For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth
- Romans 1:16 -

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one
- Romans 3:10 -

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God
- Romans 3:23 -

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us
- Romans 5:8 -

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord
- Romans 6:23 -

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved
- Romans 10:13 -

One of the men, whose name was Cleopas, responded with a question to Jesus: "Are you a stranger? Do you not know what things happened over the previous days?" Jesus was not put off by Cleopas' somewhat abrupt response and simply asked Cleopas: "What things?" The question posed by Jesus allowed Cleopas another opportunity to recall the recent happenings and express his extreme disappointment. Cleopas ultimately confessed that he had hoped that Jesus was the one who was going to redeem Israel and implied that he had lost all hope that this was the case.

Cleopas was not able to see beyond the crucifixion. His hopes and dreams died that day with Jesus. Cleopas and his friend had a real disconnect with what God was doing at that moment in history. Their expectations had not been fulfilled and they concluded that all hope was gone.

This is a challenge that all people must face in life. We all have preconceived ideas of how things should be that are not always in sync with God's plan. When reality interferes with our dreams, how are we going to respond? Do we run and hide? Do we live in a virtual world of our imagination that wanders from reality or do we seek understanding from the Lord?

As Christians, we are not always going to have the ready answer. There is no crime in being confused and needing Jesus Christ's comfort. What can be sinful is when we seek answers apart from God. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. He alone can come along side and provide answers that get to the root of the problem. We can get temporary relief by living in ungodly behaviors or seeking worldly counsel, but at the end of the day, the hard questions still need answers. These moments of deep disappointment allow Jesus to get our attention in ways that can profoundly change our perspective and give us deep, abiding hope for the future.

In our story, Jesus gently rebuked Cleopas and his friend for their lack of faith in the scriptures. Jesus pointed out that the prophets had foretold that the coming Messiah would suffer before entering into his glory. He then worked his way through the scriptures and explained how the crucifixion was completely consistent with the Lord's revealed plan. The two men must have been profoundly moved by the spontaneous Bible study, because as they entered the city and Jesus went to continue on, they asked him to continue with them awhile longer.  There was something about this man that they couldn't quite understand, but they were definitely not ready for him to depart.