04-24-2022 - Do You See Jesus?

OPENING

Last week we proclaimed that HE GOT UP! We talked about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and we celebrated the empty tomb and talked about what that means for us today. This morning, let’s think about what happened after Jesus’ resurrection. After the disciples came to the tomb that morning. After they were shocked to find the tomb empty. After they were shocked to see angels who ask them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” After the angels told them, “He is not here, for He is risen! Come see the place where the Lord lay.”

Jesus knew He had 40 days. He had 40 days between the Resurrection and when He was going to ascend back into Heaven to sit at the right hand of Father. During that 40 days He had to show His disciples what the events of the past three days really means. He had to encourage them to unify together for the purpose of spreading the Gospel all over the world. But most importantly, Jesus needed to show them that He’s alive.

So surely the first person that Jesus is going to show Himself to is Caiphas the high priest, right? So He can say, “I told you so buddy!” No? Well maybe Jesus should show Himself to Pilate and say, “You should have listened to your wife who was warned in dream to have nothing to do with my death?” No? Surely Jesus is going to go into Jerusalem and stand on the pinnacle of the Temple and declare Himself to be the risen Son of God in front of all the Pharisees and Sadducees? No! You know what Jesus does immediately after His resurrection and His brief appearance to Mary and Simon Peter near the tomb? He takes a walk. So we’re going to go along with Jesus on a walk through this story this morning.

SCRIPTURE

Luke 24:13-35

MESSAGE

Our journey begins in Verse 13:

Luke 24:13 NKJV

13 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.

Two of Them

We don’t know much about these two individuals. We know that they were “two of them,” meaning that they were two of Jesus’ disciples. Not two of the original 12. They were just two followers of Jesus. We find out later that one of them is named Cleopas. We’re going to call him Cleo for short because that’s easier to say. We are never told the name of of the other one, but most scholars believe it was likely Cleo’s wife. We really have no record of who they were, or what they did. They don’t seem to be part of the upper class. They don’t seem to be part of the religious elite. They don’t seem to be famous or politically connected in any way. They are just two individuals, who had followed Jesus, walking down the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus.

Going the Wrong Way

Why are Mr. and Mrs. Cleo going to Emmaus? The village of Emmaus is 7 miles from Jerusalem. This is the third day. This is the day of resurrection. This should be a day of celebration in Jerusalem for Jesus’ followers. But you get the sense as we read on in the rest of this story that they are walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus with their heads down, sad, and disappointed.

Look at verse 14:

Luke 24:14 NKJV

14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.

They are in the middle of a conversation about the events that had just happened in Jerusalem. A lot happened in three days! Jesus entered Jerusalem. They were hoping that Jesus would be their Messiah who would break the yoke of the Romans off Israel. But Jesus was arrested, condemned to die, crucified, and buried. Jesus their best and only hope was dead and buried.

But look what happens in verse 15:

Luke 24:15 NKJV

15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.

Think about this, one of the first things Jesus does after His resurrection is come and walk along beside Mr. and Mrs. Cleo, who really don’t seem to be a very significant couple. See you may feel like you’re insignificant. You may feel like God doesn’t care about you. You may feel like God can’t use you. You may feel like you don’t have what it takes to live for Christ. But, as we’re about to find out, Jesus does some unexpected things sometimes. He doesn’t do what we think He ought to do according to our human wisdom. He seeks after the outcast. He seeks after the downtrodden. He seeks after the hurting and the wounded. He seeks after those that don’t feel like they’re good enough. Whether you realize it or not, Jesus is pursuing you right now! And He wants to fashion you into a vessel that He can use. Do you see Jesus? Do you see Him pursuing your life? If not, maybe you should look a little closer.

But there is problem in verse 16:

Luke 24:16 NKJV

16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.

Mr. and Mrs. Cleo didn’t recognize that it was Jesus. Maybe Jesus didn’t look exactly the same as He did before the resurrection. Jesus is now in His resurrected body. It is similar, but different. He now has resurrection body that is similar to the resurrection body we are going to receive one day. Maybe they just didn’t recognize Him. Maybe it was because Jesus intentionally concealed His identity to them. We don’t really know. But what we do know, is that Jesus wanted to come along and join Mr. and Mrs. Cleo on their journey. And He wanted to get at what is going on in their heart.

You see Jesus is there even when we don’t see Him, or feel Him, or sense Him. He is there. Our problem is sometimes we don’t recognize He’s there. We’re too busy walking with our heads down from Jerusalem, the place of resurrection, to Emmaus, the place of disappointment. And we don’t see Jesus walking right beside us. You’ve got to realize that sometimes Jesus works through the struggle. You think it is all about the destination, but it’s all about the journey. He is walking with you through that disappointment. He is walking with you through the hurt. He is walking with you through the sadness. He is walking with you through the struggle. Do you see Jesus? Can you sense His presence? If not, what is holding you back? What is hindering you from recognizing His presence in your life?

Look what Jesus does next in verse 17:

Luke 24:17 NKJV

17 And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”

Jesus knew what they were saying and thinking. He knew what was on their hearts and weighing on their minds. But Jesus was interested in having fellowship and relationship with them. He knew they were sad and He wanted to turn their sadness into joy!

Jesus wants to hear what’s on your heart. He is interested in you. He wants to have fellowship and relationship with you. He wants to help you. He wants you to depend on Him. Do you see Jesus? Is He more to you than just a name you call out to in prayer? Is He your friend? Jesus already knows what you’re going through. But He wants to hear it from you! And He wants to turn your sadness into joy!

Look at Verse 18:

Luke 24:18 NKJV

18 Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?”

Sounds a little disrespectful at first, doesn’t it? Had Mr. Cleo known this was Jesus I don’t think, he would have asked this question this way. But Mr. Cleo had it all mixed up. He had the truth, but he didn’t have the whole truth.

How many times do we get ourselves all worked up over something when we don’t have all the information or we don’t have the right information. Think about it. The greatest event in all of history had just taken place. Jesus had just gotten up and rolled the stone away from the tomb, walked out in victory, and gave the devil a black eye. And Mr. and Mrs. Cleo are all sad and depressed and probably moaning and groaning and belly aching and complaining because they don’t think things went they way they planned.

You‘re walking around all down and out and can’t even function some days. And all the while Jesus is performing miracles in your life and all around you. The evidence of His goodness is all over your life. But do you see Jesus? Or are you too busy letting the devil steal your joy day after day because you would rather wallow in the mire of defeat than stand up with your head held high like a King’s kid? I’m tired of letting the devil steal my joy! Are you tired of it too? If so, why don’t you remind the devil he’s defeated and under your feet and take back what the enemy has stolen from you!

But Jesus presses the conversation further in verse 19 and they get to the root of the problem:

Luke 24:19–24 NKJV

19 And He said to them, “What things?” So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. 21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. 22 Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. 23 When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. 24 And certain 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.”

They got a lot of things right about Jesus:

He was condemned to die.

He was crucified.

He was buried in a tomb.

And on Day 3, they found the tomb empty.

The problem was they failed to see the significance of the empty tomb. They thought the empty tomb was their greatest disappointment, but they didn’t realize yet that the empty tomb was their greatest victory! They thought the empty tomb was a dead end, but didn’t realize that it was the beginning of a whole new definition of life!

See you’ve lost hope because you think that situation you’re dealing with is dead and buried. That’s because you’re looking at your situation as a dead end. The disciples at the tomb that day were focused on what they didn’t see, instead of focusing on what they could see if they would have looked through eyes of faith. The empty tomb was not a dead end, it was a new beginning! Stop looking at your situation through your natural eyes. We walk by faith, and not by sight! You’ve got to start looking at your situation through eyes of faith! You’ve got to realize this may feel like a dead end, but it’s really a new beginning! You’ve got to see Jesus is working in your life! He is bringing dead things back to life! Do you see Jesus? Do you recognize Him at work in your life? If not, maybe you’re looking in the wrong place. Stop looking for life in dead places! Why are you seeking the living among the dead? Maybe you’re looking with the wrong eyes. Stop trying to reason it out and figure it out with your natural eyes. Start looking through the eyes of faith, and you’ll see Jesus working everything out for your good and His glory!

I wish I could have been there at this moment. Look at verses 25-27:

Luke 24:25–27 NKJV

25 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

This was the best Bible study ever! Come on! The One who calculated all the orbits of the planets and set them into motion! The One who told the ocean, you can only go this far! The Word, the Creator, the Redeemer, the Savior, the Messiah, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, started with the book of Genesis and went though the whole Old Testament and explained how it all pointed to Him!

He is the seed, the Messiah, of Genesis 3:15.

He is the One who called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldeans.

He is the ladder that Jacob dreamed that connected earth to Heaven.

He is the Great I AM that spoke to Moses out of a burning bush.

He is the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night that led Israel through the wilderness.

He is the rock that provided water for the Israelites for 40 years.

He is the Commander of the Lord’s Army that Joshua saw.

He is the Suffering Savior of Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53.

He is the Great Shepherd of Psalm 23.

I could go on and on, but you get the point. Jesus explained to them that the proof was right there under their noses the whole time. They had studied God’s Word all their lives, but they failed to see Jesus.

That’s a warning for us. We can have all the head knowledge of God’s Word, but Do We See Jesus? Are we allowing His Word to change us? His Word is alive and active. This is not an ordinary book. It is an extraordinary book. It is a supernatural book. If you look at it as just another piece of literature or just as a collection of interesting stories, you will fail to see its significance. But if you will look at it for what it truly is, the Word of God. If you will see it, not just as history, but as His Story. If you will begin to realize that Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. If you will begin to realize that if you want to see Jesus, you can find Him in the pages of your Bible. That when you read or hear the Word of God, it becomes more than just words on a page. The Holy Spirit supernaturally illuminates it in your heart and it becomes alive in you! It will change your life! Do You See Jesus? If not, maybe you need to start looking at His Word in a whole different light!

Jesus’ next move is interesting. Look at verse 28:

Luke 24:28 NKJV

28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther.

In other words, Jesus was just going to keep on walking. That would have been the end of Mr. and Mrs. Cleo’s walk with Jesus that day. Jesus would have left without them ever realizing it was Him all along.

You see Jesus is not going to crash your party. He is not going to barge His way into your life and force you to serve Him or love Him or even acknowledge Him. He’s waiting for an invitation. He is waiting for you to invite Him in. He wants to sup with you and you with Him. But in the book of Revelation, the Bible says that Jesus stands at the door and knocks. He may be knocking on the door of your heart right now. He is not going to beat the door down. He is not going to pick the lock. He is not going to take the door off the hinges. He simply stands at the door and waits for you to open your heart to Him and invite Him to stay. Do you see Jesus? Is He standing at the door of your heart? Stop looking through the peep hole and trying to make up your mind and swing the door of your heart open wide and invite the Savior to come in!

That’s exactly what Mr. and Mrs. Cleo did. Look what happened as a result in verses 29-32:

Luke 24:29–32 NKJV

29 But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them. 30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. 32 And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”

This encounter is so interesting. The same four verbs that were used to describe what Jesus did with the bread at the night of the Passover meal with His disciples before His arrest and crucifixion are the same words used to describe what Jesus does here. He took it. He blessed it. He broke it. He gave it. Was it the way Jesus broke bread with them that opened their eyes to see Him? Was it the fact that they were able to see His nail-scarred hands as He passed the bread? Whatever it was, their eyes were opened and they knew it was the risen Savior! And they recognized what had just happened on the road to Emmaus. They said, “did not our hearts burn within us while He talked with us!”

When you get into the presence of God it is like a burning deep down in your spirit. There is no other feeling like it in the world. Jeremiah described his calling to preach as fire shut up in his bones. John the Baptist described the baptism in the Holy Spirit as a baptism in fire. On the Day of Pentecost, the 120 in the upper room saw tongues of fire. You may not believe in it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not real. A lot of people don’t believe in Jesus either, but He is real. And He is alive! And He is pursuing you! And He wants to transform your life! And He wants to go on this journey of life with you! Do you see Jesus? Do you see Him at work in your life? Do you feel that burning down in your spirit? Do you want more of His Spirit in your life?

This encounter with Jesus changed Mr. and Mrs. Cleo. Look at verses 33-35:

Luke 24:33–35 NKJV

33 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.

Mr. and Mrs. Cleo had an immediate change in travel plans. They had to call and cancel their reservations in Emmaus. They were like, “this revelation of Jesus Christ changes everything. We’ve got to tell somebody. This news is too good to keep it to ourselves.” They had been heading the wrong direction. They were headed away from Jerusalem. But Jesus turned them around and they headed back to the place where it all happened and to the place where it was about to happen again on the Day of Pentecost.

Sometimes Jesus shows up just to turn us around. We can get off track. We can ignore the warning signs (wrong way, do not enter, no outlet). But Jesus will show up right in the middle of our mess and reveal Himself to us. When He does, we realize He’s been right there with us the whole time! We just didn’t see Him! Maybe Jesus is trying to turn you around today. Maybe some things that have happened in your life or in your past are leading you down the wrong path. Do you see Jesus? Do you see Him walking beside you? Do you see Him trying to encourage you and strengthen you during your morning devotion and Bible study? Do you sense Him trying to change some areas of your life and get you back on the right path? Do you feel His presence with you right now?

I see the evidence of God’s goodness all over your life. I see God wanting to bless your life. I see God wanting to do great things in your life. And the devil doesn’t like it. He’s mad. He’s frustrated. He’s jealous. He wants you back. He doesn’t want you living for Jesus. He doesn’t want you to see Jesus at work in your life. He doesn’t want you to realize that the empty tomb means Jesus has won the victory! He doesn’t want you to realize that if you and I look to Jesus as the author and finisher of our faith, that Christ’s victory is our victory! He doesn’t want you realize that Satan is under our feet! He doesn‘t want you to realize that greater is He that is on the inside of you than he that is in the world! He doesn’t want you to realize all this because he knows as soon as you do, dead things are going to start coming back to life. Things are going to start turning around. Things are going to start going in the right direction.

CLOSING

Maybe that disappointment, that struggle, that hurt has got you going in the wrong direction. You’re walking away with your head down and your heart broken because all you see is a tomb. All you see is dead and buried. All you see is it looks like hope is gone. But Jesus sent this message to you this morning to remind you that He is pursuing you on your road to Emmaus. He is trying to get your attention this morning to remind you that Friday’s disappointment is Sunday’s empty tomb! He is pursuing you this morning to remind you to stop looking for living things in dead places. Jesus is not in the tomb. He got up! He’s alive! And because He’s alive, hope is alive! Because He lives, you can face tomorrow! Because He lives, all fear is gone! Because He lives your situation is not hopeless!

Do You See Jesus? Not with your natural eyes. Do you see Him through eyes of faith this morning? Are you burdened down because all you see are empty tombs in your life? Are you looking for hope in all the wrong places? Are you unable to see what God is trying to do in your life because you keep hanging around dead things? Are you on the road to Emmaus and need Jesus to turn your around? Then cry out to Him. Say, “Jesus, open the eyes of my heart! Open my spiritual eyes that I can see you! Jesus ignite a fire in my spirit! Set my heart on fire! Jesus let me see that what I thought was going to be my greatest disappointment is about to become my greatest victory! Jesus it may feel like Friday. It may feel like Saturday. It may feel like that hope is dead and buried. But Jesus remind me today that Sunday morning is coming! Jesus remind me that you still bring dead things back to life! Jesus remind me that there is never a moment, never a situation, never a problem, never a struggle that I can’t face with you by my side! Jesus turn me around! Transform me by the renewing of my mind! Jesus, open the eyes of my heart that I may see you more clearly!”

ALTAR CALL