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Luke 24:13 - 35   The Road to Emmaus  Pt. 1

13 And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they were conversing with each other about all these things which had taken place. 15 And it came about that while they were conversing and discussing, Jesus Himself approached, and began traveling with them. 16 But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. 17 And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 And one of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?” 19 And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him up to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. 21 “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. 22 “But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that He was alive. 24 “And some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.” 25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. 28 And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He would go farther. 29 And they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” And He went in to stay with them. 30 And it came about that when He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. 32 And they said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” 33 And they arose that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, 34 saying, “The Lord has really risen, and has appeared to Simon.” 35 And they began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.

This wonderful story, presented in Luke's full luxuriant storyteller manner has always been a favorite of mine since I was a small child.  And the reason is simple.  Unlike so many other things in scripture I could picture this scene exactly, and that was because hanging in our home was a beautiful copy of Rober Zund's 1877 oil painting of this story.

My father had made a beautiful maple picture frame for it, scalloped by hand with an old fashioned coping saw out of rock maple.  

I don't know if Jeff remembers, it's funny what sticks in your head at 7 or 8 years old, but our parents had gone to school at Prairie Bible Institute which in the mid 1950's was unapologetically fundamentalist.  With a capitol F.  

And one of the rules of that camp who were at war with Roman Catholicism and religious liberalism, two decidedly different fronts, one of their rules was aimed directly at the idolatry of graven images all over the place in Catholic worship, and good fundamentalists would not put even one of those pictures of the renaissance italian Jesus' on their walls.

But every good rule has loop holes, and it was generally accepted that Robert Zund's picture of Jesus expositing the scriptures to two disciples as they walked along the road to Emmaus was not idolatrous.  That picture of Jesus was OK.  Plus it was gorgeous.  Full of spectacular light.

Now, having been to Israel, I can tell you that Robert Zund may have taken some liberties.  The road he painted may have been closer to Zurich than Jerusalem.  We don't know exactly where Emmaus was.  North and west of Jerusalem about 7 1/2 miles.  The painting depicts a path along a wide canyon depression, there may be a stream or river at distance, barely seen off to the right, but clearly you are proceeding up a valley with lovely oak trees in the scene.  

The travelers are approaching a culvert that carries a small drainage under the road and their destination, presumably, is barely in sight in the mist perhaps 3/4 of a mile more distant.  

It's a scene from my childhood and I have always been in love with oak trees.  Especially in the canyons of southern California, the beautiful oak trees offer shade and canopy, respite from the hot sun, and they are lovely created things.  For me at least, oak trees have always been noble.  And so having them nearby while a boy and a youth always made the picture of the road to Emmaus special.  I could just picture it happening exactly as the painter captured it.

It's a long-ish passage but it needs to be considered as a whole event in the resurrection of Jesus.  So, let's let Luke take us on a journey.

13 And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they were conversing with each other about all these things which had taken place.

I'll begin with a romantic notion of lost times.  I was born in the middle of the 20th century.  But within perhaps 40 years of my birth, the human race, for most of it's history, would be very familiar with the only possible mode of transportation from one place to another that is depicted here.

If you needed to get to a town 7 1/2 miles away, you never thought twice about how to accomplish that.  It was a 2 hour walk.  And you had a couple of choices; start walking, or don't go.  

I've encouraged you more than once to pick up a copy of John Bunyan's The Pilgrims Progress and read through that marvelous story.  Written in 1678 England, it is like the extended version of Luke's story told here.  

Two travelers walking together, and the entire account is dialogue between the 2 with several meetings of a third traveler just exactly like we have here in Luke 24.  They were well aware that a 2 hour journey would go ever so much faster with good company.  

Emmaus is lost to us.  No one knows where exactly it was, nor have any ruins been found at the distance given, 600 stadia, that have been identified as this place.  

No matter, we have a 2 or so hour jouney and we have two disciples who have waited to see what will happen next at Jerusalem and both have decided to go home.  And they are conversing about all that has happened.  

Jesus!  Who they have loved and followed has been put to death, and it's the third day, Passover is behind them, they figure it's time to move on.  Off they go, walking and talking to each other on the road to Emmaus.  

14 And they were conversing with each other about all these things which had taken place.

Just here I have an exhortation for us.  How rare it is, it seems to me, for two men to discuss spiritual things.  When was the last time you joined company with another christian and they said, you know I've been trying to make heads or tails of this teaching or that teaching, this scripture or that?

Next scene;

15 And it came about that while they were conversing and discussing, Jesus Himself approached, and began traveling with them.

We can just see Jesus crossing a field coming in their direction and it would be the most ordinary thing in the world to join a group in motion so that you had some company to journey with.  This would be no surprise to them at all.  

16 But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.

Prevented is the descriptive word.  After the resurrection, every time we see Jesus, this is the case and He is in control of to whom and when He reveals His identity.  

Mary Magdelene at the empty tomb.  The disciples fishing.  And other times, Jesus has control over who recognizes Him.  He prevented them recognizing Him . . . until He didn't . . . and then He vanished from sight altogether.  But as far as they're concerned a third person has joined their jouney and they are in the midst of a discussion of the crucifixion of their Lord.  All of their hopes are dashed.  They are broken hearted.

17 And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad.

What are you talking about?  Who are you talking about?  And the procession skids to a stop.  Qustions bring the process to a halt.  Good questions can reveal a host of information about clarity.  Good questions can reveal exactly where a person's heart is at.

Years ago when we were using D. James Kennedy's evangelism explosion as a vehicle for training evangels as well as visiting folks who showed some interest in our church we would chat a bit about non important matters and then when the time seemed right we would ask the "2 questions."

If you were to die today, are you certain you would go to heaven?

If you did die and you appeared before God and He asked you, Why should I let you into my heaven, what would you say?

From the answers given you can know pretty well what their heart condition and needs actually are.  Good teachers ask questions.  Don't you wish you had one?  The woman at the well, Jesus asks her questions.  He is always searching for heart condition by questions.  And the answers aren't for Him.  He knows what's in a man's heart.  The answers are for the person who is answering the question.  Jesus already knows.

18 And one of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?”

Well, we have one name of the two disciples.  Cleopas.  There is a Clopas mentioned in John 19, his wife being one of the women who stood at the cross with the mother of Jesus.  

Mark mentions this story briefly and mentions the name Simon but Mark also lets us know that these two report to the "eleven" so it isn't any of the apostles.  Some folks want to make the 2nd person be Luke himself which is very colorful, but unsupportable.  

Better to step back and simply say, these two associates of Jesus represent all of us.  Two ordinary disciples, sad because their Lord is dead, they waited a while, and now they're moving for whatever reasons toward the village of Emmaus.  

My grandson Jonah was asking me how do you know what the Lord wants you to do?  And I told him my mothers old quip from long ago.  It's impossible to stear a bus that's not moving.  These guys are moving and guess where they end up.  Right back in Jerusalem.  Jesus has no problem getting you where you need to be as long as you're seeking Him.  That's what these two are doing as they move away from Jerusalem towards their village.  Now what do we do?

Jesus asks what or who are you talking about?  And Cleopas engages.  “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?”   

In our vernacular, what rock did you crawl out from under.  Everybody knows what we're talking about.  Where have you been?

Note the word visitor.  It was passover and millions of jews would descend on Jerusalem for the feast.  Cleopas makes the assumption that this man is a visitor, not a resident.  You're not from around here, are you.  How could you not know.  Did you just drop in from Mars?  “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?”

Jesus will use His words to probe deeper with His revealing questions.  19 And He said to them, “What things?”   Now we'll get to the heart of the matter that is making these two travelers so sad, so downcast.  Cleopas and the other disciple with him are going to unload their whole theology as they understand it;

It calls to mind when Jesus asked the disciples who do men say that I am?  Who do YOU say that I am?  Within the answer to that question lies heaven or hell.  Faith in the person who can forgive and justify before God is critical.  Faith in less than the biblical Jesus is worthless.
The questions Jesus has asked these two will define their faith.

And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him up to the sentence of death, and crucified Him.

Let me ask you all a piercing question now since that's what good teachers do.  If you believe what these men just stated, is that enough to get you into heaven.  Let's consider the statement we have so far;

Jesus!  Jesus who, lot's of Jesus's.
Jesus of Nazereth.  OK, that Jesus.
A prophet mighty.  A prophet is an orator with power.  Hitler was a mighty prophet.  That isn't enough. OK, a prophet mighty in word and deeds, in the sight of God, and all the people.

This prophet was mighty in God's eyes as well as the peoples eyes.  And He accomplished great and mighty deeds.  Miracles.  So many miracles.  Things only God can do.  And the power of His teaching was mesmerizing.  He would teach and the people were spellbound.  They never heard anything like Him.  

The soldiers sent to round Him up on one occasion came back empty handed and when the rulers questioned them, they said, Never a man spoke like this Man spoke.  We couldn't touch Him.  And later in the garden when they went to arrest Him, He said Whom do you seek, and they said Jesus of Nazereth, and when He said, I AM, they went down like dominoe's.  The whole squadron.

Powers of deeds no one has ever seen and powers of speech no one has ever seen.  Will belief in those facts open up heaven?

Mormons believe that.  Muslims believe that.  The Roman church believes that, and more.  They believe in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.  Millions of Americans watch movies at Easter about Jesus and believe this statement.  It isn't enough.

20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him up to the sentence of death, and crucified Him.

Jesus was mighty.  Jesus was powerful in words and deeds.  More than any other man, ever.  But the rulers of our nation killed Him.  The rulers of Israel, God's chosen elect nation among all the nations in the world, the nation that would give the world a messiah, the rulers of that nation killed Jesus.  Not just any death either.  The most ignoble death possible.  Death on a tree.  God said Cursed is anyone who hangs upon a tree.  Deut. 21:23

Palpable confusion and sadness.  He was the Messiah.  He spoke like Messiah would speak.  He had more power in His mouth than any mere person.  His words could alter creation.  His words and His deeds could be no other than messiah.  He speaks and the furious wind is silenced.  He speaks and enough food to feed 20,000 is created from 3 loaves and 2 fish.  He speaks and our rulers are shut up.  Silenced.

But the rulers of God's elect nation who would produce the messiah murdered this Jesus.  And not any murder, they put Him on a tree and God states that anyone who is impaled upon a tree is accursed.  

They are utterly confused.  Obviously from God.  Obviously the Messiah of Israel.  But obviously cursed by God.  Who can add that up.

So far so good, their understanding is correct on all counts, but now they reveal the real fault in their faith and hopes and belief's.

21 “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.

The Bible is the story of redemption of the fall of man in Genesis 3.  The Bible is the story of Satan capturing this world and casting every person born, into sin, we are born in sin, and therefore we have defaulted to be under the power and control of the ruler of this world.  The serpent.  Satan.  

The Bible is the story of that problem, an entire planet in defiant rebellion against God, condemned by God, being retaken by God in cataclysmic events of judgement against Satan and sinful nations led by a false trinity.  
Antichrist, the false prophet, and the beast fighting against Messiah who comes to defeat and judge it all.

The old testament prophets vividly picture those events.  Daniel 2, a Stone cut out without hands crushes the defiant nations to powder and sets up a kingdom, an authority to reign of God, through His righteous one, on the throne of David, forever.

The whole Bible is about re-taking this world, crushing Satan and evil and all rebellion and returning this place to a paradise like Eden.  And the old testament prophets picture that vividly.  Messiah doesn't die, cursed by God.  Messiah will crush all those who hate and rebel against God.  And He'll do it in Jerusalem.

Ceopas and the other disciple are having a conversation and to get their new friend up to speed, they define Jesus of Nazereth as Messiah, it was obvious, He was Messiah, but Israel who produces Messiah just murdered Jesus.  Jesus died on a tree.  Jesus is accursed by God.

We thought He would crush the nations FOR God in righteous judgement, but our rulers crushed Him.  We had set our hopes on our view of a conquering Messiah, based in scripture.  We hoped and believed it was Jesus.

We hoped He was going to bring an Israel that would rule the world in righteousness, an Israel so abundant in wine and figs that the produce would grow so fast the harvesters would overtake the planters.  That Israel.  The one where the lion lies down with the lamb and a little child plays with deadly snakes.  

The Israel that brings in world wide peace.  The Israel where all of the nations come and bow down to our King in peace.  That was our hope but it's all broken.  They killed Jesus.  Jesus is accursed by God.  On a tree.  Our rulers impaled Him on a tree.  Everything is broken.  We're sad.  Why hang around Jerusalem.  Go somewhere.  Walk it off.  Go back to our normal everyday empty existence I guess.

Their theology isn't wrong.  It's just out of order.  Jesus WILL do all of those things.  But not right now.  Jesus will redeem Israel, but not right now.  First He'll redeem people for His coming future kingdom from every nation.  They are confused because they don't understand what God is doing, and how He is going to accomplish His ultimate plan.

It isn't just these two either.  All of them, the disciples, the apostles, all of them were completely blind sided.  Who put that train track there and why did that locomotive just broadside me into about a million pieces.

They were going up that road with blinders on.  All of them.  Messiah comes and brings world peace and makes Israel great again.  He is David's son and He's going to return Israel to glory.

Obviously that means He's going to crush the Roman occupiers.  Israel won't be occupied during Messiah's rule, it's the other way around.  All the nations will come under the rule of the King of kings.  Forever.  In Jerusalem.  

They've got these blinders on and that's the singular messiah in their consciousness.  King of kings, Ruler of nations, on David's throne, in Jerusalem.  Everyone bows down to us.  Jesus is THAT messiah.  But now He's dead.  What in the world just happened.

Well, that's their mindset, and it's also the mindset of everyone else who followed Jesus.  There is a group of people who had set all of their hopes on Jesus being this kind of constricted political prophetic Messiah and now He's dead, and our whole movement is dead.  It's a trainwreck.

Where do we go from here?  Walk it off I guess.  Try to make some sense of it, any sense of it all by walking and talking with a symathetic friend.  And then this guy shows up who has missed the whole thing.  Must've dropped in from Mars.  And they are baring their broken hearts to Him.  They are completely exposed.  Nothing else to lose.  Sad and hopeless.  Almost hopeless.  Is there a tiny flicker in what they say next?

21 “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.

Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. 22 “But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that He was alive. 24 “And some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.”

More convoluted information.  We're in the third day.  It's still the afternoon of the day after Sabbath.  It's monday afternoon.  They killed Him on Friday afternoon.  

You say how is that three days.  That sounds like 2 24 hour periods to me.  That isn't how the jews counted days and these men have just inadvertently supported this truth for us.  Any part of a calendar day is a "day" in their thinking.  Friday afternoon before passover started at sundown.  That's the first "day".  Sabbath, saturday is the second "day".  And the first day of the week, the first day after Sabbath, because that's how they counted.  Everything was somewhere in relation to Sabbath day.  Now we're in the first day of the week.  That's the third "day".

Jesus had told them He would be killed and He would rise on the third day.  They didn't know what to make of that so they didn't make anything.  It was like unprocessed information.  How does Messiah who is going to be pre-emminent conquerer of all of the nations get killed.

Still, it was in there somewhere, even though they couldn't conceive of how it would work with their pre-conceived views of a messiah.

But still, they were in Jerusalem with the group of followers when the ladies burst in and it's like mass chaos.  Mary Magdelene is reporting the body is stolen.  The other ladies get there and announce the tomb is empty, and the grave clothes are inside, and an angel told us He is risen.

Peter and John ran to the tomb and found it empty, but no Jesus has appeared.  It's all very confusing, all of the reports, but no Jesus.  

My guess is these two are kind of like Peter.  He gets discouraged and says,  "I'm going fishing".  Like, enough.  I need to get back to work.  I need to get back to Emmaus and open the shop tomorrow morning.  We're not doing any good here, let's go to Emmaus.  

They don't see how the train wreck can get unwrecked.  Dead cursed by God Jesus isn't going to be leading a revolution any time soon.  Walk it off.

And we're going to leave our story there for our time this morning.  We'll leave our travelers hanging in mid-air and put our playback on pause. And we'll finish this story next week if God allows us to.

But I want to return to my earlier question as we close.  What is necessary to put your faith in so that you're a christian, set apart from the rest of the world.

And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him up to the sentence of death, and crucified Him.

That's the historic Jesus and most of the world would accept that statement.  Is that enough to get you into heaven.

The world will go along with that statement just fine.  Are they going to heaven, or is that, as the apostle James would say, dead faith.

According to the apostle there is a level of belief accompanied by speach that falls short of real saving faith.  Most of the world "believes in Jesus" and they believe almost exactly what these men conveyed to their new friend and fellow traveler on the road to Emmaus.  The historic Jesus.

James 2:17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. 18 But someone may well say, “You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” 19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and tremble. 20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?

CAUTION!!  That passage is NOT saying works = righteousness = heaven.  That is NOT what James is saying at all.  What James is teaching is that believing things about Jesus that fall short of a life changing personal relationship that causes Him to be the foremost concern of your life, is equivalent to what the demons believe.

The demons KNOW Jesus was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people,

And that is precisely why, along with Satan their leader, they ultimately worked willing pawns to murder Him.
the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him up to the sentence of death, and crucified Him.

Salvation happens when your eyes are opened and you recognize Christ and believe that His death and resurrection were a once for all time substitutionary atonement for your personal sins against God.  

When that happens, and you invite Him into your life and His Holy Spirit comes to dwell with you and live in you, real repentence and real change must happen.  It has to happen.  Christ IN you, the hope of Glory.  

Any person who has made that transaction becomes a new creature.  Regeneration causes good works.  I must.  It's not the other way around.  Works can never cause regeneration.  Real salvation WILL cause life changing repentence and works from a life that glorifies God.  

James is simply saying, if there's no visible fruit, your claim is suspect.
So, come back next week, and Jesus is going to take these 2 disciples on a whirlwind tour of the Scriptures and when He is finished, their hearts will be on fire!  That's what WE want.