“Emmaus Area” Jesus Sightings Part 2
“They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” 33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together” Luke 24:32-33 NIV
Intro: Today we continue the Sermon Series “Jesus Sightings.” Last week we looked at the Jesus sighting of the Easter Jesus by Mary Magdalene and the other women. Today we are going to explore another Jesus Sighting. This resurrection sighting is in the “Emmaus Area.”
Emmaus is a village about 7 miles from Jerusalem. Two men, one named Cleopas the other man’s name is not given to us, had both been to Jerusalem to celebrate Holy Passover. From the first day…, through the entire week…, nothing had gone according to plans. Things were different from any other Passover they had ever been to. On their way home from Jerusalem to their village of Emmaus these two men were walking and talking about everything that had happened.
Their journey home began as one of sorrow and hopelessness. Their journey is one of pain and brokeness because of their circumstances. They had just stood at the foot of the cross and watched as their Saviour was crucified. This one that they had followed as his disciples. They had watched at a distance…, as he had his life taken from him…, in this cruel death. Their faith had failed them.
Now in disbelief and confusion they talk about the scene they had just left. Some crying because they loved Jesus. Others yelling Fraud! He is a hoax! Their vision is blurred their sight is unclear.
In a remote portion of southern Nevada dessert there is a United States Air Force Base that is commonly known as Area 51. This secret Nevada Test and Training Range has given rise to numerous UFO sightings. The small town of Rachel that is near Area 51 is a popular tourist destination aptly named "Extraterrestrial Highway."
"There were about twenty of us standing outside of a little restaurant, and a kind of green light appeared in the western sky. This was right after sundown. It got brighter and brighter. And then it eventually disappeared. It didn't have any solid substance to it; it was just a very peculiar-looking light. None of us could understand what it was." This Jimmy Carter UFO Incident was reported while at Leary, Georgia, in 1969.
These two men walking home in the Emmaus Area. They had seen something with their eyes but it did not make sense. None of the disciple could understand what this was. Do you ever pause and question if Jesus is real? Do you sometimes have doubts about Jesus? Are you always 100% sure about your faith all the time?
A musician stood on the side walk of the metro station of a Washington DC., subway. He is wearing jeans; a long-sleeved shirt, and a baseball cap. He opens his violin case … removes the instrument; Throws a few dollars into the case from his pocket as “seed money” … and begins playing. He plays for the next 45 minutes … and during that time He performs six classical pieces – flawlessly! During the 45 minutes 1,097 people pass by, tossing in a total of $32.17 into his violin case. Of that 1,097 people; Only 7 people paused longer than sixty seconds to listen to this performance; of those 7 who lingered … only one recognized the violinist! The name of the violinist was Joshua Bell: Three days prior – he had filled Boston’s Symphony Hall; where the cheap tickets sold for $100 apiece. Joshua Bell’s talents and artistry commands an average of $1,000 per minute; yet, when performing this day in the subway; He barely earned enough to pay for his dinner Now…, you can’t blame the instrument; He was playing a Stradivarius worth 3.5 million dollars! You can’t fault the performance …He flawlessly played some of Johann Sebastian Bach’s best work! Yet … scarcely anyone noticed the presence of such artistry in this context: Most of those passer-by’s cynically wrote off this entertainer; Little did they know that among them was a genius; And if they gave him some time he would greatly enrich their lives! Joshua Bell is not the only one to go unrecognized. How much time do you give looking for Jesus in your life? Those you seek Jesus shall find him!
Two people are walking along the road to Emmaus; Like the busy commuters on the Washington DC., subway On that first Easter Sunday Jesus too went unrecognized. These two people had no idea of the identity of the one they would soon encounter! Suddenly a third man came along and joined them. The bible says at first “they didn’t know who he was, because God kept them from recognizing him” Luke 24:16 They saw the man but they had not yet sighted the Easter Jesus.
If you are one of those people, or if you know someone like that, then this Bible story is for you. For we journey with Jesus today on the road to Emmaus. You see when we journey with Jesus on this road; we don’t always know he’s there. Jesus hears the deep discussion these men are having. He sees the sadness on their faces. So Jesus asks them, “What are you so concerned about?” Luke 24:17. Cleopas replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days” Luke 24:18.
There is a story told about a man they called the laughing farmer. It seems a farmer while plowing in the field on a hot summers day found himself being tempted by the Devil. The old farmer thought himself in the middle of a conversation with an angel sitting on one shoulder and a red demon on the other. The angel was quiet the advocate, every time the Devil would tempt him the angel would respond with some word of truth or verse of wisdom. But the Devil was unrelenting. So for the longest time the farmer plowed caught up in a battle of wit and words for his very desire to do what was right or what was evil. Until finally the farmer pulled to a stop and turned to the tempting Devil on his shoulder and asked, “Devil why are you troubling me for?” To which the Devil responded, “Why it is about your soul,” he said.” “About my soul’ replied the farmer ’Oh!’ that is no business of mine; for I have already given my soul over into the hands of the resurrected Christ; I have transferred everything to him; if you want an answer to my doubts and queries, you must go directly to Jesus and talk to him." Needless to say the Devil disappeared from his shoulder and the farmer began to laugh with joy and wonder as he began again to plow the field. Some thought the he must have been suffering from a heat stroke. Thus folks called him the laughing farmer. He who laughs the longest laughs the best. If only we would respond to our doubts with joy and wonder.
This was no small or insignificant thing that had happened in Jerusalem. It was not just an isolated event about twelve disciples. No, it was the peak, the pinnacle of generations of prophets and prophecies. The city of Jerusalem, the entire nation of Israel, the whole Empire of Rome, and the entire world had their eyes on Jesus. The hopes, the dreams, the expectations, that Jesus was the Redeemer, the Deliverer, the Saviour, the Messiah, came to a sudden and complete end in despair as news spread throughout the land that Jesus who was to end the slavery to sin, and rescue the least, the last, and the lost, suddenly and abruptly had died the death of a criminal hung between two thieves crucified on a cross.
This might have been the origin of the old saying, “bad news travels fast.” Cleopas and his companion look at this stranger they have met on the road as if he must be the last person on earth to hear the bad news. “Haven’t you heard about all the things that have happened these last few days?” “What things?” asked Jesus. Why Easter is over. The Easter baskets have been put away in their boxes. The crosses have been taken down. The blooms on the lilies have turned brown and dried up. The songs about the mighty teacher, the stories about the wonderful miracle worker are in the past. After only a few days Easter is old news. I think that is why Jesus appeared to these two men walking home from Jerusalem on the road to Emmaus wasn’t the last person to hear the bad news Jesus was making sure that people kept hearing the “Good News.” Jesus said, “O, fools, and slow of heart to believe” Luke 24:25. Why did Jesus call those people foolish? They had great biblical knowledge. But they did not yet have heart knowledge. The head says death the heart says life. The head says impossible the heart says amazing grace. Head says I don’t understand the heart says I believe. Then Jesus went on and quoted scripture and talked about the prophets and the writings of Moses and he explained everything that was said about Him had come true. The women who went early in the morning to the tomb had seen him. The amazing report that the tomb was empty was true. The rumor that Jesus was alive was not just a rumor but it was real. As it was getting late at night these two men and this stranger they had met on the road sat down to eat a small loaf of bread and asking God’s blessing on the bread, broke it and gave it unto them. Suddenly their eyes were opened and as suddenly as they realized who it was with them, Jesus disappears.
In our troubled times we feel a strange warmth in our heart that Jesus is with us. We walk the lonesome road. We climb the highest hills. We have seen the angels come and take our loved ones away. We have faced struggles, and sorrows, and trials, and temptations, and spiritual battles for our hearts desire. In the midst of all the things that happen in this world, when our hopes and dreams have come crashing down around us, there is this strange but warm feeling in our hearts that Jesus is with us.
The Original Word: καίω Phonetic Spelling: (kah'-yo) kaió: to kindle, burn…, ignite…, light, set on fire. That’s what sighting the risen Jesus will do for you. Even when you have doubts you can still be filled with joy and wonder. Even when you are fearful you can still celebrate. Even during confusing times you can still find something to laugh about. When you meet the risen savior you might not be able to see a solution. You might not be able to solve the equation. You might not be able to understand how things will get better. But because you see the risen Jesus is standing right there with you, you can rejoice and worship!
O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing:
He breaks the power of canceled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me.
When this reality really catches on in one’s life then it is because Jesus is risen our sins are canceled. Our wrongs can longer be held against us. Our sins are canceled, broken, shattered, and forgotten. What did you do when you first sighted the Easter Jesus and knew he is real? Do you remember the moment when you sighted this stranger on the road and first discovered who he was?
Like being at the optometrist office for an eye exam. Everything at first is blurry. Then after a series of questions. Choose one or two. Everything comes into focus. The last step is when the eye doctor shows you the difference of how you see before glasses and how clear you can see with the right prescription? How do you live different because of Easter?
When an organist plays “UM Hymn 322” they put their foot on a pedal. That pedal controls the volume. There are moments in the song where she backs off and it is slow and it is soft and then she puts her foot to the pedal and the stain glassed windows vibrate the chorus of “Up from the Grave He Arose, with a mighty triumph o’er his foes, he arose a victor from the dark domain, and he lives forever, with his saints to reign. He arose! (She puts the foot to the pedal.) He arose! (She presses a little louder.) Hallelujah! Christ a-rose!” When you sing that song with what is called the “full crescendo” you know you have experienced Easter! You know you have really experienced Easter. When you experience the “full crescendo” of the Holy Spirit in your spiritual Christian life.
Go online and “Google” the word joy. You will get over 600 million results. But there is nothing else in life quite like the “joy and wonder” of believing that Easter is Jesus is really alive. These two men on the road to Emmaus “stood there doubting, filled with joy and wonder.” “Emmaus Area” Jesus Sightings Part 2
I admit that sometimes I get a little distracted. Sometimes when life gets heavy I think it is hard to believe. When someone I love is dying of cancer. When something happens tragically. When there is a hurt or a brokenness that lingers and doesn’t want to go away you might pause and think all is lost. But it is not. Hear the “Good News.” Christ is risen! I can live through the toughest times. When people call you a crazy farmer because of the way you worship. Just keep laughing. Just keep living, loving. Just keep believing. Be filled with wonder. Be amazed by the “Grace.” Live like your life has just been transferred into the nail scarred hands of the Saviour. Sometimes we stand and doubt, but we live joyfully, live wonderfully, we live and go on living because of Easter.
