The Breaking Of The Bread Series

The Breaking of the Bread

April 3, 2016, A.M. (Luke 24: 13-32) Command Baptist Church

And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures, (vs. 30-21).

This is one of the most beloved accounts of the resurrection of Jesus. It is the account of two disciples of Jesus, two ordinary believers, who had lost their way when they lost hope after the death of Jesus Christ. What they had experienced that week had driven them to the pits of sadness and despair. This account is written in four scenes. It begins with the death and gloom, but ends in life and glory!

It’s difficult for us to imagine how the disciples of Jesus must have felt as they watched the one they loved most on earth die on the cross that week. It must have been even harder as they saw the tomb guarded by capable Roman soldiers and the tomb sealed by the governor of Rome.

What we discover in their discovery is that in spite of how they felt about the things that happened that week, God has a plan and you can’t stop it. Little did they know that what they had experienced that week was part of the plan.

There are so many applications to the passages on the resurrection of Jesus. Most are theological, many are practical. If you hear nothing else I say today, hear this: when life gets hard and it looks like there’s no end in sight to tragedy and heartache, remember that:

BI – “The same Jesus that did the impossible by rising from the dead on day three will help you emerge from the impossible places in life.”

The first scene is one of:

1. Discouraged Disciples – (vs. 13-14)

And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened.

In these verses two lonely disciples are walking alone from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Emmaus was 7 ½ - 8 miles northwest of Jerusalem. Apparently they had been to Jerusalem that week for Passover. They were disciples of Jesus. Little else is known about them, but what we read in Scripture here. One of them was named Cleopas. We don’t the name of the other.

It was Sunday, the first day of the week. It is the same day that certain women had reported the “empty” tomb of Jesus. This particular Sunday was Easter Sunday, “resurrection” day. Though they heard the news, they were very skeptical about the Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.

On their way to Emmaus, sadness and discouragement gripped their souls. They were in despair over the death of their Lord Jesus. They had hoped that He was the Messiah that should come, but that hope had been dashed against the rocks of death! During the walk home, their minds were racing and thoughts were rushing wildly. Wuest says that their conversation was “animated or heated.” Perhaps they were quoting Old Testament prophecies and trying to remember what Jesus taught. They couldn’t put it together.

Added to this were the frustrating reports of the empty tomb. They heard the reports, but what did these things mean?

Why were they saddened? Surely they were deeply sad and mourned:

• Over the death of Jesus. No man deserved to die that way!

• Because they believed Jesus was the Messiah.

• The confusing and conflicting reports of Jesus’ resurrection.

There are some deep theological truths being presented here that these and many others of Jesus’ disciples and followers were not ready to receive. However, there are some practical truths as well. On top of everything else that is going on here:

APP: This scene symbolizes the events in life that squeeze the hope out of people. These things that made these “sad” are the things that quickly and unexpectedly take away our hope for family, meaning and purpose, success and acceptance.

In their sadness and discouragement, they heard reports of “good news,” but these reports were ineffective because they didn’t know what to believe anymore. Can you identify with this scene?

My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul, (Job 10:1).

O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar, (Psa. 42:6).