Roughly seven miles west, northwest of Jerusalem lies a quiet little town with a funny name—Emmaus. The town itself no longer exists, but its name has lived on for over 2,000 years because of one unforgettable walk.
Two
disciples, still reeling from the trauma of Jesus' death and the confusion of
reports about an empty tomb, were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus—a journey
that would have taken about two to three hours on foot. As they walked, a
stranger joined them. They didn’t recognize Him. They poured out their
hearts—their sadness, their doubts, their shattered hopes—and the stranger
listened. Then, He began to speak, and their hearts burned within them as He
explained the Scriptures.
Their
story about the resurrection comes to us from Luke 24:13-34. And it’s important to us, because many of us
walk through life just like those two disciples: burdened, confused,
heartbroken... and unaware that Jesus is right there beside us. Today’s
message is an invitation to open our eyes, to recognize the Risen Christ
is walking with us.
Luke 24:13-34
13 That same day two of
Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles[a] from
Jerusalem. 14 As they walked along they were
talking about everything that had happened. 15 As
they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began
walking with them. 16 But God kept them from
recognizing him.
17 He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as
you walk along?”
They stopped short, sadness written across their
faces. 18 Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You
must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that
have happened there the last few days.”
19 “What things?” Jesus asked.
“The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,”
they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty
teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. 20 But
our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned
to death, and they crucified him. 21 We had hoped
he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days
ago.
22 “Then some women from our group of his followers were at
his tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report. 23 They
said his body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is
alive! 24 Some of our men ran out to see, and sure
enough, his body was gone, just as the women had said.”
25 Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find
it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. 26 Wasn’t
it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things
before entering his glory?” 27 Then Jesus took them
through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the
Scriptures the things concerning himself.
28 By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their
journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, 29 but
they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went
home with them. 30 As they sat down to eat,[b] he took the bread and blessed
it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. 31 Suddenly,
their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he
disappeared!
32 They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us
as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” 33 And
within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There they found the
eleven disciples and the others who had gathered with them, 34 who
said, “The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter.[c]”
The first thing I notice about this conversation is how to the disciples it seemed things were out of control. They said, “our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him…” as if God had no control over it, as if these evil people thwarted God’s plan. “We had hoped he was the messiah, but…”
No one can
ever thwart God’s plan. God is always in
control. And in fact, the resurrected Jesus
chides the disciples. “You foolish people!” He
said. “You find it so hard to believe…”
And He goes on to show how the crucifixion was all part of God’s plan,
how He knew it would happen beforehand.
When things
seem out of control in your life, have a little faith. Trust God.
God is in control. If you are trying
to walk with Him, He will use even the awful things in your life for His glory
and your good. So have faith and hang in
there. When things seem out of control,
God may be up to something BIG!
The disciples still didn’t know it was Jesus walking with them as He taught them from the Bible how the death and resurrection of Jesus clearly predicted the Messiah. What the disciples saw as proof that Jesus wasn’t the Messiah, the Scriptures showed were proof that Jesus absolutely was the Messiah, the Son of God!
I should
point out that the Bible Jesus taught from was the Old Testament. The New Testament didn’t yet exist. The Gospels and all the letters of the New
Testament hadn’t been written yet. But
the Bible Jesus used, and the disciples read at the time, was the Old Testament: "the writings of Moses and all the prophets…”
Why am I
telling you this? Well, because there
are a lot of Christians today who shy away from the Old Testament. We often prefer the New Testament because it’s
a bit easier to understand and we like it’s tone of forgiveness and
reconciliation (whereas the Old Testament sometimes seems more wrathful and
hard to understand). Some church leaders
today even goes so far as to try to write off the Old Testament as outdated or
unnecessary or obsolete. But for Jesus,
our Lord, this was clearly not the case.
For Jesus, the Old Testament was the Word of God and it clearly pointed
to Jesus and explained what the Christians of His day needed to know about Christ.
So, I
would encourage you to give equal value to the Old Testament. We need to read it, know it, and understand
it. We believe all Scripture—Old and New
Testament—is relevant and points us to Jesus and the way of salvation.
The last thing I want to point out is how the disciples begged Jesus to stay. I love that the Scriptures say they begged Him to stay. It shows how much they longed to know more about God’s Kingdom.
Now,
most of us are not begging for more teaching from the Bible. In fact, right now many of you are begging me
in your mind, “Alright, wrap it up preacher!
It’s time for lunch!” But these
disciples longed for the truth. And this
mysterious person with them (that they still didn’t know was Jesus) was clearly
teaching the Scripture’s truth about Jesus.
And they longed for more. “Don’t
leave! Don’t go on your way! Stay with us and teach us more!” And so Jesus stayed with them.
Oh that
we would have the same longing for Jesus’ truth in our lives today! Would you beg Jesus to stay with you today?
The Truth is, Jesus is here. Jesus is not in the dead. He’s alive. And He’s been walking with you all along the way. And He’s here in the sanctuary with us now. And He’s waiting for you at the altar this morning as we break the bread and drink the wine. He wants to kneel with you and pray with you. May you long to meet with Him here as we celebrate the sacrament of communion. And may your hearts burn within you as he talks to you and may your eyes be opened so you can see Him walking with you all along the way every day.
