CMLC 2026-04-19 Sermon

This past week I was at a theology discussion

I had a very very important role that night.

I was the one pouring the beverages and They

were very important beverages. They were fermented

and you know at one point a guy walks up to me

and He starts talking to me like he knows me

and I'm thinking to myself I should know this

guy But I have absolutely no idea who he is at

all. I meet people in a lot of different places

and a lot of different situations. So, I've developed

a strategy for this. I just go with it. I look

them right in the eye and say, hey, it's so great

to see you. How have you been? Or, what's new?

Or, what's been happening? Now the good part

about this is that you can do this with anybody,

but if it's someone that I should know, they're

going to hear this and they're going to respond

with something that gives me context. Maybe they're

answering a question that's relevant to a past

conversation or maybe something that helps me

to figure out how I know them. And so of course,

that's what I did. Hey, it's good to see you.

What's new? And he just says, Oh, you know, things

are okay. That is not helpful at all. And at

that point, I just kind of gave up, and I just

said, it's good to see you. What would you like

to drink? And I just hoped that he would not

realize that I had absolutely no idea who he

was. Now, it's a strange feeling, isn't it? You're

standing in front of someone. and you're talking

with them, and you know you should recognize

them, but you just can't place it. You can see

them, you can hear them, you can interact with

them, but you just cannot figure the context

to understand who you're actually talking to.

And that's exactly what was happening in Luke

24. Two disciples are walking down the road,

talking about everything that's happened in Jerusalem.

Jesus had been arrested, put on the cross. But

it seems that there's more happening here. Jesus,

though, Jesus himself comes up and walks with

them. They see him and they talk with him, they

walk with him, but they don't recognize him.

Not because he's not tangibly there. He has a

body. They can see him. They know he's there.

But because they don't yet have the context to

understand who he is. We might think, well of

course they don't recognize him. Think about

everything that's just happened, all right? They

had hoped that Jesus was the one who would redeem

Israel. They had followed him, they had listened

to him, they had watched what he did, but then

he was arrested. He was tried and then crucified

and buried. Whatever they thought the Messiah

was supposed to be, this did not include that.

They were not expecting a suffering Messiah.

They certainly were not expecting a crucified

one. And even more than that, they were not expecting

a Jesus standing before them now with a resurrected

body, whole, restored, perfected. A life not

just returned, but transformed, meant to endure

forever. Of course. they would not be able to

recognize Him. But they're not even looking for

a Messiah anymore. As far as they're concerned,

that hope is gone. So, yes, of course it would

make sense to say that they wouldn't recognize

Him. Their expectations were wrong, their understanding

was incomplete, and after the last few days,

they're emotionally exhausted. They're not just

confused. They're undone. But Luke lets us know

that it's more than that. He says their eyes

were kept from recognizing Him. See, in the Greek,

the ekratuntō, it says they were being kept.

They were being restrained. In other words, this

is not just confusion. Something is preventing

them from seeing Him clearly. The way it's written

tells us this is not something that they're doing.

It's passive Something or someone is acting on

them Yeah, their expectations were off their

hearts were overwhelmed But it's even more than

that Jesus is not allowing himself to be recognized

yet But that wrecking that raises the question

though Why? Why would Jesus walk with them? talk

with them, but hold back from being known. And

the answer is this, because if those two people

recognize him too soon, getting excited that

the story hasn't actually ended yet, they're

going to misunderstand him all over again. Because

they would fall right back into the way that

they saw him before. The expectations that they

had of Him. What they thought Jesus represented.

What they thought Jesus came to do. A Messiah

who would overthrow the Romans. A Messiah who

would reestablish an earthly kingdom. The way

they understood it. If those two disciples see

Jesus and they get it before they understand

Him, they're just going to fit Him back into

the same broken expectations. So before he opens

their eyes and lets them see who he truly is

Jesus has to open the scriptures He has to show

them what the prophets were really pointing to

what God had intended all along the promises

of a suffering servant in Isaiah the righteous

one in the Psalms who is afflicted and also vindicated

the pattern of sacrifice and deliverance woven

through the law itself. Not what they had assumed

or filled in on their own. Because before they

can truly recognize who He is, they have to understand

what He came to do. So Jesus begins to speak.

Now, Jesus doesn't do anything obvious and reveal

himself right away. He's not saying, hey guys,

it's me, Jesus. A little more subtle and not

a video game. Instead, he starts with the scriptures.

He begins with Moses and all the prophets. He

interprets to them in all the scriptures the

things concerning himself. He takes everything

they thought they understood and he starts to

reframe it. Not by giving them new information,

but by giving them the right understanding of

it. Because the problem was never that they lacked

facts. The problem was that they understood what

those facts meant. They knew what had happened.

They just didn't know what it meant. But honestly?

Isn't that true about us too? How often do we

have facts right in front of us and still miss

what God is doing? Because we're still seeing

through our own expectations and assumptions.

Jesus walks them back through it all, through

the law, through the prophets, through the promises

they'd heard their whole lives, and He shows

them this was always the plan. the suffering,

the rejection, the cross. It was not a failure.

It was not some detour from what was intended.

This is exactly what God had been pointing to

all along. Not the plan they wanted, but the

plan they needed. And as He speaks, something

begins to happen. Not obviously. Not yet. They

still don't recognize Him. But on the inside?

something's changing. Before their eyes are opened,

Christ is already at work in them. And this is

where they begin to see it, not yet with their

eyes, but in their hearts. Because later they

say, did not our hearts burn within us while

He talked to us on the road, when He opened to

us the Scriptures? before they realized that

something was happening in them, something that

they didn't create, something they didn't initiate,

something they couldn't even fully explain at

the time. See, this is where we need to be careful,

though. Because this is one of those moments

in Scripture that can be easily misunderstood.

Because when we talk about God working on us,

working in us, awakening faith, stirring the

heart, People often hear that and they think

one of two things. Either they think, so I must

be the one who decides my fate. I'm the one who

chooses. I'm the one who creates that faith in

myself. That's me. Or, I guess I'm just a puppet

in God's hands with no real response of my own

at all in any of this. But to be clear, it's

neither. That theology discussion that night,

this very topic was coming up, and I heard all

the people that were up there trying to wrestle

with it, and I was really worried because of

what they were saying, because unfortunately,

they didn't have any Lutherans up there to help

them out. I mean, come on. I was right there.

Because often we see is that in our world people

struggle with the two. Because on the one hand,

there were those emphasizing that grace really

is God's work. And that's absolutely correct.

But then it drifted into an idea that many people

take from that, that God must also be the one

choosing who He wants to be lost. as if he wants

some people to be condemned. And I've heard those

very same people say that that somehow gives

them a sense of peace, which makes me wonder

what's wrong with them. That's not the picture

scripture gives us of God. The other hand, though,

a pastor friend of mine, Meredith, who was on

the panel, was emphasizing free will. I didn't

agree with every point that she made, but she

was absolutely right when she said, we don't

want people spending their whole lives wondering,

did I accept Jesus the right way? Did I do it

correctly enough? She also made the point, against

predestination, that if someone were forced into

God's kingdom against their will, it wouldn't

really be salvation. Being forced into heaven

would almost feel like a different kind of hell.

That's exactly why we have to be clear here.

That we're not promoting what many people call

double predestination. The idea that God decides

ahead of time not only who will be saved, but

also who will be lost based on his own desires.

But at the same time, it's not the opposite view.

That faith is ultimately something we somehow

generate by our own free will or decision before

God has had any say in it at all. Scripture doesn't

actually say either. What it says is something

different. Christ is the one who acts first.

And after Christ has acted first, we can then

choose if we wish to reject Him. Look at the

text. before they recognize Him, before they

say anything about belief, Christ is already

at work in them through His Word. This is why

we are so comfortable with baptizing those who

are still too young to answer for themselves,

because God always works before we come to the

point of embracing it ourselves. For these two

people, their hearts were burning not because

they had it figured out, but because God is revealing

it to them, awakening something, stirring something,

drawing them in. And it means that faith is not

something that you manufacture because you thought

it was a great idea. It's not something you produce

by finally getting your act together or making

the right decision or making sure that you...

really accepted Jesus this time, after 25 believers'

prayers, the right way, the best way, the full

way this time. In fact, every time somebody says,

all you have to do is believe, heard that one

before? We're already making it sound as if belief

is still one thing we have to somehow accomplish,

something we have to achieve, even if it's just

the one thing. But then we end up wondering for

the rest of our lives if we even did that correctly.

That's not what Scripture shows us. Scripture

shows us a Christ who comes to people first,

speaks to them, opens the Word to them, and begins

His work in them before they can even name what's

happening. Which means that when you say, yes,

I want to be saved, you're already responding

to the conviction that you need salvation. that

you're a sinner, and that Christ is your only

hope. That desire to cling to Him, to trust Him,

to look to Him is already at work in you. That's

why I don't berate people with questions when

they say, yes, I want to be saved. And I'm like,

you are in Christ Jesus. It's as you look to

Him. This is not because you've already figured

it all out, or because you're following Him perfectly,

but because as He continues to work in you, your

desire begins to change. Does that mean that

there's no response from us to God's salvation?

That there's no part where a person is actually

saying whether they want any part of this? Are

we just puppets with no say in our own lives?

No. The response is real. The response is ours.

But the response flows from what God has already

done. God is the one who calls. God is the one

who awakens. God is the one who draws. And yes,

people can still turn away when God has spoken.

It may be hard to imagine for us, We want to

be part of God's grace. We're sitting here saying

we love Him. We're grateful for what He has done.

Whether we can understand it or not, people can

still reject what He is doing in their lives.

Because God wants to reach all people. But many

of them do still reject Him. Even those who have

been baptized, even those who have heard the

Word, can still turn away. not because God failed,

not because God is ineffective, but because what

He has given, it can be refused. But on this

road to Emmaus, that's not what's happening.

And in fact, it's not what's happening in your

hearts right now. Because right now, Christ is

speaking. Christ is opening the Scriptures. Christ

is stirring hearts. Something new is beginning.

Not because we've managed to reach up to Him,

but because He's already come to us. And that's

what we hear Peter saying today. 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. Did you catch

that? He has caused us. Just like on the road

to Emmaus, Christ is the one who acts first,

the one who gives you life, the one who brings

us into this living hope. When He's breaking

the bread and they recognize Him, it's not because

they were sitting around the table when they

were doing communion before His crucifixion.

It's because it's the same Jesus who was feeding

them throughout His ministry. Peter also speaks

about faith. Trials. Testing. perseverance though.

We do need to hold those together carefully.

Because our faith, our faith is being refined.

Our faith, we do walk through trials. We are

called to cling to what has been given. None

of that means that faith starts with us. The

faith that endures is still the faith that God

has created. The faith that sustains you in the

trials is the same grace that first called you.

And also at the same time, it's not just something

that you sit and watch and drift along without

care. We are meant to hold fast, to remain, to

be active with this because we can reject what

was given. There are times where people allow

the pressures of this world, fears, doubts, distractions,

to pull us away and convince us that what we

have in Christ either isn't enough, or maybe

it's not even worth it. Maybe it's not even true.

Peter says don't lose sight of what you've been

given. Even though you have not seen Him, you've

loved Him. Even though... You do not now see

Him. You believe in Him and rejoice with joy

that is inexpressible and filled with glory.

It's the same reality we saw with Thomas. Blessed

are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

This is the life of faith. Not seeing with our

eyes, but knowing Him through His Word. Trusting

Him, loving Him, clinging to Him. Not because

we've convinced ourselves hard enough to love

Him. But because he has already revealed himself

and his love to us and that is what changes us

and That's a testimony not just to others but

to ourselves It's not hollow It's not something

that we just move on from But that is the real

life that he is calling us to You begin to follow

not perfectly but genuinely because you know

Him and He first loved us. Because for those

who hear His Word, who find their hearts stirred,

who say, yes, I believe, this is not a question

of whether you've believed enough or whether

you accepted Him in just the right way. It's

already yours. What Christ has accomplished is

not waiting for you to complete it. It is given

to you and receiving it and living in it. It's

affirming what is already accomplished in Christ.

And that is what we can rest in. Because as we

cling to Him, it's His strength, not ours. And

that's where the final turn comes in. Because

once they recognize Him, once their eyes are

opened, He vanishes from their sight. Doesn't

that seem strange? Oh hey, that was Jesus! Oh

hey, we should talk! Where'd He go? Why disappear

now? At that point, He doesn't need to stay in

front of them. Because they already know Him

not just with their eyes, but with their hearts.

Not just recognizing His face, but knowing who

He is and what He has done. And now everything

has changed. so they don't sit there and reflect

quietly. Well, that was cool. They get up immediately

and they go to Jerusalem and they tell everyone.

Because once you see Christ for who He truly

is, you don't just stay where you were. The same

movement we've been tracing all along. Christ

comes to us. Christ speaks to us. Christ reveals

Himself to us. And Christ awakens our hearts.

as He gives us new life. And that life is now

what others see in us. Not because we're proving

something or trying to convince anyone, but because

Christ is alive in us. And that is what is changing

how we live. It's changing how we speak, how

we respond to the people who frustrate us the

most. How we are holding onto when everything

else feels uncertain, in the quiet ways that

we refuse to let go of God. Because people may

not always recognize God right away, but just

like those two people, those two disciples, the

world may not recognize immediately, but over

time, in your actions, in your steadiness, in

your hope, in your words, and please remember

to use your words. Something begins to show.

Not just do you recognize Jesus, but do people

recognize Jesus in you. Because the same Christ

who walked with them on that road has come to

you, spoken to you, and revealed himself to you,

and is still at work in you even today. So go.

with eyes opened, with hearts burning, and with

a faith that is not your own work, but a gift

for you. And as you go, may we continue to live

in the life that He has given in a way that shows

who He is in us. Thanks be to God.