Luke 24:13-21 – The Road of Dead Hope – Bible study

Luke 24:13-21 The Road of Dead Hope Notice the phrase in \#21\, "But we trusted." These disciples were on a journey to Emmaus. They probably has some business that needed to be attended to there. Perhaps they were traveling to see family or friends that were common to them both. But the journey to Emmaus was not the only journey they were on. They were also on a journey to Despair. Neither was the road to Emmaus the only road that they were traveling that day. The were also on the Road of Dead Hope. Now, it is very likely that you either have travelled that road, are traveling that road, or will travel it. Lets learn a few lessons about traveling the Road of Dead Hope. I. The Road of Dead Hope is not a pleasant road to travel. A. There is no joy on that road. 1. Two men were walking on the Road of Dead Hope when a Third comes up to them. 2. What does He notice of them? 17 And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? a. When hope is dashed, happiness usually is too. b. Even from a distance, you could see that these men werent happy. c. So it is with those who have lost hope. B. There is no hope on that road. 1. I observed many years ago that people must have hope. 2. They become despondent, discouraged, depressed, apathetic – all of those clinical words that are used of people who are suicidal. 3. A person loses the will to live if there is no hope. C. There is a lot of confusion and disappointment. 1. One of the things that stuck out in my mind as I consider this passage was that these travelers had done nothing wrong. 2. From the tone of their conversation, you can tell they were discouraged and confused, but, speaking from a human perspective, why shouldnt they be? a. Things that they had believed were going to happen, now seemed impossible. b. As they travelled on Road of Dead Hope, they were talking among themselves because they wanted to figure out what when wrong. c. There is nothing wrong with that. (1) When something goes wrong or I do something that doesnt work out like I had planned, I have to think my way through it. (2) As a pastor, I sometimes have to make people-oriented decisions. (a) Those are tough decisions to make. (b) They often impact peoples lives in major ways. (c) Some of the decisions that I have made have hurt people. (d) Some have angered people, giving them a bad impression of my, our church, or even worse, our Christ. (e) Some have caused people to leave our church. (3) Nobody likes to make those kind of decisions, but they have to be made. (4) As I make those decision, and as I have to learn to live with the results of those decisions, I spend a lot of time thinking, praying, and reliving them. (a) Kathy says that I am brooding. (b) Maybe I am, but I have to think it out. (c) I have to be convinced that I what I did was right or, at the least, I have to get something from it that will not make it all a utter loss. d. These men were confused and disappointed. (1) They were reliving what Jesus had said, what they had seen, what they had believedwondering if they missed something. Trying desperately to salvage something out of their dead hope. (2) No. The Road of Dead Hope is not a pleasant road to travel. II. The reason of Dead Hope. A. These dead hopes did not die due to the typical causes. 1. These dead hopes werent due to being self-created hopes. a. Self-created hopes are those hopes we create for ourselves. (1) Retire by age 35. (2) Climb the Alps. (3) Own a Ferrari. b. All self-created hopes arent bad, but they are our own desires. c. The problem is that we are not our own. 1Cor 6:19 ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are Gods. d. God sometimes has to let our self-created hoped die so that He can give us His desires as our hopes. e. However, this is not the case here. 2. These dead hopes werent due to disobedience. a. Sin has dashed many a hope. (1) Hopes of a beautiful marriage have been dashed by the sin of unfaithfulness. (2) Hopes of a happy career have been dashed by the sin of thief. (3) Hopes of a prosperous ministry have been dashed by the sin of laziness. b. But these men had committed no sin. (1) When our spiritual hopes are dashed, some would say it was due to the sin of faithlessness. (a) Faith is something that we all need more of; yet, these men had some measure of faith. (b) The magnitude of their faith is evident by the magnitude of their crushed spirit. (2) Others might apply the verse which requires much prayer and fasting, but our Lord does not chastise them for these sins. c. The truth is that there was no spiritual act that these men might have done would have changed the circumstances that they are now living with. 3. These hopes did not die because they were lazy, careless, foolish, stubborn, or stupid. 4. These dead hopes werent due to situations they could have changed. 5. Look as carefully as you like and I do not believe you will find anything on these mens part which caused their hopes to die. B. These hopes were dead because what they had believed would happen now appeared impossible. 1. \#21\ "we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel." 2. These were the hopes that God Himself gave to them. a. They had believed that Jesus was the Christ. b. They had believed that Jesus was the Son of God. c. They had believed that Jesus would establish Gods kingdom. d. They had believed that Jesus would fulfill the promises of God to Israel. 3. But Jesus, they thought, was dead; and so were the hopes that they had place in Him. 4. Of course, they were wrong. a. Jesus wasnt dead. He was talking to them. b. In just a few minutes, their eyes will be opened, and they will get off the road of Dead Hope and get on the road of Living Hope! c. But right now, they travel the Road of Dead Hope because they think what they believed is impossible. C. Have you ever noticed how many God-given hopes God allows to die before He fulfills them? 1. Abraham a. I bring him up a lot because God place him in a very difficult position. b. God promised him a child at the age of 75. c. At age 80, no child, At 85, no child. At 90, no child. At 95, no child. d. God repeated His promise to give Abraham a child. (1) \#Ge 12:1-3\ first given (2) \#Ge 14:15-16\ repeated (3) \#Ge 15:4-5\ repeated (4) \#Ge 15:13\ repeated (5) \#Ge 17:2-4\ repeated (6) \#Ge 17:19\ repeated (7) \#Ge 18:10\ repeated e. But no child. f. Then, at age 100, God gave Abraham a child. \#Ge 21:5\ g. And in the very next chapter, God told Abraham to take that child, that child he had waited 25 year to get, and kill him \#Ge 22:2\. h. That looked like death to the hope that God had given. 2. Children of Israel a. They had been promised a land and a deliverance, but they were stuck in Egypt under a tyrant that they called Pharaoh. b. \#Ex 3:9\ God says that He had heard the cries of the children of Israel. That means the Israelites were crying out to God. c. Then God sent them Moses. (1) They probably thought, now we will see things happen around here. (2) Moses went into see Pharaoh and when he came out, their supplies were cut but their work load wasnt. (3) Their leaders were beaten. (4) They did what you and I would do. They began to rethink their situation. (5) In time, Moses started doing some powerful miracles and Pharaoh finally let them go. (6) "All right," the Jews think. "All we have to do is follow this cloud and God is going to take us home." (7) But God leads them into a place with a sea on one end and the Egyptian army on the other. (8) At best, it looked like death to a hope that God had given. 3. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. a. They are taken as slaves and prisoners by Babylon. b. They determine that they are going to live for God in that environment. c. God blessed and they got appointed to be one of kings advisors. d. But goes off and builds an image, commanding all to worship it. e. They stand for God as they planned, but it looks like they are going to be baked and broiled. f. It looks like the death of a hope that God had given them. 4. Elijah stands on Mount Carmel against 450 prophets of Baal \#1Kings 18:19\. a. Elijah stands for Godall by himself. b. One would think such a victory would entitle him to a little respect, but Jezebel sends word that he will be a dead man by sunset tomorrow. c. That wasnt exactly what Elijah expected. d. It looks like the death of his hope. D. We might as well learn something about God while we are on the Road of Dead Hope. 1. God likes to wait until it looks too late before He demonstrates His power. 2. Like it or not, that is just the way God often does things. 3. So if you have a need, buckle in and gear up; for God is likely to make you wait until your hope is about dead. III. The remedy of Dead Hope. A. These men dont need a new hope. 1. Some have laid aside the good hopes God has given them for others things. a. Some laid them aside for bitterness. b. Some laid them aside for another religion. 2. This is not what these men needed. B. What did they need? 1. They needed to quit looking at the circumstances that killed their hope. a. Of course this is easier said than done. Remember when I preach that I am not always preaching on what I do, but what I know I should do. b. The circumstances arent important because God is not bound by circumstances. (1) As Abraham realized, God could raise Isaac from the dead if He so desired. (2) As Moses realized, God was able to make a way through the Red Sea if God so desired. (3) As Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego saw, God was able to deliver them out of Nebuchadnezzars hand. (4) As Elijah saw, God was able to protect and provide for him. (5) And as these men saw, God was able to raise His Son from the dead. c. We need to get God out of the thimble that we put Him in. (1) Our God is not limited no matter how small we try to make Him. (2) He is the God of All Power. 2. They needed to start looking again at the God who gave them those hopes in the first place. a. They did not need to REPLACE their hopes. They needed to REVIVE their hopes. b. \#Lk 24:30-31\ That is what Jesus is about to do. (1) Jesus is about to show them the power of God bu showing them Himself. (2) The skies wont thunder and lightning wont strike the ground. (a) Jesus wont teach them or exhort them. (b) He will just reveal Himself. (3) But once they see the God of hope, these two men will be catapulted off the Road of Dead Hope with such force, they will want to go tell everybody what had happened to them. (4) They will run back to Jerusalema trip that took them hours to walkand find the disciples in the Upper Room, and tell them of their new-found hope and joy. c. Is that not the same think that happened to Peter when he walked on the water? (1) He got his eyes off Jesus. (2) What did it take to get him out of the drink? He had to refocus on God. Which would you rather have? The despair and sadness that comes on the Road to Dead Hope or the joy and excitement that comes by having your hope renewed?