A LITTLE WALK WITH JESUS (Luke 24:13-35) INTRODUCTION A pastor by the name of Phil Callaway said that one sleepy Sunday afternoon when his son was five-years-old, they drove past a cemetery together. Noticing a large pile of dirt beside a newly excavated grave, his son pointed and said: Look, Dad, one got out! Phil said, I laughed, but now, every time I pass a graveyard, I m reminded of the One who got out. Jesus is indeed alive! God raised him back to life on the third day. The resurrection of Jesus is essential to the good news of the gospel. As Michael Ramsay said, The Gospel without the Resurrection is not merely a Gospel without its final chapter; it is not a gospel at all. Philip Ryken put it this way, There is no good news unless Jesus rose from the dead. The gospel is the crucifixion plus the resurrection, which equals forgiveness for our sins and everlasting joy in the presence of God. My question this morning is, After the resurrection what happened to Jesus? Well, for 40 days He continued to walk on this earth until the day of His ascension. Luke summarizes for us in Acts 1:3 Jesus post-resurrection activities: Acts 1:3 NIV After his suffering, he presented himself to them [apostles] and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. We don t know how many times Jesus appeared to his disciples or how long were his teaching sessions. The Gospels record only about 9 or 10 appearances. There was the appearance to Mary, to the other women, to Peter, to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, to the disciples without Thomas at the end of the first Sunday, to the disciples with Thomas after 7 days, to some them as they were fishing, to James, to the 500+ in Galilee, to a group of them at Mount of Olive on the day of the Ascension. April 23, 2017 Corntassel CP Church Page 1
What was the purpose of these appearances? The overall purpose of these appearances, according to Luke, was to give many convincing proofs that he was alive and to teach them about the kingdom of God. I want to take one of these appearances today, the one where He appeared to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. You may say that they took a little walk with Jesus and it made things right. THEY DIDN T RECOGNIZE JESUS It begins as the two of them, one named Cleopas, were walking to Emmaus, about 7 miles from Jerusalem. They were sad, confused, disappointed, discouraged, and disillusioned. As they were walking and talking Jesus came along side of them. They didn t recognize him. Too often we don t recognize Jesus when we are disappointed, disillusioned, and discouraged. We may see some things but not necessarily the most basic things. You may have heard this story. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson went on a camping trip. After sharing a good meal and a bottle of Petrie wine, they retire to their tent for the night. At about 3 AM, Holmes nudges Watson and asks, "Watson, look up into the sky and tell me what you see?" Watson said, "I see millions of stars." Holmes asks, "And, what does that tell you?" Watson replies, "Astronomically, it tells me there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo. Theologically, it tells me that God is great and we are small and insignificant. Horologically, it tells me that it's about 3 AM. Meteorologically, it tells me that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you, Holmes?" Holmes retorts, "Someone stole our tent." Verse 16 says that they were kept from recognizing him. Surely they should have recognized him for they had heard him teach, saw him work miracles, saw him do good. But it says that they were kept from recognizing him. This suggests that God hid from their eyes them recognizing him for a purpose. The April 23, 2017 Corntassel CP Church Page 2
purpose had something to do with what Jesus wanted to impress upon them in his discussion with them. THEY EXPECTED A DIFFERENT JESUS When Jesus asked them what they were talking about, Cleopas, said "Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days. There is irony in Cleopas answer, as Philip Ryken notes, In truth, Cleopas was the one who did not know what was happening in Jerusalem! Jesus knew it all, better than anyone, for it had happened to him!... Instead of being the only person who did not know what was happening, Jesus was the only person who did! They told him about this man named Jesus, who had been crucified and they had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. Some of them had gone to the tomb and didn t find Jesus. Some women had this crazy story that they had a vision of an angel who said that he was alive, but others who went to the tomb didn t see him. Now they were disappointed, disillusioned, discouraged, and in despair One of the reasons that they were down hearted was that they expected a different Jesus to show up in Jerusalem. They expected someone who would deliver them from the political oppression of Rome. They weren t looking for some to deliver them from the oppression of their personal sins. This can be a big problem for us today. We expect a different Jesus to show up, one who will give us health, wealth, and a happy life. But Jesus came to redeem us from our sins. He came to accomplish the Father s will and to use us in accomplishing the Father s will. It is not about us, but it is about Jesus and the Father s will. Don t miss seeing Jesus work in your life because you are expecting another Jesus! JESUS REBUKES THEM FOR THEIR LACK OF FAITH IN GOD S PROMISES Jesus responds to their wrong expectation by rebuking them for their lack of faith in God s promises. Where do we find the real Jesus, not just the one we are expecting? We are to look in all the Scriptures with understanding. Jesus said in verses 25-27: Luke 24:25-27 NIV He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! (26) Did not the April 23, 2017 Corntassel CP Church Page 3
Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" (27) And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. Their real problem was their lack of faith in all that the prophets have spoken. Remember the old saying, Seeing is believing? Well, Jesus is saying the opposite, Believe it and then you will see it. In our skepticism we say, I ll believe it when I see it. The Christian says, I ll see it when I believe it. The problem the disciples on the road to Emmaus had was. They didn t see it, because they didn t believe it. JESUS GIVE THEM A SURVEY COURSE ON THE CHRISTOLOGY IN THE OT Jesus goes on and gives them a lesson in how to read the Scriptures, particularly the Old Testament. The central principle of interpreting the Bible, especially the OT is to understand how it bears witness to Jesus Christ. Jesus gave the disciples a brief survey course on what to look for in the OT. Verses 26-27 say: (26) Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" (27) And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.. I love the way Bishop J. C. Ryle summarizes what Jesus may have said to the two disciples. He wrote: In what way did our Lord show things concerning himself, in every part of the Old Testament field? The answer to this question is short and simple. Christ was the substance of every Old Testament sacrifice ordained in the law of Moses. Christ was the true Deliverer and King, of whom all the judges and deliverers in Jewish history were types. Christ was the coming Prophet greater than Moses, whose glorious advent filled the pages of prophets. Christ was the true seed of the woman who was to bruise the serpent s head, the true seed in whom all nations were to be blessed, the true Shiloh to whom the people were to be gathered, the true scape-goat, the true brazen serpent, the true Lamb to which every daily offering pointed, the true High Priest of whom every descendant of Aaron was a figure. These things, or something like them, we need not doubt, were some of the things which our Lord expounded in the way to Emmaus. April 23, 2017 Corntassel CP Church Page 4
The central message of the Bible is Jesus Christ, even in the OT. When we read the Bible we are to look for Jesus. We are to see how He is portrayed in pictures, types, prophesies, stories, exposition. Then we will get to know the real Jesus and we will begin to recognize His work in our life. The two on the road to Emmaus didn t want to think of a suffering Savior. They only wanted the powerful Savior-King. Therefore they missed seeing Jesus because they didn t know God s will for Him or for them. Jesus didn t fulfill their expectation ultimately because they were slow to believe all that the prophets had spoken about Him. JESUS REVEALS HIMSELF TO THEM When they got to Emmaus Jesus was going to continue walking but they insisted that He come into their house, have a meal, and spend the night. When in the house they prepared a meal, but it is Jesus who took the bread, gave thanks, broke it, and then gave it to these disciples. He acted as the host. As He broke the bread something miraculous happened! Verses 31-32 explains: Luke 24:31-32 NIV Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. (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?" Jesus disappeared and the two went back to tell the other disciples. They reported how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. How did they recognize him when they saw him breaking the bread? Could it be that when he took the place of being the host they recognized him? Could it be that they saw the nail prints in his hands? Could it be that he had a special way of breaking the bread that they recognized? The passage just says, their eyes were opened. Just as God caused them not to recognize Jesus at first, He seems to have supernaturally opened their eyes at this point. God must open the eyes of every sinner in order to see Jesus savingly. By nature we are spiritually dead, and we are unable to see who Jesus is. But God opens our eyes spiritually to see Jesus as our Lord and Savior. But for God to open our eyes we must be looking for Jesus. CONCLUSION April 23, 2017 Corntassel CP Church Page 5
What is the main purpose of this appearance of Jesus to these two disciples? Why is it in the Bible? It may be to emphasize that a true understanding of Scriptures is to see Jesus in every part of it. We need to look for Jesus in the Scriptures, if we are to understand it. It may be to remind us that God will open your eyes to see Jesus if you desire to know Him and fellowship with Him. It may be to remind us that He will come along side of us when we are down, defeated, discouraged, and in despair. He will come along side of us to show Himself to us. This is a beautiful story of how Jesus gave his disciples a convincing proof that He was truly alive, as Luke tells us. It certainly shows what a little walk with Jesus will do for you. If you are discouraged, disillusioned, disappointed, take a little walk with Jesus. It will not only make things right, it will make you right! Will you decide to walk with Jesus in the Scriptures each day? Amen? Amen! April 23, 2017 Corntassel CP Church Page 6