On the Road to Emmaus
--Luke 24:13-35
I relate well to the story of “The Walk to Emmaus.” On Saturday, May 9, 1992, I ran the 12 K or 7.46 mile Arts Fest Run from Henderson, Kentucky, to downtown Evansville, Indiana, in a time of 56:56.38. That’s a pace of 7:37.96 per mile and was my personal best for that distance. This is the approximate mileage between Jerusalem and the village of Emmaus. If the disciples walked at a pace of 20:00 per mile, it would take them 2:29:12 just to make the trip in one direction.
Long before I became involved in the Walk to Emmaus Movement the Story of the Emmaus Road has always been my favorite story of the Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It is a powerful testimony to His victory over sin and death.
We can not be certain as to the true identity of these two disciples. One is called Cleopas, but that is all we know of him. Although the other one is unnamed, one tradition calls him by the name of Simon and claims both were among the seventy sent out by Jesus in Luke 10, but this person may have been Cleopas’ wife, for they invited Him, “‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’” It would be logical for a married couple to extend such an invitation to be an overnight guest in their home.
Jesus says to them in verse 20, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all the prophets have spoken.” This word foolish means lack of understanding. These two persons honestly did not understand what the Old Testament Scriptures foretold about the life, ministry, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
I could do as Jesus and “begin with Moses and all the Prophets to explain what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself,” but we do not have time. Suffice it to say that these disciples simply did not comprehend the teaching of Scripture.
They desired a political Messiah who would liberate Judah from the tyranny of Roman oppression. They could not conceive that the Messiah “had to suffer these things and then enter His glory.” They had the wrong perspective about the ministry of Jesus. The picture they had of their Promised Messiah came from a distorted worldview, not from a spiritual frame of reference.
They were foolish because they did not see that Jesus had come “to seek and to save those who were lost,” not to fulfill their desire to “restore the kingdom to Israel.” Their priorities were misplaced. They longed for political clout more than they “hungered and thirsted after righteousness.” When it came to spiritual matters, they were still blind; their spiritual eyes needed to be open, and that’s what Jesus did for them by “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, explaining to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself.”
Jesus is our Best Teacher in explaining the Scriptures and writing God’s Word on our hearts. Notice the powerful effect He had on Cleopas and his companion in verse 32: “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?’” You never need a Biblical commentary when Jesus opens the Scriptures to you.
My commentaries are the most unused books in my entire library; I very seldom consult them, but just like these two disciples “On the Road to Emmaus,” every time I prepare a sermon and begin to “search the scriptures” Jesus is my Divine Teacher. Maybe I’m in a passage that I’ve heard and read hundreds of times, but in prayer, meditation, and studying of the Word, Jesus makes it come alive and relevant to my life in some new, practical, and exciting way.
Just like John Wesley’s Aldersgate Conversion and the Emmaus Road Experience of these two disciples, “My heart is strangely warmed” and “burns within me.” Goose bumps travel up and down my spine, and I can hardly contain myself. I seldom feel closer to Jesus than I do on such occasions. There is no greater joy or spiritual high; Jesus is so close I can almost “reach out and touch” His nail scared hands and feet and place my hand through His pierced side; my heart overflows in praise and worship to Him.
There is no greater excitement than for Jesus to bring the Bible alive to you through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. That’s what He promises to do for each of us in John 16:13,-14, “But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to Me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.”
Cleopas and his companion “On the Road to Emmaus” began their journey in spiritual blindness, but the Risen LORD restored their sight. Throughout history God’s people have often experienced spiritual blindness. In II Kings 6 the king of Aram sent his troops to Dothan to capture the prophet Elisha, because he would “tell the king of Israel the very words the king of Aram spoke in his bedroom.” They surrounded the city at night, and when Elisha’s servant awoke the next morning he was terrified.
“‘Oh, my lord, what shall we do?’ the servant asked.
“‘Don’t be afraid,’ the prophet answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’
“And Elisha prayed, ‘O LORD, OPEN HIS EYES SO HE MAY SEE.’ Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” Heaven’s Army was prepared to defend Elisha. God opened the spiritual eyes of Elisha’s servant to see the truth of I John 4:4, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One Who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
All the disciples of Jesus were spiritually blind before the Resurrection and Pentecost. When Jesus was traveling “The Road to Jerusalem” to go to His crucifixion, He kept trying to teach His followers that He must suffer death, be buried, and rise again on the third day, but Luke 18:34 declares, “The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what He was talking about.” When we find ourselves in the shoes of Cleopas and his companion, Elisha’s servant, and all the other disciples, we simply need to make Elisha’s prayer our personal one, “O LORD, open my eyes so that I may see.” The Holy Spirit will open our spiritual eyes, and the One we will see coming to embrace us with outstretched arms will be the Risen Christ.
Cleopas and his companion were walking in spiritual blindness because they focused on wrong priorities. They knew the facts; “the tomb” was empty, but just like the disciples who had gone to the empty tomb that morning, “Jesus they did not see.” They were walking through the dark valley of “gloom and doom.” What they needed was a personal encounter with their Risen LORD.
Their testimony focused on self, and their attitude was “woe is me.” Everything was all past tense: “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that He was the One who was going to redeem Israel. . . .Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but Him THEY DID NOT SEE.” Cleopas and his friend were spiritually blind because they focused on their problems, their sorrows, their hardships, and their disappointments; therefore, they could not see Jesus.
“On the Road to Emmaus” the Holy Spirit shifts our focus from our problems, our sorrow, our hardship, and our disappointments, and gets our “eyes fixed on Jesus “the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” When we encounter Jesus, we experience victory over our problems, our sorrows, our hardships, and our disappointments.
It was in their Emmaus home when Jesus “took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and began to give it to them” that “their eyes were opened and they recognized
Him. . .” Jesus served them Holy Communion. When Luke wrote his Gospel, “the breaking of bread” was the common terminology for the Lord’s Supper. Now they understood that Jesus is “the living bread that came down from heaven and whoever eats of this bread will live forever.” They realized only a personal relationship with the Risen Lord would satisfy their spiritual hunger, fill their empty longing, and give them victory even over death.
Please note two things in closing. They experienced the joy of the Risen Lord only because they “personally invited Him into their home.” When they arrived at Emmaus, “Jesus acted as if He were going father. But they urged Him strongly, ‘Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.’ So He went in to stay with them.’” If we don’t invite Jesus to come into our hearts as our personal Saviour and Lord, He is a gentleman. He simply walks on by, and we remain defeated in our problems, our sorrows, our hardships, and our disappointments.
Have you personally encountered the Risen Lord “On the Road to Emmaus?” If not, He invites you to meet Him today, here at our altar. This is the day that changed human history and destiny forever. Be certain the Risen Christ does the same for you by inviting Him into your heart as your Saviour and Lord for all eternity.
When Jesus disappeared from their sight, “they got up immediately and returned to Jerusalem to share their joy with the other disciples.” They had to witness, “We have seen the LORD, HE IS RISEN INDEED.” That is exactly what the Holy Spirit leads you and me to do, when we have encountered Jesus “On the Road to Emmaus.” We must tell all our family, relatives, neighbors, and friends that we have met Jesus and that they can meet Him too.
Cleopas and his friend began their journey knowing that “the tomb was empty” but did not understand that Jesus had risen from the dead. Only as they encountered Him “On the Road to Emmaus” did they come “to know the truth and be set free.” Today our postmodern, antichristian world is similar to the pagan, heathen Roman Empire. The vast majority of our family, friends, neighbors, and society are spiritually blind, lost, and are “going to hell in a hand basket.” They can only come to personally encounter the Risen Christ when they see Jesus living in us and making a difference in our lives. By the power of the Holy Spirit living and ministering through us, may we all leave this place so filled with Jesus and His love that everyone will know “He lives within our hearts.”
