‘We Had Hoped’
Luke 24: 18 – 21 (NRSV) —
‘Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?’ He asked them, ‘What things?’ They replied, ‘The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over 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 took place.’
It’s hard to describe the depth of their despair. The events themselves were so traumatic for Cleopas and his companion: the baying crowds, the cruel troops, the savage execution itself. They’d heard about the supper, betrayal, arrest, the flurry of quasi-trials, the flogging.
The despair was profound. Returning to Emmaus should have taken a couple of hours but it was already getting dark, having to keep stopping under their crushing grief. They had believed in Jesus, sacrificed a lot to follow him. This time, this prophet, this movement, this convergence of promises fulfilled and hope of Israel’s deliverance. They, like hundreds more, had swallowed it.
What fools they’d been. He was never going to win. All those stories, the healings, the teaching (wow, could he explain scripture), trashed. The routine Roman response was indisputable: another wannabe deliverer in a long line of forgettable footnotes. Better to forget.
Worst of all, God had pronounced his emphatic verdict too: ‘Cursed.’ As if El-Shaddai could associate with this disgraced, discarded, usurper. The Council was right: a fraud, leading the people astray.
Familiar with the road but shuffling along in misery when he caught them up. What? Was he completely unaware of the uproar left behind in Jerusalem– where had he been? They tried to explain, ‘We had hoped…’
Then he took over more and started to explain - their hearts and their pace quickened. Wow, he was good with scripture. Before they knew it, home, hospitality, he picked up the bread, blessed it and there, his hands…. For the first time, they peered into his face in the lamplight. Lord? And he just got up and left, without another word.
They were back in Jerusalem - within the hour! Couldn’t wait to tell the others who they’d met and walked with.
Prayer - For every godly hope I have, your victory has made possible; and the greater hope of resurrection, healing and recreation of all things in Christ, you have guaranteed. Thank you for the body broken and the blood you poured out for remission of sins.