Message
Luke 24:13-35
Our King Jesus Interprets Scripture
The day of the resurrection must have been a very confusing day for many.
The Passover festival has finished and so has the Sabbath. It is time to go home. That is what thousands of people did on the Resurrection Sunday.
We might kind of forget that because we spend our Sunday at church. The first day of the week coming together in worship. But for the Jews the worship stopped yesterday - actually it stopped at sunset yesterday.
Now they need to go back to work.
Now they need to get back to the ordinary.
Except there is no ordinary. The events the first Easter weekend have created all sorts of questions.
We know this is the case because Luke collected, and put into his Gospel, an account which gives us great insight into the thoughts of the followers of Jesus on the day of the resurrection.
Luke 24:13-35
Where is Emmaus today? We don’t actually know. Small towns, with mud brick homes, and without walls don’t tend to survive for 1000’s of years.
Luke tells us it is sixty stadia from Jerusalem to Emmaus. A stadia is 185m, so 60 stadia is 11km. If you walked from our church to Central station in Brisbane, that is the distance we are talking about.
Most of us could walk it in about 2½ hours.
Indeed nearly everyone in the ancient world walked.
So picture a road. Many Roman roads were paved, although in the provinces a lot of minor reads were still dirt. So picture that. A dirt road about as wide as a car.
Passover is over and so everyone is returning home. There would be quite a lot of people on the road. Families, children, small groups of people, and individuals.
Now we get to Cleopas. He is walking along the road in deep conversation with a companion. Picture that unnamed person.
How many of you picture a man?
How many of you picture a woman?
There is no reason why this could not be Cleopas and his wife walking home. After all don’t they live in the same house where they invited Jesus in? Ultimately we will not know who it was until we get to heaven.
What we do know is that they both have an invested interest in all that has been happening.
Some of our women … went to the tomb.
Some of our companions went to the tomb.
They are part of the discipleship group. Those who, at some point, have been following Jesus and were connected to him. But not anymore. The fact that they have gotten out of Jerusalem pretty much as soon as they could is a testimony to the reality that the fellowship which the disciples experienced is already beginning to collapse. I the place of fellowship there is bitter disappointment, grief and confusion.
Cleopas and his companion are in an intense conversation when a third person comes and joins them. We know it is Jesus, because Luke tells us, they don’t know it is Jesus.
To them he is just another pilgrim walking home.
Actually to them he is a pilgrim with his head in the sand.
How can you have been in Jerusalem these past few days and have no idea about what has been going on? Basically that is what Cleopas says. As his says this his face says so much more.
They stood still, their faces downcast.
The word only appears one other time in the New Testament
When you fast, do not look sombre as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting.
Matthew 6:16
Perhaps you have heard the saying, “It is written all over their face”. This downcast-ness and sombre mood is all there.
Not as some hypocritical action to call attention to yourself. But a deep-seated heart-brokenness that just cannot be contained.
Why do they feel like this?
They were expecting something different.
I can relate … can you?
I didn’t expect to be unemployed.
I didn’t expect to have cancer.
I didn’t expect the money to run out.
I didn’t expect my relationship to break.
I didn’t expect the miscarriage.
I didn’t expect to fail my exams.
I didn’t expect the betrayal.
I didn’t expect to stumble in my own sin.
I didn’t expect the temptation to grab hold.
I didn’t expect to feel so guilty.
I didn’t expect …
That is what causes us to be downcast and sombre.
As Cleopas and his companion wrestle with the unexpected Jesus steps in and says, “Tell me what is going on.”
Isn’t that a powerful image? This is the Resurrection Sunday. There were heaps of places Jesus could have been. Yet Jesus knows there is this couple walking along and he takes the time for them.
Not just a small amount of time.
It doesn’t say “they were nearly at Emmaus and Jesus appeared”
Jesus gives them plenty of time … to talk them through all that is going on. Doesn’t that say so much about Jesus … and what he wants to give each one of us. He has the time … we just need to keep remembering that he is on the journey with us.
Jesus is with us. Asking the questions we need to think about.
That is what he does with the two people on the way to Emmaus. What things have been going on?
It takes one question. And out it comes.
Jesus of Nazareth
This is the name under which Jesus was condemned. The notice above his head written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek said “Jesus of Nazareth. King of the Jews”.
They may be confused by what is going on but they are not hesitant to identify themselves with the condemned man. There is still a heart connection to Jesus.
A Mighty Prophet
Prophets were important in Jewish religion, because true prophets spoke about the will of God and his direction for the nation. Recognising Jesus as a prophet meant admitting that he was speaking on behalf of God. Even as far back as Luke 7 this is how the disciples saw him
They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.”
Even in the despair the disciples knew Jesus was speaking the very words of Yahweh
The Chief Priests are Responsible
Some clarity is starting to emerge as the crowds think about the dynamics of all that has taken place. It was the religious leaders who orchestrated the events. They were the ones who handed him over to the Romans.
The Romans may have driven the nails.
But the leaders were the executioners.
The crowds may have been calling for Barabbas three days ago. But some are now beginning to realise they have been conned.
We Hoped For Redemption
The Greek language is more precise than English. Literally Cleopas is indicating that, “we were hoping and we continue to hold onto that hope”. They haven’t given up hope yet.
There is confusion.
There is despair.
The disciples are dispersing.
But there is still some sort of hope. A hope that this is not the end
Newsflash … His Body Is Missing
It only happened this morning so it is still too early to tell what this latest news means. But the woman who were down at the tomb in the morning keep telling everyone they meet that the body is missing.
Some senior disciples have since gone to the tomb and confirmed the report.
Then Cleopas and his companion left Jerusalem.
Wondering what all this means.
They are so close aren’t they.
They identify with Jesus.
They know he speaks God’s word.
They have discernment about the crucifixion.
They have a hope of redemption.
They are thinking about the implications of the missing body.
If we knew someone had someone who was expressing these thoughts we would say they are nearly in the kingdom. But notice what Jesus says.
25 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?”
Jesus is right there. He can say, “Hang on a moment I’m Jesus. The reason there is no body is because I am alive.” But he doesn’t. Instead he dismayed that they should be thinking this way. And dismayed that they don’t get what is going on.
In other words he doesn’t commend them for almost getting it right.
He calls out the fact that they are missing the point entirely.
Which says a lot about how important the resurrection is. You can have all sorts of great understandings about who Jesus is.
You can identify with him. You can confirm that he speaks about God. You can recognise that he is crucified. You can even see him giving hope.
You can do all that. But if you don’t understand the resurrection then there is still a foolishness in your thinking. That is how important the resurrection is. If you don’t believe in the resurrection, then you don’t have salvation. That is how significant the resurrection is.
To help Cleopas and his companion understand he gives them a lesson in Scripture.
27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
What a lesson that would have been. Jesus using the Old Testament to show who he is … and why he suffered … and how suffering enabled him to be the resurrected Saviour. Because that is how the Bible works. All of it is focussed on Jesus and teaching us about Jesus. Let’s have a quick look at a few verses.
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.
Genesis 3:15
Right at the beginning of history, just after the fall, the promise there. A cosmic battle between the offspring of mankind and the offspring of Satan.
The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.
Deuteronomy 18:15
The resurrected one will be prophetic
I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father.
Psalm 2:7
The resurrected one will be the Son of God.
A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed.
Isaiah 40:3,5
The resurrected one will be announced. In Jesus case by John the Baptist.
The Lord says to my lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”
Psalm 110:1
The resurrected one will have all authority.
They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
Zechariah 12:10
The resurrected one suffers and is pierced.
All of Psalm 22!
Read it later - you see connections to Jesus right through the Psalm
Jesus picks up the bible which the Jews had at the time … the Old Testament … and he teaches them to see him. To see him as the suffering Messiah whose body is missing because he has risen from the dead.
Does this teaching have an impact?
Indeed it does. When it is time to reach the destination Jesus continued on as if he was going further.
He is not pretending to somehow try and deceive.
Rather Jesus is giving them on opportunity to respond.
Jesus doesn’t force himself onto us. The journey in faith is one where we continue to make a conscious decision to be in his company so that we can further understand who he is.
Cleopas and his companion know something is going on … something is different with this stranger on the road. Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?
And during a meal … not a Lord’s Supper … just an ordinary meal where bread is passed around, their eyes are opened and the risen Saviour is seen.
The journey from Jerusalem began in despair.
By connecting with Jesus the journey is transformed.
The journey back to Jerusalem is one of anticipation, hope and joy.
Triply joyful.
Jesus has appeared to Peter. The Emmaus companions testify that Jesus has appeared to them. Then while they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
It is still unexpected. Jesus doesn’t redeem by conquering the Romans.
Jesus redeems by conquering death.
It is still unexpected, but understanding the power of the resurrection puts everything into perspective.
The confusion on resurrection Sunday has given way to peace.
There are days aren’t there … when life is confusion. The days when we think, “I didn’t expect …”
Unemployed. Cancer. Lack of finances. Broken relationships. Loss. Failure. Stumbling. Temptation. Guilty.
Sometimes , in those days, Jesus will come in extraordinary ways.
But mostly he comes in the ordinary.
Reading the Scriptures.
In fellowship with the people of God.
A touch. A hug. A gentle word.
Jesus reveals himself in the basic moments of life. He is at home in the middle of the everyday activities
When we find ourselves being despondent, or confused, or doubting, or frustrated or even angry. When we are there we need to look for Jesus on the journey.
Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you.
I will give you rest.
There is a sense where we are all on the road to Emmaus. Jesus is not going to force himself into our lives … but if we let him walk by we end up being defeated by our problems, swamped by our sorrows, broken by our hardships and downcast because of our disappointments.
Why would we want that when the resurrected Jesus is ready … oh so ready … to walk the journey with us?
Prayer
