Two Followers Off Track

Rev. Jack Sprinkle visited with us; this is his message.

Jesus sought out two men first, probably the weakest, after his resurrection. Do you think God doesn't know our weaknesses?

Luke 24:13-27 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which 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 have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not. Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

Before the lesson in Luke, let's look at three other men in the Bible. First, Moses. A meek, humble man, but in a moment of anger he made a big mistake. While wandering in the wilderness the people were thirsty; their animals were thirsty. Complaining was all the people did. Moses went to the Lord as he should and was told to strike a rock for water to come forth. Moses got so angry at their grumbling that he struck the rock twice, not once, as he had been told by God. We all make blunders. God did not cut Moses off. That is why Jesus came. Only through Jesus can we stand before a just God. He sees the blood of Jesus and not our blunders.

Second, let's look at Elijah. He was a powerful man. He prayed and it did not rain and prayed again and rain came. But he made a mistake. God dealt with him in mercy just as he will us. Elijah had a great day. He called fire down from heaven. He killed the false prophets, but at the threat of Jezebel he got scared. We too are cowards sometimes. By his flight he was saying that Jezebel was bigger than God. But God did not forsake him. He took care of him even in his weakness.

Third, let's look at Peter. He made one of the most profound statements of any of the followers when he said to Jesus thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus told the disciples to sell their clothes and buy swords. In an act of bravery Peter cut off the ear of a servant in the garden at the arrest of Jesus. Yet that same night he denied ever knowing the Lord to the extent of cursing and swearing that he did not know him. Did Jesus cut him off? No. After his resurrection Jesus told them to go tell his disciples AND PETER that he was risen from the dead.

Luke tells us about two men on the road to Emmaus. Three days before they were sure they had found the Messiah. Now they are not sure. Jesus sought out nobody's, not the disciples. As in the story of the lost sheep, the 99 were left so that one could be found. Jesus will turn heaven and hell upside down for us. He does not wait for us to make a mistake but is there when we do. From here to the end of the world Jesus is with us. From then on we will be with him. Jesus came to these two men at their lowest point. When we are tired and weary, we must put the load on Jesus. The men were burdened about the events of the past three days, so much so that they did not recognize Jesus. Jesus helped them to talk it out. When they arrived at their home, Jesus would have gone on but they asked him in. He wanted to reveal himself to them. Do you realize that sometimes we get so caught up in our life and problems that many times we do not even recognize Jesus when he walks by.

Let's give ourselves, even in our weaknesses, to Jesus. Verse 31 puts these two men back on track. We need Jesus everyday, more now than we ever have before. The same God that dealt with Moses, Elijah, and Peter is the same God who deals with us. Don't let him walk on down the road. Invite him in. Get back on track. The room for improvement is the biggest room there is. Ask the Lord to help you.