On the Road to Emmaus
Luke 24:13-32—
From Bewildered Hopes to Burning Hearts / From Holden Eyes to Opened Eyes
It was late afternoon on the first Easter Sunday. Two disciples were walking to their home in Emmaus after an eventful day. A 7-1⁄2 mile walk from Jerusalem (v. 13; about 2-1⁄2 hours, cf. v. 29).
They were not part of the Twelve. One was Cleopas (v. 18). The other was possibly his wife Mary (cf. John 19:25) since they both lived in the same house. Whoever they were, they were disciples—Followers of Jesus (vs. 21-22; Amos 3:3).
As they traveled the talked about “the things which had happened.” They were trying to “reason” what it all meant.
I. The ENCOUNTER in the way. (vs. 15-24).
- Jesus Himself drew near—Just as Jesus drew near two these saddened and bewildered disciples He still draws near today.
- They did not recognize Jesus because He appeared “in another form” (v. 16; Mk. 16:12 cf. John 20:14-15).
How often Jesus draws near to us and we fail to recognize His presence because we are too focused on our circumstances?
They thought He was “a stranger” (v. 18). Amen! Jesus was a “stranger” to this world (Mt. 25:35-46), as are all His followers (Mt. 17:25-26; Heb. 11:13; 1 Pet. 2:11).
Jesus joined in their conversation. What if Jesus joined you in your conversations with others? Would the topics of your conversation embarrass you? If you knew Jesus was standing among those you talk with, would your conversation be different?
The subject of our conversation reveals the interests of our heart. Just listen to people talking in the church foyer—Where to eat… Sporting or social events… etc. Seldom do you hear people talking about spiritual things or what they learned from the sermon.
- “What things?” (v. 19). He wasn’t asking because He didn’t know. He knew “what things” since they happened to Him! He asked to get them to confess their problem.
A. The problem of a SHAKEN FAITH (vs. 19-24).
In answer to Jesus’ question “What things?” Cleopas mentions SEVEN things that shook their faith…
- The PERSON of Jesus—“Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet…” Did not call Jesus the Christ (Messiah) because His death seemed to contradict Him being the Messiah.
- The POWER of Jesus— “…mighty in deed and word…” No one more mighty in performing miracles and preaching the Word.
- The PRAISE of Jesus—“…before God and all the people.” Jesus found favor with God and men.
- The PERSECUTION of Jesus—“…the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified.” The only exception to the praise of Christ was the religious leaders.
- Their PERCEPTION of Jesus— “We trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel” (Luke 24:21). They “trusted” (v. 21) that Jesus who entered Jerusalem on back of a donkey would redeem Israel and establish His messianic kingdom. Instead, He was crucified. How could they have been mistaken that He was the promised Messiah who would redeem Israel?We must never allow outward circumstances shake our faith. Our faith must be settled on the sure Word of God, not a religion or religious leader.
- The PREDICTION of Jesus— “…and beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done.” They heard His prediction He would be raised on the third day, but they still doubted.
- The PERPLEXITY about Jesus—“Certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulcher; and… found not his body… seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.” This left them confused. If He is alive, where is He?
B. The problem of a SLUGGISH FAITH (v. 25).
1. They heard the testimony of the women and other disciples, but they had not seen the risen Lord Himself. All they knew was SOMETHING HAPPENED… but WHAT?—Jesus was not in the grave, but they could not explain it.
There is a lot of talk about the resurrection goes no farther than “something happened.” The tomb is empty but the truth has not “gripped their heart.”
2. We tell what we’ve heard from others without experiencing it ourselves—We discuss the subject but we lack substance. We are quick with the facts, but slow in our faith. We say Jesus is coming again, but it doesn’t translate into how we live.
II. The EXPOSITION of the Scriptures. (vs. 25-27).
The reason Christ withheld His identity (v. 16) was so He could instruct them in the Scriptures without distraction. If they knew it was Jesus talking to them they would have been so amazed and excited it would have hindered His exposition of the Scriptures. We need to remove as many distractions as possible when we come to study God’s Word.
A. UNBALANCED view of prophecy. The problem with these two disciples was their “lopsided” view of prophecy (cf. 1 Pet.1:11). They wanted a militant Messiah, not a meek Messiah. They saw the CROWN, but missed the CROSS.
B. BALANCED view of prophecy. The word “ALL” is the KEY—Not just the Scriptures about the glories of the Kingdom, but also darkness of the cross.
Partial Sermon: CLICK HERE for full PDF
2 Replies to “On the Road to Emmaus”
Preacher,
I wasn’t able to be there in person this morning, however, reading through your sermon was in itself a blessing. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to spreading the truth of Jesus.
Great sermon Pastor.