On The Road Again

(Seeing Jesus on the Road to Emmaus)

Part 1 – Opening Picture

Would you open your Bible with me to Luke chapter 24, beginning at verse 13.

Picture the scene. It is the afternoon of the day of Jesus’ resurrection. Jerusalem is still buzzing with Passover pilgrims, but the joy of the festival has faded. Rumors run through the streets like wildfire: women say the tomb is empty, angels say He is alive—yet no one has actually seen Him.

Two disciples leave the city. One is named Cleopas. The other remains unnamed, as if Luke wants you to write your own name there. They are walking the eight miles—about a two-hour journey—toward the little village of Emmaus.

The sun is sliding toward the western hills. Long shadows stretch across olive groves. Their sandals scuff the dust of the Roman road as they talk in low tones. Every hope they cherished has been shattered. They had believed Jesus was the Promised One. They had traveled to Jerusalem for Passover with joy and anticipation.

Instead they watched Him beaten until His back was raw, heard the hammer strike nails again and again, and winced as He cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” By Friday night He was sealed in a borrowed tomb.

Now it is the third day. The women’s report of angels and an empty tomb has only deepened the mystery. They are tired, heartsick, confused.

In their minds Jesus is still in the past tense: we had hoped He was the One to redeem Israel.

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The Stranger Joins

While they walk, a Stranger comes alongside and falls into step.

> “What are you discussing as you walk along?” He asks (v. 17).

They stop, faces downcast. Cleopas blurts out,

> “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that have happened?”

Everyone in Jerusalem has been talking about it.

> “What things?” the Stranger asks.

So they pour out their grief:

> “Jesus of Nazareth was a prophet, mighty in word and deed before God and all the people. Our chief priests and rulers handed Him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified Him. We had hoped that He was the One to redeem Israel. Besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. Some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early this morning and did not find His body. They came saying they had even seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women said, but Him they did not see.” (vv. 19-24, ESV)

Luke adds the quiet secret:

> “Their eyes were kept from recognizing Him” (v. 16).

The very One they mourn is walking beside them, but they do not know it.

How often is that our own experience? We can quote Jesus’ words and recite His miracles, yet when disappointment or delay clouds our sight, we quietly shift Him into the past tense: I had hoped for healing… I had hoped for reconciliation… I had hoped the door would open. When we speak of Him mainly in the past, it is hard to see Him alive and present on today’s road.

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Jesus Opens the Scriptures

The Stranger answers with both firmness and grace:

> “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory?” (vv. 25-26).

Then Luke writes one of the most thrilling sentences in the Gospels:

> “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (v. 27).

Imagine that Bible study! Genesis to Malachi, creation to covenant to cross—all pointing to Him.

Perhaps He spoke of the seed of the woman who would crush the serpent (Genesis 3), the lamb whose blood protected Israel at Passover (Exodus 12), the suffering servant pierced for our transgressions (Isaiah 53), the stone the builders rejected that became the cornerstone (Psalm 118). He showed that Messiah’s suffering was not a tragic accident but God’s ancient plan—suffering first, then glory.

No wonder their hearts began to burn. Jesus was stitching the entire fabric of Scripture into one radiant tapestry with Himself at the center.

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Application: Recognizing the Companion You Cannot See

Let’s bring the story to today.

Where are you walking with downcast eyes?

Along the lonely road of grief? Through the fog of an unanswered prayer? Carrying the ache of a strained relationship or a diagnosis that will not relent?

Who is listening as you speak your disappointment?

You may vent to a friend or pour your heart into a journal, but Jesus is the silent third traveler on every road.