The Power of the Word of God to Open Blind Eyes

Hey, well, good morning.

Open your Bibles, if you would please, to Luke, chapter 24.

Luke 24 · chapter mention

It's my prayer for this service and for our time together

You know, things would be so much easier to believe in Christ

if I had seen Him for myself.

It would have been so much easier if I had seen His miracles,

if I had heard Him teach,

if I had been there and saw Him raise the dead

or heal the leper

or heal those blind men by the side of the road.

It just would have been so much easier.

If I would have seen the empty tomb,

then, man, the wrestling that I have with faith

would have been so much easier.

But this morning's passage is proof that that's not true.

This morning's passage is proof

and actually the passage from last week

and the passage next week will be proof

that you can have all the evidence all stacked up,

the empty tomb, Jesus Christ appearing,

walking with you on the road,

having a conversation

and yet you still cannot see

with eyes of faith to believe

and what Jesus will demonstrate

through His interaction today

with two disciples on the road to Emmaus

that the Word of God is sufficient.

The Word of God has power.

It's the Word of God that changes hearts and transforms.

And so if you're thinking about your own life

and wondering,

that issue in my life I just can't seem to get past,

or that person in my life

that I want to receive

and enjoy the benefits of the gospel,

or that co-worker

that you have been trying to share the gospel with

and your heart is

that they would come to faith in Christ,

the evidence of an empty tomb,

the evidence of Jesus Christ

actually walking along beside you

isn't enough.

What you and I have in the Word of God

is sufficient to save.

It is sufficient to save.

That's the encouragement of this message this morning.

The passage that we read,

the encouragement is,

the Word of God has power to save.

It opens blind eyes.

It changes and saves dead hearts.

It rescues blind people

and restores them back to sight.

It gives them faith.

And here we are.

We're going to be looking at these two disciples of Jesus.

They're walking back from Emmaus,

or from Jerusalem to their home,

and they are shattered

by the events that just took place in Jerusalem.

You see, the problem is that

they had limited eyes of faith.

They saw and knew the promises

about this coming future Messiah,

this Christ person.

They knew the promises,

but what they believed about Christ

was conditioned by their own heart,

and He's going to be a king.

He's going to reunite Israel.

He's going to put us in the land.

Things are going to be happy and joyous

and wonderful when the Messiah comes.

He's going to liberate us from oppression.

We're not going to have these problems anymore.

That's the perspective they had

of the Messiah, of the Christ.

They could not.

They did not have a category

for a suffering Messiah.

They did not have a compartment

for a Christ that would die.

And so, leaving Jerusalem,

they're shattered.

I imagine that we can resonate.

We understand.

And especially, I'm sorry guys,

we're probably the biggest to blame for this.

Okay?

Like, we go to the refrigerator.

We're looking for that thing.

We know it was there,

but we can't see it for some reason.

And so we ask for help.

Those of you who are wise,

ask for help.

The rest of us,

we just try to hunt and search

and 15 minutes goes by,

we still don't find it.

But those who are smart say,

hey honey, please help me.

She says, well it's right here.

And she pulls it out.

I was looking for the blue container.

That's red now.

How did that happen?

You know how it goes, right?

Well, I want to just put this little test

for you as well.

So you can kind of sympathize with me here.

Now, here's a picture of a duck.

Okay?

Here's a picture of a duck.

You know a duck.

A duck head.

He's a beak.

He's looking up to the left.

Okay?

Now, here's another picture of a duck.

Okay?

You can see this picture of a duck.

The question is,

can you see the bunny?

Can you see the bunny?

So you've been conditioned,

and those of you,

you've seen this before,

you're really smart.

The smart people in the room,

the rest of us,

or me,

I struggle.

Okay?

You might see the bunny.

But here,

this might help.

Let's look at the bunny.

Okay?

There's a bunny.

Now we can go back to the combined picture.

And maybe it's a little easier to see.

Or maybe you're still struggling.

I still can't see that bunny.

Or I can only see the bunny.

I can't see that duck.

This is the problem

that the disciples were having.

The disciples they were having,

they were locked in to a picture.

This picture they had in mind

of the Christ,

the Messiah.

They knew what he was going to look like,

but they could not see

the suffering parts.

The suffering of Christ

was drowned out

by the noise of celebration.

In their hearts,

they were ready to rejoice

at the coming of Messiah.

They could not comprehend

the possibility

of a suffering Christ.

So we come to our passage this morning,

and I would encourage you,

if you're not there yet,

Luke 24.

If you're using the Pew Bible,

it's on page 884.

Please join us

in looking at the Word of God

together

as we look through this together.

Beginning in verse 13,

we're going to see

two blind disciples.

Two blind disciples.

Now they're not blind

because they can't see

visually or physically.

They're blind in a spiritual way,

and we're going to see that

as we work our way

through the text today.

And they're blind

for several reasons.

We're going to pick up on that

as we work through

this passage as well.

But notice their blindness

as I read through

from verses 13 to 20.

It says,

that very day,

two of them were going

to a village named Emmaus,

about seven miles

from Jerusalem,

and they were talking

with each other

about all these things

that had happened.

While they were talking

and discussing together,

Jesus himself drew near

and went with them.

But their eyes were kept

from recognizing him.

And he said to them,

what is the conversation

that you are holding

with each other

as you walk?

And they stood still,

looking sad.

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?

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,

and how our chief priests

and rulers delivered him up

to be condemned to death

and to crucify him.

Two blind disciples

on their way home.

They're blinded

by several factors

and just want to draw out

a few of them this morning.

First, they're blinded

by their limited perspective.

They're blinded

by their limited perspective.

We know that there are

two disciples

and disciples

in kind of in a general term

in that they're from

a larger group

of those who followed

after Jesus.

They're not one

of the eleven apostles,

but they're one

of the disciples

or followers of Jesus.

And it says that very day,

two of them,

speaking about two

out of a collective

or a larger group,

probably had been in Bethany,

had definitely been there

in Jerusalem

during the Passover.

And now,

after the Passover

is finished,

and after the Sabbath

is done,

now they can finally

make their way home.

Emmaus,

it says,

was seven miles away.

And while we don't know

the specific location,

and there's some controversy

or some confusion

about where the actual

Emmaus was,

it's likely a town

that's about seven miles

to the west of Jerusalem.

They have likely

left later in the morning.

There's details

about the story

that they will share

with Christ.

It's clear that they've been

in Jerusalem.

It's clear that they've heard

about the resurrection.

It's clear that some women

have come back

and reported to them.

It's clear that there have been

some disciples

that have gone to the tomb

and reported back

to the group.

And somewhere late morning,

perhaps,

they are making their way

back home.

So they travel.

And there's one thing

on their mind.

There's one thing

that consumes their attention

and their conversation.

We find that in verse 14.

They were talking

with each other

about all these things

that happened.

What things?

Well, the things

that happened

during that week.

The things that we've been

discussing

since the beginning

of the year

as we've been working

our way through

this final week

of Jesus' life.

Punctuated by that

triumphal entry

where Jesus comes

into Jerusalem

riding on a donkey.

He's humble

and riding on a donkey.

But the palm branches

that are waving,

Hosanna to the Son of David.

Blessed is he who comes

in the name of the Lord.

And then his cleansing

of the temple

on the next day.

The time that he spends

answering questions,

very difficult questions

from all the different

religious leaders

to establish

his authority

and knowledge

of the Word of God.

And of course,

the Passover

that he shared

with his disciples.

This Passover feast

that was to commemorate

that lamb

that was to take

the place

of the firstborn son

in the home

and the blood

that was painted

on the doorpost.

This symbol

and picture

of redemption.

This price

that had been paid.

The blood that was

painted on the doorposts

so the angel

would pass over.

But there's a problem.

The problem was

that the death

of Christ

did not have

a compartment

or a category

in their minds

as they thought

about Jesus

or the Messiah.

Death

had no category

in their minds

or his suffering

for that matter.

And as they're discussing

and the word here

is even arguing

with one another,

perhaps they're arguing

about the scriptures,

a stranger appears

in verse 15 and 16.

While they were talking

and discussing together,

Jesus himself

drew near

and went with them

and then this,

but their eyes

were kept

from recognizing him.

Jesus joins the group

which would have been

typical in that day

where strangers come

and they share the road

and they converse

with one another

as they're walking

along the way.

But this problem

that Jesus himself

was there

but they could not

recognize him.

Why?

Because their eyes

were kept

from recognizing him.

Their eyes were kept

from recognizing him.

This is a passive.

It means that they're

a recipient

of action.

This word

for kept

is to hold,

onto,

to grab,

to seize,

to control,

to arrest.

That their eyes

were shut.

They were closed.

They were unable

to see Jesus

standing right

in front of them.

They could not

recognize

who he was.

They're blinded

from seeing

the Lord

for who he is.

Of course,

this was the last person

they expected to see.

That's part of the problem.

But for now,

their eyes are kept

from seeing

because there's

an important lesson

for us to learn

in this story.

A lesson

that only Luke

will share with us

about these two

that are moving

from Jerusalem

to Emmaus.

They're stunned.

Notice,

Jesus asked them

a question

in verse 17.

What is this conversation

that you're having

with each other

as you walk?

And they stood still

looking sad.

Here they are

walking along

the road

and the question

is asked

and you can almost see

they're stopping

in their tracks,

perhaps turning around,

making eye contact

with Christ,

perhaps putting

their arms

on their hips

and just,

what in the world

is your problem?

Because of their

limited perspective.

They had eyes

that could only see

what they were

conditioned to see.

Their limited perspective

kept them

from being able

to see Christ.

But there's something else.

We find that

in verses 18 to 21.

We find in verses

18 to 21

their narrow view

of redemption.

Let me read this.

Then one of them

named Cleobas

answered,

Are you the only

visitor to Jerusalem

who does not know

the things that have

happened here

in these days?

Their narrow view

of redemption.

I want to just define

this word redemption

for you so you know

what we're talking about.

Redemption is this

action of regaining

possession of something

in exchange for payment

or clearing a debt.

Basically,

when you go to the store

and you purchase something,

you're redeeming it.

You're exchanging

a value of money

for that item.

This is what Jesus

has done for us

by dying for us

on the cross.

There was a redemption

price that was paid.

He paid the price

that we deserve to pay

for the wages

or the penalty

or the payment

for sin

is death

but the gift of God

is eternal life

through Jesus Christ

our Lord.

Jesus paid

that redemption price

so that we could

enjoy the benefits

of salvation

to those who believe.

But their idea

or concept of redemption

was that Jesus

was going to

deliver them

from Roman occupation.

Jesus was going to come

and he was going to

make everything better

for them.

He was going to

take away the taxes.

He was going to

restore the people

back to Israel.

He was going to unite

both the northern

and southern tribes.

He was going to

make everything better.

That was their concept

of redemption.

But they should have

known better.

They should have known better

because what we're going

to see here

in these next several verses

is how they answer

this question

the question that Jesus

asked about

what are you discussing

will demonstrate

they have all the right

knowledge

but not the right faith.

You can have all

the right facts.

You can believe

all the right truths

and still not have

a saving relationship

with Jesus.

Look at this.

They believe

the right things

about him.

They know where he's from.

They affirm his mission.

They believe

that his works

were from God

and they are aware

of his death.

Now just take note

of that as I read

beginning in verse 19.

And he said to them

Jesus

what things?

What are you talking about?

What things happened

there in Jerusalem?

I'd like to know.

Well okay.

Here we go.

And so

Cleopas answers

concerning Jesus

of Nazareth

a man

who was a prophet

mighty indeed

in word before God

and all the people

and how our chief priests

and rulers

delivered him up

to be condemned

to death

and crucify him

but we had hoped

that he was the one

to redeem

Israel.

Yes besides all this

it's now the third day

since these things

have happened.

See they believed

all the right facts

about Jesus.

They knew that he was

from Nazareth

which was important.

Isaiah chapter 9

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

talks about coming

from the land

of the Galilee

of the Gentiles.

They believed

that he was a mighty

prophet from God.

A Moses like prophet

as a matter of fact

from Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 18 · chapter mention

chapter 18 and 19

where Moses promises

this future

better than Moses

prophet.

They believed

that he was approved

by God

because he did

his works

his mighty works

before God

which meant

that God approved

of the things

that Jesus had done

and they believe

in the unmistakable

reality of his death

but there's one thing

missing.

They do not believe

in the resurrection.

They haven't seen it

and they don't understand

what Jesus came to do

in terms of redemption

and they don't really

understand

what his death

accomplished either

and all of that

should have been clear

and what's fascinating

is they say

and it is now

the third day

since these things

happened.

Well that should have

sent bells off

in their mind

third day

well Jesus talked

about the third day

I know what's supposed

to happen on the third day

he's going to be risen

but none of that

took place.

A dead Messiah

had no place

in their minds

and especially

in this week

this week of Passover

where they understood

that redemption

could only come one way

redemption could only

come through

a redemption price

that lamb

that was killed

the blood

that was spilt

so that the firstborn

son in their home

could be free.

It was all a picture

of what Christ

was going to do

and what Christ

did do on the cross

in giving his son

the death

that was required

this purchase price

this redemption

that God had given

to us

or offered to us

through his son

Jesus.

They couldn't see it

because they

didn't understand

redemption

they had this narrow view

and then we see

in verses 22 to 24

their unwillingness

to believe

their unwillingness

to believe

it says

moreover

some women

of our company

amazed us

they were at the tomb

early in the morning

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

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

notice they heard

the testimony

of the women

all the facts

were there

all the evidence

was available

and they're still

struggling to believe

this unwillingness

of their heart

to accept

the clear testimony

of the evidence

that they had

this testimony

of the women

this testimony

of those

who went to the tomb

Peter

and John

the testimony

of the heavenly

messengers

that came

and spoke

and reminded

these ladies

of the word

of Christ

and in fact

there were some women

who did see

Jesus

so that his

statement here

at the end

of verse 24

they did not

see

well that wasn't

true

in Matthew 28

Matthew 28:8

verses 8 and 9

we see

so they departed

quickly

from the tomb

speaking of the women

with fear

and great joy

they ran

to tell his

disciples

and behold

Jesus

met them

and said

greetings

and they came

up and took

hold of his

feet

and worshipped

him

some women

had seen

Jesus

the testimony

was clear

the tomb

was empty

the message

was confirmed

and interestingly

they even

repeat the

angels words

back to

Jesus

verse 20

how our chief

priests and rulers

delivered him

up to be

condemned to

death

and crucify him

that word

delivered is the

same word

that's used

by the angels

and the same

word that's used

by Jesus

Christ

on the occasions

that he shared

about this

event

and somehow

with all

of the evidence

stacked up

in front of

them

they still

are unable

to believe

the word of

Christ had gone

before them

the testimony

of his life

his authoritative

teaching

the events

that unfolded

in Jerusalem

just as Jesus

had said

the empty tomb

the confirmation

of angels

Peter and John

and the women

who had seen

the tomb

for themselves

verification

galore

and one

commentator

puts it this

way

and I appreciate

this

he says

the inability

of these two

to believe

is a moral

failure

not an

intellectual

one

it's a moral

failure

not an

intellectual

one

all the

facts were

lined up

they were

recounting

those facts

those truths

but in their

hearts

they could

not

believe

they refused

they rejected

the truth

that was right

in front of

them

the irony

of the

situation

is really

quite staggering

here they

accuse Jesus

of blindness

are you the

only one

from Jerusalem

that doesn't

know what's

happened

are you

blind

and here

they are

the blind

ones

themselves

walking

next to

the Messiah

they could

not see

it's a strange

series of

events

wouldn't you

say

why would

God

put this

in the

gospel

record

for us

I believe

it's here

for several

reasons

but one

main reason

is to help

those of us

who now

2000 years

after the

resurrection

of Christ

will understand

that all

the evidence

all of the

truths

that are

stacked up

all the

facts that

are in

place

do not

matter

apart

from the

word

of God

to do

its work

and by

the way

all of us

in this

room

have the

word of

God

all of us

in this

room have

access

to the

power

of the

word

to save

even

Jesus

and we're

going to

see that

in the

next

several

verses

even

Jesus

himself

instead

of saying

hey

I'm the

guy

here I

am

look at

me

recognize

me

Jesus

doesn't

even

do

that

Jesus

will

point

them

to

the

word

of

God

that

alone

has

the

power

to

save

let's

look at

that

together

the

power

of

the

word

to

open

blind

eyes

that's

what

we

see

from

verse

25

to

the

end

of

the

chapter

the

power

of

the

word

to

open

blind

eyes

it

begins

in

verse

25

and

he

said

to

them

this

is

Jesus

speaking

oh

foolish

ones

and

slow

of

heart

to

was it

not

necessary

that

the

Christ

should

suffer

these

things

and

enter

into

his

glory

there's

several

things

that the

word

of

God

does

for

us

in

order

to

get

us

and

lead

us

to

faith

and

the

first

thing

that

happens

is

the

word

of

God

confronts

us

the

word

of

God

confronts

and

Jesus

speaking

the word

of

God

helps

these

disciples

these

followers

of

him

to

recognize

the

hardness

of

their

heart

the

slowness

of

their

heart

to

believe

I

don't

know

about

you

there

have

been

some

times

where

I've

been

confused

I've

been

looking

at

certain

facts

but I

still

can't

figure

it

out

and

so

I

ask

a

question

to

a

friend

and

if

that

friend

would

say

you

big

dummy

you

such

a

fool

that

probably

wouldn't

resonate

very

well

with

us

would

it

and

yet

Jesus

graciously

and

directly

challenges

and

confronts

the

true

nature

of

their

heart

it

was

a

foolish

heart

it

was

an

unbelieving

heart

they

needed

to be

shocked

into

awareness

they

needed

to come

to a

place

of

recognizing

the

true

condition

of

their

life

they

needed

to

see

it

how

it

really

was

they

were

fools

in

and

of

themselves

they

needed

wisdom

from

God

they

needed

help

from

God

and

Jesus

in

helping

to

confront

the

true

nature

of

their

heart

now

begins

to

work

in

that

process

to

lead

them

to

truth

Jesus

begins

with

confrontation

it's

the same

track

that he

uses

by the

way

consistently

throughout

his

ministry

to

Nicodemus

you

remember

Nicodemus

who

comes

to

Jesus

by

night

Nicodemus

is

in

the

upper

echelon

of

the

thinkers

and

scholars

there

in

Israel

and

Nicodemus

comes

and asks

Jesus

a question

by night

and

Jesus

carries

him

through

and

talks

about

how

does

a

man

get

to

see

God

well

he

must

be

born

again

and

Nicodemus

is

like

what

be

born

again

must

I

enter

into

my

mother's

womb

and

be

born

again

how

does

that

happen

and

Jesus

is

like

in

John

how

can

these

things

be

and

Jesus

is

answer

are

you

a

teacher

of

Israel

and

yet

you

do

not

understand

these

things

how

is

your

heart

so

hard

how

are

you

such

a

fool

Nicodemus

recognize

the truth

of the

word

recognize

your

true

nature

the

number

of

times

that

Jesus

confronts

his

disciples

about

their

foolish

hearts

oh

you

of

little

faith

and

God

will

do

the

same

for

us

he

wants

us

to

recognize

that

in

and

of

ourselves

we

are

fools

in

and

of

ourselves

our

hearts

are

hard

and

calloused

our

eyes

are

blind

we

cannot

see

and

until

you

come

to

the

place

of

recognizing

that

you

need

God

you

will

not

get

God

you

can

do

it

on

your

own

well

you're

not

going

to

have

him

and

these

disciples

needed

to

come

to

a

place

of

recognizing

that

of

themselves

they

could

not

add

up

the

facts

enough

to

come

to

a

place

of

faith

they

needed

something

more

so

what

will

Jesus

do

well

the

grace

of

God

through

Christ

brings

the

word

to

them

and

we

find

that

the

word

now

brings

light

in

verse

27

the

word

of

God

brings

light

he

says

and

beginning

with

Moses

and all

the

prophets

he

interpreted

to

them

in

all

the

scriptures

the

things

concerning

himself

what

I

find

so

fascinating

here

is

that

Jesus

doesn't

say

come

on

guys

I'm

the

one

it's

me

look

here

I

am

recognize

me

Jesus

doesn't

do

that

Jesus

uses

the

word

of

God

and

there's

a

reason

for

that

the

reason

is

because

it's

the

word

of

God

that

has

power

the

reason

for

that

is

these

disciples

understood

the

integrity

of the

scripture

that had

already

been

confirmed

that

it

was

a

word

of

God

and

so

if

Jesus

is

drawing

from

the

word

of

God

that

they

understand

it

has

a

testimony

that's

authoritative

it's

sufficient

if

he's

drawing

from

that

word

and

applying

it

to

himself

then

God

through

the

Holy

Spirit

will

connect

the

dots

and

help

them

to

finally

believe

that

faith

will

finally

come

true

his

word

oh

what

a

message

that

must

have

been

a

message

that

included

all

the

promises

that

were

then

fulfilled

in

Christ

but

a

message

that

also

included

the

elements

of

his

suffering

that

he

would

be

the

suffering

Savior

the

suffering

Christ

you know

they weren't

convinced

by the

angels

they

weren't

convinced

by

all

the

people

they

weren't

even

convinced

by

Jesus

walking

with

them

on

the

way

but

they

were

Jesus

uses

the

word

of

Christ

the

word

of

God

he's

leading

them

to

see

it

for

themselves

by

the

way

this

is

a

strategy

that

Jesus

uses

consistently

and

you

remember

and

we'll

just

go

through

this

quickly

John

the

Baptist

sends

his

disciples

he's

in

jail

remember

he's

like

are

you

the

one

or

are

waiting

for

somebody

else

and

what

does

Jesus

do

Jesus

doesn't

say

I'm

the

guy

let me

liberate

some

oppressed