"WALKING WITH THE RISEN LORD"
Disciples on the Road to Emmaus
Preface: The following is the text of the only Easter sermon which I preached as pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Lidgerwood, North Dakota on Easter Sunday, 12 April 1998.
Luke 24:13-35 NIV
13 Now that same day two of them were going
to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They
were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As
they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up
and walked along with them;16 but they were kept from recognizing
him.
17 He asked them, “What are you
discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One
of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting
Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
19 “What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they
replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all
the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed
him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but
we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what
is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In
addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this
morning 23 but didn't find his body. They came and told us
that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then
some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had
said, but they did not see Jesus.”25 He said to them, “How
foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 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.
28 As they approached the village to which
they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 But
they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is
almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
30 When he was at the table with them, he
took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 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?”
33 They got up and returned at once to
Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and
saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then
the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them
when he broke the bread.
No one
believed that Jesus would come back to life. His enemies, the leaders of
the Jewish people, didn't believe it, but they were nervous because He claimed
that He would. They knew that He had brought others back to life, so they
thought that the followers of Jesus would steal His body and claim He rose from
the dead. They didn't want to take any chances, so they asked for guards
to watch the place where Jesus was buried, and they sealed the tomb.
The
friends of Jesus were in despair. Jesus was dead, killed by their own
countrymen. They began to worry about their own safety, so they went into
hiding. Early on Sunday morning, the women began to circulate stories
that they had seen Jesus, but no one except the women had seen Jesus.
Sometime during the afternoon of Sunday, two men left Jerusalem in
despair. It was the third day since the horrible crucifixion, and nothing
had happened; time was running out. They did not believe Jesus rose from
the grave any more than any of the other disciples, so they left Jerusalem and
began their walk to Emmaus.
We have
walked together with Jesus from Bethany to Calvary over the six weeks during
this Lenten season. Our walk should end at Calvary, the place where Jesus
was nailed to the cross and left to hang until dead. When someone dies,
that's it; that person's life is over. His life is history, and whatever
relationship anyone had with that person moves from the present tense to the
past tense. We stop making new memories and treasure the memories of the
past.
But our
walk with Jesus is not over. We have not stopped making new
memories. Two men make their way from Jerusalem to Emmaus on Easter
Sunday afternoon. We continue to walk with Jesus. These two men
meet Jesus as they walk, and they learn that Jesus rose from the dead. As
we listen to their conversation with Jesus, we will discover what they
discovered.
These two
disciples represented the feelings of all the disciples of Jesus. They
never expected to see Jesus alive again. The morning reports from the
women were amazing, but no one had confirmed the reports. Perhaps these
two men had stayed in Jerusalem with the other disciples through the morning
hours and past noon hoping that something new would confirm the reports of the
women, but nothing happened. No one else saw Jesus. Their hope had
turned sour, leaving nothing but stories by hysterical women. Surely,
that's what they all must have thought. So these two men decided to walk
the seven miles to their home in Emmaus. It would take about two hours,
and they could talk along the way.
They must
have left early enough to get to Emmaus before dark. On the way Jesus
appeared and walked with them. Jesus prevented them from recognizing Him
as they walked together. He listened and then asked what they were
talking about. He pretended not to know anything because He wanted to
show them an important truth. These men needed to know that the proof for
all of God's actions is in the Bible, in Scripture. Later, He would show
them that He was alive, but now they needed to know what the Scripture said
about the resurrection.
Calmly
Jesus began to teach these two men the truth of the Scripture. What did
He teach them? Perhaps Jesus began with the prophecy of Zechariah.
The prophet wrote that the king would come lowly, riding upon a donkey.
So Jesus had come into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. These two men told their
fellow traveler that their "chief priests and...rulers handed Him over to
be sentenced to death." Did Jesus then remind them of the prophecy
of Isaiah, which said that Jesus would be beaten, wounded, and bruised?
Perhaps Jesus turned to Psalm 22 and showed them how David wrote about the dogs
that surrounded the Holy One of Israel. In the same psalm, Jesus may have
pointed to the words telling of the action of the soldiers at the foot of the
cross: "They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my
clothing."
It was
all there ─ every detail. The walk to Emmaus would have taken
about two hours. Each step of the way must have brought new prophecies of
the Savior's work. All these events were clear in the minds of these two
despairing disciples, and Jesus showed them that the betrayal of Judas, the 30
pieces of silver, the false witnesses, the crucifixion with the criminals, and
so many other details were all foretold in the Scriptures. He was buried
with the rich, as Isaiah had said, "He was assigned a grave with the
wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was
any deceit in his mouth." If they were wondering about the
resurrection, even that was foretold. Psalm 16 says, "You will not
abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay."
All we
need to know is in the Scriptures. Jesus is arisen. The Bible
teaches it without question. His grave was empty. How often have we
walked along the road of life despairing and filled with sorrow? Like
these two men, we get so wrapped up in our own sorrow that we do not look to
Scripture for help, comfort, and assurance. We expect Jesus to come and
straighten out our every problem, but He has given us His Word to guide and
sustain us on our walk through life. That was His lesson here for these two
men, and it is a lesson for us too. Let the Scripture be your
source. When you face death, doesn't Jesus say, "Because I live, you
also will live"? When we are faced with tragedy, difficulty, and
heartache, doesn't God's Word say that everything will work out for the good of
those who love Him? In the Scripture Jesus comes and walks alongside of
us. Don't expect any visions. Don't expect any miraculous
signs. Jesus comes to us in His Word to guide us along life's path.
As Jesus
taught these men the Scripture, their hearts burned within them. The Holy
Spirit was at work to strengthen their faith and bring them the comfort of the
resurrection. Jesus ended the lesson by proving that all He said was
true. At the end of this walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus, Jesus acted as if
He were going farther. These two men strongly urged Jesus to stay with
them for the night. As the sun began to set, they prepared the evening
meal and sat at the table. Jesus sat at the table with them, took bread,
said a prayer of thanks, broke the bread, and began to hand it out to
them. In that moment these two disciples recognized Jesus for the first
time. They had seen Him break bread many times before. It was the
same Jesus they had come to know and love. He was risen. As soon as
they recognized Him, He disappeared.
Jesus had
fulfilled all the Old Testament Scripture. He was there before them;
without knowing it, they had talked with Him all afternoon. Everything He told
them was verified by His presence. The Scriptures He had taught them were
true. The stories they heard earlier in the day were true. The
women were not hysterical. They saw Jesus. It was true. The
sight of Jesus was like the exclamation point to the lesson Jesus had taught
them all afternoon.
What a
dramatic change took place in the hearts of these two disciples! They had
left Jerusalem with heavy hearts. They were confused and without
hope. Then they saw Jesus. He had arisen. Their sorrow had
been changed to joy. They had no question what to do next. They left for
Jerusalem immediately. The others needed to know what they knew.
They must tell the story of Jesus' resurrection to others.
The
resurrection of Jesus has the same effect on us. We are confronted with
death at every step of our journey through life. We face our own death.
We face the death of our loved ones. We have walked with Jesus, and now
we know that he is risen. Death is not the end of things. Jesus
lives. He is not dead. When death takes us, it is not the
end. Because He lives, we shall live too. Are you down in the dumps
at times? Remember that Jesus lives. He walks beside you every
day. He rules all things for your good. The Scriptures tell us all
this good news. His resurrection means that our sins are completely
forgiven. God loves us. Jesus is the only religious leader in the
world ever to come back to life.
So many
in this world anguish over death. We have joy because Jesus arose from
the grave. So many find no joy in life and are filled with despair,
sorrow, and heartache. What we do next is not a mystery. We must tell
others about the risen Lord. Have you told your family about Jesus?
He is the living Lord of life. Have you told those with whom you
live? Have you encouraged your fellow Christians? Share the good
news. Death is overcome by the power of Jesus. Jesus lives!
Let the message of his resurrection be what puts a spring in your step.
Let the joy of the empty tomb speed your steps along life's road. Walk
with Jesus ─ the journey has just begun. He will walk with you
all the way to the end of your path; then He will stand there ready to receive
you into His heavenly kingdom. At your journey's end, He will invite you
to come and walk with Him forever.
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