Where is Jesus? Emmaus Road.

Well, good morning again, church. You know, from that awesome flannel graph explanation of the gospel, I couldn't help but think, Victoria, Jesus said he would be coming spoon. Oh, those of you online, just turn it off. Just—just turn it off. Well, today we're going to be in Luke chapter 24. So, if you want to grab one of the pew Bibles there ahead of you or open up your phone, Luke 24, it's in the New Testament about a little past three-quarters or so away in your Bible there. A few weeks ago, before we get there, you can go ahead and turn while I'm talking though.

A few weeks ago, I was with my wife Melanie and we had a down evening and she decided she wanted to finish up her novel. She was reading a murder mystery novel. A "Who done it?" and I was playing Mario Kart because I can. I want to be better than Britta. It's my goal. So, I was playing, she was reading and she's pretty engaged in it. And I was playing for a while and I just kind of got tired of playing. So, I turned it off and, as any unobtrusive, non-intrusive husband would do, I started reading over her shoulder. And to her credit, she was like reading and turning the pages and she's just kind of like, "Am I going too fast?" I'm like, "No, it's a good speed."

I have no idea what's going on in this book, guys. And she's at the end. She's like in the last three chapters. So, as she's reading, it's very engaged, very like, "Oh, oh, well, now I don't know who did it." And I'm just kind of like, "Who's that guy? I don't know." And I'm just very, very confused at best. If I were really actually trying to understand the story, I would have been probably frustrated at worst, right? Because I have no idea what's going on.

That's not so different from the story that we're hearing today with the disciples who are walking back to Emmaus from Jerusalem. They're confused because of what just happened. They thought that this Jesus was going to be their Messiah and then he got crucified, but he was supposed to come in power, but all of a sudden this morning, turns out he's not in the tomb anymore. And they don't know what to do with that.

So, we're going to hear the entire story. I want to invite up my readers as you come up. Just a reminder, this is Easter morning. The resurrection has happened. These two disciples have been with the other disciples. They've kind of known all these things that had happened. They would have been in Jerusalem for the Passover feast. And now that all this is gone down, they're walking back to Emmaus. And we encounter them.

Now that same day, two of them were going to a village called Emmaus about 7 miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them. But they were kept from recognizing him. He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them named Cleopas asked him, "Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?" "What things?" he asked.

They replied, "About Jesus of Nazareth. He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning, but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the woman had said, but they did not see Jesus."

Jesus said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself.

In the same way that I didn't understand the end of Melanie's murder mystery novel, these disciples didn't really understand the end or this part of Jesus's story. They were very confused. And I don't fault them. Before Jesus, there isn't exactly a precedent for people being brought back from the dead unexpectedly. It wasn't something that people anticipated of the Messiah. We look back at it now and we're kind of like, well, of course, he rose from the dead, and they would have been like, "What? What just happened?" Because they didn't have this history. We grew up with it. We've heard these stories and we think like, "Oh, yeah. This is something God did." But at the time, this would have been totally novel, a completely new idea, even though Jesus predicted it himself. Tear down this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.

And I wonder sometimes, you know, when we share the gospel with people or when people hear it for the first time that Jesus, you know, we're sinners and Jesus led a sinless life and he died so that we could have our sins forgiven. And then he wasn't just left dead, but he was raised from the dead. And people look at us and go, "What?" Not even like out of a "yes, he's done it." It's like, what are you talking about? I think it's because we haven't maybe done a good job talking about the rest of the story. What happened before these things?

And it seems like Jesus's disciples who were walking on this road had a similar experience though they would have known the Old Testament. These being some of his disciples and Jews, they would have just kind of heard all the stories and been familiar with them. So Jesus being the rabbi, the teacher that he is, decides that as they're walking, he's going to lead a traveling Bible study with them and he's going to open up the scriptures. It says starting with Moses and all the prophets. So that would be aka the law—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, the first five books of the Bible there. And the prophets, too many to name, it's a lot. He explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself.

Oh, to be a fly on that robe to hear his teaching. I imagine it may have went something like this: Don't you remember in the beginning Adam and Eve, they ate the fruit that they weren't supposed to and they were cast out of the garden, but the serpent was cursed by God. And he said this, "Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals. You will crawl on your belly, and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers. He will crush your head and you will strike his heel."

See, way back at the beginning, God foretold that the offspring of the woman would crush the serpent's head. That offspring was Jesus. And the man and the woman were cursed to die by their actions in the garden. But by coming back from death, don't you see Jesus has reversed the curse? The serpent hasn't won. The offspring of Adam and Eve have crushed his head. You see, Jesus was there in the beginning.

And he continued on from Genesis into Exodus. Remember John the Baptist? You guys remember John? When Jesus came to be baptized, what did he say? He said, "Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." Well, think back, guys. We just celebrated the Passover dinner. We celebrate that the blood that was on the doors when God was going to sweep through Egypt and the firstborn would die. The blood symbolized that these were God's people and they would be marked safe. You know who wasn't safe? The lamb. The lamb was not safe. The lamb was killed. And moving on, as we celebrate Passover, what takes the sin? It is a perfect spotless lamb. And as it dies, it takes the sins of our community for us on itself. The lamb of God that came into the world, did you think that the lamb of God would just rise up to power? That he would sit on a throne and he would take over? What does the lamb do in this story? The lamb dies for the sin of his people and for the whole world.

The disciples' minds are turning and their hearts are burning because they're saying, "Okay, there's something here." And I imagine Jesus continues quoting a passage that they would know well from Isaiah chapter 53. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering. Yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was on him. And by his wounds we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to our own way. And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of all of us. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great and he will divide the spoils with the strong because he poured out his life unto death and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many and made intercession for those who were transgressors.

Jesus is the suffering servant. He's the one who takes on the sin of the world here, too. It couldn't be clearer. He tells them, "Maybe God's plan for salvation isn't what you thought it would be, but maybe it's been worked out through all of scripture. And this Jesus that you are wondering about has been the red thread that connects the whole story all along."

And by that point they were just like, "Who is this guy?" But I think there was something there because they went back to eat dinner, short version of the story. They went back to their house. Jesus joined them for dinner and at the breaking of the bread they saw him. They're like, "Ah, you're the guy." And then Jesus disappeared and they got up and hustled back to Jerusalem to tell everybody what they had seen.

For some of you, you hear this and maybe you've been in some scripture and even just hearing my words describe it in this way, maybe you're making some new connections like, "Oh, I've never heard this before. That is awesome." And let me tell you how many stories I didn't tell just now. The way that Jesus's life intersects with so much of the Old Testament, it's actually incredible. And for some of you, it may be interesting, but it's maybe still not connecting. It's like, okay, like I just—I don't really get the Old Testament so much.

So, let me just tell you a personal story. When I was finishing seminary, I had one more internship to go. It was my chaplaincy internship. So, I applied at a hospital nearby. I lived in Chicagoland. I applied at a hospital nearby and my internship was coming. I had three more weeks and then I was like, "All right, going to do this thing. Then I'm going to graduate." And it was cancelled. They cancelled the site, canceled my internship. And it was like, "Okay, well, I need to find a new place to do this." So, I put in a lot of applications all over the US, truly, wherever I kind of might know anyone.

And a hospital here in the Twin Cities, United in St. Paul for those of you who know it—their CPE coordinator, chaplaincy coordinator called and said, "Hey, got your email. We could actually use somebody else if you're interested. Want to come to the Twin Cities?" And I was like, "I would love to graduate. Yes, I will be there." Now, my only reference for Minnesota was snow. And so I didn't really know what I was getting into, but as I drove up here, I just felt like even driving into on 94 into the cities, I just felt like, oh man, like this just feels really good.

And I got to my internship, lived in a house, you know, rented a place, met some people at a coffee shop who I overheard talking about Jesusy things, and I was like, "Hi guys, this is weird, but I literally know nobody in this city. Do you know some place I could go to church, maybe play some music?" And they were like all uber Jesus people, musicians. And I was like, "Cool." They were like, "You just got to come over Friday." And at that point I got introduced to a whole community of people who a ton of them became friends.

Simultaneously I was living in a studio apartment in Loring Park, Minneapolis. And I didn't have internet and I was still developing these friendships. So I really didn't have any friends. So I spent a lot of time by myself. And what that turned into was a lot of solitude, a lot of quiet. Ended up doing a lot of processing and journaling of things that had happened from years ago, from like five years prior, and just spent a ton of time doing like the deep heart work and just coming to so many places of healing because of that.

And I ended up moving in a few months later with this house full of wild charismatic Christians where the Holy Spirit did more and more just deep work in my heart. And when I left Minnesota—this was when the internship had ended and I just moved here and I was here for about a year and a half, let's say—when I left, I was such a more healed and whole person than I ever thought I would be from coming to the land of snow.

And as I look back, you know, I say like, "What the heck happened there?" Well, I look back and it's like, well, I think Jesus might have been in that internship cancellation and that I even applied to that place first anyway cuz I had options, but I chose that one. And then I think he was in my—you know, definitely at that coffee shop where I met those folks. And he was the one who had me get that apartment all by myself where he met me in my apartment that whole time. Like I can remember distinctly as if Jesus was present. I can remember Jesus's presence with me in my apartment as I was journaling, writing, and doing all this and so on.

And it continues. And so when I think about the Old Testament and think like Jesus was there throughout, I don't look at it as an intellectual theory. I look at it as like, well, yeah, that's what Jesus does. This is how he works. I've seen it. I've seen him do this. I've witnessed it. And so, yeah, he's just showing up and he continues to show up, which is awesome.

Here's the deal. Jesus is the main character in every story. He's the main character in your story, whether you realize it or not. He's there. And maybe you've relegated him, as I did in different parts of my life, out to some side character or—if you're a video gamer—just some NPC who's just wandering around in the background. But he's the main character. And as we listen for his voice, as we seek him, as we get to know Jesus and trust Jesus, we get to encounter his heart for us, his desire for life for us. And he does this deep work inside of us that's so incredibly healing and joyful that all you can really do is thank him and then tell people about it.

And I hope that today as we are around tables that we take opportunities to have conversation. You'll have some conversation prompts on the tables. But share conversations too about where have you seen Jesus or where haven't you seen Jesus? Because there's some of you who are like, "Well, I had a terrible life. Where was Jesus in that?" And I think of Jesus on the cross quoting Psalm 22. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" And that was right in the middle of the worst part of his story. And so maybe you're still in the middle of that worst part, but I pray even still that Jesus continues to show up for you and that you seek him and see where he's at in that because he is the man who understands our suffering as well as our joys.

So church, I would love us to be a church that witnesses to who God is, to what God has done, and is able to testify to each other of the goodness of God because he is so good. And there's a lot of people that need hope. And maybe that's you today. It's me on different days. But I hope you have received some hope today. Would you pray with me?

Jesus, thank you for your presence with us. I am so grateful for what you have done in my life and I could not have written this story myself and I would not have written this story myself. I pray that we as a community will see you working. We'll see what part of the story we're in with you and where you are writing yourself in next. Give us the audacity and creativity to share our stories with each other, with our friends, neighbors, coworkers, family, spouse, children, parents, that we can see you at work, testify to your goodness, and celebrate your continued work. Thank you for your presence. We give you our lives in return. We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.