I |Their eyes were opened, and they knew Him.|
Luke 24:1-32 (key verses 31, and 32)
Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.
3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:
5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,
7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
8 And they remembered his words,
9 And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.
10 It was Mary Magdalene and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.
11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.
12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.
13 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.
14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.
16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.
17 And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?
18 And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?
19 And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:
20 And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.
21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.
22 Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;
23 And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.
24 And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.
25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
28 And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.
29 But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.
30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them
31.And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of
their sight And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he
talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
The words, , will be found in the Gospel according to St. Luke, the 24th chapter and the 31st verse: |And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him.|
It is very possible, to know about Jesus, but not know him , not have a relationship with him.
These disciples had spent some time with Jesus, but if they had gone away before He revealed Himself that evening, they would never have been sure that it was Jesus, for their eyes were blinded,that they should not know Him.
That is the condition that a lot of the Church has today.
. They know that Christ has risen from the dead. They believe this, and believe all they hear about Jesus, yet they just don't know Jesus personally.
Very often in a worship service,,or in time of silent Bible reading, or in a time feeling God's grace, their hearts burn; and yet it can be said of a people whose hearts are burning within them, that they did not know it was Jesus Himself
Let's look at some things that we can get from this scriprure , found in chapter 24 of Luke's account of the gospel
These two disciples were on their way to Emmaus, and they were saddened, having heard about Jesus' death.
Their hearts were troubled.
Before we come to Christ, our hearts must be troubled.. We must be drawn by the Holy Spirit. We must be under the conviction of the Holy Spirit. We must come humbly to Him, with a contrite spirit, and humbly ask Jesus to save us, then we must put or trust, and our faith in the living Christ, who died for us.
We must have His blood applied for our sins .HE is the attonement for our sins, of the past, present, and future.
These two disciples, walking on their way to Emmaus, thought Jesus was dead, and didn't know He was risen.
You would be surprised at how many people believe that Jesus was a good man, and was crucified, but did no rise agaiin.
They look to the Cross, and they struggle to trust Christ, but refuse to believe that there is a living Christ to do everything for them.
The angel had said to the women! |Why seek ye the living among the dead?|
What is the difference between a dead Christ, whom the women went to anoint, and a living Christ? A dead Christ, I must do everything for; a living Christ does everything for me.
The disciples began the morning with a sad heart . I am sure that they were disappointed, and saddened.
They had hoped that Christ would be the Deliverer of Israel, and they had seen Him die an awful death. On the morning of that first day of the week, they rose with sad hearts
. That is just the life of many Christians. They try to believe in Jesus and to trust Him, and to hope in Him, but there is no joy. Why? Because they do not know that there is a living Christ to reveal Himself.
Then there are some who are Slow to believe.:
Some accept Christ at an early age, but some wait until the later years of their lives, to place their trust in Him
They do not have their eyes opened, and know him.
They hear the gospel message many times, but will not accept it.
Many christians today have heard the message many times, but their hearts don':t burn with joy like it should.
They won't accept that the joy of the Lord is their strength.
Many christians today, have a hard time accepting grace.. they still think they have to do some good deed to earn God's favor.
Their heart isn't burning for joy, or for that blessed hope they have found in Christ Jesus.
They believe, yet they just can't grasp grace, they can't feel the joy found in the gospel of grace. Their hearts just don't burn with gladness, and joy.
Just as Jesus revealed himself to these two disciples, he has revealed himself to each Christian, and Christians should rejoice with the knowledge of Christ.
WE can have a satisfied heart, when we know The Lord Jesus Christ.
We can have a satisfied mind.,
There is an old gospel song, A SATISFIED MIND
How many times have you heard someone say
If I had his money I'd do things my way
Hmm, but little they know
Hmm, it's so hard to find
One man in ten with a satisfied mind.
Hmm, once I was wading in fortune and fame
Everything that I dreamed of to get a start in lifes game
But suddenly it happened
Hmm, I lost every dime
But I'm richer by far with a satisfied mind.
Hmm, when my life is over and my time has run out
My friends and my loved ones I'll leave there ain't no doubt
But one things for certain
When it comes my time
I'll leave this old world with a satisfied mind.
How can we have a satisfied mind?
Only through the Lord Jesus Christ, and accepting Him as our savior.
Titus 2:13, tells us how to have a satisfied mind, on through looking for the return of Chrst....
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
(illustration John was a poor servant-boy to a rich doctor in London, England. John's master loved the Lord Jesus and often had church meetings in the large living room of his home. At one of these meetings the doctor talked about the coming again of the Lord Jesus to take to Heaven all those who believe in Him.
Everyone else, he said, would be left behind. After the meeting was over, the doctor said, "Well, John, I just want to tell you that if Jesus comes before I die, I shall no longer want the things I have now. He will take me away with Him and then you may have my house and all my money." Such an offer took John by surprise. He could only stammer his thanks.
That night he lay awake wondering why his master had offered him all that wealth. Suddenly he thought, "Why should I want a house and furniture, a car, horses, and money after the Lord comes? How terrible it would be to be left behind, even if all my master's belongings were mine!"
Soon he could bear the thought no longer. He slipped out of bed, ran quickly down the hall to the room where his master slept and knocked on the door. "Why, John," asked the doctor, "what's the matter? What do you want?" "Please sir," answered John, "I don't want your house after the Lord comes, or your car, or horses, or money." "Well, John, what do you want?" "Oh sir, I want to be ready when the Lord comes, to go with Him to Heaven." Right there in the doctor's bedroom John put his trust in the Lord Jesus. Right there John was saved.
Right there John was ready for the Lord's coming.
The Hope is Imminent, Personal, Thrilling and Exciting Blessed Hope - Joyful and confident expectation that is based on the promise of God Himself.
I would like to center our attention on verse thirteen really three words in that verse that will speak a great message to us.
The three words are looking, blessed and hope. I would like to take those three words and turn them around and talk about it from this point- Hope, blessed and looking.
I believe the stage is set for the coming of our Lord. I believe with all of my heart that the Lord Jesus is going to come back again. Do you believe that?
He said that He would and I believe that he is going to come back again. He has not yet done as he has told us in the Word of God He would do. But it is reality and it will become a matter of fulfillment in the near future. Our Lord is going to come back again.
Have your eyes been opened? Does your heart burn with the excitement of the return of Christ?
I hope and pray that you can say yes to these two questions.
