Luke 24:13-35 A Stranger on the Road
Good morning! Turn with me in your Bibles to Luke 24:13, page 885 in the pew Bibles.
It’s still Easter Sunday as far as our text is concerned. Last week we examined the actions of some of Jesus’ followers early that Sunday morning, and though we often make much of their actions that day, the women went to the tomb to anoint a dead body because they expected Jesus to still be dead. Peter and John raced to the tomb because they expected to find Jesus there still dead.
Now we turn our attention to two other followers of Jesus leaving town on that same morning. These two were on the road to a village northwest of Jerusalem named Emmaus, disappointed and sad.
Let’s look at the text and then we’ll pray.
13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some 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.” 25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” 33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Let’s pray.
I am so grateful for Scripture. Not only does the Bible tell us all we need to know about the Lord and His plan of redemption for humanity, it also reminds us how frighteningly consistent human beings are in their capacity for failure. And this makes me feel right at home.
Moses made excuses as to why he couldn’t be used by God, Abraham and Sarah laughed at God’s plan to give them a child in their old age, Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of soup, Jacob deceived his father and stole his brother’s blessing, King David was an adulterer and a murderer, and the group of men that Jesus Himself handpicked forgot His words and doubted who He was.
And God used each of those people in His work of redemption. And this gives me hope.
So the two disciples on the road to Emmaus were not two of the Twelve, they were two of the others who followed Jesus, Cleopas and the other guy. I think the other guy’s name was Simon but it not really that important.
Cleopas and the “other guy” were walking to Emmaus on Easter Sunday afternoon. Now stop and think about that for a minute. The Eleven remaining disciples and the women and a bunch of other followers of Jesus were still in Jerusalem but these guys were leaving town.
I think they were leaving town because they had lost hope. They may have had some hope on day one after Jesus was crucified that He may burst back on the scene in some miraculous way, maybe a little bit of hope on day two, but here it was day three and still nothing.
Well, almost nothing. Either way, they had decided that it was best to just go back home and Emmaus was on the way.
And while they were on the way and talking about all that had happened a stranger caught up to them as they walked. This was clearly not the 21st Century because there is no way either of these guys would look up from their phones and actually have a conversation with a stranger walking along the same road as them.
13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
Let me translate Cleopas’ question into modern English: “Are you serious?”
They stopped their walking, stood still, looking sad. “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
And just to prove that Jesus has a sense of humor He asks, “What things?”
Listen to how they describe Jesus and the events that took place.
And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people…
They called Jesus a prophet, a prophet of God, mighty in word and deed. Were they wrong? No, but they weren’t all the way right either. Jesus wasn’t just a prophet, He was Messiah!
20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.
That “but” there in the beginning of verse 21 is pretty important. They hoped that Jesus was going to redeem Israel… but… since He was killed he couldn’t possibly do that. Not only that but He has been dead for three days.
Their hopes for Messiah were political and not spiritual, they wanted a King not just a prophet. And since He was dead, their hopes died with Him.
JJ VanOosterzee wrote, “What had seemed to them incompatible with the glory of Messiah was precisely the appointed way to it.”
They thought Jesus couldn’t be Messiah because He suffered and died despite what Scripture says. His suffering and death didn’t prevent Him from being Messiah, it proved it.
It also appears that they had heard the testimony of the women at the tomb as well as Peter and John’s but still didn’t believe that Jesus could be alive.
22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some 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.”
Disappointed, confused, discouraged, sad, hopeless, and really bad at understanding the Bible.
Matthew Henry said, “If they had given the prophets of the Old Testament their due weight and consideration, they would have been as sure of Christ’s rising from the dead that morning as they were the rising of the sun.”
It’s been said that the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7 is the greatest sermon ever recorded. Here in Luke 24 Jesus is about to give the best sermon never recorded. Oh how I wish I could hear this sermon.
25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
Warren Wiersbe said, “Perhaps Jesus started at Genesis 3:15, the first promise of the Redeemer, and traced that promise through the Scriptures. He may have lingered at Genesis 22, which tells of Abraham placing his only beloved son on the altar. Surely He touched on Passover, the Levitical sacrifices, the Tabernacle ceremonies, the Day of Atonement, the serpent in the wilderness, the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53, and the prophetic messages of Psalm 22 and 69. The key to understanding the Bible is to see Jesus Christ on every page.”
In this wonderful, unrecorded sermon Jesus did my favorite thing: he told them what the Bible ACTUALLY says.
Not tradition, not religion, not manmade rules and regulations, not some wild fantasy, what the Bible actually says. Just imagine!
John Calvin wrote, “But that I may not involve my inquiries in any uncertainty, I shall satisfy myself with that natural and simple method which is found universally in all the prophets, who were eminently skilled in the exposition of the Law. From the Law, therefore, we may properly learn Christ, if we consider that the covenant which God made with the fathers was founded on the Mediator; that the sanctuary, by which God manifested the presence of his grace, was consecrated by his blood; that the Law itself, with its promises, was sanctioned by the shedding of blood; that a single priest was chosen out of the whole people, to appear in the presence of God, in the name of all, not as an ordinary mortal, but clothed in sacred garments; and that no hope of reconciliation with God was held out to men but through the offering of sacrifice.”
The whole Old Testament, the Scriptures that these two Jewish men would have grown up with and memorized, all point to Jesus. The New Testament doesn’t overrule the Old Testament nor make it obsolete, it explains, exposits, and expounds it.
Again, JJ VanOosterzee wrote, “Whoever denies either the existence or the importance of these manuscripts, finds himself not only in decided conflict with the believing church of all centuries, but also with the Lord Himself.”
28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” 33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Jesus not only opened their eyes to what the Scriptures actually say, he opened their eyes so that they could see Him for who He truly is before disappearing from their sight.
And they did exactly what you would expect people to do when they have a real encounter with the living Lord and His Word, they ran off in the dark to tell their friends.
What a great pattern for us to follow.
Amen.
