Click here for a .pdf version that retains all of the original formatting. Easier to read.

Luke 24:13 - 35   The Road to Emmaus  Pt. 2

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.

Last week we began to look at this remarkable passage in Luke as he looks at Jesus after the resurrection.  Immediately after the resurrection.  In fact the same afternoon of the morning of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  

This is foundational information for us to consider Jesus.  Is He the Messiah.  Does the Messiah die?  Is His death necessary?  Why?  Did He actually rise up again from the dead?

What happens here on the road to Emmaus is foundational to the building of the Church, in Christ, separated from Judaism, a unique era, a new dispensation, if you will, removed and separate from the dispensation of the Jewish nation, and in some ways, from the law of Moses.  It all begins here.

God in His providence, chose these two men, apart from the apostles, for reasons that we do not know, God sovereignly chose these two disciples to walk with and unfold for them the Christ in scripture that was missed by the nation, and for the most part, very nearly missed by even the believers.

Indeed, these two men are despondent in their mis-understanding and confusion of what has just occured.  Let's recall their perspective;

17b . . . And they stood still, looking sad. 19b . . . 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.

We had our hopes set on Jesus.  We put our live's on hold and followed Jesus.  We were positive He was the Messiah of Israel.  The evidence was overwhelming!  His works, His miracles were mighty!  Only surpassed by His teaching, His oratory, His prophetic utterance was mightier, if that was possible, even than His miracles.  Astounding!

But He's dead.  Poof.  No more Messiah.  Dead Messiah?  That dog won't hunt.  Not in their minds.  Utter sadness.  Utter confusion.  Despondent men.

Jesus has set them up.  He has asked probing questions in order to define exactly where their beliefs are at.  Messiah will redeem Israel.  Political redemption.  Moral redemption.  Messiah will be a prophet and King like David.  David on steroids.  But a dead messiah is no better than a dead David.  

Here comes the answer!

25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!

The key word for us to understand in His opening argument is ALL.  all that the prophets have spoken!   Their problem is they have limited the Messiah.  And the root of the problem is that they have cherry picked the low hanging fruit from the prophets and organised bits and pieces into a theology that limited the messiah, as they perceived that office, as someone who is limited to local and now.

Here's their version.  Messiah will come.  The chief priests and rulers will recognize Him and set Him up as Messiah.  He will be victorious militarily over the Roman occupiers.  They will be conquered and cast out.  And eventually the whole world will bow down to Israel and Israels king.  Just like that.  One man will sweep in and make that happen.  It'll be glorious.  

They hadn't thought much past that.  We'll work out the other details later.  OK, that might cover 60 years I guess.  IF Messiah is 30 and He's got really good genes, maybe He will rule until He's 90?  What then?  They just hadn't thought everything through very well.

O foolish men!  Is Jesus a little harsh?  Does he need to go to PC school and get a refresher course on being nice?  Being positive?

When the Bible talks about fools, it isn't just the guy slapping himself upside the head who says, I coulda had a V8!  In the Bible there's always the added nod towards the fact that the information was available and you purposed in your  heart not to know.  There's an element of purpose towards wickedness.

My mother used to say;  "Ignorance is no excuse for the law."  Telling the officer, you didn't know that was against the law won't keep you out of jail.  God is that way towards us.  He went to a lot of gracious trouble to reveal truth for us.  If we fail because of sloth, that's biblical foolishness.  

So Jesus chides these men.  A little.  If He had graded on the curve, they weren't so much worse off than anyone else.  Most of the diciples would fail the course at this point.  

Before we leave this opening volley of Jesus I want to camp for a minute on what they DID do right, even though it was incomplete.  Even though they were wrong, their ultimate theology had limited their perception of a Messiah to here and now, a single lifetime, what they did get right is;

They have a theology.  It isn't a flight of fancy.  In Israel, the revelation of God is the basis for their expectations and beliefs.  Written words!  Given under the inspiration of God.  Holy Scriptures.  

That was FAR beyond anyone else anywhere else on earth.  Lightyears beyond the follies of Greece and Rome.  Manmade nonsense.  No predictions of anything.  No explanation of a Deity who created everything and is sovereign over all creation.

They understand God.  They understand God is sovereign.  They understand sin.  They understand the offense and separation from a thrice Holy God caused by sin.  They understand God will judge sinners.  They understand God is merciful and has set in place a way of forgiveness.  Lightyears ahead of Greece and Rome who simply don't have the first clue.  

God gave the gift of revelation of Himself to the Jewish nation.  More precious than gold.  And these men have a belief system, even though it was flawed, they have a belief system generated by the revealed word of God.

Jesus doesn't come to them like somebody walking along in the recesses of the North and have to say, OK, let me start at the beginning.  God.  God created the heavens and the earth . . . etc etc etc until you get to Messiah.  NO, all of that is in place and they are sad and defeated based upon theology drawn directily from the revelation of God.  Huge!  A huge advantage.  

Paul says so!  1 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? 2 Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.  Ro. 3:1,2

These men have a very precise although incomplete and incorrect theology because they are Israelites.  They're muddling through this trying to make sense of the sad events because they have a theology of God and Messiah.  Even a wrong one is miles ahead of none at all.  

Jesus says, you were on the right track, but you got off of the train short of the destination.  You stopped short of believing ALL of what the writers of scripture said.  When Jesus says "the prophets" He means all of revelation.  Moses was a prophet.  David was a prophet.  Luke will include Moses in his next description of what Jesus stated.

26 “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”

Here is what they should have known if they had studied the book.  Jesus asks this as a rhetorical question.  The answer is obvious in the question.  Of course.  Of course!

Let's just look at one passage they should have considered.  Now I'll preface this with the fact that I have 20/20 hindsight.  If I had been there that day I'd have landed with the fools for sure.  But listen to this passage from Daniel 7 and ask yourself, could this describe Jesus during His earthly ministry?  Could he get here from there?

     13 “I kept looking in the night visions,
            And behold, with the clouds of heaven
            One like a Son of Man was coming,
            And He came up to the Ancient of Days
            And was presented before Him.

     14 “And to Him was given dominion,
            Glory and a kingdom,
            That all the peoples, nations, and men of every language
            Might serve Him.
            His dominion is an everlasting dominion
            Which will not pass away;
            And His kingdom is one
            Which will not be destroyed.  Daniel 7:13,14

This is Messiah.  But not in His humility.  This doesn't describe the man who just suffered and died on a cross.  That first incarnation of Jesus in His humility, weakness, sorrow can not also be the person who is described here by Daniel who lives and rules forever in glory.

How did they think that could happen?  That's Jesus question to them.  
“Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”

It's so obvious (to all of us with 20-20 hindsight) that something must occur that transforms Jesus, Messiah from the humility that Paul describes in Philippians 2 to the glory described when He comes in His judgement and sets up His glorious Kingdom.

Ppn. 2: 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE SHOULD BOW, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

He had to die on the cross to go from the humility of slave to the glory of King of kings that every knee will bow to.  It was necessary.  That's his question to short sighted disciples who are sad because their hopes of political victory just died with Jesus.  “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”

You ain't seen nothin yet boys.  But death and resurrection were necessary to get from humble slave to Lord of lord's.  King of kings unto whom every knee in all of creation past present and future will bow down and acknowledge.  

27 And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

Virtually every commenter and myself included sort of gasps at this verse and says, OH!  How I wish I had been there for that talk!  That lesson!  What a lesson!  

One of the reasons it would add so much color if we knew it was in fact Luke who was with Cleopas on that road is because this is Luke's exact formula for his book about Jesus he has written.  This is what the gospel of Luke has done.  He begins at the beginning and tells the story.

But here Jesus does that using only the scriptures available.  The old testament.  The New Testament hadn't been written yet of course.  That's what Luke is doing.

You say;  Can you preach Jesus with only the Old Testament scriptures?  And I would answer, the world was turned upside down by the apostles and disciples like these 2 here, using only the Old Testament scriptures.  That was all they had while the church was being formed.

It says;  beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures

Moses and all of the prophets is shorthand for all of the inspired God breathed scriptures the jews had.  That includes the 5 books of Moses, and the poetic books and of course all of the prophets from Isaiah to Malachi.  Jesus opened all of it.

Hebrews 10 quotes from Psalms 40 and says about Messiah;   
       7“THEN I SAID, ‘BEHOLD, I HAVE COME
            (IN THE ROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME)
            TO DO THY WILL, O GOD.’”

The book, the Old Testament, the scriptures as they were on the afternoon of Jesus resurrection is about Jesus.  All of it.  You can find Him in every book.  Beginning with Genesis.

In Genesis 3 He is the seed.  He is the promised seed of the woman who crushes the serpents head.

He is the ark that carries us safely through the waters to the other side while the whole world perishes.

He is Joseph, rejected by His own countrymen who goes to a far country and makes provision for us.

He is prophet and priest and King, typefied for us by Melchizedek who Abraham paid tithes to.

We could go on and on like that through the entire old testament.  All of it is types that point to Messiah.  He is Isaac on the alter.  He is the lamb of God that God provides to spare Isaac's life.  That's just a little from the first book in the old testament.  We could get thoroughly bogged down.  

But I feel like I need to cherry pick just a few things that specifically point to the fact that Messiah must suffer and die and also live forever.  That demands a resurrection from the dead.  So let's look at just some of the low hanging fruit specific to the question Jesus asks these two travelers.

The single most often quoted old testament argument by the apostles during the forming of the church is from Psalm 110:1

     1     The LORD says to my Lord:
            “Sit at My right hand,
            Until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet.”

And the argument first by Jesus, with the pharisee's who would see Him murdered, in Matthew 22 and Mark 12 the argument presented by Jesus and picked up after the resurrection by the apostles and the church is this.

Who is Messiah.  Where does He come from?  And the answer is instant, He is Son of David.  Blind people and lepers are shouting Son of David, Son of David!  And at the Triumphal Entry a week earlier the people laying palm fronds on the ground were calling Him Son of David.

And Jesus argues, David calls Messiah Lord.  Yahweh says to Adonai Sit at my right hand . . . How can David's son, long future son also be David's Adonai, David's Lord and King.  And the answer is; the statement, given by David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit can only make sense if Adonai, Messiah is eternal.  

He is David's Lord, present tense when the Spirit inspired David to write those words, and yet He will not be born for a thousand years.  Only possible, only sensible, if Messiah is eternal.

Jesus will teach these men that His death is a necessary event in His eternality.  He is no more gone after death than He was gone before His advent.  He is eternal God the Son.

Perhaps that Psalm is where Jesus began as He opened the scriptures that speak to answer His question.  “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”

Perhaps He explained Genesis 3:15  The seed of the woman.  The virgin birth.  How Satan's head is crushed although Messiah doesn't come through that unscathed either.  His heel is bruised.  There is real pain, real consequence of His taking our sins upon Himself.  His death is like a bruised heal as opposed to Satans demise with a crushed  head.  It didn't happen without pain, without injury.

From Moses comes the story of the bronze serpent in Numbers 21:9 that was lifted up so that anyone who looked upon it could be healed and spared from the death of the serpent bites.

From Moses also comes the words of God about a prophet who will be raised up like Moses.  Deuteronomy 18:18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. 19 And I will hold accountable anyone who does not listen to My words that the prophet speaks in My name.

Oviously He must have spent some time opening up Isaiah 53.  Maybe the most time there since that portion directly speaks to the questions of death and resurrection.  From Isaiah 53:

     4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
            And our sorrows He carried;
            Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
            Smitten of God, and afflicted.

     5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
            He was crushed for our iniquities;
            The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
            And by His scourging we are healed.

Pierced through and crushed are both terms of death.

     8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
            And as for His generation, who considered
            That He was cut off out of the land of the living,
            For the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due?

Cut off always means death in the bible.  Just here it is most definitely clear.  Cut off from the land of the living.  That is death.  And the reason is spelled out.  He died for the transgressions of the people who deserved death.  

     9 His grave was assigned with wicked men,
            Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
            Because He had done no violence,
            Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

Both death and the grave are assigned to Messiah here and also we are told that there was no sin, no cause.

     10 But the LORD was pleased
            To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
            If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
            He will see His offspring,
            He will prolong His days,
            And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.

Here is both death and life beyond death.  Resurrection.  He will be crushed, but He will see His offspring.  That's you and me.  We are His offspring.  Prosperity after death is here.  That requires resurrection.

     11 As a result of the anguish of His soul,
            He will see it and be satisfied;
            By His knowledge the Righteous One,
            My Servant, will justify the many,
            As He will bear their iniquities.

     12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
            And He will divide the booty with the strong;
            Because He poured out Himself to death,
            And was numbered with the transgressors;
            Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
            And interceded for the transgressors.

He poured out Himself to death.  Yet He will be allotted a portion with the great.  This is death, and life beyond death, most clearly and eloquently stated.  
Necessary death.  Death so the sin of others can be justified.  Paid for.

The question Jesus posed is perfectly and completely answered by Isaiah's prophecy.  He bore the sins of many in His death, yet He will divide the booty with the strong.  Only the resurrection from the dead can make these truth's possible.  Jesus fulfilled it all.  Still is fulfilling it all.

Did He then take them to Daniel's prophecy?  We began our thoughts with Daniels prophecy in chapter 7.  But chapter 9 doesn't leave any doubt at all, it just  gets right to the point, right to the event of Jesus death.  

Remember His question to them;  “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”

Daniel 9:  The 70 weeks prophecy.  70 weeks of years.  490 years from a certain decree that we have the date for.  Then Daniel plainly says after 7 weeks and 62 weeks messiah will be cut off.  483 years from the decree Messiah the prince will be murdered.  Cut off.  Dead.  Pretty blatant.

24 “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy place. 25 “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. 26 “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing,

7 weeks and 62 weeks.  483 years from the decree by Cyrus.  Messiah will be cut off.  Death for Messiah.

Careful mathematicians have calculated this period to the day, the actual day when Jesus walked into Jerusalem and wept over it.  It's in Luke 19:

41 As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it 42 and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes.

They should have known.  They should have known.  

Well, beloved, it was never my plan to spread this story over 3 Sundays.  But I think we have had rich times in here both Sundays so far.  We will finish this next week then if God is gracious and allows us to do that.  There is still much to consider here.

Rightly dividing the Word of Truth is of paramount importance.  All of us fall into the category of Oh!  Foolish men and slow of heart to believe ALL that the prophets have written.

And yet we will see that there is a veil so that even reading and studying the written words is not enough.  We need the Holy Spirit living in us, dwelling with us, and teaching us.  The Holy Spirit combines with the written words of God to open our eyes, to understand.

These men are on the brink of a new era.  The New covenant is just on the horizon for them.  Exciting times lie ahead for the disciples.