Easter 3 A
Walking as if Jesus were Dead
St. Luke 24:13-35
4 May 2014 – Redeemer
The two disciples on the road to Emmaus weren’t ready to be confirmed yet. They believed Jesus was dead and if you believe Jesus is dead then you might as well be dead. Certainly there is no reason to hear someone preach about a dead guy who pretended to be god. You don’t need to have the Lord’s Supper if all you’re doing is remembering a dead Jesus.
A dead Jesus is a useless Jesus. That’s why Cleopas and his companion are walking with downcast heads, raising dust as they shuffled along that long road to Emmaus. Cleopas was probably Jesus’ uncle. His companion may have been his wife Mary. Being related to a dead Messiah doesn’t make their walk any better. That’s like being a member of the church but never going – Jesus is dead to you and you to Him. You show up Christmas and Easter, kind of like visiting the cemetery once or twice a year – to remember the dead, but it makes no difference in your walk.
Cleopas and Mary had every reason to believe Jesus was dead. After all, He had died. Their chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. When people die, especially by crucifixion they’re dead. Once dead always dead. They had waited in the city for three days, not believing what had happened to Jesus and after three days of death they decided to go home. Dead is dead. Even if the women reported an open and empty tomb. Even if angels preached “He is risen.” Even if they saw the empty tomb themselves and realized no grave robber had done this. Even if they had heard Jesus say, “after three days I will be raised.” They listened to Jesus, but they didn’t hear him. Nothing had happened since Friday – dead people stay dead – that’s a reasonable belief.
Today on confirmation Sunday you are confessing something that is unreasonable – completely unreasonable to the world. You will soon confess your willingness to die for Jesus. 12, 13, and 14 year-olds willing to die for something? This is no joke. This isn’t a teenage girl saying, “Oh, I’ll just die if he talks to me.” or someone young man saying, “I would die for that car.” This is an oath before God, before your parents and all of these witnesses – to live according to the Word of God, to remain true to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to continue steadfast in this confession and church, even to death.Why are you willing to give up your life, if necessary, for Jesus? Because you know and you believe that Jesus isn’t dead but risen and alive. You are confessing not only that Jesus is alive, but that Jesus is your life, your salvation, your forgiveness, your hope and your future.
On Confirmation Sunday it is easy to make such an oath. I’ll be standing in front of you, delighting in your confession. The whole congregation will be standing behind you in support. Your parents are proud of you. (And don’t forget – your relatives are here to give you money.) Tomorrow in school it may not be as easy. Would you want to wear your white gown to school tomorrow and tell everyone what you did today? In ten or fifteen yearswhenyou get married (before you have sex), and have children (after you’re married), it will be harder to believe Jesus is your life. Your spouse might become your life. Your children. Your job. Your money, your pleasure, your health, your happiness. The world and her preacher the devil will tell you life is found when you do this here or buy that there. The devil will distract you and then you will despair – for there is no life, no real life in this world. If you follow your reason and senses you will someday find yourself trudging down the road to Emmaus believing your life is over because your god (whatever that might be) is dead.
Do you know what you need when your god is dead? You need Jesus. The wonderful news that Cleopas and Mary heard on the road to Emmaus was contrary to their reason, their experience, and their feelings. The news was that their God wasn’t dead. When the false gods we worship die (and they always do), we need Jesus and Holy Scripture declares that Jesus is risen and He is risen for us.
While the Emmaus disciples were shuffling their feet towards home, Jesus came up behind them. He walked with them for a while and listened to their conversation, then He asked them, as if He didn’t know, “What are you guys talking about?” Cleopas couldn’t believe the question. Are you kidding? Are you the only guy in Jerusalem who doesn’t know what happened there this weekend? Jesus could have said, “Well, I was dead Friday night and all day Saturday and when I was brought to life on Sunday I had to preach a sermon in hell, and since then I’ve been trying to get the word out about my resurrection so yes, I’ve been busy.” But He didn’t. He simply let Cleopas tell Him the whole story about Jesus of Nazareth, handed over by the Jews, found not guilty, but still crucified. Three days and nothing. Well, except the empty tomb and the angel’s sermon, but that wasn’t reasonable.
Then Jesus delivers Himself to them – first by chiding them, “You’re a little slow aren’t you Cleopas?” Didn’t the Christ of God need to suffer these things and then enter into His glory? Jesus began preaching to them – starting with Moses, which meant He started with Adam and Eve, Genesis 1:1, in the beginning, the forbidden fruit, sin, naked, hiding from God, punishment and the promise from God of a Serpent crushing son of a woman. I’m sure Jesus talked about ancient Abraham and old maid Sarah, receiving the laughter of Isaac – a miracle and promise of God. Then He spoke of God’s test of Abraham, the sacrifice of Isaac and the substitute ram who died for Isaac. Hmmm. I wonder Who that was pointing to? Jesus preached the Emmaus duo down to Egypt, across the Red Sea. He preached how the waters killed God’s enemies and brought the Israelites freedom. Jesus’ sermon journeyed through the wilderness where manna fell from heaven, where a snake on the pole brought life, where water flowed from a rock. Hmmm – bread from heaven, a dead thing on a pole, water in the desert, the bread of Life, the Cross, Living water. Jesus preached for seven miles, that’s 2 hours and 20 minutes of sermon. He preached about a virgin birth in Isaiah and the little town of Bethlehem in Micah. He preached a suffering servant who is crucified for His people. A seven mile sermon on the Old Testament with one subject, one message, Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ of God, your life, your Savior, your forgiveness.
The sermon ended with a supper. Cleopas and Mary could not hear enough of this wandering preacher. “Stay with us Lord for it is evening and the day is almost over.” And then as Jesus broke bread their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus in the supper. Their God wasn’t dead. They saw Him, they heard Him, they had supper with Him. Jesus lives.
There are three things you confirmands and all baptized Christians should learn from Jesus, Cleopas and Mary. First, there is no such thing as too long of a sermon, even seven miles of sermon, if it is a sermon filled with Jesus. You can never have too much of Jesus – Hislife for your death, His forgiveness for your sin, His hope for your despair.Second, the Christian faith is not reasonable. The world will call evil good, sin fun, and death life. The devil will tell you that what you see is what you get. But it is not true. As I have told you many times the historical, eyewitness evidence that Jesus Christ rose from the dead is overwhelming, so we’ll believe the guy who rose from the dead, Jesus who lives. We’ll take His Word over Hollywood, over the government, over Fox News and the Saint Cloud Times, over our best friend. That is what it means to be faithful unto death. Third (and this is really the most important) Jesus lives and that means your sins are forgiven, death is dead, and the devil is a sore loser with a capital “L.” If you are ever trudging down a long road, despairing, downcast, because you just discovered your false god of the week died, you need Jesus. He lives and He loves you and He comes for you in His Word and in His Supper. Happy Confirmation in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Pastor Bruce Timm
3 May 2014 anno Domini