Have you ever lost hope? Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope delayed makes the heart sick.” I try to imagine what it would have been to be a disciple after Christ’s crucifixion. The feelings of despair had to be overwhelming. Not only had the disciples left their old lives, forsaking everything to follow Jesus (Matthew 19:27), but now their lives were on the line for even being associated as his disciples. We get a small glimpse into this window when Jesus walks along the Emmaus road with two of his dismayed disciples.
Luke 24 gives us an intriguing glimpse into the disciples’ world after the death of Christ. Two of his disciples are leaving Jerusalem on the Emmaus road when Jesus joins them on their journey. Verse 16 says their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. As they conversed, verse 17 notes their sadness. They could not believe that this stranger was not aware of the death of Jesus. One of the disciples, Cleopas, asked “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
In verse 21 there is a key phrase that I think shows the disciples’ despair. They tell Jesus, “we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.” The problem is that their hope was a past tense hope. Perhaps you can identify with this. It may be that despair has gripped your life or that circumstances beyond your control have brought you to a place where you once trusted in the Lord. Once their eyes were opened and they realized it was the risen Lord, verse 32 says, “They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” Could it be that in your hopelessness, Christ is nearer to you than you realize? Could it be that just because you cannot recognize Him in the midst of your trouble does not mean He is not there?
Hope in our English language is different from the way hope is used in the scriptures. In our culture, we use hope as in wishful thinking. We may say, “I hope the weather is good next week.” However, the Bible word for hope means a confident expectation. The Bible is a living Word, given by a living Savior to bring to us a living hope. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).
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