The Road to Emmaus
Notes
Transcript
Last week we started a brand new series where we are going to take the time to look at the encounters Jesus had with people after the resurrection and before the ascension. There are quite a few of these mentioned in scripture, some we have a great deal of information about, and some we have very little. For instance, 1 Cor 15:7 tells us Jesus met with James and then all the disciples, and we really have no information on what happened with the meeting with James. We just know it happened, but nobody really tells the story about it.
In the first week of the series we looked at one of the most famous encounters of this type and one you probably have heard preached about on Easter morning many different years; the meeting with Jesus and Mary outside the tomb. We saw how in that encounter we learn even in the middle of our grief an despair, Jesus is still there providing hope, but in order for us to hear his voice in these moments we must have a personal relationship with him. This is why the best thing you can do for people you know are having a difficult life and don’t know Jesus is to share the gospel with them. This is what can give them real hope in their situation as they come to a personal relationship and are able to hear his voice when he calls. It’s also important when we get in these moments and Jesus calls us that we answer his call because if we are being honest, there are times Jesus calls us to action and we are positive it is him calling, but for fear or because it wasn’t what we wanted or expected we tell him no. So we have to be willing once we have that personal relationship to go where he sends us.
This morning, we are looking at another very popular encounter with Jesus. This is the encounter we commonly refer to as the Road to Emmaus. Some of you may have even been on Emmaus walks, a three day retreat designed to deepen your faith and draw you closer in your relationship with Jesus. So we pick up the story in Luke 24
13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem,
Meaning the same day of the resurrection - just a little later in the day.
14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened.
There talking about Jesus being gone, they are finding themselves in the same place we saw Mary last week. They have lost hope in a lot of things and here as they walk I can only imagine they are talking about all the things Jesus did while he was with them, and how they expected so much more. They were ready for his earthly kingdom and now all of it is gone.
15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.
16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad.
18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
I love this because it’s almost like Cleopas is getting smart with this stranger, Jesus, he’s all, “For real dude, you have to be the only person in the world who doesn’t know what is going on right now, how can you not know what just happened here?”
19 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 what we see is in their grief much like Mary they have not begun to recognize him here as they are talking directly to him. I think there are a couple of points of importance here. First, I think we see the power of community in our grief. We know one of these people is Cleopas but we are not sure who the other person is here walking with him. Some theologians will attribute the other person to the wife of Cleopas, others will say it is another follower, but we truly can’t know who this was. What we can see, is these people were walking through their grief together. They were walking and talking and doing a real therapy session along the way and we can see how important it is for us to have a community of people we can do life with. Remember, we have talked extensively about how we need to have someone in our lives we can confide in and share with, and when it comes to that person they need to first and foremost love Jesus, and secondly love you.
The second thing we notice in these verses is how we have to be open to what Jesus is doing along our journey. There are so many times we are walking and dealing with grief and Jesus comes to try to help us in those moments but we fail to see or hear him because he hasn’t acted in a way we think he would. We can’t be like these people on the road to Emmaus who failed to recognize the presence of Jesus.
20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him.
21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.
22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning,
23 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.”
And so they are just really going on with the stranger, Jesus telling him everything that has happened, I think really wanting this person who they think hasn’t heard the story to know what has just happened, and they want him to understand. And what you get to recognize in these few moments, is they are not just talking about Jesus death, but now they have also heard these stories about angels and empty tombs and that is also on their heart. They have in this exact moment brought themselves to the same point we saw Mary last week when she stood before Jesus and said if you have his body let me take it. And so here they stand before Jesus and they’re like, look our friends told us they saw angels who told them Jesus was alive, but they didn’t actually see Jesus. And look how Jesus responds.
25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”
27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
Look how amazing this is, to everything they have told him about their concerns and story, Jesus first rebukes them for not understand their scriptures, but then it says Jesus began with Moses and all the prophets and explained everything. This is so amazing, how long do you think this took? In my head I think it would have taken hours, but I bet Jesus could do it in a few minutes to these people. HE could lay it all out so quick for their brains to see straight from the beginning.
We can see Jesus here telling us the answer for our questions in life can be found in scripture. When we get like Cleopas and his companion we tend to be like them, we are looking to the world for answers and trying to figure things out from our own skills and views, but Jesus calls them back to scripture to get the answer they need.
I remember a story of a friend from college, he had a short relationship with a girl and called it off to go back with his ex. A few years later when that didn’t pan out he called the girl he had the short relationship with and apologized to her for the way things ended and explained himself to her. She was currently dating a guy, but had missed interacting with this friend and knew she had to make a decision. To her credit, she prayed for God to give her answers and she said she just flipped her Bible and opened it to Joshua 19:47 and it talks about the territory of the people of Dan, and this was the name of the new guy she was dating, so she decided to stay with him.
Now, I can’t say we should use scripture that way and just flip through randomly and stop and allow that to be God’s word to us for that day, because that can be a real dangerous thing to do. However, how many times can you remember in your daily Bible reading scripture speaking directly to your life and giving you answers to what you were dealing with. Much like these two travelers, we need to look to scripture to enlighten and open our eyes to give us hope in our grief.
28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther,
29 but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them.
Realize, here they still haven’t recognized him, but they are about to see who he is in all of his glory. I want you to think about that as well, Jesus has explained who he was from the beginning and they still haven’t figured it out, because in verse 16 we were told their eyes were kept from recognizing him. Look what is about to happen
30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them.
31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.
This is one of those scriptures you love because it is so amazing, and people ask, “Well Pastor how did he vanish what does that mean?” And the best answer is, he vanished, thats what it says. And surprisingly most scholars don’t really like to touch on this either.
32 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?”
Look at the power of fellowship we see in this moment. As they sit together and break bread to one another all of a sudden everything start to make sense and they realize they have encountered Jesus. Right back to the beginning of the story this morning we saw the importance of community and this goes even deeper into those thoughts.
For so many people the newest thought in the Christian world is I can be a Christian but not go to church, because all of those people are nothing but a bunch of hypocrites. While there is some truth to us being hypocrites on occasion, the truth is Jesus has said the Church is his bride, and we cannot neglect her. It is in the walls of the church building that the ecclesia comes together for most people. It is here our community is built by community worship, the word, and breaking bread together. I bet all of you have stories of lives changed in a morning service as people have walked from death to life in the service as they have encountered him in the fellowship of His people much like Cleopas and his companion.
Not only that, this is why the small group model works so well. As we talked about last week, inside the church we often have a hard time opening up and allowing ourselves to be vulnerable and honesty about what we are dealing with, which really hurts our fellowship. However, in a smaller group of people who are also vulnerable we can open up and break bread together, and worship together, and open the scriptures together and encounter Jesus in a fresh new way. Some of you see that in SS, your Mary and Martha group, or Wednesday Night classes.
And I want you to look at their response to their encounter with Jesus.
33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,
34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”
35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Look, their first response when they encountered Jesus was to go and tell everyone about it. When we have a true encounter with Jesus it changes everything and we want to share what he has done. I am sure most of you remember those first days and weeks after you gave your life to him and all you wanted to do was share with people how he had changed your life and you wanted more people to have that life changing experience.
When we go to Emmaus walks this is the expected result as well, we go and have this deeper encounter with Jesus and people from different churches and denominations come together for these, and the hopes are they go back to their church and their new found passion stirs in others not just inside the church but outside as well.
What is Jesus telling you in your grief, are you open to hearing him as you walk through your grief? Are you ready prepared to share what he has done in your life with others?
