Emmaus Area Series

“Emmaus Area” Jesus Sightings Part 2

“They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” 33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together” Luke 24:32-33 NIV

Intro: Today we continue the Sermon Series “Jesus Sightings.” Last week we looked at the Jesus sighting of the Easter Jesus by Mary Magdalene and the other women. Today we are going to explore another Jesus Sighting. This resurrection sighting is in the “Emmaus Area.”

Emmaus is a village about 7 miles from Jerusalem. Two men, one named Cleopas the other man’s name is not given to us, had both been to Jerusalem to celebrate Holy Passover. From the first day…, through the entire week…, nothing had gone according to plans. Things were different from any other Passover they had ever been to. On their way home from Jerusalem to their village of Emmaus these two men were walking and talking about everything that had happened.

Their journey home began as one of sorrow and hopelessness. Their journey is one of pain and brokeness because of their circumstances. They had just stood at the foot of the cross and watched as their Saviour was crucified. This one that they had followed as his disciples. They had watched at a distance…, as he had his life taken from him…, in this cruel death. Their faith had failed them.

Now in disbelief and confusion they talk about the scene they had just left. Some crying because they loved Jesus. Others yelling Fraud! He is a hoax! Their vision is blurred their sight is unclear.

In a remote portion of southern Nevada dessert there is a United States Air Force Base that is commonly known as Area 51. This secret Nevada Test and Training Range has given rise to numerous UFO sightings. The small town of Rachel that is near Area 51 is a popular tourist destination aptly named "Extraterrestrial Highway."

"There were about twenty of us standing outside of a little restaurant, and a kind of green light appeared in the western sky. This was right after sundown. It got brighter and brighter. And then it eventually disappeared. It didn't have any solid substance to it; it was just a very peculiar-looking light. None of us could understand what it was." This Jimmy Carter UFO Incident was reported while at Leary, Georgia, in 1969.

These two men walking home in the Emmaus Area. They had seen something with their eyes but it did not make sense. None of the disciple could understand what this was. Do you ever pause and question if Jesus is real? Do you sometimes have doubts about Jesus? Are you always 100% sure about your faith all the time?

A musician stood on the side walk of the metro station of a Washington DC., subway. He is wearing jeans; a long-sleeved shirt, and a baseball cap. He opens his violin case … removes the instrument; Throws a few dollars into the case from his pocket as “seed money” … and begins playing. He plays for the next 45 minutes … and during that time He performs six classical pieces – flawlessly! During the 45 minutes 1,097 people pass by, tossing in a total of $32.17 into his violin case. Of that 1,097 people; Only 7 people paused longer than sixty seconds to listen to this performance; of those 7 who lingered … only one recognized the violinist! The name of the violinist was Joshua Bell: Three days prior – he had filled Boston’s Symphony Hall; where the cheap tickets sold for $100 apiece. Joshua Bell’s talents and artistry commands an average of $1,000 per minute; yet, when performing this day in the subway; He barely earned enough to pay for his dinner Now…, you can’t blame the instrument; He was playing a Stradivarius worth 3.5 million dollars! You can’t fault the performance …He flawlessly played some of Johann Sebastian Bach’s best work! Yet … scarcely anyone noticed the presence of such artistry in this context: Most of those passer-by’s cynically wrote off this entertainer; Little did they know that among them was a genius; And if they gave him some time he would greatly enrich their lives! Joshua Bell is not the only one to go unrecognized. How much time do you give looking for Jesus in your life? Those you seek Jesus shall find him!

Two people are walking along the road to Emmaus; Like the busy commuters on the Washington DC., subway On that first Easter Sunday Jesus too went unrecognized. These two people had no idea of the identity of the one they would soon encounter! Suddenly a third man came along and joined them. The bible says at first “they didn’t know who he was, because God kept them from recognizing him” Luke 24:16 They saw the man but they had not yet sighted the Easter Jesus.