Sermon Cloud

Have you ever found yourself caught in a situation that did not make any sense? You take a few steps back to look at your life and say, ‘What in the world?’

A few years ago, my wife and I were in this situation. We prayed for a house—we got one. We also prayed for a ministry—we got that one too. The problem was, the house was in San Diego county while the ministry being offered to us was 100 miles away in the County of Los Angeles! Well, we moved into our house and for three years made the 200-mile roundtrip to do ministry.

That setup seemed like a Connect-the-Dots puzzle—just a bunch of dots and numbers.

In the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 24, is an account of two men struggling with a recent series of events that did not make sense. Starting at verse 13, we read:

That same day two of Jesus' followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles out of Jerusalem. As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened.

Suddenly, Jesus himself came along and joined them and began walking beside them. But they didn't know who he was, because God kept them from recognizing him.

"You seem to be in a deep discussion about something," he said. "What are you so concerned about?"

They stopped short, sadness written across their faces.

Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, "You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn't heard about all the things that have happened there 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 wonderful miracles. He was a mighty teacher, highly regarded by both God and all the people. But our leading priests and other religious leaders arrested him and handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. We had thought he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. That all happened three days ago. Then some women from our group of his followers were at his 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 is alive! Some of our men ran out to see, and sure enough, Jesus' body was gone, just as the women had said."

Then Jesus said to them, "You are such foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. Wasn't it clearly predicted by the prophets that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his time of glory?"

Then Jesus quoted passages from the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining what all the Scriptures said about himself.

Here were two individuals who very likely had worked, and walked, and lived with Jesus for the last 3 ½ years and they did not have a clue as to what was coming down! Here’s how they explained their dilemna—verse 21:

“We had thought he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel.”

Their world view taught them to look out for a political leader that would overthrow the Roman government. They ‘had thought’ Jesus was that person but it did not happen! There’s the catch phrase: “had thought”. Verse 21—“We had thought he was the Messiah…”

So, these two men are grappling with this issue when Jesus pops up on the scene. I love it how He acts like He is not aware of current events. In verse 19 he says, “What things?” The disciples give him an accurate, blow-by-blow report and then they confess their lack of understanding. In response, the text says, “Jesus quoted passages from the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining what all the Scriptures said about himself.”

‘What’s the significance of Jesus quoting Moses and the prophets?’ you might ask. Well, God had been revealing Himself to them all along from the very beginning. His plan to save mankind was in their tradition—not just the written text, but through the many rituals and sacrifices performed daily, monthly and yearly. But did they recognize that Jesus was God’s lamb—THE sacrifice that would take away their sins? Apparently not—not through their finite minds.

The truth of the matter is, whether you acknowledge it or not, that God has been involved in your life since the day you were born. If you look close enough, you might even identify specific events when He was there in a significant way. Whether we recognize it or not, He is actively reaching out to us—constantly. How much or how little you know about Him is insignificant. What that means is that your knowledge of God may be limited to two holidays a year, or as vast as an entire Christian bookstore. But, like we just read in scripture, knowing the facts about God is no guarantee that his death on the cross means anything to you.

Perhaps, for you, Jesus is just another figure in history whose political career ended up in failure. Or, you profess to be a Christian but your life is full of uncertainty and unrest. In either case, my guess is that you need clarity and peace in your life. Your life is a big puzzle—a bunch of incoherent dots and numbers. You need someone to make sense of everything. You need answers to many difficult questions.

For the disciples, a defining moment happened on a road trip just outside Jerusalem. Jesus met them there and took their understanding of Himself to a higher, spiritual level. Now here’s the deal: the same thing can happen to you. You are on a journey that Jesus is about to interrupt. Where you are on this road doesn’t really matter. You may be just starting out in a career, looking back at a career, or somewhere in between. He’ll meet you right where you are.

You can start by admitting your lack of understanding and say, ‘God, I thought I had my life all figured out but I don’t. Help!’ Last time I checked, Jesus still walks the road to Emmaus. Just keep walking. Keep asking those hard questions. Before you know it, He’ll be walking beside you. He will begin to show you how your entire life fits together. He’ll connect the dots for you.