4-19-2026

“THAT’S WHO IT IS!”

Text: Luke24:13-35

Sunday April 19, 2026 – Easter 3

Trinity – Creston

       Grace, mercy, and peace is yours from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

       Our text for this Third Sunday of Easter is the Gospel from Luke 24.

Let Us Pray: Dearest Jesus, send your Holy Spirit to open our eyes that in the Divine Service and throughout our daily lives to you go from hidden to being revealed to us.  Amen.

Dear Fellow Redeemed in Christ:

Let’s say you often go to the local basketball court just to play around and stay in shape. While you’re there one day, this guy asks if he can join in. “Sure, come on in,” you say.

Game begins, he never misses a shot, and it looks as if he’s just warming up. He gets a little pressure, and he gives a pump fake, sidestep, fires a fadeaway jumper. Swish. A little more pressure, and he makes some move you can’t even describe, takes off from the free throw line, and dunks—gently because it’s the local gym.

After the game, you say, “Thanks for playing, Michael.” You thought he was just some guy, but when he played, you realized he was Michael Jordan.

2.

On the road to Emmaus, Jesus walks with two disciples, who are kept from recognizing him. He schools them. Over the course of almost two hours, he brings from the entire Old Testament all the stories and prophecies showing that he would come, he would die, and he would rise.

Our Savior walks with us on our pilgrimage through this fallen world to the true promised land of his Kingdom. There are times when he seems hidden, and there are times when he reveals himself.

We are often like the disciples, wondering what Jesus is doing. How is he with me when I’m living paycheck to paycheck, even after budgeting, cutting expenses, and getting a second job?

How was Christ with Adam when, after the first sin, he was toiling by the sweat of his brow to grow crops among the thorns and thistles? Where was Christ when Noah labored 120 years building the ark, only to see almost the entire human population washed away?

Well, maybe Jesus explained to those Emmaus disciples. By the promise God gave Adam and Eve already in their suddenly corrupted garden, he was coming to die on the cross, and because God already back then saw Christ’s death and resurrection as accomplished facts, he was providing a crop, even if meager, and he was saving Noah and his family in that really big boat.

We struggle to make ends meet, but God later shows us how that struggle prevented us from getting too proud of our own success. We also learned how to trust more fully that our Lord provides all our needs, and the help we received from others as we struggled has led us to be generous to others.

Where was our Lord when we were getting picked on or hurt? Sure didn’t seem like he was there while we were crying.

Where was Christ when Israel cried out in desperation as the Egyptians closed in at the Red Sea? Where was he when David was being murderously pursued by Saul, when he cried out in Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Where was Christ when Isaiah and Jeremiah were being ignored, mocked, and threatened with death? Maybe Jesus explained to those Emmaus disciples.

David and the prophets were speaking words of Jesus himself, the Lamb led to the slaughter, the one who bore our griefs and carried our sorrows. The Red Sea? What a beautiful picture of Christ coming through death to his resurrection!

We’re picked on; we cry out. Later, the Lord shows us that he gave us strength to get through. Through those struggles, he has formed us into people who will stand up for what’s right and who will not give in just because someone criticizes or tries to make us feel bad.

He has made us into persons who will listen to, pray with, and help another hurting soul.

1.

The two Emmaus disciples are so drawn to this great teacher who walks with them that they ask him to stay the evening at their house. When he blesses bread, breaks it, and gives it to them, their eyes are opened. They realize they have once again walked with their beloved Messiah. Our Savior was hidden on the journey but present. He even spoke to them directly, but it wasn’t until after this teaching and the receiving of this bread that they recognized him for who he was.

Our Lord is hidden and revealed here in his own house. You don’t have Jesus up here speaking to you. You’re stuck with me. I’ll say something amusing sometimes or give an illustration to set the tone. It’s all to be his Word brought to bear on you as his people.

His Law condemns what needs to be condemned, and it guides you in his way. His Gospel brings his forgiveness, comfort, and peace to you as you journey toward his Kingdom.

Studying the Bible stories is so precious! Often our Lord teaches us new things that we didn’t see in his Word previously. We make connections to different parts of Scripture. We gain more insight into how each story draws us to our Savior.

We make better applications to our lives as his people. He reveals himself to us through his Word every time we read it, even if he simply reminds us of what he has already taught us.

And here in his house, our Savior also reveals himself to us in his Supper. Here, you aren’t served a feast of exquisitely seasoned and perfectly cooked steaks with sweet potatoes and the best sweet tea you’ve ever had.

We use ordinary elements, which he reveals as extraordinary. We have a little piece of bread and a swallow of wine. We might not even like the taste. We are tempted to see this meal as just another part of the service.

But God comes to us in this meal. People cry out to experience God in their lives, and Jesus provides exactly that in the Sacrament. He reveals his very heart.

He is the one who has suffered and died for us. He is the one who brings new life to us in his body and blood. The Holy Spirit opens our eyes to recognize a feast of forgiveness, life, and salvation itself.

Our Savior is hidden in ordinary speech and elements. But he reveals himself to you and me in the proclamation of his Word and reception of his Sacrament.

Our Lives and Our Worship Follow a Pattern
of Our Savior Being Hidden and Revealed
to the Glory of His Name and for Our Salvation.

Amen.