Told You So

TOLD YOU SO Luke 24:13-34 April 11, 2021 When you hear the word 'Bible' what do you think that means? For you and me it means the word of God, divided in two parts - the Old Testament, and the New Testament. The word Testament is defined as a sign or evidence of a specified fact, or event. So, for us the Bible is factual evidence of God's actions throughout history. To Jesus and the Apostles, the Bible was only the Old Testament. The books of the New Testament are written over a period of 60 years after the Resurrection. But, they are not assembled into one document, and validated as Scripture, until 300 years after the Resurrection. So, the Bible as you and I know it didn't exist until 3 centuries after the Resurrection. As I said, Jesus and the Apostles only had the Old Testament as Bible. For the last decade many of the seminary instructors have been teaching that the words 'Old Testament' are insulting to the Jewish faithful. How is it that outsiders get to come along and decide the Bible, the Bible Jesus used, is old and outdated? So, more and more you are hearing the phrase - Hebrew Bible. The word of God is divided into the Hebrew Bible, and the New Testament. Contemporary Jewish theologians, and teachers - Rabbis - are usually understanding of the phrase Old Testament. They understand why Christians use those words. What they do not understand, and do not appreciate, is how we interpret the Old Testament in light of Jesus. They do not like the way we take verses from the Old Testament and apply them to Jesus, as proof he is the Messiah. And, they really don't like it when we take verses from the Old Testament talking about the people of God, and decide that no longer means Israel - it means Christians instead. They say how dare you take the words of God himself, and rip them from their context, and apply them to a completely unintended situation? Where do you get the right to do that? And, the answer is - Jesus did that in Emmaus.1 And, he taught us to do that. Jesus gave us an example, and then directed us to use the Old Testament, and liturgical practices like the Last Supper, to create the new church. It is the day of the Resurrection. The women have been to the empty tomb. They have spoken with the angels. They have run to the upper room and told the Apostles Jesus is alive. Peter and John have checked out the tomb for themselves. But, at this point, no one has actually seen Jesus. The men are confused by the absence of the body. But, they're not ready to buy into the story that Jesus has risen. Right now, without more evidence, that's just one step further than they are willing to go. At this point Luke suddenly shifts his narrative to the road to Emmaus; a city 7 miles to the northwest of Jerusalem. Unfortunately, we have absolutely no idea where Emmaus is.2 There was a city called Ammaous. But, it's three times further from Jerusalem than Luke says. And, it would be really hard for the story to happen the way it's written with the city that far away. There is a city the right direction, and the right distance away from Jerusalem. But, it's named el-Qubeibeh, nothing like Emmaus. There is a city called Amma shus, but it's in the wrong direction, and only half as far away. So, at this point in time, we have absolutely no idea where this city is. To make matters more confusing, Luke talks about two travelers on the road to Emmaus. One of the men is identified as Cleopas. One hundred years ago it was common to identify the other traveler as Peter. There is absolutely no good information to prove that. In fact, Luke is careful to call the two travelers Disciples, and not Apostles. So, it's unlikely Peter was the second person. If you've heard the name Cleopas somewhere recently, it was last week during Easter. One of the women at the tomb was Mary, the wife of Cleopas. So, if Cleopas is heading back home after Passover, it would be reasonable for his wife to be with him.3 I like this picture because it shows the second traveler as female. 99% of all artwork depicts two males. Another problem with artwork, is that it always depicts Jesus and the two travelers as all alone on this stretch of road. No other person for 100 miles in any direction. 100,000 pilgrims came to Jerusalem each year for Passover. And, on the Sunday after Passover, 100,000 people hit the road to go back home.4 The traffic on any of the four roads leading out of Jerusalem was massive. And, knowing that, helps the story make more sense. If two people are all alone on the road, having a heated discussion about the Resurrection, and a third guy shows up and wants to join in - that's a little awkward. But, if you are surrounded by thousands of fellow travelers, and some guy walks along with you for an hour then wants to join the conversation - that's reasonable. And, from Luke's wording in the Greek, the discussion was heated. It was more argument than discussion. If this is Cleopas and Mary, I think that makes perfect sense. He says I'm not sure about Resurrection. And, she says, don't tell me what I saw and what I heard. I was there. I met the angels. I saw the empty tomb. The angels reminded us exactly what Jesus said, and he said he would rise again in three days. Don't tell me what I saw. At this point, Jesus joins in. Hey, hey, keep it down. What are you arguing about? Remember that question. The travelers do not recognize Jesus. By supernatural means, his identity is hidden from them. By the way, that is extremely common throughout the Old Testament. Particularly when angels first appear. Luke is careful to tell us the question stopped the travelers in their tracks. Thousands of people moving in one direction along the road, and suddenly these three stop still. It had to create trouble for those behind them. But, what Luke comments on are the emotions. The three travelers come to a dead stop, and their faces are full of sadness, remorse, and gloom. Luke uses a word which means emotionally destroyed. And, Cleopas responds to the question with sarcasm and a little anger. His answer is the equivalent of 'What, do you live under a rock?'5 You must be the only person in Jerusalem who doesn't know what happened. How can anyone be that disconnected? Jesus says, hey tell me the story. Cleopas says, we thought Jesus was just like Moses. Moses was so much more than just one thing.6 It's all in the Bible. You know the Bible, right? Moses was a prophet, but unlike any other. He had this amazingly personal relationship with God. They were more like friends than God and servant. And, Moses was like a king. He ruled over Israel for 40 years in the wilderness. There were no elections, no council, no parliament. Moses was the only authority. And, Moses was a general. How many battles did the Israelites fight? Moses led them against armies that should have slaughtered them. But, Moses always won. We thought Jesus would be like that.7 He had a special relationship with God. On Palm Sunday the people were ready to make him king. All that was missing was for him to step up as a general and drive the Romans out of Israel. But, the Church, the Church of the one and only God killed him. It is interesting that Cleopas does not blame Pilate, and he doesn't blame the Romans - even though they performed the actual Crucifixion. Cleopas blames the religious authorities. He is angry with his church. I believe Luke makes that point so strongly, because he wants the world to feel okay about starting a brand-new church. Creating a brand-new religion is a really big deal. Luke is giving Christians permission to start a new church. Jesus says to Cleopas, funny you should mention the Bible. Did you know the Bible predicted this to happen, exactly this way? And, for the next 2 hours as they walk along, Jesus uses scripture after scripture from the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, to validate his ministry, his crucifixion, and his resurrection. He does not reveal himself to them. He doesn't let them use an eyewitness account as their proof. The only proof he uses, and the only proof they are allowed to discuss, is the Bible. Jesus takes the words of the prophets, made to Israel 1000 years before, and applies them to himself and his followers. And, he uses the Word of God as the authority to start a new church. Luke uses this story for one very important reason. It's ok if you didn't see the resurrected Jesus. And, it's ok if you've never met someone who saw the resurrected Jesus. The Bible is the word of God. The Bible promised Jesus would come and all of this would happen. As long as you have the Bible, you have everything you need. Here's something interesting. When Luke wrote these words, I don't think he knew they would become Bible. God has a sense of humor. When they get to Emmaus, wherever that is, the travelers invite Jesus to stay and eat with them. Luke uses very specific language when he writes, "As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them." What does that remind you of?8 How about Jesus took the bread, he gave thanks to God, he broke the bread and gave it to the Disciples saying - take, eat, this is my body broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Very clearly, Jesus reenacts the Last Supper. Why? Because this liturgical practice is supposed to be a part of the new church. Along with baptism, Jesus gives us 2 Sacraments, and commands us - when you start the new church, do this. Of course, at this point it is impossible not to recognize the stranger as Jesus. They realize that Jesus has been teaching them to use the Scriptures to validate his entire ministry. With that revelation, it's no longer necessary for Jesus to be with them. And so, he vanishes. And while you and I love to tell this story as proof of resurrected Jesus, that's not the point Jesus was making. The point Jesus was making is - if you have a Bible, and you repeat the ceremonies I taught you, you have everything you need. The two travelers now race back to Jerusalem to tell the Apostles they have seen Jesus. The Resurrection is real, we know, because we saw Jesus. He explained the Bible to us. Did you know his entire ministry is in the Bible? By the way, the 2 travelers are now like the women. They are making a dangerous trip, in the dark, to share their witness and testimony.9 We don't know if they shared the specific Scriptures Jesus revealed to them. But, we do know from this point on, Christians are willing to use the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible, to validate the ministry of Christ; and to authorize the establishment of a new church. As a side note, the Apostles tell them - we know Jesus is alive. Peter has seen him too! Interestingly, nowhere in our Bible does it tell us about Jesus' appearance to Peter. Peter never writes a word about it. The Apostle Paul mentions it in passing. 1 Corinthians 15:4-6, "He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died." Peter never shares the story of his encounter. I think that's because he knew. People shouldn't believe in the Resurrection because I say so. They should believe because the Bible says so. 1 Darrell L. Bock, Luke 9:51-24:53 (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008), 1915. 2 R. C. Sproul, general editor. New Geneva Study Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1653. 3 Bock 1910. 4 Bock, 1909. 5 Walter K. Liefield, "Exegetical Notes: Luke 24:13-35," Trinity Journal, 2 no. 1 (Fall 1981), 223-229. 6 Joel B. Green, New Interpreter's Study Bible (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003), 1902. 7 NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016), 1799. 8 Raymond A. Blacketer, "Word and Sacrament on the Road to Emmaus: Homiletical Reflections on Luke 24:13-35," Calvin Theological Journal, 38 no. 2 (November 2003), 321-329. 9 NIV, 1800. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ 2