SERMON OUTLINE:
They talked with each other (vs 14, 15 & 17)
They welcomed a stranger (vs 15).
They shared the story of Jesus (vs 18-23).
They were willing to learn (vs 25-27)
They practiced hospitality (vs 28)
SERMONBODY:
Ill:
• The newspaper The Independent on Sunday (5 September 2004) reported the true story
• Of a Brazilian businessman called Alvaro Weyne.
• He had £10,000 in cash and cheques and was worried about it being stolen;
• So he decided that the safest place to hide it would be in his office waste bin.
• He figured no thief would think of looking in there.
• He was right.
• But... while he was away from his desk seeing someone in another room;
• The cleaner came in and…you guessed it;
• Emptied the bin and his money was thrown away - lost forever!
• TRANSITION: Life is like that sometimes, isn't it?
• You think you've got something precious and all of a sudden it's gone.
Ill:
• Now here's another story, this time it may or may not be true,
• But sometimes it’s good to use your imagination.
• Enrico is a Brazilian pauper,
• Who scrapes a living by scavenging the rubbish tips of the city;
• His life is spent using or selling what he finds.
• One day while rummaging through a new pile of refuse;
• He picked up a small plastic bag.
• He opened it up, and to his great surprise and joy,
• There inside the bag was £10,000!
• He ran home to his wife and family, bought them all new clothes,
• They had a celebration meal;
• Then they put down a deposit on a house far away from the slums.
• TRANSITION:
• You see, sometimes life can do things like that to you.
• You think you've got nothing precious at all,
• Then out of the blue your circumstances change for the better!
• And without any warning, you are surprised by joy.
You could put both of those illustrations to the story of Cleopas & his friend:
• You think you've got something precious and all of a sudden it's gone.
• You think you've got nothing precious at all,
• Then out of the blue your circumstances change for the better!
• The story of Cleopas & his friend:
• Is a story of two people who are suddenly surprised by joy!
• At the start of the story they are two men defeated;
• They thought they had something precious, and all of a sudden it was gone.
• Then as they walked down the road feeling like they had lost everything;
• Their circumstances change for the better
• They were two people who were surprised by joy!
Ill:
• That expression, Surprised by Joy,
• Was coined by the 20th-century Christian writer C.S. Lewis.
• He made it the title of his autobiography,
• Where he talks about his early days as an atheist,
• Someone who disbelieved in God and went out of his way to avoid God.
• But God was after him, he said, looking back.
"You must picture me," Lewis wrote, "alone in [my room], night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet."
• Gradually he came to admit that God was God,
• And he knelt and prayed:
• He said that: "perhaps, that night,
• [he was] the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England."
• He began to attend church and to read the gospels.
• They started to make sense to him.
• Lewis had acknowledged God; now God was after him to acknowledge his son.
• The subject was on Lewis's mind constantly.
In a now famous passage of Surprised by Joy, Lewis related his final step into real joy:
"I know very well when, but hardly how, the final step was taken. I was driven to Whipsnade one sunny morning. When we set out I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did."
• The journey to Whipsnade Zoo was Lewis's Emmaus Road.
• It was the time Lewis encountered the living Christ!
• Lewis’ story is a good reminder that Emmaus Road experiences still happen in our day.
• They might even happen to us afresh this morning!
Cleopas & Friend:
• Everything we know about Cleopas & his friend:
• Come from this passage in the gospel of Luke.
• All we can be sure of is Cleopas & his friend;
• Were two followers of Jesus;
• Men who encountered the risen Christ during the Road to Emmaus.
Note:
• Some commentators say or suggest;
• That we might have other information regarding Cleopas:
• In John's Gospel chapter 19 verse 25.
• We have a ‘Clopas’ or ‘Cleophas’ mentioned.
• The name difference may just be a synonym;
• That is a name with the same or similar meaning of another.
• i.e. Catherine with a ‘C’ or a ‘K’ or ‘Kathy’ as an abbreviation.
“Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene”
• This may or may not be the same Clepopas mentioned in Luke 24;
• Because no-one has the ability to prove or disprove it.
Ill:
• If I said to you that John whose wife was Christine was seen visiting the local bookshop,
• You would know I probably meant John King.
• If an hour later I said John had been visiting someone in hospital;
• You would probably say which John (King or Spencer or someone else),
• On the limited information you have you cannot be sure who I meant;
• Likewise we cannot be sure which Cleopas is identified in the this passage.
Note: Church tradition (not the Bible) may give a clue:
• The historian, Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea,
• Quotes the earlier historian called, Hegesippus, who wrote, c. AD 180,
• (Eusebius, Hist. eccl., III, 11).
• That he had years before interviewed the grandsons of Jude the Apostle;
• And learned that Cleopas was the brother of Joseph,
• Who was the husband of Mary the mother of Jesus.
• Now in the family tree of Jesus, Cleopas may have been uncle of Jesus;
• But again no-one can really prove it one way or the other;
• And actually it doesn’t make much difference to our study of him.
Our title for this series of character studies is: ‘People Just Like Us’:
• So let’s look at Luke chapter 24;
• And see what lessons we can apply to our own lives and situations.
FIRST: THEY TALKED WITH EACH OTHER:
• Verse 14: “They were TALKING with each other about everything that had happened”
• Verse 15: “As they TALKED and DISCUSSED these things with each other…”
• Verse 17: “He asked them, ‘What are you DISCUSSING together as you walk along?’”
• Cleopas and his friend were in constant discussion about Jesus:
• Let me just pause for a moment and say something about the friend.
Ill:
• When I first started in Christian ministry I used to shadow two evangelists;
• Bob Telford & Ivor Cooper.
• When they went out preaching I would accompany them.
• Sometimes I would be involved in the service other times I would sit and watch.
• In those days most Churches had a prayer meeting before the service;
• And I would accompany the two evangelists into the room for prayer.
• I would be introduced to everyone and the prayer time would start.
• I was nearly always prayed for in those meetings, but the prayers went like this;
• “Lord we thank you for bringing Bob Telford/Ivor Cooper along tonight;
• Thank you too for our dear brother who is with them”.
• I don’t think I was ever prayed for by name, just ‘our dear brother, our Bob & his friend’
• I of course knew why, they could not remember my name.
• TRANSITION:
• Well Dr Luke seems to have forgotten the name of Cleopas friend;
• But as we will see, he too is important in this story.
• After you need two people for a meaningful conversation;
• Two people to make a discussion profitable.
Now back to point #1: Cleopas and his friend were in constant discussion about Jesus
• It is a healthy sign when believers want to talk about Jesus.
• After all we tend to talk about what is important to us.
Ill:
• I will let you into a secret;
• As Elders we noted that at the end of the service people talked about the football, or the weather or the…whatever, sadly anything apart from what they had just heard.
• Now in one sense;
• All conversation is useful in getting to know each other at a social level;
• But as Christians we ought to be able to go to a deeper level.
• So the elders decided that they would try an initiate the conversation over tea & coffee,
• And try to encourage people to reflect on what they had heard.
• Now I am not sure if we succeeded or not;
• But I like to think it was more beneficial to those we spoke to;
• Than just talking about the football, or the weather or what we watched on TV last night.
Ill:
• I will let you into a secret;
• Every few weeks Jim and myself sneak off after the evening service for a curry.
• We enjoy the food and the social setting;
• We enjoy putting the world right with our wisdom and knowledge.
• But we also enjoy talking about Jesus,
• What we have heard, a book we have a read, someone whose ministry has blessed us.
• I guess the point I am making is this;
• Try to find someone (I suggest as well as a wife/husband etc.);
• Who you can talk to about Jesus.
Ill:
• Just over a year ago as a family we went Israel;
• I had the joy of preaching in the Assembly in Nazareth (The Emmaus Bible Centre),
• Afterwards we went back to the home of Shawel and Nuha.
• While our two children played with their three children;
• It was good to sit and chat about Jesus.
• And for all of us as a family that was one of the highlights of our trip!
Secondly, they welcomed a stranger (vs 15).
“As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognising him”.
• Followers of Jesus open their hearts to people they don't know.
• A sign of a true Christian is their acceptance of other people.
Ill:
Luke chapter 14 verses 12-14:
12 “Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbours; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.””
• By using this illustration;
• Jesus is obviously not prohibiting us from entertaining family and friends.
• On other occasions he went to the home of friends and enjoyed a meal with them.
• i.e. the home of Mary, Martha & Lazarus (Luke chapter 10 verses 38-42)
• But here he warn the Pharisees with this story (and also us);
• Against entertaining ONLY family and friends at the expense of other people.
At the time of Jesus:
• It was considered in-proper to ask the poor and handicapped people to public banquets.
• Their disability was viewed as a punishment from God (John chapter 9 verses 1-2).
• Women were not invited either, they were seen as second class citizens;
• It was their job to be preparing the food and serving it,
• While the men did the important job of eating the food and talking.
• So Jesus is saying something radical in these verses;
• Welcome people, accept people, value people!
Note:
• This illustration of Jesus is also a description of non-Christian:
• Who the Bible calls spiritually ‘poor, crippled, and blind’
Question:
• How many friends do you have that don’t know Christ?
• Better put, how many people who are not Christians would call you their friend?
• The statistics are clear; once the average person becomes a believer in Christ,
• He or she loses contact with most of their unbelieving friends within two years.
• (a). Now some Christians shed the former friends on purpose;
• Because those relationships are not healthy;
• And may well hinder them in their walk with Christ.
• (b). For some Christians it’s the unbelieving friends who shed you;
• Because they do not like your new found beliefs and lifestyle.
• If those statistics are accurate;
• Then every Christian here needs to make a regular effort to make friends with people.
• Like these two on the road to Emmaus let’s be willing to talk with strangers!
Ill:
• Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish theologian & philosopher,
• Told this parable, which he called “The Wild Duck of Denmark;
• A wild duck was flying northward with his mates across Europe during the springtime.
• En route, he happened to land in a barnyard in Denmark,
• Where he quickly made friends with the tame ducks that lived there.
• The wild duck enjoyed the corn and fresh water.
• He decided to stay for an hour, then for a day, then for a week ,
• And finally, for a month.
• At the end of that time, he contemplated flying to join his friends in the vast North land,
• But he had begun to enjoy the safety of the barnyard,
• And the tame ducks had made him feel so welcome. So he stayed for the summer.
• One autumn day, when his wild mates were flying south, he heard their quacking.
• It stirred him with delight,
• And he enthusiastically flapped his wings and rose into the air to join them.
• Much to his dismay, he found that he could rise no higher than the eaves of the barn.
• As he waddled back to the safety of the barnyard,
• He muttered to himself, “I’m satisfied here, I have plenty of food, and the area is good.
• Why should I leave.?” So, he spent the winter on the farm.
• In the spring, when the wild ducks flew overhead again,
• He felt a strange stirring within his breast, but he did not even try to fly up to meet them.
• When they returned in the fall, they again invited him to re-join them,
• But this time, the duck did not even notice them.
• There was no stirring within his breast.
• He simply kept on eating corn which made him fat.
Thirdly, they shared the story of Jesus (vs 18-23).
“He asked them, ‘What are you discussing together as you walk along?’
They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, ‘Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?’
19 ‘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. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 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. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.’”
• Followers of Jesus share the message of Jesus with strangers.
• Evangelism is in the DNA of every Christian.
ill:
• On Wednesday I spent 6 hours at Southampton hospital;
• For numerous tests and examinations regarding my eyes!
• No not an emergency just something that need monitoring twice a year;
• The
• One of the nurses at the hospital who did not know I was a Christian;
• Started to very tactfully witness to me
• She made lots of references to her busy weekend,
• And how she sang in a choir, and how she was giving a performance etc.
• To use a fishing analogy;
• What she was doing was dropping the bait!
• She was hoping I would ask her questions like;
• “What Church do you go to?”
• “Why do you go there?”
• “What type of songs do you sing”
• What she was doing was dropping the bait!
• And was hoping I would bite and maybe even get hooked;
• She was hoping I would give her an opportunity to develop her conversation.
• Followers of Jesus share the message of Jesus with strangers.
• Because evangelism is in the DNA of every Christian.
• Now we might need to be wise and sensitive where we share the massage of Jesus;
• But we all need to share it!
Ill:
• The New Testament records tell of forty people, each suffering from some disease,
• Who had been healed by Jesus.
• Of this number, thirty-four were either brought to Jesus by friends;
• Or Jesus was taken to them.
• In only six cases out of forty did sufferers find their way to Christ without assistance.
• TRANSITION:
• If we don’t bring them, then they aint gonna come!
Fourth, they Were Willing To learn (vs 25-27)
“He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”
• Followers of Jesus will be willing to listen and learn from others,
• As Christians here at DRC we do not have a monopoly on all wisdom and knowledge.
• And we can always learn from other believers.
• Notice it was the stranger who gave them a different view on the story they had told.
• It was the stranger who turned the story around;
• And showed them a better way of looking at it.
• Now of course we are not to be gullible,
• We don’t just swallow anyone’s opinion concerning the teachings of the Bible,
• We all need discernment, to distinguish truth from error.
• But we can all have and we all need to be willing to learn.
Note: I love verse 27 of this chapter:
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself”
• The Jewish Old Covenant/Testament: ('Tanach') that Jesus and the disciples knew;
• Was divided into 3 parts:
• FIRST: The Torah (literally "teaching") it consists of five books,
• Commonly referred to as the "Five Books of Moses".
• i.e. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy
• To a Jew this is the most sacred and important part of the holy scriptures.
• SECOND: The 'Navine’ or ‘Nabine.'
• Is what we would call the prophets except Daniel.
• And it also includes Judges and 1 & 2 Kings (8 books in total).
• THIRD: The 'cHetovine' or ‘Ketuvim’.
• These are what we call the historical books and it also includes Daniel.
• (11 books in total)
Now this threefold division is what Jesus referred to in this section:
• Law of Moses (Torah).
• Prophets (Navine).
• Psalms (cHetovine).
• Question: How many books are in your Old Testament?
• Answer: 39
• Question: How many books are in a Jewish Old Testament?
• Answer: 5+8+11 = 24!
• Now don’t panic we haven’t added any;
• In the Jewish cannon of scripture certain books i.e. the 12 minor prophets,
• All fit into one scroll and so are counted as one book.
• Also where as we count 1& 2 Samuel as two books;
• In a Jewish Bible they are counted as one book.
• So don’t panic:
• Both the Jewish 'Tanach' and the Christian Old Testament have the same writings;
• Just in a different order or grouping.
NOW THE APPLICATION:
• Notice how Jesus used every book of the Old Testament to reveal himself.
• Every book of the Bible is about him!
Ill:
• The Bible teacher David Pawson was invited by a Church one Easter;
• To preach five messages on the cross.
• Long before he had time to prepare anything;
• He received a phone call asking what are the titles of your talks,
• We need something for the publicity poster?
• David Pawson replied: if you need them now, then my Easter talks will be;
• Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy
• Genesis – The offering of Isaac by Abraham.
• Exodus – The story of the Passover.
• Leviticus - The story of the scapegoat.
• Numbers – The story of the brass serpent lifted up on a pole.
• Deuteronomy – The story of the city of refuge - Christ Jesus our Hiding-place!
Quote verse 27:
“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself”
• Jesus used the books of the Old Testament to reveal himself.
• Every book of the Bible is about him!
fifth, they invited their companion in to stay with them (vs 28)
“As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going further. 29 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”.
• Followers of Jesus practice hospitality,
• An open home reflects an open heart!
Note:
• We forget sometimes that long before the church had pulpits and buildings;
• She had kitchens and dinner tables.
• Even the casual reader of the New Testament;
• Cannot help but notice the house was the primary tool & meeting place of the church.
• In the New Testament when the Church met;
• That primarily meant gathering together in someone’s home.
• This was the practice of Christians for the first three-hundred years.
• (Acts 20:20; Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; Philemon v.2; 2 John v.10)
NOW DON’T MISS THE IMPACT OF THIS TRUTH:
• Because not everyone can serve God as a missionary in a foreign land.
• Not everybody can lead worship.
• Not everybody can play a musical instrument.
• Not everybody can preach.
• Not everybody can… you fill in the blanks!
• But if you have a home, a table, some chairs, some food;
• Then congratulations!
• You just qualified to serve in the most ancient of ministries: hospitality.
Ill:
• Something holy happens around a dinner table that will never happen in a sanctuary.
• In a church building sitting in rows you see the backs of heads.
• Around the table you see the expressions on faces.
• In a Church building one person speaks;
• Around the table everyone has a voice.
• Church services are on the clock.
• Around the table there is time to talk.
Hospitality is so important that God actually commands us to do it!
• In the book of Romans chapter 12 verse 13;
• The apostle Paul tells his readers to "Practise hospitality".
Ill:
• It's no accident that hospitality and hospital come from the same Latin word,
• For they both lead to the same result: healing.
• When you open your door to someone, you are sending out this message:
• "You matter to me and to God."
• You may think you are saying, "Come over for a visit."
• But what your guest hears is, "I'm worth the effort."
• Followers of Jesus practice hospitality,
• An open home reflects an open heart!
In conclusion:
• Never forget the ultimate act of hospitality;
• Was when Jesus Christ died on a cross for sinful people like you and me.
• He died the Bible says;
• To make everyone who believes a member of the household of God.
Quote: Ephesians chapter 2 verses 19-22:
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the HOUSEHOLD OF GOD, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”
• We are no longer strangers and sojourners.
• We have come home to God.
• Everybody who trusts in Jesus finds a home in God.
sermon audio:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=m6fWf4OD5p9P2RwkXykOlwGRw1w63Gkk&forceSave=Luke_24_-_Surprised_by_Joy_-_sermon_by_Gordon_Curley.mp3
