The Disillusionment of the Cross

Pastor Richard Blake
3rd July 2011

Luke 24:13-35

We commonly think of disillusionment as being a negative thing, of being robbed of our hopes or dreams. But the meaning of disillusion is “to be set free of illusions.” The Latin word illusio means “mocking” or “deceit.” When we’re disillusioned, we’re set free from impressions that mock and deceive us, we’re liberated from confusion about what is real and what is false. In that sense disillusionment is a good thing.

For the disciples who had thronged about Jesus in expectation that He would liberate them from Roman bondage and usher in a glorious messianic age of prosperity and peace for Israel, their expectations were shattered at Calvary as they experienced the disillusionment of the cross. We also experience that disillusionment as the cross of Christ strips away illusions and confronts us with reality. Reflect upon three illusions we no longer have because of the cross.

I. The Cross Removes the Illusion of Man’s Righteousness

Many people believe in the basic goodness of humankind, or at least in their own natural tendencies of righteousness. This belief is held in spite of contrary evidence everywhere around us. Those who commit the moral travesties and heinous crimes reported daily are exceptions, we think, among a species that is naturally good. Of course, we’re better than they, we think. Satan, the master illusionist, has convinced us of our moral goodness. Yet it is at this point that we are confronted with the cross of Christ and face the truth that it is our sin and depravity that made the cross necessary. We are disillusioned at this point but it is essential if our sin is to be dealt with.

II. The Cross Removes the Illusion of Man’s Hopelessness

These disciples were filled with feelings of despair as their hopes were shattered by the cross. But suddenly, light descends upon the darkened landscape of their lives as they met the resurrected Lord. Hope was born anew in their hearts. Similarly, people today struggle with the illusion that they have no real hope, that nothing really matters. In feelings of despair, they think that God—if He exists—certainly doesn’t care about them. We trudge the Emmaus road of sorrow until suddenly we’re confronted with the cross and truth dawns in the darkness; we are not alone. God does care. He cares so much that He allowed the hideous reality of the cross that the illusion of hopelessness might be driven away. You are not alone; you don’t wander hopelessly in a sin-ravaged world. The cross drives away the illusion and you experience the reality of God’s love.

III. The Cross Removes the Illusion About Man’s Death

Death is a subject we’d like to avoid, though it’s one of the certainties we face. We don’t like to consider our mortality. Many have the illusion that death is the end of existence, or at best, a leap into the great unknown. There is an instinctual dread of the grave. Yet the cross of Christ is thrust into our fearful speculations and we hear the cry, “He is really risen!” The cross is our reminder that death is not final; it stands as a glorious symbol of victory over death. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus has destroyed the power of death and brought release from our fears (Heb. 2:14-15). Because of the cross the illusion is vanished; “For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death where is your sting? (1 Cor. 15:54-55).