My Personal Jesus

---

Pygmalion is known as the legendary sculptor that fell in love with his sculpture, Galatea. According to Greek mythology, Pygmalion was so disgusted with the women of his city that he vowed to abandon them altogether. A little dramatic, but to each his own. His solution? To do what he knew best, sculpt. To paraphrase, Pygmalion basically said, “Since all the women on Crete disgust me, I’ll just make my own.” And make his own he did. Pygmalion began to chip away at a block of marble and the shape of a woman began to take form. Being the creep he was, Pygmalion was so impressed with his work that he began to fall in love with his statue. I’ll spare you from the rest of the story, but it essentially ends with Pygmalion’s sculpture coming to life and falling in love with him.

One may ask, “Why are you talking about Cretans that loved their sculptures?” Good question! Here’s why. Pygmalion is actually a pretty good representation of many Christians today because of our propensity to change what we don’t like. Unfortunately, we even try to change Jesus when he doesn’t fit in our ideal mold. Just like little Pygmalions, we take our chisel and chip away at the parts we don’t like and make our own personal Jesus.

---

Two Guys Walk to Emmaus and…

---

Luke 24:13-32 is one of my favorite passages in the Bible because it teaches us several lessons. I believe that the two primary lessons in this chapter are: first, the dangers of expectations, and second, the necessity of Scripture in our lives. The passage falls right after the resurrection of Christ, but before his resurrection is public knowledge. When you come to verse 13. you find two disciples of Jesus walking to a place called Emmaus. (v. 13) Not much is known about the town other than the fact that it is about 7 miles from Jerusalem. A lot had been happening in Jerusalem over the past weekend. The man who claimed to be the Messiah was lifted up and crucified on a cross, and now there are rumors that he has risen from the dead. There was a lot to talk about, and that’s exactly what these two men were doing. (v. 14)

---

A Divine Interruption

---

As the two disciples were speaking, the recently resurrected Jesus begins to draw near to them. (v. 15) Despite the Messiah standing before them, the disciples could not recognize him. The Bible says, “But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” (v. 16) Their eyes were literally held from seeing Jesus by something outside of themselves. Some say that it was God that kept the disciples from recognizing Jesus, but I kindly disagree. I believe that these disciples were still convinced that the Messiah was someone different from Jesus Christ. This is evidenced by their conversation with Jesus (we are getting there). They had carved out their personal Messiah that wasn’t supposed to be crucified, so the idea of Jesus rising again and speaking with them was out of the question; therefore, their expectations had blinded them from recognizing the Messiah standing right before them.

---

Now That’s a Good Question

---

While Jesus was walking with these disciples, he asked a probing question. To paraphrase, Jesus asks them what they are talking about. (v. 17) It was a simple question that would create a conversation with eternal value (Jesus was really good at asking those questions). This question prompted something within the disciples. At first, all they could do was stand there. The Holy Spirit tells us that they were sad. (v. 17) Picture this with me. The Messiah, the hope of the world, is standing before them, and they are sad. Here’s why.

“Cleopas, answered him, ‘Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?’ And he said to them, ‘What things?’ And they said to him, ‘Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”

(vv. 18-23)

Cleopas, the only named disciple in this passage, speaks up and begins to explain their conversation. Based on his response, he seems shocked by Jesus’ question. The crucifixion of Jesus was not a small ordeal. It shook the city of Jerusalem to its core. It was a large religious and political conspiracy to kill an innocent man. I have to assume that just about everyone was talking about what had happened over the weekend, so for someone to ask “what things?” would be pretty shocking. That’s why Cleopas begins by asking, “Did you come out from under a rock?” But what Cleopas says next is the crux of their problem. Jesus prompts him to explain their conversation, and this opens the flood gates for Cleopas. He goes on to explain how the prophet, Jesus, had been crucified, but they had hoped that Jesus was there to redeem Israel. And on top of all this, now the body of Jesus is missing. So let’s look at this from the disciples’ perspective. What they described was accurate, but it was exactly what was supposed to happen. In fact, it was what Jesus said would happen, so why are they so sad? Because they had hoped for a different Jesus, and we know that hope deferred makes a heart sick. (Prov. 13:12)

---

Not My Messiah

---

After hearing the disciples’ concern about Jesus dying on the cross and rising again, one may think “yeah, and? This was SUPPOSED to happen!” We have to remember that when these men thought of the Messiah they were thinking of a different person. The Messiah, in their minds, was someone who would come and redeem Israel in an temporal context. They were waiting for someone to overthrow the Roman empire, so when Jesus was crucified by the Roman empire, it really burst their bubble. What should have been the best news of their life was actually discouraging to them. This is all because they had misplaced expectations. Jesus made it clear that he was not there to rule as a king, but that’s what these two men wanted. They took out their chisels and made their own version of the Messiah. How often do we become frustrated with God and begin to say things like “God would never do that!” How often do we desire the wrong things and create a God that affirms the worst parts about us. If you look around, you will find a multitude of ideas about who God is. We are master sculptors when it comes to creating our own version of God, but any version of God that does not align with Scripture is an idol. Aaron wanted Moses to believe that the golden calf just hopped out of the fire (Ex. 32:24), but the truth is that Aaron fashioned it with his own hands (Ex. 32:4). The same is true for our false ideas about God. We carefully craft our gods to our liking. The god that accepts your sin is an idol. The god that hates your neighbor is an idol. The god that is only love is an idol, and the god that is only wrath is an idol.

---

A Refreshing Rebuke

---

After Cleopas finishes his spiel on why they were sad, Jesus gives them a refreshing rebuke. Jesus put it this way, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (vv. 25-26) There it is folks. The disciples were rebuked because they were simply slow to believe what God had been saying through his Word. The whole OT was simply a shadow of something greater on its way. (Col. 2:17) So for Jesus to come and not offer redemption would nullify the entire purpose of the whole Old Testament. When the disciples saw Jesus as something other than the Messiah that would die for the sins of mankind, they were not believing the OT. They had replaced the Messiah of the Bible and replaced him with their own personal ruler. Thankfully, Jesus knew the solution.

---

The Greatest Bible Study of All Time

---

After Jesus rebukes the disciples for their slowness to believe, he takes them through his Word. The Bible says that “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (v. 27) From beginning to end, Jesus walked his disciples through the Old Testament to reveal himself. (As a side note, yes the Old Testament is still relevant today.) How did Jesus remedy the disciples’ poor expectations? He taught them Scripture. The solution is the same for us. Whenever we feel as though our expectations are not met, we would be wise to go to God’s Word and know his promises. When our expectations are aligned with what God promises to be true, then we do not have to worry about unmet expectations. For example, I may not know what will happen tomorrow, but I know whatever happens will be for good and to make me more like Christ. (Rom. 8:28-29) So if I go into tomorrow hoping for God’s good purpose to happen, and for myself to be made more like Christ, then I won’t have to worry about unmet expectations. The humble heart does not concern itself with the things that it cannot understand; therefore, we should be content to rest in the promises of God even when things do not go according to our plan. (Ps. 131:1)

The solution for unmet expectations is never to reshape God to fit our expectations/desires, but rather to reshape our desires to fit God’s expectations. So when my expectations and desires are in line with what God has promised and desires, then I believe my life will be a lot simpler. I wholeheartedly believe that a fundamental part of Christian living is simply getting on board with what God is doing with or without you. This may come at the cost of letting go of the desire to know what happens next, but it comes with the gift of resting in what God has promised. This was the formula that Jesus followed with his disciples on the road to Emmaus. He rebuked their poor expectations, but then took them to the Scripture to help them create proper expectations. It was in the Scriptures that the disciples would find the true Messiah, and it is in the Scriptures that we will find the right hopes, desires, and expectations.

---

Holy Heartburn

---

After Jesus walked his disciples through the OT, they asked him to stay with them to share a meal. After they ate, it was time for Jesus to move on. The Bible says “When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?’ And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem.” (vv. 30-33) Jesus blessed their food and their eyes were opened, just in time for Jesus to vanish. Before he vanished, the disciples recognized Jesus, and reflected on what he had done. They think back on how it was the Scriptures that caused their hearts to burn in their chests. All it took was some time in Scripture and fellowship with Jesus to open their eyes. With this new revelation, they turned around and went back to Jerusalem.

So let’s zoom out here and look at this passage. These two disciples had hoped for a new king, but their best candidate was crucified on a cross. The Messiah that they had hoped for still hadn’t come. They start walking back to Emmaus when a man, Jesus, joins their conversation. Jesus takes their personal Messiah and holds it to the light of Scripture. The disciples are taught about the true Messiah of Scripture, and after some time with Jesus, their eyes are opened to the true Messiah. They set aside the Messiah that they had created and found the true Messiah on that road. We too would be wise to lay down our chisels to have our eyes opened and our hearts burn. The Jesus of your making cannot compare to the Jesus of Scripture. Let your expectations about God and his dealings with creation be founded in Scripture. Cling to the promises of God and see that you will never be left disappointed or deceived. God is not a liar. Stop playing Pygmalion and accept Jesus as he is. Lay down your chisel.

---