Someone read Luke 24:13-14
Bits and pieces were adapted from an Easter Sermon by Fred G. Zaspel. Slideshow setting the stage for Luke coming into a house and sitting down with Cleopas: 58 AD, Paul is in jail in Caesarea Maritima awaiting trial by Felix. While there He sends his beloved physician Luke into Israel to prepare another historical account of the life of Jesus. Luke interviews Mary, Peter, James, John, and others, and one of them mentions Cleopas, and says that Luke should speak to him.
Emmaus in the dark of night
(Knock on the door)
Cleopas: Who is it?
Luke: Just a friend in the Way
Cleopas (turning to others in the room): it is one of the brethren
(Opens the door, let’s Luke in)
Cleopas (not knowing Luke): welcome brother, who are you?
Luke: I am Luke, a traveling companion of the Apostle Paul, and I am on a mission
Cleopas: Ahh, how is Paul doing these days? It has been so long since I have seen him. I guess the last time would’ve been about 10 years ago when he came to Jerusalem to meet with the elders about that whole keeping the law thing.
Luke: Paul is not doing to good. He is in jail over in Caesarea waiting on all the politics to line up for Felix to stop delaying his trial. Eventually, he will probably have to appeal to Caesar for a trial. And who knows where it could go from there.
Cleopas: I had heard rumors, but I wasn’t sure it was true. God is faithful, and will be with him. Now, why have you come here? You could put us in danger, you know.
Luke: Yes, my apologies, but Paul sent me to work on another account of the life of Jesus; one that will help the Gentiles understand who Jesus was better than Matthew’s. (You know, Matthew had the Jews in Jerusalem in mind when he wrote his gospel, and some of his stuff is lost on the Gentiles.) He and I have an acquaintance name Theophilis, who has asked for an accurate account. So Paul wanted me to make use of this time to gather info.
So after talking with Mary about the birth of Jesus, and Peter and the other apostles, your name kept coming up. And I was told to find you, and get your account. So here I am. No one has said exactly what your account is; only that it is very special. So please share with me who you are, and what your testimony of Christ is, so that I may decide if I can use it.
Cleopas: I would love to help, get out a pen, and we will light another oil lamp. Well, let me see; where do I start… (scratching his face and thinking)
WHO I AM
I am the father of one of the 12 apostles. My name in Latin is Alphaeus, you have probably heard by now of James the son of Alphaeus, not to be confused with James the son of Zebedee. I am the husband of one of the women who stood near the cross--and who went early that Sunday morning to Jesus' tomb. My family was at the very heart of the circle of Jesus' followers throughout his ministry and up to the very end. I am the brother of Joseph of Nazareth--Jesus' legal father. Jesus, you see, was my nephew--"Uncle Cleo" He used to call me. My acquaintance with Jesus goes back as far as His very birth. I have seen his life and ministry from the beginning. But you have probably heard most of the accounts of his ministry.
BEGINNING OF THE PASSION WEEK: MONDAY
I’ll start on Monday before He died: A few days before His death, as Jesus came riding into Jerusalem on a young donkey, the crowds were larger than ever, and they were beside themselves with excitement. And they all were shouting as Jesus rode by, "Hail, Son of David! Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Glory in the highest!"
Here Jesus was finally being rightfully received as Messiah. For all of us this was the greatest day of our lives--all of us, that is, except for Jesus. He saw through it all as a selfish desire for mere political freedom, and that without any regard for deliverance from sin.
BETRAYAL, ARREST, CRUCIFIXION
But still this was simply too much for the religious heavy-weights to tolerate. Jesus just had to be stopped before things got any worse. And so in the most awful miscarriage of justice in history, they bought off Judas Iscariot, one of the 12, who agreed to identify Jesus as one guilty of teaching blasphemy. Then the arrest, the interrogations--from Caiaphas to Pilate to Herod and back to Pilate--in it all His innocence was clear, but because of the great stir created by the religious leaders, Pilate--who admitted publicly that he could find nothing in Jesus worthy of punishment--ordered Him whipped. But that was not enough. They wanted Him dead. And death they demanded. "He claimed to be a king! He is then a rival to Caesar! And if you do not crucify Him we'll make sure Caesar knows of your complicity with treason!"
So finally, Pilate had Jesus crucified. Crucifixion was one awful way to die and one horrendous thing to witness. Bleeding already from the whipping he had received He was forced to carry His own cross outside the gate and up that hill called Golgotha. Laid across the beams His hands and feet were fixed in place with huge spikes nailed into the rough-hewn wood. Then He was lifted up and as the cross was dropped into the socket, Jesus' body settled with a jolt, and all the weight fell hard on those spikes, and His back--already full of gaping wounds--scraping down along the jagged timber.
Standing close by were John, his cousin and most loved disciple; His mother, Mary; Salome, His mother's sister / His aunt; Mary Magdalene; and my wife, who also is named Mary (we had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover). I am embarrassed to say that the rest of us were too afraid to be seen there for fear that we might meet a similar fate. We retreated to Zebedee's house where John eventually returned also with Mary, Jesus' mother. We all were frantically wondering what we should do. Zebedee and I, however, just had to go back & watch, but we carefully remained on the outskirts of the crowd.
It was late Friday, and with the Sabbath quickly approaching they had to hurry the body to its burial--there was no time for the usual washing and anointing with various perfumes. They agreed to let some new linens suffice--with which they wrapped His body and packed it with dry spices. The women agreed to return to the tomb at first light following the Sabbath, and complete the burial rites. Friday evening was an evening I will never forget. It was pure misery. We hardly slept a wink for grief. We cried and cried, and for all of our attempts, there was no comfort to be found.
SATURDAY
The Sabbath was no better. All day long we watched one another's grief continue. Everything was so wrong. All that we believed had been dashed. It seemed that life itself had ended and that hell had come to earth. Saturday evening, as soon as the Sabbath was ended, I took my wife and Mary Magdalene back to Bethany. We had family to check on, and we were beside ourselves wondering if our Son James was still alive. We found him there with eight other of the disciples--frightened and full of grief, but physically unharmed and so far unthreatened.
SUNDAY MORNING AT THE TOMB
At first sign of light Sunday morning I returned with my wife and with Mary Magdalene to the Zebedee house. Salome had gone to market to obtain spices, and so the three women went off to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus in burial.
I waited there with Zebedee and John and Peter for some time. All of a sudden we heard a woman's frantic voice and footsteps fast approaching. It was Mary Magdalene. She said that when they arrived at the tomb they found that someone had come and stolen Jesus' body. In an instant Peter and John ran off to see for themselves, but I remained behind. Then not too much later the other women returned also--my wife and Salome. They said that after Mary Magdalene left the tomb they went on in and saw empty grave clothes. That's right--empty grave clothes. And they said the linens were exactly as they had left them on Friday--only they were empty. There was no thief--the clothes were undisturbed. It was as if the body had vanished! And they said an angel appeared there to them and told them that Jesus had risen, just as He said, and that they should go and tell all the disciples!
But this kind of thing was simply impossible! And I didn't believe them. I couldn't. But undaunted, the two went off to fulfill their commission to tell all the disciples.
HEADING OFF TO EMMAUS
I decided to return to Emmaus that same day, to where we lived and hopefully that night try to get some sleep. Several needed rest, but I could only get one of the brethren to come with me, Simon, not Simon Peter, but another Simon. There is safety in numbers on the back roads around Jerusalem, but we were only two. But we looked up and there was another man walking just ahead of us alone. And as he stopped at a small spring beside the road for a drink, we caught up with him. He looked fairly safe…and we didn’t really want a stranger walking behind us, we needed to keep an eye on him. And of course, we were feeling sorry for him, and concerned for his safety (and ours), we asked if he would like to walk with us. And he accepted.
Just small talk for the longest time. We knew that as followers of the “King of the Jews,” we could meet the same fate as He did if we were discovered. So we couldn’t risk it with this stranger. But there was something about Him. Couldn’t put my finger on it: kind voice, gentle demeanor, obviously not from around here, very peaceful, bright eyes…I don’t know. He could see it on our faces, and asked us why we were so depressed. We looked at each other with fear and hesitation, and then our sorrow got the better of us, and we began to discuss the weekend’s events. Even before that, Surely this stranger had been here all week for the Passover, and so we were just going to see how much he knew, and maybe he would tip His hand, and we would know if we were in danger. And do you know what He said?
WHAT THINGS?
Luke: no, what? (Luke continues to write furiously)
Cleopas: This guy wanted to know “what things” had occurred in Jerusalem! How could anyone not know???
Was he blind? Was he sleeping through the weekend??? Did he stay in a brothel all week???? We could not believe that he didn’t know! How could you not know!!!!
The good thing was that we now felt a little safer. And so we asked him, “Are you an idiot?” No, just kidding, but we tried to get him to explain how he could just not know. None of his answers made sense to me…just a lot of spiritual mumbo jumbo. We did tell him he must be the only person in Jerusalem who didn’t know about it all. But nevertheless, in our distress we tried to paint a picture for him.
RECAP OF JESUS’ MINISTRY
We told him how my nephew Jesus went all over Israel ministering to the poor, the lame, and the outcasts. We told him how the took the man possessed by demons, cast it out, and gave him his life back. We told him about when the woman with the issue of blood touched the hem of his garment and was healed. We told him about Jarius’s daughter who as dead that Jesus raised to life, and the widow at Nain’s son’s funeral, and Lazarus coming out of the tomb! We told him of how Jesus walked on the water, calmed the storms, turned water into wine, made fish and bread multiply to feed thousands. We told him how blind men like Bartimeus were calling out to Him, and he would touch them and give them their sight.
We told him how his healing on the Sabbath angered the religious and powerful. And how he ran out the money changers, further angering them. And we told him how he answered the most perplexing entrapments to silence the accusers.
Then we told them of the plot, and Judas’s kiss in the garden, of the false trials, and the accusations with no witnesses, and their commitment to have him killed. We told him about Pilate who found nothing wrong, but was persuaded by the masses at a threat of political blackmail. We told him of the awful scourging he endured, the mocking, spiting, and the crown of thorns. We told him of the long journey up Golgotha’s hill, of the nails, the taunts, the humiliation, the darkness, the veil, the rocks, and the dead men walking around.
HOPES DASHED
Then we said, “we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.” And then we shared about the women with that cockamamie story of his body being gone this morning from the tomb. By the time we got done telling him all these things, we were more broken and grief-stricken than we had been since the crucifixion itself. We had to sit down in the dusty road and gather ourselves together before we could continue…
Then he began to speak with usual, piercing authority. We were caught a little off guard. And as we sat down on a rock under a little olive tree just off the road, he looked at us with a little smile at first and softly said,
STRANGER’S REPLY
“Have you not comprehended what the prophets have said? Do you not believe them? I know that you can’t understand that the Messiah would have to suffer much before his glory, right? Think with me a minute or two.
Did not God tell the old serpent in Gen 3:15 that Messiah would crush his head? But He also said that Messiah would have his heal bruised by Satan? In Ex 12:6, wasn’t the Passover lamb killed at twilight like the Lamb of God would be? In Deut 18:15, didn’t Moses promise a prophet like him? And didn’t Moses suffer quite a bit? In Psalm 22 the crucifixion is detailed years before in graphic accuracy. In Ps 38 the friends and loved ones stand far from him. In Psalm 41 you are told that a familiar friend would lift up his heel against Messiah. In Ps 69:21 it says they gave the Messiah vinegar to drink while he was suffering. Isa 50:6 says, “I gave My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.” In Isa 53, it is clear that Messiah would be rejected by His people, striped, bruised and killed for our iniquities and sins bearing the wrath of God and the sins of many. In Daniel 9 it states that Messiah would be cut off from His people. In Zech 13:7, it says the Shepherd will be struck, and the sheep scattered. And on and on he went detailing every witness in scripture to the suffering of Messiah.
Somewhere in the middle of the greatest bible scholar’s explanation, we got up and began to walk again toward Emmaus completely captivated by him. We were dumbfounded. We didn’t know what to say. It was like water to a thirsty soul as the words of God dripped from his lips for hours. I tell you, things were finally taking shape, and I thought my heart would pound right out of my chest with each new passage of Scripture He cited. Jesus' death was no accident! God had not allowed things to get out of hand. God had given His Son in death--a death which was in place of all of His people. He --the only righteous one ever to live-- died under the awful judgment of God so that sinners would go free. O, my heart did burn and began to swell and my faith began to revive. In the death of Jesus my own salvation may have been secured.
Faith seemed to well up inside us. Could we be wrong? Could Jesus really still be the Messiah?
ARRIVAL IN EMMAUS
Be for we knew it we were in Emmaus. It was almost dark, and we didn’t want to part yet, so we asked the stranger to come inside the house and get something to eat with us. We just wanted to hear more. At first he politely noted that he wouldn’t want us to have to prepare for him after a long day’s travel. But we insisted, and so he agreed.
This stranger sat down with Simon while I hurried back to fix something up to eat. All I had was some bread and wine that we had brought with us from Jerusalem, so I whipped up some plates and went and joined them.
GIVING THANKS
The stranger took his plate, and once we got ours, he asked if he could give thanks. Even though it was kind of out of line for the guest to have to pray, I said fine. And out of his mouth came this prayer that felt like we were lifting off the ground, going into the throne room of heaven with God himself. And when he said “Amen,” we saw him!
It was Jesus! We saw the nail-prints, recognized his face, knew his voice! He was alive! He was Messiah! Oh, hallelujah! What a Savior! We were in his presence the whole time! Why we were blind before, I don’t know, but I know that we saw clearly now!
Then like a flash, he was gone.
We stared at each other, tears streaming down, then laughter and rejoicing. My mind starting going back to all the little things on the journey that we missed; and now they made sense to me. We must go back and tell the others, I said. And knowing that it wasn’t safe, but not caring, we took off laughing all the way. Our hearts were on fire, and now so were our feet!
When we got there (in record time, I might add), we shared with them the whole story. We knew that for hours we had talked to the risen Christ. And we all rejoiced together with great joy! Then He came to us all together and spoke to us, saying similar things, commissioning us to go and preach repentance and remission of sins in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem as His witnesses.
FORGIVENESS OF SIN
Did you hear me?
I said that he told us to preach the remission of sin in Jesus name! We were forgiven! Sin was dealt with for all those of us who repent and believed on Christ. He died, He was buried, and He arose victorious just as the prophets said he would! And now we could be forgiven!
Well, that is my story. What is important is not that I was Jesus' uncle. And no, it is not important at all that you remember me --except in that you remember me as one who can affirm first-hand that Jesus is alive. I saw Him. I touched Him. I talked with Him and ate with Him. He is risen-- just as He said
INVITATION
And so can you! If you are here today, you can know that Cleopas and over 500 other people saw the resurrected Christ! He is alive, and he commands repentance in his name so that you can be forgiven. This is the meaning of Easter: new life in Christ—forgiveness of sin, hope, peace, and freedom; satisfaction of the deepest needs of your souls by a risen, ruling, reigning, returning Christ!
