We Had Hoped: Emmaus, Resurrection, and True Power

Devotional

Day 1: Eyes That Fail to See

The two disciples trudged toward Emmaus, shoulders slumped under the weight of shattered hopes. Dust clung to their sandals as they rehashed the crucifixion and rumors of an empty tomb. A stranger fell into step, asking questions that exposed their raw disappointment: “We had hoped he was the Messiah.” Their eyes remained veiled even as Jesus Himself walked beside them, scripture’s promises fresh on His lips. [24:47]

Jesus didn’t rebuke their grief but rewrote their understanding of power. Resurrection wasn’t about overthrowing Rome—it was God dismantling death through sacrificial love. The Messiah’s glory wore the scars of surrender, not the crown of conquest.

Many of us clutch visions of how God “should” fix our lives, our world. We miss His presence because we’re staring at the rubble of unmet expectations. What ache of “we had hoped” keeps you from recognizing Christ’s nearness today?

“Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him… They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road?’”
(Luke 24:31-32, NIV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to strip away assumptions that blind you to His presence in life’s disappointments.

Challenge: Write down one unmet hope. Hold it while praying, “Open my eyes to see You here.”

Day 2: The Ring’s Whisper in the Night

The ring promised safety, invisibility, control—gifts any weary traveler might crave. But its whispers soon drowned out fellowship, twisting Boromir’s noble heart toward possession. Like the disciples’ longing for a political savior, the ring’s lure felt reasonable, even righteous. Both traded trust for the illusion of power. [11:07]

Jesus walks into our tangled attachments, not to condemn but to reorient. The things we clutch for security—approval, success, comfort—morph into masters when we refuse to release them. True freedom comes when we let Christ redefine what “power” means.

What harmless habit or relationship have you defended, only to feel its slow stranglehold? Where has your pursuit of control isolated you from community?

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
(Romans 12:2, NIV)

Prayer: Confess one thing you’ve relied on more than Christ’s presence.

Challenge: Delete an app or fast from a habit for 24 hours to disrupt its hold.

Day 3: Moses to Messiah on the Emmaus Road

Jesus didn’t perform a miracle to prove His identity. He opened Scripture, tracing redemption’s thread from Exodus to exile. The disciples’ hearts burned as ancient prophecies became flesh before them. Their resurrected King wore no armor—just road dust and patient authority. [17:36]

God’s story has always turned human power upside down: a shepherd boy toppling a giant, a virgin birthing salvation. The cross completes this pattern, making weakness the conduit for divine strength.

You’ve likely rehearsed your struggles alone, assuming God’s silence. What if He’s speaking through the Bible’s neglected pages? When did you last let Scripture interrogate your expectations?

“He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”
(Luke 24:27, NIV)

Prayer: Thank Jesus for being the true hero of every Bible story.

Challenge: Read Exodus 14 (Israel’s deliverance) and jot down how it points to Christ.

Day 4: Bread Broken, Eyes Opened

The Emmaus disciples pressed the stranger to stay—not for more teaching, but for companionship. Around a simple meal, Jesus took bread, blessed it, and vanished. In that ordinary act, their eyes finally saw: resurrection power dwelled in brokenness, not dominance. [18:00]

Christ still reveals Himself through shared tables and vulnerable fellowship. We meet Him not in grand displays but in the handing of a cup, the tear wiped by a friend, the confession whispered over coffee.

Who needs your invitation to “stay awhile” this week? What daily ritual could become a window to recognize Jesus?

“They recognized him… in the breaking of bread.”
(Luke 24:35, NIV)

Prayer: Ask God to make you aware of His presence in mealtimes today.

Challenge: Share a snack with someone while asking, “Where have you sensed God lately?”

Day 5: Dropping the Ring of Control

Boromir died clawing for the ring, convinced it could save his people. The Emmaus disciples nearly missed Jesus because they clutched dead dreams of rebellion. Both learned too late: liberation comes through surrender, not strategy. [30:04]

Resurrection power flourishes when we release our “rings”—the plans, grudges, or comforts we grip like lifelines. Christ’s victory is proven not in our control but in our courage to trust His unseen work.

What ring have you been unwilling to drop? What might Christ resurrect if you opened your empty hands?

“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”
(Matthew 16:25, NIV)

Prayer: Name one thing you’re holding tightly. Pray, “I release this to You.”

Challenge: Place a ring (or paper circle) in your shoe as a reminder to walk open-handed today.

Sermon Summary

The narrative frames resurrection not as a single triumphant event but as a redefinition of power that overturns expectations. A literary image from fantasy serves as a warning: an object that first seems protective and useful slowly reshapes identity, isolates its bearer, and narrows vision. Two disciples on the road to Emmaus embody the human struggle that follows both loss and wonder. They voice the raw confession, we had hoped, revealing how tightly an assumed model of power can blind people to God’s present work. Scripture intervenes on the road as the scriptures are opened from Moses onward, exposing how suffering and glory belong together in God’s economy. Recognition arrives not through spectacle but at a shared table, when bread is blessed, broken, and given; in that ordinary act the disciples’ hearts burn and sight returns. Resurrection then appears as an ethic and a pattern: true power takes the form of accompaniment, mercy, service, and self-giving rather than domination.

The text presses a practical question about modern idols. Many blessings can harden into idols when turned into sources of identity or control—relationships, status, gifts, money, or influence. Those things begin as protection or provision but can become lenses that make the risen Christ invisible. The narrative invites a reorientation: to name what each person carries, to notice how it shapes perception, and to imagine life freed from the compulsion to seize control. Fellowship around tables models another vision of power, one that is communal, vulnerable, and nourishing. The practice of a love feast echoes early Christian life and re-embodies the gospel claim that God’s presence appears most fully in shared bread and open hands. The concluding charge sends people back into daily life with a blessing to carry resurrection-shaped power into neighborhoods, relationships, and institutions.

Key Takeaways

1. Subtle power reshapes the self The ring image shows how an initially useful gift can slowly re-form desires, priorities, and identity until the bearer serves the object rather than the other way around. Discernment requires naming what seems benign but has become controlling and tracing how it changes relationships and moral imagination. The call is to recover practices that reorient the heart toward God and neighbor rather than toward possession. [11:07]
2. Disappointment hides divine presence The phrase we had hoped captures how grief and unmet expectations can become interpretive lenses that obscure God’s work amid suffering. Listening to honest disappointment prevents quick answers and creates space for scripture to subvert assumptions about how God must act. Patience with disorientation allows the risen Christ to reveal meaning beyond immediate political or personal vindication. [15:26]
3. Resurrection redefines power as service The breaking of bread reframes victory as table fellowship, not coercive control; power shows itself in accompaniment, mercy, and nourishment. This redefinition challenges any theology that equates God’s rule with domination and invites practices that embody vulnerability and mutual care. The eucharistic moment teaches that God’s glory looks like shared vulnerability and steadfast presence. [32:36]
4. Letting go frees spiritual eyesight Idols often begin as blessings and become blinders; naming them creates the possibility of freedom. Abandoning a grasping posture does not mean passivity but opens imagination to new ways of pursuing justice that mirror Christ’s self-giving. Communities that practice shared life and table fellowship cultivate the habits needed to see and respond to the risen Jesus. [35:01]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[08:07] - Roundtable Worship Explained
[10:12] - The Ring as a Warning
[12:38] - Journey to Emmaus Introduced
[15:51] - Luke 24 Reading: The Road Conversation
[24:47] - Scripture Reframes the Story
[32:02] - Recognition in the Breaking of Bread
[35:01] - What Are You Carrying
[56:22] - Love Feast and Communion
[62:56] - Blessing and Sending

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Luke 24:13-35 (ESV)
[The Road to Emmaus: Jesus appears to two disciples, explains Scripture, and is recognized in the breaking of bread.]

Observation Questions

What were the two disciples discussing as they walked to Emmaus, and how did they describe their disappointment? (Luke 24:19-21)
How did Jesus respond to their confusion, and what method did He use to reframe their understanding of His mission? (Luke 24:25-27) [15:26]
What ordinary action caused the disciples to finally recognize Jesus, and how did they describe their hearts afterward? (Luke 24:30-32) [32:36]

Interpretation Questions

Why do you think the disciples’ disappointment (“we had hoped”) blinded them to recognizing Jesus even as He walked beside them? [15:26]
Jesus connects suffering and glory in His explanation of Scripture (Luke 24:26). How does this redefine power compared to worldly ideas of control or domination? [32:36]
The sermon compares the “ring” in Lord of the Rings to blessings that become idols. How might good things like relationships, gifts, or influence subtly reshape our priorities and isolate us from God’s presence? [11:07]

Application Questions

What is one thing you’re carrying (e.g., a relationship, goal, or possession) that started as a blessing but now feels heavy or controlling? How could letting go of it free you to see God’s work more clearly? [35:01]
The disciples recognized Jesus in shared bread and vulnerability. What ordinary, communal practices (e.g., meals, serving, honest conversation) could help you or your community experience Christ’s presence this week?
When have you felt the tension of “we had hoped” — a disappointment that made it hard to see God’s work? How might Scripture or fellowship reframe that struggle? [15:26]
The sermon warns against equating power with control. Where in your life (work, family, church) are you tempted to grasp for dominance instead of practicing accompaniment or mercy?
How could your small group cultivate “resurrection-shaped power” (service, shared meals, open-handedness) in your neighborhood or relationships? [56:22]

Sermon Clips

Resurrection becomes for them not just proof that Jesus is alive, but a revealing of what real power looks like. The cross, what they thought Rome did, what they thought was a detour from power, what they thought was a failure of the power they had hoped would come to pass gets revealed as a whole new definition for what power is. Power lived out through love. Resurrection is God saying this is what power looks like when it's been shaped through service, through companionship, through care, through mercy, through forgiveness. [00:33:33] (42 seconds) #PowerThroughLove

And so I think here's the challenge for us, if we're still holding on to the ring, whatever that looks like for us, whatever that bit of power or that hope for power or that desire for power, whatever that looks like, if we are still clinging to that, then resurrection is never gonna make sense for us. It's never gonna make sense because it's never gonna fit the definition of what the world says power is. We're never gonna we're gonna be just like the disciples early on that journey that are unable to see the Jesus who is right with us, who is journeying with us, who sees us, who knows us. [00:34:15] (38 seconds) #LetGoOfPower

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