Our Church members have had a lot of interest in the Walk to Emmaus lately, and for a good reason. I have never known anyone who went on a Walk that wasn’t tremendously blessed. If you are not saved when you go on the Walk, there is a very good chance you will be saved before you come home. We have seen that in our fellowship family here at FBC of Eula.
For those who are saved and go on the Walk, let me try to explain it how I understand it. You will not grow much spiritually on the Walk, but you will be blessed. It is not growth that you will probably experience because the elements of growth are not completely present.
However, if there is something in your life that is inhibiting your growth, it will be challenged. There will be pulling downs of strongholds, facing attitudes, releasing areas of pride, unforgiveness and misplaced passions.
I say this to include a warning. If you do not fill your life with the elements of growth when you return from your Walk to Emmaus, the issues you address will either return stronger, or new elements will arixe that are more subtle and difficult to address.
I base this upon personal observation, and my understanding of Matthew 12:43-45: "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation."
So what are the elements of growth that you need to have in place and active in your life? If you don’t know them, please look at the back wall, upper, and see the banner.
1. A growing relationship with God.
2. A growing relationship with the Word of God.
3. A growing relationship with God’s family in context with the Church
4. A growing relationship with service and servanthood, including systematic giving through tithes, offerings and charity.
If you are not growing in one of those areas, you are not growing spiritually. If you are not growing spiritually, you probably don’t even recognize the problem because of lukewarmness. I know that is strong, but it is supported by the scriptures.
This is what the Walk does for so many of us. It removes the blinders so we can see. If we see and do not add the disciplines and elements of growth, we go slip into a situation worse than before we were confronted with the truth.
Where does the Walk to Emmaus get its theme? As we continue are series, “After the Resurrection”, we come to Luke 24:13-15. This series will culminate on May 12th when we celebrate the ascension and promised return of Jesus. May 12th will be a wonderful day. I hope you mark in on your calendar.
Now, let’s look at our text.
Luke 24:13-15 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
Emmaus was a village about seven miles due north of Jerusalem. Who were the two of them? They were two followers of Jesus, not the 11 Apostles. We will see one’s name is Cleopas.
These were not just talking about the events of the day, but the things that were important to them. Youth today will say, It is what is trending on Twitter.
These two followers of Jesus were discussing Jesus, and Jesus pulled up beside them on the road. The text reads that they knew who Jesus was, knew what He looked like, but God prevented them from recognizing Him at this time.
Luke 24:17 And he said to them, "What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?" And they stood still, looking sad.
This scripture reveals how these felt about Jesus. When Jesus asked them what they were talking about, they stopped walking. When they were faced with explaining to someone who they assumed had not heard, it saddened them that they would be reliving the horrible events again as they explained. The possibility of explaining it to someone sometimes brings the full impact of the event.
I have seen this often, sometimes on the news. A witness of a terrible event, when asked to describe what they saw, breaks down in tears. I understand this. I have experience things in my ministry and held up well. Then when I got home to tell Laura, I have broken down in tears trying to put it into words.
Luke 24:18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?"
Just to be sure, Cleopas, one of the two, asked, “Did you just get here?” The implication is, if you have been anywhere near here, you would have known. He could have asked, “Did you just get here from Mars? Where have you been?
Luk 24:19-24 And he said to them, "What things?" (I prefer the translation, “Which things are you talking about”). And they said to him, "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."
So they explained to Jesus what was bothering them. Obviously, to us, we see that these knew what happened but did not know what happened. They knew the events but not the significance. They knew the story, but did not know the rest of the story. So Jesus was going to tell them.
Luke 24:25 And he said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
It turns out, Jesus knew more about the events than these did. He begins out reminding them of what He had preached; that the Redeemer of Israel must be delivered up for death. If you recall, when He preached this before, many stopped following Him. Obviously, many others continued to follow Him, but not taking this part of His message seriously. We know this because this event caught them totally off guard and filled them with sadness.
So Jesus begins showing them through the stories and text of Old Testament writers that this was the plan all along.
Luke 24:28-29 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly, saying, "Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent." So he went in to stay with them.
When they got to Emmaus, Jesus started further down the road. However, they were not finished hearing what He was saying. “Please stay with us and keep talking.”
So He stayed with them. They still didn’t recognize Him, although by now, He was the focus of their attention.
Luke 24:30-35 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?" 33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
I want us to notice that Jesus did three things that we are hungry for today:
I. He replaced expectations with truth. He began with Moses (the Beginning) and the prophets (the end).
These men obviously knew the scriptures of the Old Testament. However, they filtered those scriptures with their expectations. “We were hoping this prophet who worked miracles would defeat the Romans and return Israel to its position of world power.”
It is remarkable to us that Jesus gently rebuked them. Why rebuke someone for not understanding? Because their understanding was based upon the filters they placed upon their understanding. When we approach the scriptures, we need to not rely on preconceived notions.
That is the error Jesus corrected. When we do that, we should hear the voice of Jesus saying, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!” This is what happens when we approach the scriptures with preconceived notions.
How did Jesus overcome the wrong expectations and preconceived notions of these followers? He began with Genesis, whose writer was Moses and ended with Malachi. He didn’t just pull out one obscure statement and create a theology. He said, “Hey, this has been the plan all along. It is taught in Genesis (when the first prediction of the seed of woman having his heal bruised by Satan). It is taught in Exodus, as the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day. When the serpent was raised. It is taught in every book of the Bible, that we would have a suffering kinsman redeemer. It is the whole of scripture that interprets scripture.
Beware of one who takes a statement or two from the scriptures and tries to start a doctrine. “Doctrine” means truth and God presented His truth by systems. If you don’t know what the scriptures say, you can’t understand the truth of God, period. If you do not get into the scriptures and learn them systematically, you might as well say, “OK, Satan, deceive me. I just don’t care.”
Let me bring in another application here before me move on. One of the most defeating things to Christians is failed expectations. We go into high school with certain expectations. We join a Church with certain expectations. We start a college with certain expectations. The same with marriage, career, eventually we go into retirement with expectations. Many have gone into a ministry or signed up for a Church position with expectations.
All disillusionment in Christian service, troubled marriages, struggling careers and bad education experiences can be boiled down to failed expectations. Life doesn’t add up to what we expected.
There is a better way to live. When you live by expectations, you live with constant disappointment. However, you can live with surrender to the Master and live the adventure of life. When you volunteer for that position, accept the post with your eyes on the Savior. Simply tell God, “Father, I don’t know what you are going to do with this pressure on my life, but I know it will be good.”
“Lord, I don’t know what you are wanting to accomplish in my life or the life of others, but I trust you. Move as you will.”
Let me put it this way. God looks and sees a line in your heart. It is the line where you stop representing Him and start representing yourself. We like to believe that it doesn’t exist, but it does. God wants to move that line far away, and the only way is to challenge us with life.
We are challenged by persecution, ridicule, strong emotions, rejection, pain, disappointment. As we are challenged, if we respond properly, God will move the line further out. If we don’t, we will simply step across the line, and do so to our own pain.
Living by expectation typically means we don’t expect our line to be challenged. Uhm, That ain’t happenin’. God will allow challenges that so differ from our expectations to challenge us.
Husbands, commit to God, “I don’t know what you are going to do in my marriage or what we are going to face, but Lord, use it to make me like you.” Wives, surrender to the Master and say, “I don’t know what is going to happen, but Father, whatever it is, use it to shame me in love, wisdom and service.” Employees, students, families, if you will do this, you will find that God will delight you every day in wonderful ways. He always honors our trust in Him.
II. He replaced confusion with vision. As he explained, they understood what was happening.
He showed them a greater plan, something more wonderful that Israel being the world ruler. He showed them the salvation of people of all nations, the forgiveness of sin. He showed them the Kingdom of God. He raised their vision from the earthly to the divine.
Ill. I certainly understand how difficult it is to keep a divine attitude in a dirty world. I woke up Thursday morning with a sinus headache and a long list of tasks to complete before we headed to Dallas for a funeral of a family friend. I was rushing to complete some tasks and Lee Adams came to the door. He needed to fill up with gas the van that picks up Michelle and wanted to know if I had a Church credit card.
A little history: That credit card/gas card was something I asked for two years ago and was advised against it. It was probably God’s wisdom that directed that advise. To make a long story short, I was grumpy Thursday. Later, I called Lee and asked him to forgive me. He graciously said he did not notice and didn’t take what I said as being grumpy. However, I knew I was grumpy because the Lord was really talking to me about that.
Let me say this. I hate it when my life supplies me with ample illustrations. They are usually not good. Another area where I have plenty of room for improvement, right? Had I approached the day with a more Godly beginning, I could have responded with love.
I understand the challenges we have, but I also must tell you, this is important. We need to spend much more time thinking, acting and responding with a divine look, a look upward, if we are going to complete the mission Christ called us to complete. Jesus took these disciples eyes from the earthly to the divine, and He wants to do that with us today.
III. He replaced sadness with faith. And when he had broken bread and gave it to them, their eyes were opened.
I don’t get it, Bro. Tim. I don’t quite understand. These associates of the disciples still didn’t get the whole picture until He broke bread with them. Oh, this is a beautiful picture of having our eyes opened!
What is He saying here? Jesus was teaching about bread once.
John 6:32-35 Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 34 They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." 35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
When the disciples met for the Last Supper, Jesus talked about bread. Matthew 26:26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is my body."
These men walking home knew the scriptures, but had to have the filter remove. They knew what Moses and the prophets taught, but they had to begin to think heavenly instead of earthly. But they did not get it until Jesus broke bread, reminding them of His salvation.
Oh, we are told there are many in Christianity and the Church today who hope to benefit from proximity. They are hoping that going to Church and acting the part will be enough. But they have not partaken of the living bread who instills real life and opens eyes. They have not trusted and called upon Jesus, so their eyes are closed.
Listen, I know we hope what we do is enough, but the Bible has already told us it is not. It is only growing if we have partaken of His death, burial and resurrection by faith and confession.
Romans 10:9-10 says, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
Today, Jesus breaks the bread and offers it to you. Will you take it by believing Him and asking Him to save you? Will you confess today that you are a sinner and are hopeless without Him? Will you ask Him to forgive your sins and invite Him to be your King? Your Messiah? Your Savior?
If you are truly willing to do that, are you willing to confess Him by coming forward during our invitation? Are you going to be ashamed of Him on earth before men? He said, “Whosoever believes in me will NOT be ashamed.”
And then their eyes were opened. They said, “Did not our hearts burn when He was teaching us!”
Is your heart burning now, calling you to faith or calling you to action? Don’t miss the power of the burning heart. Listen and say “Yes” to Him today.
Luk 24:33-35 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
They arose that same hour. It wasn’t a convenient hour, but there was urgent. Is that the same urgency you are sensing now? Will you, this moment, arise and obey?
And they told anyone who would listen what had happened to them. Will you not confess what God is doing? Will you not share it with us?
Their message: He indeed has risen, and appeared to many, and changed my heart as He opened my eyes. Many have already enjoyed the news in their lives and are looking forward to celebrating with you?
