Luke 24:13-35
Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.
He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?’ They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?” “What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”
He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going further. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 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?”
They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
“Open?”
“The season of ‘SPENT?’”
I’m a big fan of liturgical seasons. I love seeing the sanctuary turn from purple, to white, to green, and to red. I love the feeling that everything we do has a reason… that everything has a purpose and a meaning. We are currently in a 7 week season known as Easter… it is the period of celebration that follows the blessed resurrection of Christ. However, the more I have experienced this season, the more I begin to think our church fathers mislabeled the season. I know this season is supposed to be a celebration… but the reality of what happens has led me to think that a name change is in order.
Brothers and sisters, we have just gotten done with Lent, can I welcome you into the newly named season following Lent… aptly named “SPENT!” I think it is brilliant… it says exactly how we act after Easter. The pastors worked so hard on Holy Week that they need a week off… they’re SPENT. The committees that worked so hard to make Easter so special are encouraging the Pastor not to do anything too big this next month so they can catch their breath… they’re SPENT. Our attendance on Easter morning was double what it normally is… sadly… the effort that many of those people made to bring themselves to walk through a church door has tired them out so much… we will not see them again till Christmas… they are obviously SPENT.
“The disciples are SPENT.”
It is even right here in our scripture text this morning. We get this insiders view of two disciples right after Easter. They’ve been through a lot. Three years of following Jesus. Three years of walking… of sleeping under trees… of sitting in the midst of crushing crowds all trying to see the Lord… waiting for Jesus to save them from Rome. Now, it has all gone up in smoke… everything they worked for… everything they sacrificed for… gone… because some Jewish rulers could not stand Jesus’ popularity and handed him over to be crucified.
They walk slowly… hanging their heads in despair… dragging their feet in the dirt… talking amongst themselves about all of their crushed hopes and dreams. They walk towards Emmaus. What awaits there? The first part of their journey home? The next job to sustain them? The next leg of their journey called life? They walk.
Then a stranger joins them. The stranger asks a very simple question… “What have you all been discussing?” One of them, Cleopas, becomes almost incredulous. His anger and frustration vent a bit on this stranger. “What rock have you been hiding under!?! We are talking about Jesus! They killed him! We’ve got nothing left for us back in Jerusalem.”
“[You see… Jesus] was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”
“They misunderstand who Jesus is.”
This rant speaks every single word of frustration and anger that the disciple was feeling. Jesus WAS a prophet… WE HAD HOPED he was the one… but all of that was gone now. Jesus was supposed to be something great, but now he is dead and all of our hopes are dead with him. “You see… stranger that is why we walk with head’s held low, that is why we drag our feet, that is why we journey to Emmaus… to leave that wretched place Jerusalem behind us forever.
“Jesus teaches them.”
At this point, we begin to understand why they do not recognize Jesus in verse 16… why… they never really knew who Jesus was… what he was about… what he was going to do in Jerusalem, so Jesus takes this teaching moment… to introduce them to the Christ found in the Old Testament. He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all of the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning the Christ.
Don’t you see what Isaiah meant, “He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his wounds we are healed.” On and on he went, showing them the real Christ found in the Scriptures. The text tells us in verse 32 that the Holy Spirit was moving inside the disciples as he spoke to them and taught them from the Scriptures… that their hearts burned within them.
The disciples were amazed by something else, what at first seemed like a long and arduous journey, had simply flown by as Jesus walked and talked to them, for they soon found themselves at the place where they were meant to stay for the night. The stranger bid them adieu and began to continue on the walk, but the disciples jump to stop him… they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” Se he did as they asked and went in to stay with them.
“They see who Jesus REALLY is.”
As they sat at table together, Jesus reached in front of himself… he took the bread… he gave thanks… he broke it… and he gave it to his disciples… and they KNEW! Jesus vanishes from their midst, and these two disciples are left shell-shocked. Why didn’t they get it before… it was so clear to them now… the scriptures… the scriptures all along pointed to this truth. It was right in front of their eyes! Why had they not seen it? They got up at once, even at that late hour began the sprint to Jerusalem to find the Eleven and tell them that “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to them, made evident to them in the breaking of the bread.”
From heads down and feet dragging… to sprinting! They are not so SPENT anymore!
“So what? (Our response)”
The power of Christ’s resurrection is an amazing thing. It took two disciples who were absolutely SPENT… mind, body, and spirit… and energized them to go and tell the good news. As I read this text, I think of our condition… a Pastor tired from working so hard, committees stretched a bit to thin, parishioners tired of going to a few too many church services… and I find hope for the SPENT.
Its not just church life either, its every bit of our lives… bills… especially now… we are SPENT! Our patience… SPENT! Our health… SPENT! We may be in a place in our lives where we can’t wait for this time to be over… because we are SPENT! This scripture text today… speaks to the SPENT! It takes disciples who are weary… head down… feet dragging in the dust… to people who are no longer SPENT… but now become SENT! That is the power of this resurrection message, that… if you are in that place… you are on that path… and that path is long… the message of this text is that you have “a stranger” walking alongside of you… listening to you… talking to you… just waiting for that moment where he can make himself known to you… to take you from somebody who is SPENT to somebody who has the power and strength of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Then, we can be like the disciples in our text… transformed into people that are SENT instead of SPENT! You know, maybe we can keep the name Easter for this season… after all!
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
