 persons who had come to hear him at a University of Minnesota student-faculty meeting, remarked that many had come just out of curiosity. With a smile he added, “I can always count on the department of psychology showing up in full force.”
Lord God, bless Your Word wherever it is proclaimed. Make it a Word of power and peace to convert those not yet Your own and to confirm those who have come to saving faith. May Your Word pass from the ear to the heart, from the heart to the lip, and from the lip to the life that, as You have promised, Your Word may achieve the purpose for which You send it, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
Our Gospel reading today takes us back to Easter Sunday. It is now towards afternoon or evening, as we will see later. The third day after Jesus’ death on the cross is a day of sorrow and grief for these two men. Understandably so, and yet, as we look further at the text, we should note that they, in the words of Paul in 1 Thess 4:13, “grieve as others do who have no hope.” This is because these two men “have eyes, but do not see, and have ears, but do not hear.”
Now, before we beat up on these two men, consider that the text also tells us that “there eyes were kept from recognizing Him.” We know that the Scriptures tell us in
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
But faith is not something that you can just pull out of yourselves, and as messengers of Christ, we cannot just simply “put the Word out there” without considering that the devil makes it his business to keep people from faith, that the world, the flesh and the devil work together to keep us alienated from the life and hope that we have in Christ. Just as the farmer does not throw out seed on dry, unprepared ground, so we should understand that we need God to prepare the hearts of those who would hear His gracious offer of salvation.
To preach or witness without asking God for favor, for a blessing, for prepared hearts is just like throwing out good seed in the middle of winter on frozen ground. By nature,
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
God knows our hearts, He knows that, as we teach concerning sanctification:
Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions The Third Article: Sanctification
I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him. But the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise up me and all the dead and will give eternal life to me and to all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.
And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”
They had the right information, but they didn’t have the right understanding. They had all the details, but they could not see the whole picture. All because “their eyes were kept from seeing Him.” They saw a man - in their eyes, apparently an incredibly ignorant man - a man who does not know what has happened.
So focused on their sorrow, even the words of the empty tomb fail to give them a glimmer of hope. They had given up.
When your eyes are so focused on the work of the Enemy that you cannot see the hand of God, it is possible that even God’s Word will not penetrate. When circumstances pull our gaze to the earth, we must remember the words of the Psalmist: I will lift up mine eyes to the hills: from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth!
But remember, it isn’t their fault, it’s their condition. Sin is not your fault, but it is your condition. In Adam, all were made sinners, we all suffer the effects of the Fall. If that were not so, being made in the image and likeness of God, we would do that which is God’s nature. We would love our neighbor as ourselves, and we would live the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. We would use God’s word to determine what is the nature of life, rather than using life to determine what is the nature of God’s Word.
And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”
When God reveals Himself to us in Word and Sacrament, when He reveals to us how He loves us, how He desires to have fellowship with us, when He reveals that he takes no joy in the death of the wicked, but that all should come to repentance -
this is not something that human intellect, philosophy, or ingenuity can obtain. This is the fruit of Divine favor :
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Today, God wants us to know that, even in the midst of these times of uncertainty, He is with us with a Word to comfort us. Behind that minds of scientists and the hands of doctors, nurses, and first-responders, behind the efforts of our public servants and our neighbors to try to bring us out of this crisis, God is with us. God is watching over His Word to perform it.
if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.
This place - not just this building, but “this place.” this place where we are in time; this place where we find ourselves gripped by worry and fear; this place where the enemy of your soul would say to you, “there is no help for you in God.”
And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
We in the Body of Christ grieve for our inability to come together to share in the fellowship of the Lord’s table, to come together to encourage one another that we are not alone, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to enquire in His temple. But by faith we know that “this too shall pass.” This is not the last chapter in the story, this is not the end of the road. We are not coming to the end, only to the end of the beginning.
That’s what Cleopas and his companion learned on that Easter evening. That’s what you need to hear today. That’s the Word of the Lord from his called and ordained servant of the Word to you.
So let the peace of God that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.