“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12)
A wonderfully glorious and beautiful day has dawned over Jerusalem. In the surrounding barley fields, the ripe ears of grain sway back and forth. Two middle-aged men push their way through one of the gates, their heads bowed toward the ground. Oh, how empty and desolate everything seems to them!
“Where is my hope? Was it all for nothing? Did I believe in vain? Brother, help me—I feel like I’m sinking. There’s nothing solid beneath my feet anymore, no ground to stand on. If you still have any comfort to give, please give it to me. What happened to the hope we carried for so long? We believed He would redeem Israel, restore His people to their former glory. We expected a king—His kingdom filled with the power and blessing of God. Are we supposed to give up our faith now? It feels like I’m standing on a small pile of sand, and with every moment more of it slips away beneath me. Around me an abyss seems to be opening, ready to swallow everything we hoped for.”
“You want me to comfort you? If you could see my heart right now, you would find the very same pain you just described. It’s broken. I saw Him when they pressed the crown of thorns onto His head and draped that purple robe over His shoulders. I watched as they bound Him and beat Him. They covered His face, spat on Him, mocked Him. When they brought Him out before the people, He was covered in blood. He looked so terribly human—there was no visible glory, nothing that looked like divine majesty. I cannot understand it; it is a mystery beyond me. I kept waiting, though. My heart was breaking, but I still hoped… maybe something would happen. Maybe it would change. And then I heard Pilate say, “Take Him and crucify Him.” In that moment, all my hope collapsed.” Tears run down his cheeks.
“I don’t know,” the other replies, “but I ran into Mary, and her face was full of joy. She said He has risen—she said He’s alive. And they’re saying that Simon and John went to the tomb themselves and came back reporting that it was empty.”
The two now walk silently side by side. Each is lost in his own pain. Sad, depressed, and almost hopeless, they make their way down the street. This is how the conversation between the two men might have gone.
A stranger approaches them. When He catches up with them, they continue on their way together, sad and dejected. “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?” asks the stranger (Luke 24:17).
“Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?” the travelers ask in unison. “What things?” asks the stranger.
With a voice trembling with sorrow and pain, Cleopas explains, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. And certain 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” (Luke 24:19-24).
“O foolish ones, and slow of heart, to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!” replies the stranger. “Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” And He begins to explain to them the Scriptures of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms. Gradually, their hearts are enlightened. A glimmer of hope shines again. Their eyes are fixed on His mouth, from which so much grace, light, and understanding flows to them. It seems that they arrived at the destination of their journey, Emmaus, much too quickly.
Soon they arrive at the gate of their home. The sun is beginning to set, and they are horrified to realize that their companion wants to continue on His way. So they beg Him, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent!” And He stays. They sit down to eat supper together. Their eyes are fixed on Him. Then He takes the bread, gives thanks, breaks it, and gives it to them. And then! A holy miracle! Is it really Him—their beloved Lord and Master? Yes, it is Him, it is no stranger! Holy love fills their hearts.
But what is this? Where is He? They are alone! Tears of joy run down their cheeks. All hopelessness has vanished. And at that very hour, they set out to return to Jerusalem and bring the joyful news to the other disciples. “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” they say. When they arrive in Jerusalem, they tell the disciples what they had experienced on the road and how they had recognized the Lord when He broke bread.
Dear reader, perhaps you too have had to bury some earthly hopes! You hoped for so much, only to see one pillar after another crumble. “Happy is he who has the God of Jacob, for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God” (Psalm 146:5). This hope never fails! It can never be a disappointment. Everything else is only an illusion, but this divine hope is reality.
Perhaps you often feel like these two disciples. You hoped that your relatives and friends would follow you on the path to salvation. But now many years may have passed, and your hope is beginning to fade. Or you are sick and in need of help, facing struggles, persecution, contempt, or disgrace? And you ask, “How long, Lord?” Wait for the Lord! Even though He allows affliction, He will also have mercy again. Even though tears flow, He will draw near to you. You will realize that He has not forsaken you, even if you could not recognize Him in those trials.
Take courage, dear child of God! If He did not spare His only Son for our sake, but gave Him up for us all, will He not now, when we are reconciled to Him through Jesus, give us everything? In Him, all of God’s promises are yes and amen!
J.B
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