Two men were discussing politics after a controversial death in the capital.
They were upset because things hadn’t gone the way they had hoped. They had long believed this man would be the one who was going to rescue them from the tyranny of the Roman rule.
What’s going to happen to us now?
“Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” said one of the two men, Cleopas.
It was a lot for him to take in. People like Cleopas had hoped that Jesus would rescue His people, but Jesus was sentenced to death instead. Cleopas was distressed by the tragedy he observed in his world, and devastated by the apparent death of the solution.
Chances are, there’s a bit of Cleopas in all of us when we experience unexplainable suffering.
If there is a God, and if He is good, then why are things so bad?
If your heart has even the slightest longing to know God and have what He promised us (John 3:16), you can take comfort in Cleopas’ encounter on the road to the village where his eyes were eventually opened to see that Jesus had been with him all along.
He is with you in the darkness, even when it seems like nothing is going according to plan.
4 WAYS GOD’S PLAN IS STILL WORKING
1. Don’t be discouraged if you do not understand at first
With no hope left in their hearts or on their faces, Cleopas and his friend tried to explain the things that were happening.
They were men who were simply looking at circumstances without considering Scripture, until Jesus came along to explain everything to them:
“He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.“ (Luke 24:25-27)
As Jesus walked with the two men on their journey, he gave them insight into what they had read about Jesus Christ but did not believe – it was no longer just plain text on paper.
They felt the Word of God come alive within them (Luke 24:32) as their minds were opened to understand the scriptures (Luke 24:45).
God is sovereign. His ways are above ours but He has not left us searching for Him in the dark.
He is with you in the darkness, even when it seems like nothing is going according to plan.
2. Ask the Holy Spirit to help us understand
Even if we pore over every word in the Bible – like the two men – we need divine help to understand Scripture (1 Corinthians 2:14).
Before Jesus left the disciples, he asked them to wait for the Holy Spirit who will come to them. God is 3-in-1: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Having the Holy Sprit’s presence and power upon our lives is essential because God’s work has to be done in His presence.
“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John 14:26)
“What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.” (1 Corinthians 2:12)
The Holy Spirit is our only chance at gleaning insight and wisdom from the Word of God.
3. Go back and encourage others
“And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together.” (Luke 24:33)
They had just gotten to the village of Emmaus on foot – they must have surely been tired. But they got up again and went back to tell others what they had just experienced. They didn’t wait till the next day.
The town of Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified must have been rife with rumours. Mockers would have jumped at the chance to scoff at those who believed: “Is the Messiah dead? How is he going to save you now?”
… we need divine help to understand Scripture
But the Lord had risen indeed, and He had even appeared to Simon. The disciples and the people who heard of the Messiah needed to know that everything was going to plan: Christ would suffer and die – but rise again on the third day from the dead (Luke 24:26).
4. Participate in the plan
After Jesus appeared in their midst again, he told them: “You are witnesses of these things.”
He then opened their mind to understand what had been written in Scripture about His suffering and resurrection, and reiterated the message He had given to his disciples before He died: Proclaim repentance for the forgiveness of sins in my name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
The plan hasn’t changed, and God’s mission to reconcile people back to Himself is now ours too.
The time will come when we will understand everything completely; but for now, class is not yet over and the God is still teaching us, guiding us, and speaking to us through the Holy Spirit.
Are we listening?
