Are you sure Jesus was resurrected? Are you certain He lives? For anyone who contests the fact that Jesus rose from the dead, today’s passage is for you. It contains the story of a 7 mile walk that Jesus took with two of His disciples.
The Lord led me to a particular passage in Scripture this past week that comes from Luke 24:13-35 and is told only in Luke’s gospel.
Keep in mind that this was the same Sunday, the same day that Jesus had arisen from the grave.
Luke 24:13-14 - And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem.14 And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place.
I’m sure they had a lot to talk about. They were probably trying to reason it all out as to Jesus rising from the tomb. They may have been confused still and were just discussing the things that happened since last Friday.
Luke 24: 15 - 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them.
Have you ever been walking and suspect that someone is following you?
Year before last Caran and I went to Corpus Christi for a few days on vacation. We like to get up early and walk along the beach while it’s quiet. On one particular morning we were walking along the beach and we noticed what appeared to be a homeless man. As we walked past him I noticed out of the corner of my eye that he got up and was walking in our direction. We crossed the street to get on the sidewalk and he crossed the street and got on the sidewalk. I noticed as we walked that he was getting closer and closer coming up behind us.
Finally, I had enough. He was about 5 steps behind us so I just abruptly stopped and turned facing him and asked, “Can I help you with something?” He explained that he needed some money to get a cup of coffee and a bit of breakfast. He had weaved a cross out of palm leaves. And was wondering if I would pay him for one even just enough to get just a cup of coffee. So I gave him $5 and told him that I have a wall of crosses in my office and only because it was a cross that he was weaving would I purchase one. He thanked me and politely walked on.
Maybe that’s the way the disciples felt. They were walking along, minding their own business and all of a sudden this guy is walking along with them.
Luke 24:16 - 16 But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.
Have you ever wondered why they were kept from recognizing him? Why would Jesus want to keep his identity from these believers? Perhaps it was to be a teaching experience. He wanted to teach the scriptures and not have them distracted by the amazing fact that he was alive.
Luke 24:17-24 - 17 And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad.”18 One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?” 19 And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. 21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. 22 But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning,23 and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also 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 exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.”
Now I don’t know if you caught it or not. Did you notice what Jesus asked? V.19
“WHAT THINGS?” In these two words, “What Things?” are found one of the most profound lessons of forgiveness. By the tone in these two men’s voices, it was obvious they were disappointed. Jesus questioned them as to what they were talking about. Astonished, they responded that He evidently was a stranger in the area and hadn’t heard of any of the things that had gone on in the last few days. Christ asked, “What things?” Yet, He had seen and suffered it all…they were bitter and heavy things. But when faced with the issue, His response was a forgetting and forgiving spirit. Jesus had just suffered the most profound and cruel punishment that words can describe. Yet He asks, “What things” as if He had forgotten and forgiven it all. The fact is, He had.
Luke 24: 25-27 - 25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
So then, as if this stranger has become a close friend to these two disciples, Jesus begins to explain the OT prophecies and how they pointed to this man Jesus. Remember, the disciples still didn’t know who this guy was. This probably took a while to explain but they were walking a seven mile trip. In this long walk, Jesus became a friend to them. Like a close FRIEND.
A newspaper held a competition to find out how people would describe friendship. The winning answer was, “A friend is someone who’s walking in when everyone else is walking out.” You and I have a friend that will do that, a friend who will stick closer than a brother. Jesus said, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:20) And when He said it He was only living up to His name, “Immanuel”--which means, "God with us." (Matthew 1:23) God, in the form of Jesus, was with these two disciples on that road that day. But at this point, He still had not revealed His identity to them. They thought of Him as no different from anyone else. They befriended Him.
Luke 24: 25-29 - 28 And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther. 29 But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” (remember this statement) So He went in to stay with them.
They felt safe enough with this guy that they invited Him to spend the night because it really wasn’t safe to be walking on this road after dark. After a trip like this, they were hungry and sat down to eat.
Luke 24: 30-31 - 30 When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them.31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.
Now let’s recap our story. Our scripture mentions the body language of the travelers that day (v.17). They were looking down when they talked to Jesus but the situation tells us even more. The message the women brought to the group was to go to Galilee. But these guys were headed to the village of Emmaus—most likely home. That looks to me like they had given up. They didn’t expect Jesus, they were headed back to their old lives. They didn’t even stay in Jerusalem long enough to solve the mystery of the missing body. Maybe the Jewish officials would produce it. They didn’t even stay to hear what the apostles would be doing. They were discouraged and gave up.
I guess it would look pretty bad to me, too. The week had started with the triumphant entry into Jerusalem and it seemed like almost everyone was excited. Then toward the end of the week, Jesus is arrested, trials, there are crowds shouting crucify him, and then he was dead.
Now all their hopes & dreams were as dead as their leader and teacher. The story the women brought raised a little question in their minds but dead people don’t come back. Everybody knows that! It was pretty clear that the apostles didn’t believe what the women said. Peter and John did check and found the tomb empty.
So, confused and grief stricken, the travelers left Jerusalem reminiscing over the good times and the hard times of the past few days.
These two believers were probably not too different from any of us. They were in a time when God didn’t make sense. They probably wanted to scream questions at the top of their lungs. Why did this happen, God? How could you do this to such a good Man? What are we going to do now? I would say that these people were at one of the lowest points in their lives. Just days ago they were on a mountaintop and now they are in the darkest of valleys.
The story is told about a group of climbers who set out to scale a large mountain in Europe. The view was breathtaking with its snowcapped rocks. On clear days the crested point reigned as king on the horizon. Its white tip jutted into the blue sky and was inspirational
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On days like this the hikers made the greatest progress. The peak stood above them like a compelling goal. Eyes were called upward. The walk was brisk. The cooperation was unselfish. Though there were many climbers, they climbed as one, all looking to the same summit.
Yet on some days the peak of the mountain was hidden from view. The cloud covering would eclipse the crisp blueness with a drab, gray ceiling and block the vision of the mountaintop. On these days the climb became arduous. Eyes were downward and thoughts inward. The goal was forgotten. Tempers were short. Weariness was an uninvited companion. Complaints were rampant.
We’re like that, aren’t we? As long as we can see our dream, as long as our goal is within eyesight, there is no mountain we can’t climb or summit we can’t scale. But take away our vision, block our view of the trail’s end, and the result is as discouraging as the journey. With Jesus’ death and burial, these disciples’ goal of serving a reigning Messiah was bashed. They were discouraged to say the least. Questions about it all filled their minds. They now questioned God.
I thinks it is safe to think that most of us have had questions for God, that we wondered why me, or us? Wondered why this good person suffered so much or died so young. I imagine there have been times when we gave up and headed the wrong way until something, or someone came alongside to redirect us.
We are all traveling down life’s road. Depending on where we are, sometimes our hopes and dreams are broken and prayers seem unanswered. When it seems the worst, Jesus comes along and joins us where we are. He walks beside us and encourages us and He never leaves us alone. I don’t know about you, but I often don’t recognize Him and His actions until I have reached the end of my trip.
Our travelers reach their destination and Jesus keeps heading down the road. They invite him to come and stay with them.
Jesus never presumes that He is invited into your life. He doesn’t act as if He expects an invitation; He never hints or asks to be invited. He only enters your life if you freely invite Him. The travelers basically insist that Jesus Join them. And he readily agrees. You never have to ask Jesus to enter your life twice for Him to respond. The light meal is quickly prepared and they sit down for dinner. It is at the end of this meal that Jesus reveals Himself.
All this time they had been with Jesus, looking at Him, but never seeing Him. Now suddenly, as they eat together, their eyes were opened & they actually saw Him for who He was.
Luke 24:32-35 - 32 They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” 33 And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem (did you notice that now the dark of night doesn’t seem so threatening?), and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them,34 saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.”35 They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.”
The question is, “Do you believe Jesus had risen and was seen by these 2 disciples?”
In 1957, Lieutenant David Steeves walked out of the California Sierras 54 days after his Air Force trainer jet had disappeared. He related an unbelievable tale of how he had lived in a snowy wilderness after parachuting from his disabled plane.
By the time he showed up alive, he had already been declared officially dead. When further search failed to turn up the wreckage, a hoax was suspected and Steeves was forced to resign under a cloud of doubt. His story was confirmed, however, more than 20 years later when a troop of Boy Scouts discovered the wreckage of his plane.
Another “survival story” from centuries ago is still controversial. A man by the name of Jesus Christ walked out of the wilderness making claims a lot of people found difficult to believe. He was later executed and pronounced dead. But 3 days later, He showed up alive. And there have been skeptics ever since. But consider the facts of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. His integrity is well-founded.
▸ Prophets foretold His coming.
▸ Miracles supported His deity.
▸ Eyewitnesses verified His resurrection.
▸ And today the Holy Spirit confirms that Jesus is alive to anyone who is seeking to know the truth.
Yes, you can believe it! Do you? THE RESURRECTION IS A FACT OF HISTORY THAT DEMANDS A RESPONSE OF FAITH.
How will you respond?
