Post-Easter Doubts

Luke 24:21 - But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.

All four Gospels clearly describe Jesus’ Resurrection on the first Easter, but each adds one or more unique events. Luke is the only Gospel that tells about two followers of Jesus – apparently not part of the core twelve apostles – who left Jerusalem that day in painful discouragement. They had left their homes to follow Jesus without receiving the fame and face time that the core twelve received. Luke does not tell us why they left.

The Road to Emmaus was not the quickest way back to Galilee. Instead it led toward the Mediterranean Coast. Perhaps they were seeking to start a new life. Perhaps they just wanted some time in the surf and sun to rethink their lives now that everything they had been living for was gone. What we do know is that what they once believed, they now doubted. What they were once committed to, they now abandoned. Circumstances did not work out like they expected them to, and even the words of a few women about angels and an empty tomb that might have given them hope failed to do anything other than discourage them further.

I have met far too many people in my life like these two. They made a start in a faith journey with Jesus. They heard his teaching – through others and reading the Bible. They experienced his touch and saw his power – through the Holy Spirit. Yet, they expected that if Jesus was the Christ things would have worked out a certain way – but they did not happen that way. Perhaps a prayer went unanswered, a relationship ended, an illness was not healed, or a persuasive professor or book sowed seeds of doubt. However it happened, the doubt sprouted, and the former followers of Christ started walking down a different path.

Yet, Jesus did not abandon them. Of all the things Jesus could have done that Easter afternoon, he chose to spend several hours with two who were not of the core twelve who were struggling with doubt. One is not named in the Bible, and the other is never named again. Jesus walked them through the scriptures to help them understand that Jesus’ reality is not proved by the absence of difficulty but by the fulfilled prophecies of the Old Testament. He was ultimately revealed in the breaking of bread, and their doubts were removed.

If you have had some doubts on your journey of life, invite Jesus to join you in spite of them. Enjoy the walk, and do not be afraid of tough questions. He isn’t.