Walking with Jesus on the road to Emmaus - Luke 24:13-35

Well, I've discovered um that at certain

ages as as I've sort of aged, certain

milestones that the doctor will call you

in for health checks or to provide

certain samples just to make sure that

everything is okay. And that's a good

thing. Of course, you want to someone to

check things out, make sure you know,

yep, everything's good. Carry on.

It's not so good though if they do find

something that is wrong.

So if you are called in and the doctor

sits you down and explains unfortunately

they've discovered

let's say cancer.

And if that happens to you, what comes

out of the doctor's mouth next

is critical.

Is he going to say, "Yes, you have

cancer, but it's treatable."

Or will she say, "You have cancer, but

it it is not treatable." What follows

that awful diagnosis

changes everything.

And humanity has an awful diagnosis. We

are sinners.

And what follows that diagnosis

is critical. If left untreated, our sin

will kill us. We will die.

But the good news is it is treatable.

And the treatment is Jesus. And the good

news is is that Jesus changes

everything.

Jesus deals with our sin.

He gives us a sense of worth,

of purpose,

of meaning.

He transforms our understanding of our

current circumstances and the

difficulties that we face. He transforms

our understanding of our world and and

our place in the world. He transforms

our understanding of life and death.

Jesus changes everything. And then this

is what baptism symbolizes.

A great change has taken place. I now

have a new life in Jesus.

And that's what these two disciples

desperately needed as they are walking

along this road because at the moment

their world had fallen apart and they

can't see Jesus. And that's our first

point. They are blind to Jesus.

Now, this account takes place on the

very day that Jesus rose to life and uh

the news of his resurrection was just

beginning to break. Uh but these guys,

they've heard the rumors, the stories,

but they don't believe yet. We see that

in the whole way that they are that they

don't believe yet. They're not quite

there. So, who are these disciples?

Little is known about them. Uh they

could be a husband and wife. They could

just possibly be two friends. Uh we know

one of the the names from verse 18,

Cleopaz, but it's and it's likely that

they live in the village called Emmas,

which there's a little arrow pointing

from Jerusalem to Emmas on the screen

there. You can now move that slide on.

Thank you. But what's sad about these

two disciples is that they have lost

their hope. Look at verse 21.

We had hoped.

That's past tense. Now they don't they

don't know what to think. And when Jesus

asks them what they're talking about,

they look sad. They look glum. They look

downcast. They are the conversation

isn't a a hopefilled conversation. What

if it's true? What if he really is

alive? That's not the the the manner of

the the the mood of their conversation.

So what are they talking about? Well, as

they left Jerusalem, they would be

talking about all that had happened.

That would surely cover things like the

betrayal, the arrest of Jesus, his

trial, his suffering, his crucifixion.

And then what about these confusing

reports that we've heard

long time ago? And when I was a child,

our parents would often make us go out

for a walk. As a child, I didn't really

like walking. you know, you take 10

steps, you're like, "Oh, are we nearly

there yet? Can I have a piggy back?" You

know, and it's like, "Oh, you don't

really want to walk as a child." But

actually, sometimes you really enjoy a

walk as a child, kicking the leaves

about, running about, having fun. A walk

is good, isn't it? It's good for us

physically, mentally, spiritually, and a

walk is good for conversation, too. And

their walk would have lasted between two

or two and a half hours. So there's

plenty of time for depressing discussion

to go on. And when Jesus catches up with

them, he asks what they're talking

about. For them, there is only one

possibility, one topic that they could

be talking about.

It's like if something dramatic happens

in the world like remember back when

that that the queen died or when we left

Europe or even when it's Christmas time

or when it's holiday time all those

things you know there's something you

can go to to talk about

those become the topic of conversation

and in in their minds the only possible

topic of conversation is what had just

happened to Jesus verse verse 18

everyone in Jerusale M knew about this

and presumably everyone was talking

about this but Jesus wants to draw out

of them what do you understand what do

they understand by what's happened so he

asks them in verse 19 oh what things

and their reply is revealing they reveal

who they think Jesus was verse 19

a man who was a prophet mighty indeed is

my mic oh it It's working. Yeah. Sorry.

No, it's okay. It just didn't I couldn't

hear myself booming. But as long as you

can hear me, that's the main thing.

Right. Back to verse 19. A man who was a

prophet, mighty indeed and and word

before God and all the people. And in

verse 21, how they had hoped he would

redeem Israel. They had hoped he was the

Messiah.

But now,

and then they share how now even his

body was missing.

There's been reports that he's alive,

but he hasn't been seen. And so they are

they are sad. Their hope has been

dashed. That these there's these

unbelievable claims being made about

him.

But as for them, well, they think it's

all over. So they are leaving Jerusalem.

They have no need to stay. However long

they have invested in following Jesus,

surely that is now all wasted. Whatever

hope they had for the future, that is

now gone. And so they're going home.

It's done. It's over. This is a

conversation of despair and loss and

confusion.

And if Jesus hadn't risen from the dead,

they would be right, wouldn't they?

A Christianity where Jesus remained dead

would be hopeless.

As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:14,

1 Corinthians 15:14

"And if Christ has not been raised, then

our preaching is in vain and your faith

is in vain. If our faith is in vain,

then then what a waste of our time and

our lives." You know, what are we doing

here? What are we dunking people in

water for? If if it's all just based on

nothing,

if Jesus didn't rise,

then all we have is just these handful

of decades that we might be able to get

out of life. And if we get a a lucky go

of it, if we get, you know, a bit of

happiness in there, well, that's good.

But if we don't, well, that's just

tough. Then

how utterly depressing. There's no hope,

no point, no even in our pain and our

heartbreak that it's all meaningless.

How utterly depressing that is. And I I

guess that's why so many people fill

their lives

with anything to make ourselves feel

better. You know, drugs,

drink, pleasure, spending, mindless

scrolling, entertain me, you know, do

something. just take my mind off reality

because if there is no hope then it how

can we cope like that?

Block out those thoughts of hopelessness

and senselessness

that people desperately want something

to live for. We know deep down we know

that there is something more than just

living. There's something more than just

struggling and getting through. We know

that intrinsically that that's how we're

built. We know it's not just about

living and then dying and then that's

it.

But if Jesus was dead, then actually

there is nothing more.

There's nothing more meaningful. There's

nothing to hope for. There's no no

future.

Perhaps there is someone here who used

to have a hope in Jesus.

You used to have purpose. You used to

have meaning. You used to have a faith.

But now that hope, that faith, that

vision of Jesus, somewhere along the

line, perhaps it's lost or getting lost.

This is the road the disciples were

walking down. A road of disappointment

in Jesus, a road of lost faith.

And yet, that is not how their story

ends. And if you think that's you and

you feel like your vision of Jesus is is

becoming dull and you're losing it, that

is not how your story has to end too

because Jesus isn't dead. Jesus rose to

life again. And unbeknown to these

disciples, he is actually with them at

that very moment.

Currently, they're blind to him. They

don't recognize him. They don't see him.

They don't understand. But Jesus is

there just the same believer. Sometimes

we can feel distant to God. Sometimes we

feel like I just doesn't feel like God

is here or with me and I don't know that

closeness that fellowship and we can

feel so discouraged. But believer if you

are in Jesus despite how you might feel

he is not distant. He is still with you.

Even if you can't see it right at that

moment, he is still there.

Well, the slowness to believe earns them

a rebuke because given what they had,

given what they knew, they should have

known better. They should have believed.

Jesus isn't going to leave them in that

sorrowful state. He's going to show them

himself and he's going to do that in the

scriptures. And that's our second point,

seeing Jesus.

I wonder if you can think back um

through your life and there's certain

moments that you you enjoy. You know,

you look back and you think that that

was a high point in my life. Maybe it's

a holiday. You look back and you think,

"Yeah, I was really happy on that

holiday." Or maybe it's if you got

married, you might look back and that

that was a really happy day. I was re

really happy. or maybe if you've had a

child when your your child was born or

or maybe it's when you retired you think

that was a great day. Um special moments

we can sort of look back throughout our

lives and go, "Yeah, that that was a

good time. That was a good season, a

good period." Yeah. I wonder if having a

Bible study is one of those moments you

go you look back and go, "Yeah, that was

a great Bible study." Maybe they haven't

quite reached that pinnacle for you. I

don't know. come along to our church

Bible studies and it might be different,

you know, you never know. But um

listening to a sermon, maybe maybe you

can remember a certain sermon go, yeah,

I remember like Noah was saying in his

testimony, he can remember that preacher

and how the Lord spoke to him through

that that sermon.

These disciples as they listened to

Jesus open the scriptures,

there was something special. They didn't

want to be anywhere else at that

particular point.

Now to be fair, studying the Bible can

be deathly dull. In my teens, in our

youth group, we used to we uh meet

weekly and we had a Bible study and it

was so boring.

It probably says more about my spiritual

state than the person leading, but it

was just like

really going through the questions

reading and then someone else came in

and they took over leading the youth

group and the difference was amazing.

Suddenly we we realized the Bible can be

thrilling. It can be exciting and as as

teenagers we were into it. We were like,

"Yeah, let's let's let's read the Bible.

Let's talk about it." It was amazing.

And as teenagers, we were really excited

about the Lord and studying the word.

That's what I would love for each one of

us here to discover

that in the scriptures, we meet Jesus.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can

understand and we know about God. It's a

real It's a real thing.

But as for these disciples, they they've

been kept from recognizing Jesus. that

that suggests that there's something

external, some supernatural concealing

going on. Why have they been kept from

recognizing Jesus? But we're not told

why. But I would suggest there's at

least two reasons why. So if they

immediately recognize Jesus, like, oh,

it's Jesus. Great. Anything else on that

point would be really hard to take in.

You know, it's like if you're at school,

remember back to your school days, and

it snows in the middle of a class.

You're not going to do much learning

from that point on, are you? You're

looking out the window, counting down to

the minutes before you can go out and

play in the snow. Any learning is just,

you know, gone. Your mind concentration

is gone. And if Jesus wants to teach

them something, they need to be able to

be in a place where they can learn. And

perhaps that's why he is kept from them.

that is in recognizing uh they're kept

from recognizing him. They've got

something important to learn. But second

reason why perhaps they are kept from

recognizing him is physically seeing

Jesus isn't going to be the norm from

that point on. And so Jesus is opening

their eyes to how they can see him from

that point on and they can see him in

the scriptures. So this may be a kind of

acted out parable. So right now their

lack of physical comprehension, they

can't really understand who Jesus is.

That mirrors their lack of spiritual

comprehension.

And so Jesus is going to open their eyes

spiritually. And then we'll see their

physical eyes are opened a bit later on,

but he's going to open their eyes

spiritually through the Old Testament.

I don't know about you, but wouldn't you

have just loved to be in on this Bible

study that Jesus gives them? It it would

have been fantastic. What a Bible study

to be a part of that. They say their

hearts are burning within them.

It's interesting. Noah said about how

his his heart was beating in his chest.

Maybe that maybe their hearts were

beating in their chest.

I I picture this a bit like you're in a

grand

um theater, a big stage. Can you can you

see it? Big stage. The seats are all

going up there, but the stage is in

complete darkness. You can't see

anything.

And as Jesus speaks,

it's like a big spotlight is thrown on

and it illuminates part. And then Jesus

carries on another spotlight and another

and another. And as he walks them

through the Old Testament, it's like the

whole thing begins to be illuminated.

and and their understanding is like yes

I see I see I see

Jesus is using the scriptures to

illuminate their minds and it's

thrilling so what did Jesus say

well verse 26 Jesus is proving from the

scriptures that the Christ or the

Messiah had to suffer this wasn't a

tragic mistake this was the very plan of

God woven throughout scriptures coming

to fruition in Jesus so perhaps he took

them back to Genesis 3:5 15, you know,

Genesis 3:5

he shall bruise your head and you shall

bruise his heel. Or perhaps he took them

to Abraham about when Abraham was about

to sacrifice his son Isaac and God

provided the ram that substitution.

Perhaps he spoke about himself in that

that context.

Perhaps he took them back to the

Passover and explained the significance

of how Jesus died on the cross so that

the judgment passes over those who are

saved by the blood of the lamb. Did

Jesus take them to the sacrifices in

Leviticus and and show them why they had

to be spotless and pure and holy? Did he

take them back to that that point in the

desert when Moses lifted up the bronze

snake so that all who looked and and in

believing faith at that snake they would

be saved? Did he say and that stands for

me as I was lifted up on the cross? Did

he take them through Psalm 22 and show

them how David had predicted so much of

what had happened to Jesus? And and

surely he would have taken them to to

Isaiah portions of Isaiah 53

where we are shown how Jesus the servant

had to be wounded for our

transgressions. How the Lord laid on him

the sin, the iniquity of of us all.

There's many places Jesus could have

taken them. In fact, it says in verse

27, how Jesus explained to them what was

said in all the scriptures concerning

himself. And that, by the way, is the

right way to read your Old Testament, to

view your Old Testament. It's is old.

The Old Testament is set in history. It

has an historic and primary meaning, but

all of scripture in one way or another

also points forward to and is fulfilled

in Christ. So in the Old Testament there

are shadows, there are pointers, there

are predictions, there are examples,

there are patterns, there are plans and

it all leads to it all finds its

fulfillment in Christ.

What the Old Testament does is it

fleshes out the background. It shows us,

it demonstrates, it it it it it tells

the story that we need to understand of

man's fall, of our sin, of how we keep

going away, we keep rebelling, and so

God has to come in and he has to do it

all. It fleshes that out for us. It

shows us his mission. The old gives the

new its context. And that's why so many

New Testament authors keep referring

back to the old because the new is the

fulfillment of what was antic

anticipated, illustrated, and promised.

Jesus says as much in John 5:39.

John 5:39

He said, "You search the scriptures

because you think in them you have

eternal life, and it is they, the

scriptures, that bear witness about me."

Jesus claimed this for himself. This is

what Philip said in John 1:45. We have

John 1:45

found him of whom Moses in the law and

also the prophets wrote. Jesus of

Nazareth, the son of Joseph. So parts of

the Old Testament, they can be hard to

understand, but it's always a good

question to bear in mind. What's this

telling me? What's this showing me about

Christ? And as Jesus spoke, as Jesus the

Messiah and his mission and his

sufferings and his death, it began to

make sense. The lights were being thrown

on in their their mind and

understanding.

Now we don't have Jesus physically here

with us teaching us in that way. But we

do have his spirit who teaches us, who

enables us to understand, who opens our

eyes spiritually. And we have his word,

don't we? The scripture and the spirit

show us Jesus and and Jesus changes

everything. If you've lost your hope,

then come back to Jesus.

Open up his word again. Read a gospel.

Take a walk with the Savior once more.

Well, as Jesus walked with them and gave

them the the Bible study like no other,

it must have been one of the highlights

of their life.

A moment uh they look back on with great

joy and wish it had never ended. But as

they near Emmas,

it's naturally going to come to an end

because they're there. They've arrived.

They're home.

But they're not ready for it to end

because there's just something about

this guy. And so verse 29, they urge him

strongly. It's almost to the point of

embarrassment. They are saying, "No, you

you please you you cannot go on. Stay

with us." And it is quite a reasonable

request. After all, people didn't really

travel in the dark. You had risk of

robbers or wild animals or it was

dangerous because there were no street

lamps. You could fall down a hole or

walk off a cliff. It was it was didn't

generally travel at night. Uh but Jesus,

it seems to me Jesus is giving them an

opt out. If they've had enough, if they

don't want him, then he's just going to

carry on. But what are they saying? No,

you you can't leave. You can't go. We We

want you. Come into our home.

Jesus is happy to spend time with those

who want him.

How slow

are we to take the time to read our

Bibles?

How quickly we close them

without really thinking about what we've

read? You know, it's like, I've done my

bit. I can tick my box.

What about spending a little bit of time

thinking, "Wow, that was hard to

understand, but what could it mean?"

Actually thinking about it. You know

how slow we can be to come to home

groups or Bible studies or even to just

church.

That's sad when that's the situation

because hopefully if if you want to know

the Lord, you're going to want to

continue to seek him and and and be with

him and know more about him. They don't

want this to be over. their spiritual

eyes, their hearts have been opened. And

so they open their home to Jesus. And

it's as Jesus breaks their breaks the

bread, their physical eyes are opened.

Perhaps it was something in the way he

broke it. And they thought that's like

Jesus. Perhaps they saw the nail marks

in his hands. Or perhaps it was just

that Jesus had now shown them what he

wanted. Uh they'd seen him in the

scriptures. And to illustrate that and

to authenticate that, now they see him

in reality. They see him with their eyes

physically right there and then he's

gone.

But now

everything has changed. Everything has

changed. And we'll see that in our final

point. Excited by joy.

We recently um spent a few days in North

Devon and uh as is always the case with

British weather. Uh it was interesting.

Um and it was it was interesting. Um so

one day it started off clear and we

thought that's great. It's a lovely day.

We'll take a walk around Baggy Point if

you know the walk. And um about halfway

round suddenly the mist descended and

visibility was quite limited and

everything just faded away into white.

It was it was lovely. It was you know it

was a lovely thing to see. But the next

day, the sun was out and the quality of

the light was so brilliant that we all

remarked on how vivid everything was,

how crystal clear everything appeared.

The details were so crisp. I felt like

someone had given me a new pair of

glasses or a new set of eyeballs. It was

like I just don't remember seeing this

clearly. It was just amazing. A a kind

of almost magical super realistic light.

It was amazing. The difference from one

day misty to the next. Clarity was

significant. And for these two

disciples, everything has changed. They

were walking away from Jerusalem.

And now they leave their food and they

head back to Jerusalem. Despite the

darkness, something has changed.

Something big has changed for them. They

left the other disciples. Now they go

back to them. They left with their hopes

dashed, glum, dismayed, thinking it's

all over. It's all finished. But now

their hope hope burns brighter than

ever. Their hearts are burning. They

left thinking they had lost Jesus and

that Jesus's mission had failed and it

was all over. But now Jesus has found

them, set their hearts on fire. He'd

showed them and this is exactly what was

meant to take place. This was all part

of God's plan. And so their grief has

been turned to joy.

God and his plans have not been

frustrated.

Rather, God's plan of redemption has

been fulfilled. And their lives

following Jesus hasn't been a waste.

It's not defeat. It's victory because

Jesus is alive.

how did their return jour how how

different their return journey must have

been. How different their conversation

must have been.

And they knew they had important news

about Jesus that they couldn't just keep

for themselves. They couldn't just say,

"Oh, well, we're just going not going to

tell anyone." They had to share this.

You know, they're thinking the brothers

back in Jerusalem were still in

confusion. They still don't know. We've

got to share this good news of Jesus,

haven't we? We can't just keep it to

ourselves. And for those of us who know

there is a savior, we have a good news

that needs to be shared. People need to

know this. People are crying out. This

is the meaning that the the point of

life that that that people need. It is

what saves them. This believing faith in

the Lord Jesus.

It it changes everything. Jesus is not

dead. He is alive. Death is not the end.

There is a life in Jesus that goes on

and on for eternity and it can be yours

through faith in the Lord Jesus. This

changes absolutely everything.

I bet their 2 and 1/2 hour journey back

was rather quicker than on the way

there. They're not dragging their feet

despite the darkness. There is a new

spring in their step. They know beyond a

doubt Jesus is alive and that changes

everything. And as they get there,

expecting to be the ones to break the

the big news. Guys, guess what?

But verse 34, the Lord had already

appeared to Simon Peter, and they

already knew. So, talk about having your

thunder stolen, but no matter, they tell

it anyway cuz they're just so excited.

We're going to tell you anyway because

the Lord appeared to us and we he did

this Bible study. It was fantastic. And

yeah, you can imagine the excitement in

that room, can't you?

I'm sure we'd all love to have been

there to see those things, to see Jesus

face to face. But one day, we will see

Jesus face to face.

But until then, we see Jesus in the

scriptures. And we know him because he

lives in our hearts by his holy spirit.

But Jesus has promised he is coming back

for us. And we will one day be with him

and see him and know him like never

before.

So the truth of the resurrection changes

everything. Things are not out of

control.

Things are not hopeless or futile.

It's not a waste of time to follow

Jesus. God's plan is bang on track. God

is achieving what he wants to achieve.

He is achieving good things for those

who love him. Even through our struggles

and our difficulties, there is a

purpose. There is a goal. It's not

wasted. God is making all things new.

And he is preparing you. If you belong

to Jesus, he's preparing you for glory

to be with him in eternity. And one day,

the risen Lord will return and gather us

to himself. So our hope, our faith, our

service, it is all worth it. That's how

Paul finishes the 1 Corinthians chapter

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

15, that great chapter on the

resurrection. He says this, "Therefore,

my beloved brothers, be steadfast,

immovable,

always abounding in the work of the

Lord, knowing that in the Lord your

labor is not in vain."

Jesus's resurrection proves our labor,

our faith, our hope, our following Jesus

is not in vain, for he lives. So don't

give up.

Stand firm. Be on your guard. Seek the

Lord daily. Persevere in your reading.

Persevere in your prayer. Don't give up

meeting with his people. And when you

get the chance, share the good news with

somebody.

Let me just read these words from

Hebrews. They should appear on the

screen as well. Hebrews chapter 10 verse

Hebrews 10:22

22. Let us draw near with a true heart

in full assurance of faith with our

hearts sprinkled clean from an evil

conscience and our bodies washed with

pure water. Let us hold fast the

confession of our hope without wavering.

For he who promised is faithful. And let

us consider how to stir up one another

to love and good works, not neglecting

to meet together, as some are in the

habit of of doing, but encouraging one

another. And all the more as you see the

day drawing near.

Baptism symbolizes how we've been washed

clean. How we've been united with Jesus

in his death. But not only in his death,

in his resurrection, too. And that

changes everything. In Jesus, we have

everything to live for.

In Jesus, we even have everything to die

for. Jesus is alive and we are alive in

him. And that changes everything. Let's

just be quiet before the Lord for a few

moments.

Father God, we thank you for this

awesome truth.

Lord, no matter what we face, no matter

how big our struggles, no matter

how severe our wobbles,

Lord, we thank you that Jesus rose to

life. And if we are in him, then we are

risen with him. And in that sense, we

can never die. Even though we die, we

will not die, but we will pass into

life. Father, we thank you for the truth

of the gospel. We thank you that no one

can snatch us out of his hands. Lord, we

thank you that in him there is the

complete forgiveness of sins. There is

the washing clean, the renewal of

ourselves. And Lord, we thank you that

one day we shall see the Lord as he is.

And Lord, we will be like him. Lord,

what a wonderful gospel. Thrill our

hearts once again. We pray in Jesus

name. Amen.

We're going to sing about um our the

hope that we have uh in our next song uh

living hope. During this time, some of

us will be um going and getting changed

and then we'll uh baptize Noah. So, um

yeah, we'll stand to sing.