We Had Hoped
Read This Week: Luke 24
About Jesus of Nazareth, they replied. He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus. – Luke 24:19-24 NIV
In the Gospel of Luke 24, we encounter one of the most honest and relatable moments in Scripture; a conversation shaped by disappointment, confusion, and unmet expectations. As the disciples recount the events surrounding Jesus, they say, But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. That simple phrase ‘we had hoped’ captures the tension between what they believed God would do and what they were actually experiencing. They had seen Jesus’ power, heard His teaching, and believed in His mission. Yet, the crucifixion seemed to contradict everything. Like many of us, they weren’t struggling with whether God was powerful, but with why His plan didn’t unfold the way they expected.
What makes this passage even more interesting is that they spoke these words after the resurrection had already occurred. They were living in the reality of God’s greatest victory, but still interpreting their circumstances through the lens of defeat. This contrast reveals a deeply practical truth: we can be in the middle of God’s unfolding work and still feel like everything has fallen apart. Often, we misinterpret the middle of the story. For example, we assume that delay means denial, think silence means absence, and believe difficulty means failure. Yet, Luke 24 shows us that God’s purposes are often at work beneath the surface, beyond what we can immediately see or understand.
In their discouragement, the disciples begin walking away from Jerusalem—the place where redemption was accomplished. Yet, Jesus meets them there, on the road going in the wrong direction. He doesn’t begin by correcting them, but by asking, What things? He invites them to process their disappointment, put words to their confusion, and wrestle honestly with what they are feeling. This is profoundly encouraging because it reminds us that God is not put off by our questions or unmet expectations. He meets us in them, steps into our conversations, even when filled with doubt, and walks with us until we begin to see more clearly.
The disciples had the facts: Jesus was crucified, the tomb was empty, and there were reports that He was alive, but they lacked understanding. That’s where many of us live today. We see pieces of what is happening in our lives and struggle to interpret them correctly. We often draw conclusions too quickly, assuming that what appears to be a loss is final. Yet this passage reminds us that God’s work doesn’t always align with our expectations, but always with His greater purpose. What feels like an ending may actually be a turning point, and what looks like defeat may be the very path to redemption.
Luke 24 invites us to reconsider our we had hoped moments. Instead of seeing them as evidence that God has failed us, we can view them as places where our understanding is still catching up to His plan. It challenges us not to walk away too soon, disengage when things don’t make sense, or assume silence means God is absent. It reminds us that Jesus is often closer than we realize, walking with us in confusion and patiently leading us toward clarity. If we find ourselves holding onto disappointment, we can take heart: we are not at the end of the story. We may simply be in a moment where God is doing more than we can yet see, inviting us to trust Him beyond our expectations and into something far greater than we had hoped.
We don’t have to hope. We know that He is the resurrected Savior and always wins. May we live like that.