On The Road to Emmaus

Roads are important…Roman Empire built 400,000 km of roads. 80,000km of them were paved. 

On one of those roads Jesus walked, after His Resurrection, and made a very special appearance.

But before we get to that account…let me ask you a WHAT IF…? Question

What if…you woke up one morning to a breaking news headline: Bones of Jesus Found

Article describe: “The city of Jerusalem was shocked today by the announcement that a body identified as that of Jesus of Nazareth was found in a long-neglected tomb just outside the city.”

That has not happened…nor will it ever happen… But if it were true, then our faith is worthless, and all this celebration at Easter is waste of time.

As Paul wrote in   1 Corinthians 15,we would be the most pitiable(miserable) people in all the world.” 

But that's not the way it is.Because you see, Jesus Christ has .  3 BASIC CREDENTIALS 

#1. His IMPACT ON HISTORY…

He died at 33yrs of age…His actual ministry was only 3 years long. 

Born in an obscure town in northern Israel,

Yet the impact of that one life reverberates through the hallways of time and history unlike any other human life.

#2. He FULFILLED PROPHECY…

You see, the OT made hundreds of predictions of the things Jesus fulfilled in His lifetime.

#3 His RESURRECTION from the Dead.

Most religions of the world are based upon philosophies, teachings, the postulates of its founders.

Of all the world religions, four are based on personalities. Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam.

But of those four religions, .only the Christian faith claims a Resurrection for its founder

The passage we're looking at in the Bible today…is only found in Luke’s gospel. (Mark mentions it)

2 men walking to a town called Emmaus, about 7 miles, from Jerusalem. 

And as they're walking & talking…Jesus comes, walks alongside of them, and starts talking to them.

On this day, the conversation and the faces of those walking the road were very sad and very gloomy.

You see, they were REVIEWING everything that had just happened in Jerusalem in recent days.

Jesus had come into the city…riding on a donkey that had never been ridden before.

One of His followers named Judas betrayed Him. 

Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane.  

He went through 6 separate trials before He was condemned to a criminal's death 

Then He was taken to a cross outside the city of Jerusalem and He was crucified.

So they're sad…just like anyone after a funeral of a loved one…an empty sad feeling… 

And they feel the need to talk things out, to vent about what just happened.

My guess…is that these 2 disciples were at the lowest point of their lives because:

They are heartbroken…they had lost a friend in the most tragic of circumstances… 

They had certain expectations…of the Messiah…the one they believed Jesus to be…the One for whom they had left all to follow Him.

They expected Jesus to be the Messiah, but that He would be a conquering Messiah.

They expected a conquering Christ…but what they got was a crucified Christ.

They were expecting the raging Lion of Judah; what they got was the gentle Lamb of God.

3. They may have even felt totally abandoned by God until this walk On The Road to Emmaus.

If you have ever been HEART BROKEN…

DISILLUSIONED…shattered hopes, dreams and expectations

DISAPPOINTED because of life’s circumstances…feeling abandioned by God…

If you have ever been FEARFUL…ANXIOUS for the future…

WORRIED about death and what comes next…

Then you are on a similar road like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus.

5 Principles to Help Because of the Risen Christ…

#1. GOD (JESUS) COMES NEAR!!  Luke 24:13-15

In your SITUATION whatever it may be…GOD COMES NEAR.

Luke 24:13-15

v.13-15  “That very day (Sunday) two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all the things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.”

7 miles = 11.265 kilometers = 15minutes/km roughly a 3 hour walk 

We're not told WHY these disciples were on the road to Emmaus…maybe it was their home.

Maybe they had followed Jesus for months, maybe a couple years. But that's over. Maybe they're now calling it quits.

They're going back home because of life’s disappointments…devastated expectations.and sadness of heart.

All that they had been hoping for was now just a pipe dream. 

But soon the two-way conversation that they have with each other becomes a three-way conversation as Jesus comes alongside them, and enters into their conversation. 

Now remember something…

THEY ARE NOT LOOKING FOR JESUS!

Jesus is the last person they expect to show up. They are in a “kerfluffled ” situation.

For all they know for certain is that this whole "following Jesus” bit is over.

Here is what I want you to see…KNOW THAT JESUS COMES NEAR!

Even when they aren’t expecting Him. It is Jesus who comes near.

This brings up an important point…

Many people will say “I'm searching for God. I'm on a search for spiritual truth “

But people are not really looking for God even though they say they are.

The truth is YOU ARE NOT LOOKING FOR GOD…

Because God is not lost. God is looking for you. He's looking for you

You see, God isn't lost. You are.

Adam and Eve hid themselves from the presence of God…God came looking for them Genesis 3

God showed up on their road, you might say, and said, "" God was looking for them. Where are you?

Jesus said, "NT, The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” 

Jesus is always looking for LOST people…LOST PEOPLE MATTER TO GOD! 

Jesus describes God as a Good SHepherd who leaves 99 sheep to seek the one gone astray Luke 15  

And here's what's beautiful…this sets Christianity apart from every other belief system, every other religion in the world…is that

God seeks to be NEAR YOU…

You see, religion is essentially man's attempt at reaching up toward God…trying to grab hold of God, trying to appease God by their own works, their own effort… some religions say inflict pain on yourself to be holy, crawl on your knees in prayer, or pray a # of times on a certain day, or face in the right direction when they pray, or worship God on a specific day at a specific time.

But all the way through the Bible God is presented as the One who comes looking for you…Comes Near to You…reaching out to us.

The Bible says, ".”The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are loyal to Him

God comes near to you. He's on the road with you. And He wants to be part of your journey. He's trying to get your attention.

He wants to reveal Himself to you. He comes near to where you are.

2. WE CAN BE SLOW TO RECOGNIZE JESUS…Luke 24:15-16

The story continues," "While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing Him.

So picture it…they’re looking at Him…talking to Him…walking with Him. 

But they don't recognize it is Him.

They think He is a stranger, a visitor, an outsider. 

They even ask Him, “v.18 “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know teh things that have happened there in these days?” 

WHY don't they recognize Jesus? 

If they've been following Him for some time, wouldn't they recognize Him? 

a. They weren't expecting Him… 

b. The crucifixion Jesus experienced was brutal…body would have been marred beyond recognition. 

He was beaten with a flagellum…or the Roman whip, that would strike His back and pull out chunks. He was struck on the face by soldiers with their hands.

Isaiah the prophet said that His appearance….would be beyond human resemblance Isaiah 52:14

A number of times happened…when people didn't recognize Jesus even after the Resurrection. 

Mary thought He was a gardener even though He was standing in front of her. Mary, in the garden 

The disciples were in the boat saw Jesus from a distance. But they didn’t recognize Him. Jesus, on the shore of Galilee 

c. But the real reason they didn't recognize Him…Luke says their eyes were kept from recognizing Jesus

Why? Why would God not want them to recognize this was Jesus? 

You’d think it would be the very opposite.

A couple of reasons why they didn't recognize Him and why God didn't want them to at first. 

A. They were KEPT from recognizing Him…So they would speak honestly…

You know, I don't think they'd ever talked to Jesus the way they were talking to Him if they knew it was Him. I don't think they would say, “ And so I think that, probably, just to get them to be honest, He didn't want to reveal Himself to them. We're not always honest.Hey, are you a stranger in Jerusalem? 

In ancient times, kings would sometimes dress like peasants and walk among their people just to find out what their people were thinking about how the king was doing in his reign. He wanted them to be honest. 

B. They were KEPT from Recognizing Him…So He Would be Recognized By His Word…

I think Jesus wants His disciples to recognize Him…not by sight but by what He says…by His Word. 

He wanted His Word…the Scriptures…to have their maximum impact. 

If they had recognized Him physically…they probably would have been so awestruck and ecstatic that they would not be able to hear His Word.

The Bible says faith comes by .hearing, not by seeing…by hearing…and hearing by the Word of God

APPLICATION…

People say, “.” Or If I could just see God, I'd believe“If I only had a sign from God…then I'd believe.”

First of all, that's very shallow, if your faith is based upon a sign.

Second, it wouldn't last very long because the first time you experienced another hardship in your life and you didn't get a follow-up sign, you'd walk away.

Many time God speaks and we haven't recognized it…

You see, what you see and experience is not always the whole truth. 

You may be going through a dark time right now, and you're thinking,

“God doesn't care about me. God has abandoned me. He has forsaken me. He doesn't even know I exist.”

But that's not true. You're not seeing clearly. He cares for you. And the proof of that is you're here today hearing these words.

God is revealing Himself to you through His Word. 

So your God COMES NEAR…and WE DON’T ALWAYS RECOGNIZE HIM.

#3 HOPE CAN BECOME…A FRAGILE HOPE…Luke 24:17-19

Jesus comes up to them…and He asks them questions. He already knows the answer.   

But He's asking them questions to draw them out, so they will admit their condition and their doubts. 

QUESTION #1 What are you talking about with each other? Luke 24:17

He could tell they were sad…the face always betrays the heart. He could see it.

I love this fact…The Lord is interested in our conversations about Him. He's interested in what we think about Him.

He si not afraid of your doubts, struggles to believe, even your misuderstandinss.

Malachi 3:16 “Then those who feared the Lord spoke with on another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before Him of those feared the Lord an esteemed His name."

God is interested in what you think about Him. And so He asked them, “What are you talking about?”

QUESTION #2 “What things?” Luke 24:18-19

Cleopas answered “Are You the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days

v.19"And he said to them “What things?” 

I diont knwo about you but I find that so funny!

Jesus was at the very heart of those things. He was at the very centre of everything that went down in Jerusalem.

But He asked them the question anyhow. 

A classic Jesus way of drawing a person out to get them to articulate what they're thinking,

It's not that Jesus didn't know what people thought about Him.

But He wanted to hear His disciples talk about that.

Luke 24:19-24

The answer of these 2 disciples reveals just how FRAGILE THEIR HOPE HAD BECOME. 

They're speaking about Jesus in the past tense. “He was a Prophet” not “He is a Prophet” 

They said "we were hoping in Him” not “we are hoping in Him.”

To them He is not alive. It's all in the past. Their hopes, their dreams shattered.

You might even say, they felt like . They really thought Jesus was the one, but He's dead.

When Jesus was buried in that tomb, all their hopes were buried with Him.

It closed a chapter in their lives. That's how they felt.

God let them down!

Maybe that describes you?

Have you been disappointed by life? Hopes & dreams dashed?

You may even say, I used to believe in God, I once had hope in Jesus Christ, but no more.

Well, you're not alone. A lot of people have feel that way because of the circumstances of life. 

But God Draws Near…We may Not Recognize Him…Our hope can become fragile.

4. Jesus RESPONDS with…A GENTLE REBUKE…Luke 24:25-27

He says, "And He said to them “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken…”

I think the word “all” is a key word in this gentle rebuke.

They believed SOME of what the prophets spoke about….BUT NOT ALL…

They believed the parts they liked…the conquering Messiah part…the King and His kingdom on earth part

But they didn't believe the difficult part…the suffering part that the OT predicted…that Jesus must suffer and die, and especially the resurrection.

It is OFTEN THE SAME FOR US…some can be very quick to believe what the Bible says…others can be very slow to believe.

People love the parts where God cares about them…where God blesses them…they love all the parts that promise God's protection…His help in time of need…physical health, peace, love, joy.

But they're slow of heart to believe other parts of the Scriptures, like Jesus is coming again…or the promises about heaven and hell, and judgmenet for sin or what the Bible says about marriage and divorce. 

They are slow to believe the part that says Follow Me…take up your cross daily and follow Me… no turning back

Maybe you too are slow of heart to believe what the Bible says.

Jesus understadns that…and He comes alongside anyway.

The rebuke that says if we are slow of heart to believe…then we will also be slow to receive God's comfort and joy and purpose.

Maybe even, your faith today is at a standstill.

But you need to know, and what I want to impress on you is 

Jesus is on the road with you…He Comes NEAR…He's looking for you…We are slow to recognize Him…and He comes along and gently REBUKES us.

That’s what Jesus does…He takes our faltering faith and your fragile hope and He gives it a boost.

#5 Your Bible Should Give You Heartburn…

Not the physical kind…gastro-where you want to burp all the time… but the spiritual kind, the best kind.

Luke 24:27-32

Basically, He gave them a Bible study.

Can you imagine that?!!! It has to be the best Bible study anyone has ever heard! From Jesus Himself!!

So your Bible should give you heartburn. I don't mean gastro reflux. I'm talking about spiritual heartburn.

Look at Luke 24:32 Diod not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the SCriptures?”

One translation puts it this way-- "Did we not feel our hearts on fire?"

Or another translation says, "Didn't we feel our hearts glowing?"

Now what caused this spiritual heartburn, this burning within?

It doesn't say, "Didn't our hearts burn within us while He looked at us with those eyes of His?”

Nor did they say, "Didn't our hearts burn within us while we talked to Him and told him all our worries?”

No…Their hearts burned when they stopped talking and started listening to His voice.

What did He talk about?

He talked about the same Scriptures they heard all their lives, stuff they grew up with.

They'd heard it all before, but they never heard it like this. 

"Beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures things concerning Himself." 

And when they heard Jesus explain the Scriptures, it was like opening the curtains and having the light flood the room.

v.27 He began at Moses…probably started with how the seed of the woman bruising the head of the serpent.Genesis 3 

He may have moved on to about Abraham almost sacrificing his own son Isaac on Mount Moriah, the very mountain where Jesus was crucified.Genesis 22

Maybe He stopped at and explained the real meaning of the Passover…Exodus 12 

Or about the serpent being lifted up in the wilderness.Numbers 21 

No doubt He mentioned about the suffering of the Messiah.Psalm 2, Psalm 22 Isaiah 53

When Jesus reveals Himself, hearts are set on fire. 

If you are disillusioned…disappointed with God…experiencing longins and heart aches and heart breaks

And it's my prayer that God is revealing Himself through Christ to you today and that He's going to ignite passion and faith in you.

HE COMES ALONG SIDE…REBUKES AND USES HIS OWN WORD to restore that passion, that burning

It says here in v.28, "He acted as if He were going farther…”as if He was just going to keep walking on the road and pass them by 

But they said, no, stay with us. Stay with us. It's the same on the road of life. 

In fact, Jesus will pass you by if you want Him to because, you see, He responds by invitation only. He wants you to ask Him in.

Has your faith slowed down? Is your hope way in the past? Jesus will never force Himself on anyone.  

Let Him come alongside you on the road and give you spiritual heartburn. He can do it. Your life can change. And just like I said, your God comes near. 

And I mentioned early on that I would let you know about making a move toward Him. Well, now is the time.

Right now…ask Jesus into your heart. Let the resurrected Christ burn His passion in your heart.

To every believer CAN I GIVE YOU A SIMPLE WARNING?

I believe that there is a great need today.

Today, in modern Christianity…in the western world… we have lots of information, lots of resources. You can get online. You can get on your phone. You can look up any Bible verse, any Christian song, watch any video. You have all kinds of teaching and preaching coming out of every corner of the internet. Peopel providing their commentary on the scriptures…its not all bad.

But let me encourage you to sit only with your Bible. And let the Holy Spirit work through His Word to spak to your heart. SPIRITUAL HEART BURN