This section of scripture may seem benign enough with a casual reading, but as we will see, this little story confronts us with a number of issues from our past
Luke 24:13-35 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.
Probably a husband and wife as they later asked Jesus in to their home for dinner
What day was it? Sunday
Luke 24:1Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning
14 happened. 15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.
Here they were down in the dumps about the events that had happened
The thought here isn’t that these two disciples were simply geographically distant, but that their faith was distant as well
Jesus however, responds to their need and so He DREW NEAR to them
They may have given up on Jesus … but He hadn’t given up on them.
16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.17 And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”18 Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?”19 And He said to them, “What things?”
This is like a New Yorker not knowing what happened on Sept 11
What rock have you been hiding under for the last few days
So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who 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 crucified Him.
No mention of the Romans. They attributed responsibility for Jesus’ death to the religious leaders
21 “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.
Notice this sad statement.
Their expectations of Jesus and His mission was totally different from the way things had in reality turned out
They were not in tune with God’s agenda
We can make the same mistake as these disciples.
We too can misunderstand the direction the head of our church, Jesus Christ is taking us
Our evaluation of where God’s Work today is going may not be meeting our expectation
Or maybe where the local church is heading
What we have to realise is that our Christian walk is not a destination, it’s a journey
We are sojourners. Never in this life are we ever going to going to feel like we’ve arrived
God has designed things that way, so we, like Abraham, look forward to the real destination, a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God
Hebrews 11:8-10 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. 9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in a tent. And so did Isaac and Jacob, to whom God gave the same promise. 10 Abraham did this because he was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
We need to view our Christian walk as being like a trainride. We go for a while and stop at various stations along the way
People get off the train at the station to stretch their legs, go for a walk, buy an ice-cream
But every time you stop, there is a risk isn’t there. You may decide to stay where you are
You like the town, you like the climate, the people are friendly, the real estate is cheap
A Christian does not have that option. He needs to get back on the train because that station is not his destination
His destination is the Holy City
We continue to hop back on the train because like Abraham, we trust the Lord to lead us on the next part of our journey.
And that journey takes us in exactly the direction we need, individually and as a church.
When we get off the train, and stay put, we are missing out on the next exciting installment in the journey, a journey that takes us closer to our ultimate destination, and one that promises exciting spiritual growth.
Becoming too comfortable should be a red flag to Christians. We need to be constantly on guard we aren’t become too comfortable. The moment we do, our Christian walk takes on the trappings of a destination, rather than a journey
Its fine to reminisce about the past, but to hanker to go back to the past is going in the opposite direction to our final destination
There’s a saying that says, “Jesus came to comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable”
Personally, I’m glad our church is not like it used to be
Sure we have some great memories, but what about creating some new memories
Memories where Jesus is more the focus, rather than the kingdom
What kind of a boring life is it when we are just content with the memories we have and don’t want to create new ones
These two disciples had decided to jump off the train in this part of their journey
Just for a moment imagine what they would have missed out on if they had rejected Jesus approach to them on the road
He was saying to them, I need you to be part of the next exciting part of the story
We’re about to take the world by storm, don’t you want to be part of that?
Little did they realise that what appeared to them to be a total disaster was indeed exactly what they expected the Messiah to do anyway
21 “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.
At times we too can lose sight of what being a follower of Jesus Christ really means.
In many ways we too want the comfortable life. We want a Messiah who will make life a bed of roses for us, someone who will take away all our problems and worries.
We want resurrection without death; we want victory without defeat.
But Jesus primarily came to redeem us from sin and death.
So in effect Jesus is saying, "Look, I too have walked this road of suffering and pain but you need to go through it, too.
So I’m not going to take this road away from you
However, I will walk it with you, even though at times you may not always recognize me
I will walk it with you, comforting and empowering you every step of the way."
Philippians 3:10 I want to know Christ, and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering, becoming like him in his death
We need to keep hopping back on the train and trust the engine driver He knows what He’s doing
Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.
Third day, Sunday, since the events of the crucifixion
Now if you believe in a Wednesday resurrection, you have a problem reconciling the time line here
If Sunday was the third day, what was the second? What was the first?
If you’re going to count full days it had to be a Thursday crucifixion
If you going to include the day you start with as the Jews did, as we found out with the counting of Pentecost it was a Friday resurrection
The Bible sometimes is a little loose with the incidentals – it is very clear on the essentials
Matthew 3:5-6 Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him 6 and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
All I’m saying is we need to be very careful about how dogmatic we are on certain facts when the Bible itself is not near as dogmatic
The real proof of the risen Jesus Christ is not that he stayed 72 hours in the tomb, but that we have had a personal encounter with Him
if you went to these two disciples and began arguing the facts about what day he died and what day he rose, they would laugh in our faces, they would simply say, I don’t really care about the facts, I believe in the living Jesus Christ because I have just had a personal encounter with Him
If these facts were so important to the story, they would have been recorded
What is recorded and what is irrefutable is that Jesus rose and appeared to over 500 witnesses
You don’t give your life for a phantom
Watch any of the police shows on TV, you notice how quickly someone is willing to snitch as soon as they realise their lives are on the line – plea bargain
If Jesus’ resurrection was nothing but a fraud, the disciples would have quickly relented once their lives were threatened – you don’t give your life for a fraud
However you do give your life for the truth, and for a friend and for your Lord
The disciple were willing to sacrifice there lives for their Lord because they experienced a personal encounter with the risen Christ
22 “Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us.23 “When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive.24 “And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.”
These two were still confused about whether or not to believe the women’s account
25 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!26 “Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?”27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
Despite their ignorance and lack of faith, Jesus patiently worked with them, instructing them from His word
So we see the first expository sermon of the NC given by Jesus Himself to an audience of two
That’s encouraging to me
So we see the first expository sermon of the NC given by Jesus Himself - on what day? -The first day of the week
That was the first sermon, when was the first worship service of the NC
Matthew 28:8-9 So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. 9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.
What day was this - Sunday
So the first worship service and the first expository sermon of the NC was given by Jesus on a Sunday
Guess when the second sermon of the NC was preached – that night when he appeared to the disciples in Jerusalem
Luke 24:44-46 Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.46 Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,
Guess when the first altar call of the NC was - a week later on a Sunday, doubting Thomas. John 20:24-30
Lucky we’re not into days
28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther.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 stay with them.
One of the most precious gifts God gave has given mankind is gift of free will;
we can use it to invite Christ into our hearts or allow him to pass on.
Rev 3:19-20 "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline ... Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me"
The interesting thing is that the door handle on this door, is on the inside, we have to open it
30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.
Who was supposed to be the host here? Did Jesus invite them into His house?
What if you invited someone to your house and they went to the refrigerator and the stove and started pulling out the food and serving it to you?
So what was going on here?
These words of Jesus are almost exactly the words that Luke used to describe Jesus’ actions at the Last Supper
Luke 22:19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
Note especially the four verbs: took, blessed, broke, and gave.
This is the language of the Lord’s Supper or communion
Jesus by taking the role of the host instead of the guest changed this from Cleopas’ table to the Lord’s Table
So we see the first worship service, the first expository sermon and the first communion service all happening on what Day?
31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.
Jesus began by revealing himself to them through the scriptures as they walked along the road (vv. 25-27).
Now he completes the revelation by becoming the host at the Lord’s Table (vv. 30-31).
Times haven’t changed. Jesus reveals himself the same way today – through His Word and through the sacraments of the Lord’s Supper which pictures Him personally living in us
Why did Jesus have to disappear? Couldn’t he have stayed longer?
He didn’t because it all part of the education of his last 40 days on Earth - how to manage without his bodily presence from now on;
exactly the same as we have to do some 2,000 years today
He is still with us today by his Spirit; he is with us as we fellowship with him in worship, in obedience to his Word, and as we remember him in the "breaking of bread" service.
32 And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”
This is what I was talking about before. When we have a personal encounter with the risen Christ, something happens to the heart that is much more convincing than facts and figures
When was the last time our hearts burned within us for our Lord?
Have we allowed our christianity to become tired, lukewarm and listless?
Do we hanker for the past, like the Israelites hankered for the leeks of Egypt?
The way to rejuvinate our walk is to make our relationship with Jesus Christ personal
We have the opportunity each day to walk and talk with Jesus just as these two walked and talked with him
Imagine if the two disciples ignored Jesus when He came up to them and missed this wonderful opportunity to walk and talk with Him
Our Christianity has to happen in the heart as well as the head
This is not to downplay the head aspect. It too is important, as we see in this very account, Jesus revealed himself through the scriptures
But we have to admit we were unbalanced in the past with too much emphasis on the head aspects to the neglect of the heart
As a denomination, we are now trying to correct that imbalance
The most effective Christian is the one who has the right balance between the head and the heart
If we wander too far either way we become less effective
Too much emphasis on the head leads to a dry institutionalized religion – Dogmatism and legalism – focus shifts from Jesus to traditions and Law
Too much emphasis on the heart leads to a religion of spiritualism – personal experience reigns, go around chasing experience, and our focus shifts from Jesus to signs and wonders,
In the first, the institution assumes God’s rightful place
In the second, the individual assumes God rightful place
Both extremes are unbalanced and makes us less effective in God’s hands
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul (Matt 22:37)
The “Holy Spirit” and “doctrine” were designed to go hand in hand
We want to be that type of a church
33 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem,
Suddenly they wanted to be back on that train
We all want to be part of something exciting, but if it involves suffering an pain forget it
They got on that same road, but this time it was a different walk wasn’t it
The road that had been marked by defeat and discouragement was now a road of hope and joy
We face the same choice in how we respond to our christian walk – we can choose the road of discouragement and defeat or hope and joy
What makes the difference is whether or not we are willing to walk with the Risen Jesus Christ at our side
and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,34 saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”35 And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.
There was no way the two disciples could keep their new-found joy to themselves!
Even though it must have been 8 or 9 oclock, they ran to Jerusalem to spread the good news of the risen Christ
the christian message is never fully ours until we have shared it with someone else!
That’s another lesson for us isn’t it
We are reluctant to share this wonderful news
Putting up our sign, reaching out to the community is showing we want to share the good news of the gospel
But we got to do more and we need to have more people involved in the process
Conclusion
We are on an exciting journey, a train ride if you like, with the final destination being the Holy City. That ride takes us on some unexpected twist and turns, but with each twist and turn we are getting closer to our final destination and we are exposed to exciting spiritual growth. We do not walk alone even though at times it feels like it. Jesus as the engine driver is patiently walking beside us. He asks us to trust him and enjoy his company along the way. He reminds us that even though the scenery we are passing at times looks enticing, it is nothing compared to the scenery at the final destination – besides, who would want to trade that for being with Him? Lets enjoy the ride together with our Lord and one another
