Walking With Jesus

Luke 24:13–35 (ESV)

13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened.

These men were probably walking home from Jerusalem after the Passover feast.

Walking home to Emmaus - 7 miles away.

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?” 19 And he said to them, “What things?”

(In case you were unsure if Jesus has a sense of humor)

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, 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.” 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.

Luke 24:1–6 (ESV)

1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen.

“The evidence for the resurrection is better than for claimed miracles in any other religion. It’s outstandingly different in quality and quantity.”

—Antony Flew—

Minimal facts approach

These are facts that are agreed upon by even skeptic scholars.

Jesus died by crucifixion in the 1st c. AD

The tomb is empty

Atheist Jeffery Lowder agrees that “the burial of Jesus by Joseph of Arimathea has a high final probability.”

Disciples stole the body?

Impossible for them to do.

They gained nothing from it.

Messiah wasn’t to suffer so the disciples would have not reason to steal the body because it didn’t follow the narrative of Messiah they understood.

3. Very soon afterwards, his followers had real experiences that they thought were actual appearances of the risen Jesus

4. That their lives were transformed as a result, even to the point of being willing to die specifically for their faith in the resurrection message.

Some may die for what they believe to be true, but no one will die for a lie they made up.

A lie is told to benefit the liar.

Explanations:

Church made up the story

Those in power write the stories. Since the Church had been in power and politicized, stories could be made up or made mythological.

There are no other accounts of what happened to the body. Yes, but the Church was in power so it got rid of the other account.

But the Church wasn’t in power at the beginning, and if it is always the case that those in power rewrite history, this story would never have made it to power!

Hallucination theory

ILUST - guy with religious experience of flying around a stadium of people. I asked what was happening at the time — He told me he was at a Grateful Dead concert and had just dropped acid. Maybe the acid had more to do with the experience than Jesus! BUT if there were ten more who also saw the same thing I’d still be concerned but I might listen.

Swoon theory

Jesus is walking seven miles after being beaten, nailed to a cross for hours, wrapped, laid in a tomb, not eating for days and he just up and jogs?!

The best explanation is they are walking with the risen Jesus!!

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. 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. 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?” 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.

The risen Jesus meets you wherever you are and whenever you need him.

Wherever you are

— The two men were walking along “that very day” — later we read they were sad. Why? They thought their life was about to change but it didn’t.

They thought Jesus was going to start a revolution

They were walking home to the same struggles, the same problems.

**Can you relate?

You thought the job you landed was going to finally ease your worries over money, but here you are just as anxious as ever.

You thought she would fill that empty spot in your life, but if your honest, you’re still lonely.

You’ve tried everything to break free from addiction, but you end up finding yourself on the same familiar path.

Maybe you’ve been hurt by the church and you’re heading home thinking, “I thought it would be different. I thought I would be closer to God.”

— All the while, in the background, Jesus is alive!

They are walking defeated while Jesus is walking in victory!

How many times do we go through our week acting like there is no hope or worse yet that hope depends on what I can do or what you must do for me instead of remembering we are walking in “THIS VERY DAY” the day that Jesus is alive!

If you have trusted in the risen Christ, then the complexities of life are sorted in the context of the risen Jesus!

Whenever you need him

I love how Jesus just rose from the dead and decides to walk with two men along a deserted road, one whose name we never learn.

ILLUST - if you just rose from the dead, what would you do with your first day?

— Visit Pilate?

— Appear in the choir and start singing?

— Wipe out the Romans who nailed you to the cross?

— Go on a holy spookfest? YOLO - JK - wait for it.

Jesus doesn’t even look for the biggest crowd to make sure he can capture the most amount of people at one time.

This is because Jesus doesn’t care about finding the most amount of people. He’s concerned about finding YOU — he wants to meet you on your journey — wherever you are coming from, wherever you’re headed — on Easter, the risen Christ is looking for YOU.

It is no accident that Jesus is meeting you on your journey here today.

“Coincidence” is simply a nickname for God and his orchestration of the events in your life to move you closer to a place of knowing him.

— For me, it was when I was five and worried about what would happen when I died. God gave me a mom who could introduce me to the risen Christ and I could place my trust in him for salvation.

— Later, — depressed — looking for a tree to crash into — song came on the radio that spoke the words I needed to hear, as if the risen Jesus was in the car with me.

— He met me where I was.

For you, you’re here today

The risen Jesus gives you what you need to believe and walk with him. (Because he wants you to believe)

Does it with grace. He didn’t scold them.

I love how he takes time to explain how God is at work, and who Jesus is before he reveals that he is alive.

I used to wonder why God would hide from them who Jesus was, but it is actually his grace.

What would you do if you saw a dead man come back to life?

Jesus could have simply popped in, BOOM, I’m alive, (but have other people to see) and disappeared and I’m sure it would have changed the men’s lives.

But Jesus takes the time to walk with them as they slowly begin to get it, as Jesus takes the time to slowly untangle their confusion, their misperceptions about God and who the Messiah is, perhaps even undo some of the misguided teaching they had received from the Teachers of the Law.

Notice, too, how Jesus didn’t simply ZAP them with knowledge.

He worked with their “foolish and slow hearts” and what did he do? Give them some stunning facts like I gave you?

No, he showed them the Bible.

He showed them the OT to be precise.

He showed them what Paul will later tell Timothy:

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (ESV)

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Maybe this is why Jesus hid from them who he was until after their Bible study. He wanted to show them (and us) that the Bible is sufficient to know Jesus.

They eventually had the privilege to see the risen Jesus, but we don’t. This shows us that the Bible has everything we need to walk with risen Jesus!

*What do you need to believe?

To believe that Jesus is the only way to be saved?

To believe it’s time to get off the path you are on now and walk with Jesus?

To have the Bible as more than an accessory on a Sunday?

Answering “what do you need to believe” often reveals who or what we are already walking with.

You must respond to the risen Jesus.

You can’t ignore the obvious.

ILLUST - kids can ignore the obvious. Dishes, homework, trash, shoes by the door (8 people in the house with AT LEAST 1 pair of shoes by the door is at least 16 shoes just to get in the house!), etc.

33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem.

Jesus meet you where you are but he wants to leave you different.

The men still needed to choose to believe and respond.

It would have been dangerous to travel at that time of night — robbers, no police.

Their response was more important than any danger, criticism, difficulty, or discomfort it may have caused.

Walking with Jesus may be uncomfortable.

Walking with Jesus may mean:

— Walking away from addictions you go to fix the hurt.

— Walking away from the relationship that is not your spouse.

— Walking away from you calling the shots. You saying, “I’m blessed” when you have what you have because you worked hard for it — knowing it’s not a place of blessing because God is not in it.

Never automatically assume that if you look “blessed” in the world’s eyes, you must be blessed in God’s.

Satan would love nothing more than to use wealth, health, and safety to lure Christians into a place of false security and static complacency.

The world may call you blessed, but you know you aren’t walking with Jesus. That path does NOT lead to blessing!!

**Find Jesus and walk with him!!

— Talk with someone you know is walking with Jesus

— Get in a Life Group

— Commit to be in church to worship under the Word and around the table with others who are trying to find their walk with Jesus.

— We’re here to help you take you NEXT STEP in walking with Jesus — in a Jesus-first life.

If it were comfortable, it wouldn’t be a change. And walking with Jesus requires a change.

You can’t walk with Jesus and stay there or stay still.

But you will be walking to:

— New life.

— New purpose.

— New community and family.

The consequence had the men not chosen to believe

Was everything perfect at home now? NO. But after they ran back to Jerusalem (7 miles) and told the disciples what had happened, what do you think their second journey home was like — from Jerusalem back to Emmaus? Sad and confusing like the first time? Or filled with a whole new conversation as they headed back to where life isn’t perfect but there is a whole new context - Jesus is alive!!

— “What will happen next?”

— “Now that we know Jesus is alive, how do we follow him?”

— “Who else do we need to tell?”

How will you respond to what Jesus has opened your eyes to today? To your heart’s burning?

— “That’s cool, but not interested?”

— Maybe “I need to stop walking through life as though Jesus is still dead!”

— We’ve explained the overwhelming evidence that points to the resurrection as a fact of history,

— And we’ve explained that burning in your heart as you’ve been listening to how the risen Christ wants to meet you and give you new life — his life — His life of victory and salvation.

There is no longer an “I never knew” there is only an “I choose.”

*PRAY*

— Invitation