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We’re going to join two people walking to the village of Emmaus. They had just gone through the most tumultuous week of their lives. It’s Sunday. On Friday they watched the horrendous crucifixion of the Man they thought was Israel’s great Redeemer and liberator from the tyranny of Rome. As Matthew Barrett said in his book None Greater, “If we had stood there at the foot of the cross on that dark day, it would have seemed as though evil had triumphed once for all…. Few of us would have stood at the foot of the cross and concluded that God’s power and wisdom were present, let alone prevailed. The king was crucified; evil had the last word. Or did it?” (pp. 203-204).
That’s the big question as these distraught travelers make their way to Emmaus. They are sad; their hopes have been dashed. Little do they know how much their risen Lord cares for them and even joins them on their journey. In Luke 24:5-6 two heavenly messengers met several ladies who went to the tomb and found it empty. They too were perplexed, but the angels said, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen!” Is that true? If He really is risen from the dead, this was the greatest event in human history. If He’s still dead, all hope is gone. In fact He would have been a liar because He repeatedly said He would rise again on the third day. These friends are in for the surprise of their lives as they are joined by this stranger, their risen Lord. While we walk with them, I want to make personal applications for us. When you are full of doubts and have lost hope, remember what happened with these two travelers.
The risen Christ faithfully joins them as they are going the wrong way – He knows where you are when you’re going the wrong way.
Luke 24:13-16 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 talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. 16 But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.
We don’t know why they’re headed to Emmaus, except they’ve given up on Jesus. One or both of them lived there. The village was seven miles from Jerusalem, which is about the same distance from Newburgh to Evansville Bible Church. This would be a two-hour walk at a normal pace.
So there they go, talking and debating about all the events of the past week, wondering what went wrong. They’d been there when Jesus entered Jerusalem in His triumphal entry. They had heard the multitudes cry out “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” They were certain He would sweep into the capital city and deliver Israel from Rome’s tyranny. He had cleared out the temple, pronounced those woes on the Jewish leaders, wept over Jerusalem, taught about His coming in glory in the Olivet Discourse. His disciples ate the Passover in the upper room. Judas slipped out into the night to betray Jesus. In the cover of darkness Jesus led them to the garden of Gethsemane. There He agonized with the Father, “If it is possible, take this cup from me, yet not My will but Yours be done.” Suddenly a large contingency of officers with torches, swords, and clubs approached, led by Judas, the betrayer, who went straight to Jesus and kissed Him. The officers arrested Jesus and took Him back to the city. Mark 14:50 says all His disciples fled at His arrest. Peter will deny Him in the shadows of the High Priest’s residence.
Jesus was falsely accused in three Jewish trials. Then He was taken to the Roman governor Pilate who found no fault in Him. Pilate sent Jesus to Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, who declared Him innocent, yet mocked Him before sending Him back to Pilate. Pilate had Jesus scourged and a crown of thorns pressed on His head. The Jewish leaders continued inciting the crowd to demand, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” Pilate, who five times declared Jesus innocent, turned Him over to the soldiers who led Him from the city to Skull Hill. There they crucified Him, along with two criminals. Around noon an eerie darkness enveloped the land until three in the afternoon. They heard Him cry, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani.” The veil of the temple was split in two from top to bottom. Jesus cried out, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit” and He breathed His last. If you had been standing there watching, your hopes would also have been dashed! Evil seemed to have had the last word.
These were the things our friends were talking about as they walked along the road, wondering what went wrong. Every drop of hope had bled from their hearts. True, they’d heard about the ladies and Peter finding the tomb empty, which to them apparently meant someone had stolen the body. Suddenly a fellow traveler joined them. Somehow God blinded them from recognizing his identity.
Here’s the point. The Good Shepherd faithfully went after two of His wandering sheep. He knew they had lost hope and were full of discouragement and doubt. We can say that same thing about Jesus’ concern for us when we too get discouraged and full of doubt. Jesus never forgets you. He knows you and is always with you. He’s the Good Shepherd who promised, “I’ll never leave you nor forsake you.”
The risen Christ wisely draws out their dashed hopes – He knows all about your doubts and inner struggles.
Luke 24:17-24, 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.
“They stood still, looking sad.” Well, they had every reason to look sad if indeed Jesus of Nazareth was dead. They had been so excited, but now all hopes were crushed. How many false teachers, gurus, and quacks have given their followers hopes that eventually were dashed. Harold Camping of Family Radio seemed to be an excellent Bible teacher. Then he made the unbiblical claim that Jesus would come in 1994! It didn’t happen. Later he revised the date to 2011. He died December 15, 2013. Mr. Camping was a fraud. “They stood still, looking sad.” But Jesus was no fraud.
18 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 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 “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.”
You have to appreciate a tinge of humor in the dialogue here. Jesus, obviously knowing full well everything that had happened, asked, “What are you fellows talking about?” Cleopas gets a little cheeky with the Stranger: “Are you really unaware of what happened over the last few days?” They don’t know they are walking with the Risen Lord! “Surely you’ve heard about what happened to Jesus the Nazarene? Now it’s the third day. Some said His tomb is empty, but no one has seen Him. We were hoping.” Never put your hope in human schemes. Any hope other than Jesus will prove a false hope. There is one solid rock on which you can build your hope: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).
The risen Christ reproves their failure to believe God’s Word – He knows exactly what you need in your discouragement.
Luke 24:25-2, 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 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
We often need exactly what Jesus gave these two – a sound rebuke for failing to believe everything in their Old Testament. The Jews divided the Old Testament into three parts: Tanakh, short for Torah (law), Nevi’im (prophets), and Kethuvim (writings). So from Moses to the prophets He opened the Scriptures to show that the whole Scripture points toward Him! Christ would reprove us too for not believing the entire Old Testament, from Genesis 1 to Malachi 4. In one way or another, it’s all about Christ. I’ve been to a Jewish synagogue service. They honor the Old Testament, but they don’t see Jesus. It’s pure tradition. Where did Jesus take them in the Old Testament? He probably had a couple hours to unfold the truths about Himself. Here are just a few possibilities.
He’s the seed of the woman who crushed the serpent’s head – Genesis 3
He’s the seed of Abraham to bless the nations – Genesis 12
He’s the high priest after the order of Melchizedek – Genesis 14
He’s the Passover lamb – Exodus 12
He’s the Levitical sacrifices – Leviticus
He’s the Kinsman-Redeemer in Ruth
He’s the seed of David to be king forever
MacArthur’s Study Bible lists Messianic prophecies in the Psalms. Here are a few.
Christ’s resurrection from the grave – Ps. 16
Christ was forsaken by God – Ps. 22
Scorned and ridiculed – Ps. 22
His hands and feet were pierced – Ps. 22
They gambled for His clothes – Ps. 22
None of His bones were broken – Ps. 34
He’s the chief cornerstone – Ps. 118
He will come in the name of the Lord – Ps. 118
Of course, Jesus would surely have gone to Isaiah 53. “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” (Isaiah 53:5) “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” (Isaiah 53:10).
And maybe Zechariah 12:10b, “They will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.”
There are many, many more prophecies about His sufferings and glory. This Bible study as they walked along the road was the best ever! Can you imagine? He walks with you now. Would He call you foolish and slow of heart to believe everything in your Bible? Many have a hard time believing what God says in the Bible:
That God created the heavens and the earth in six literally days!
That salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Do you believe in Him?
That God has the right to rule our lives. Don’t live as if you are autonomous, making up your own mind about big issues like marriage and gender. God’s ways are always right and best.
The risen Christ wants us to desire His fellowship – He draws you to want Him.
Luke 24:28-3, And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther. 29 But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them. 30 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 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.
Why did Christ act as if He were going farther? This was a test. God says to you, “Draw near to God and He’ll draw near to you.” Christ wants you to desire His fellowship, His nearness. When they urged Him to stay, He went right in.
“So He went in to stay with them.” Isn’t that good? Imagine if Jesus came to your house today? First, is He welcome? What if He paid a surprise visit? I’ll never forget visiting some folks in a mobile home park many years ago. You could hear right through the walls, “The preacher’s here!” Panic followed. I heard footsteps running this way and that! I don’t know what was going on, but if Jesus rang your doorbell, I’m guessing everyone would be on their best behavior. The children would all say, “Yes sir” and “No sir.” Husbands would be super kind to their wives and wives would be so nice to their husbands! Right?
So this traveler comes into the home – they still don’t know they’ve been walking with the risen Christ. They sit down for a meal. Their guest takes the bread and breaks it. Suddenly God opens their eyes to see who their traveling friend really is! What did they see? His hands are now right in front of their eyes. Did they become aware of the wounds from the nails that held Him on that cross? Or did they remember those hands breaking the bread to feed the multitudes? What happens next is astonishing. He vanishes! He just disappears!
The risen Christ brings hope and assurance to His people – He sends you back full of hope and joy.
Luke 24:32-35, 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 got up 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 They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.
Matthew Henry notes, “They found the preaching powerful, even when they knew not the preacher. It made things very plain and clear to them; and, which was more, brought a divine heat with a divine light into their souls, such as put their hearts into a glow, and kindled a holy fire of pious and devout affections in them.” This is what you want! Jeremiah 15:16, “Your words were found and I ate them, and Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart.”
I think this is especially true when you first come to Christ. You hear the Word of God spoken with authority, passion, truth, persuasiveness, and your heart burns within you. Ah, for more of that kind of heart burn! Shortly after we were saved back in Souderton, Pa., we went to a prophecy conference and as I recall Dr. Walvoord of Dallas Seminary was preaching on the rapture of the church. We had never heard of this and it was amazing truth. Our hearts burned within us in amazement! We couldn’t get enough!
These two people left Jerusalem with crushed hopes. They stood there looking sad. But then the risen Lord joins them. They hear Him teach the Word. They see His nail scarred hands breaking bread. Then He vanishes!
Now back they go to Jerusalem with hope flooding their hearts. They are eager to meet the others and rejoice with them in the resurrection of Christ. Nothing is as comforting and assuring to the truthfulness of Christianity as that empty tomb! Remind your unsaved family and friends of the truth of the empty tomb! He is not here; He is risen! Everyone will face Him one day.
Friends, we now walk with the risen Lord every day. Let Him teach you from Moses and the whole Bible. Don’t be foolish and slow to believe all that is written in it. Urge Him to go with you every day. He promised before He left planet earth, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Now we have the blessed hope of His return at any moment. He said, “I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:3). Do you really believe the gospel? Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you confess Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved!”