Lectionary: The Road to Emmaus April 19, 2026

Well, good morning and welcome to Trinity.

My name is Mike, and I'm one of the pastors here.

And this morning I'd like to invite you to turn your Bibles to Luke chapter 24.

Luke 24 · chapter mention

If you don't have a Bible, please don't hesitate to hop up and grab one from the stack in the back.

You can find Luke 24 on page 831 in the church Bibles.

I love the wilderness.

Catch me on a mountaintop.

Far from any road with just people I love.

No evidence of humans in any other direction, and it's about as happy as I get.

I started running a few years ago just so that I could get further into the wilderness faster and easier.

And to be honest, so I could keep up with my boys in the mountains.

My Instagram feed is basically just now a place where I save pictures of my adventures in the mountains.

In fact, I wrote this sermon sitting on my back porch looking at the woods because it's the closest I can get to the wilderness at the moment.

Of course, you spend enough time in the wilderness and you learn pretty quickly that it's not safe and that it can be terrifying.

After all, there's no dark like the dark of the wilderness.

Getting lost in the wilderness is about as disorienting as anything in life.

Lightning and fire and cold and wet, ask me how I know, all come with very real risks.

I often come back from a trip into the woods bruised, sometimes bloody, always muddy.

And if I'm doing it right, a little bit different.

Wilderness is a motif that's common to Scripture.

Sometimes it's the literal wilderness, like in the story of Exodus, where God leads his people out of slavery into the wilderness in order to form them, to help them unlearn the patterns of slavery that they had learned in Egypt, and learn instead how to be the people of God.

Always, the wilderness is a place of disorientation, of change.

It's a place where life feels a bit out of control or uncertain.

Have you ever felt like that?

Like life feels just a bit out of control or uncertain?

Often the wilderness is a place of confusion or hardship or trial, like Jesus being tempted by Satan in the desert, or wrestling in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, or David on the run from King Saul.

And while I've never yet had to go on the run from a king who wanted to kill me, I have had real seasons of trial and hardship where it seems like the hits just keep coming.

Have you ever felt like that?

Sometimes in Scripture, the wilderness is a place of darkness and grief, where you're confronted by your own sin and brokenness, like Jonah in the belly of a whale, swallowed up by the weight of his poor decisions.

Or Peter fleeing into the night after denying Jesus for the third time.

Or Jairus, that synagogue ruler who runs to Jesus desperate for his help, as his daughter lay dying.

Afraid.

Grieving.

In a place that is dark and hurts so much.

Have you ever felt like that?

This is what it feels like to be in the wilderness.

Seasons of pain or suffering.

Confusion or hardship, darkness, and grief.

There's all sorts of degrees to it, sometimes severe, but always a challenge.

Have you ever felt like that?

Maybe you even find yourself in a season or situation like that today.

Our story today finds two men, Cleopus and his unnamed friend, in a situation like that.

Lost, confused, uncertain, grieving, in the wilderness, so to speak.

And as they're on their way, Luke tells us where and how Jesus finds them before leading them back home.

Before we look more closely, though, let's pray.

Gracious God, thank you for this morning for the chance to gather, to worship, to pray, to learn from your scriptures.

I pray now that as my words line up with your words, that they would fall on ears and hearts ready to receive them and respond.

And gracious God, if I say anything that isn't from you, I pray that those words would quickly be forgotten.

I pray all these things through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Let's start by taking a look at the situation.

We'll start at verse 13.

Luke tells us that that very day, that is Easter Sunday still, two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.

Now, we don't know exactly where Emmaus was or was not.

We have some educated guesses.

What we do know, however, was that ancient Jerusalem was not like the DMV.

Here, you can leave the city and not leave the suburbs for like what, 45 minutes?

50 minutes, maybe?

30 miles, that whole stretch.

Nonstop strip malls, businesses, houses, maybe a park or two, and so, so, so many cars.

But ancient Israel was not like that at all.

Unlike our own sprawling urban environment, the transition from city to wilderness in ancient Israel happened quickly.

You'd go straight from the bustling streets of Jerusalem to steep, terraced farms, and then into a barren landscape of deep ravines and steep hills.

These men, once a few miles outside of the city, would have been in the literal wilderness.

And they were talking with each other, this is verse 14, about all these things that had just happened.

While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near them and went with them.

But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.

And he said to them, What is this conversation they are holding with each other as you walk?

And they stood still.

They stopped their walk, looking sad.

They're grieving, disappointed.

Here's why.

Look at verse 18.

One of them, named Cleopus, answered him, Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who doesn't know the things that have happened there in these days?

Like Jesus doesn't know.

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 crucified him.

We had hoped, we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.

We had hoped that he was the Messiah.

That he was the one.

They're disappointed, confused.

They were pretty certain.

Their hopes are dashed.

Besides all this, it's now the third day since these things happened.

Jesus, they think, is dead.

Three days dead.

Good and dead.

But look at verse 22.

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 he was alive.

Some of those who are with us went to the tomb.

They found it, just like the women said, but Jesus they did not see.

So first they're sad.

Their hopes are dashed, grieving.

Now they're confused, maybe a little bit hopeful.

His body's gone.

There is maybe an angel.

They said they haven't seen him.

But they're hoping for something that seems totally impossible.

One thing is for certain.

They are disoriented, sad, grieving, hopeless, hopeful?

Is it possible?

Somewhere in between?

I guess we'll just go on a walk.

We'll just head on home.

And they're in the wilderness as Jesus meets them, both literally and figuratively.

And it's in the wilderness, literally and figuratively, that Jesus finds them.

In this story, I see three primary ways that Jesus meets these men.

Three distinct places.

And in the same places that I've found in my own experience, Jesus tends to meet us today, whether you're in a wilderness season or not.

The first we just read, did you notice it?

Jesus drew near to them as they walked together and talked about him.

Look back at verse 14.

The 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.

And while they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.

Jesus finds them while they're walking together and talking about him.

In my own experience, maybe yours too, Jesus tends to show up when we gather with other Christians and speak about him.

The Christian life isn't meant to be a solitary affair, but a life of faith is meant to be lived with others.

Of course, he doesn't reveal himself to them just yet, which is comforting to me.

Verse 16 tells us their eyes were kept from recognizing him.

Sometimes, sometimes we don't see Jesus because he's got some other work to do first.

Sometimes we don't see Jesus because he's got some other work to do first, which is comforting to me because it's not unusual in those wilderness moments that I find myself looking up like, hey God, where are you?

What is going on?

I can't see you, I can't hear you, I'm not sure which way is up, which way is down, I'm in a little bit of a rough spot.

And I've found sometimes, sometimes I'm in a rough spot because I'm in a rough spot, right?

Because I've got some unconfessed sin or some patterns in my life that need to be changed, right?

Or because I'm not paying attention.

But sometimes I'm not seeing Jesus just because he's got something to do first.

In this instance, he's got some stuff he's got to teach them.

And yet he finds them all the same as they're walking together and talking about him.

And Jesus starts walking with them.

And as he does, you notice what he does?

He asks them a few questions.

Jesus loves asking us questions.

He loves taking us deeper, making us think and wrestle.

He asks them in verse 17, what's this conversation you're holding with each other as you walk?

And they describe the situation to him.

Jesus listens.

He asks a follow-up question, verse 19.

He listens some more.

And then he begins to teach.

He said to them, O foolish ones, slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.

Verse 26, another question.

Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?

That's three questions he asks.

And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

Friends, this is the second way that Jesus often reveals himself to us through the scriptures.

He reveals himself to us through these pages.

And oh, this has been so true for my own spiritual life.

The seasons where Jesus seems awfully far away tend to be stretches where I'm not reading and studying and listening to the Bible as I ought, when I'm not seeking him in these pages.

On the flip side, I've found that when I regularly and consistently open my Bible and look for Jesus and ask for him to speak to me and listen for his questions, he consistently does so.

It's not always when I want him to show up or the way I want him to, but I found that generally speaking, it is awfully hard to hear God's voice without opening the Bible.

And just as verse 27 notes, all of the scriptures point to Jesus.

It's awfully hard to see him and hear his voice without ever opening these pages.

So they're together, they're walking.

Jesus shows up.

He explains how all the scriptures point to him.

And then they reach their destination.

They get to Emmaus.

And Jesus pretends he needs to keep going, but they ask him to stay with him.

I think Jesus wants them to ask him to stay with them, doesn't he?

I think he wants us to ask him to stay with him.

And they do.

Verse 29, they urge him strongly, saying, stay with us, for it's toward evening and the day is now spent.

And so he went in to stay with them.

Now look, this isn't a half-hearted invitation.

It's not a, hey, if you don't have something else going on, you're welcome to come inside for a bit.

You've got some free time, I'd love to hang out, maybe eventually.

Let me know what's good for you.

We all know these invitations, don't we?

This is not one of those.

There's an emphasis, a sense in the Greek.

They urged him strongly that they pressed him.

There's a sense that they almost compelled him to stay with them.

They urged him strongly.

It's their seeking, their persistence.

It's their pressing.

And then it's their hospitality that makes room for the coming revelation.

Are you seeking?

Pressing, urging Jesus to come into your life.

Are you making that sort of room for him in your days and in your nights?

Cleopus and his unnamed friend do.

And Jesus steps inside.

Now it's worth noting that Jesus still hasn't revealed himself to them.

At least not fully.

He's met them on their walk.

He's explained the scriptures to them.

But they still don't know who he is until he sits down at the table with them.

Look at verse 30.

When he was at the table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it, and he gave it to them.

And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.

The third place that Jesus tends to meet us is at his table in the breaking of bread.

For two thousand years, Jesus has been meeting his people and revealing himself at his communion table.

He still is today.

It's why we gather around this table each and every week.

And he's been feeding his people bread in the wilderness even longer.

He did it in Mana in the Exodus.

He did it for Elijah when he was deep in a depression.

He does it for us today.

And then, and then Jesus is gone.

He's gone.

You notice this?

The men spend more time not seeing Jesus than they do seeing Jesus.

Like a lot more time not seeing Jesus than seeing Jesus, which, to be honest, is a comfort to me.

That it's not always my inability to see, but the fact that Jesus comes and goes as he pleases.

And that just because you can't see Jesus doesn't mean he isn't there.

Or that he isn't with you.

Or that he won't be with you again soon.

In this instance, Jesus gives them what they need, which is himself, and then he's gone.

But he doesn't leave until he's met them, though they don't know it, as they walk together, after he's revealed himself in the scriptures, and finally at his table.

They knew something was happening.

They just weren't sure yet.

They didn't have language for it at the time, but in retrospect, they were able to identify that it was Jesus the whole time.

And isn't this how it so often goes in our own lives?

In the moment of trial or confusion or darkness, we can't see Jesus.

We look around, where are you?

Help, I'm drowning! I'm in the belly of a fish.

What's going on here?

It doesn't mean he isn't there.

We just can't see him.

And then later, after the fact, we can look back and say, oh, yes.

That was Jesus.

It was Jesus the whole time.

No, friends, this is such an important truth for us to remember.

That we will often struggle to see or understand what Jesus is up to.

In any given moment.

But that doesn't mean he's not up to something.

He's always up to something.

You can be deep in the wilderness, deep in the dark.

Doesn't mean he's not up to something.

You don't have to will yourself out of that place.

You just need to wait and trust and look and walk with others together and keep speaking about Jesus and keep seeking him in these pages and keep coming back to his table over and over and over again.

Down the road, you'll look back and remember and see, oh, Jesus.

You were up to something this whole time.

You were with me as I walked with my friends.

And as I opened the pages of scripture and looked for you.

And as I came, as we came to your table, over and over and over again.

And it's likely not to be until later that you'll ever be able to articulate what he was doing all along.

This brings me to my last point.

Look at this, verse 33.

Jesus' self-revelation always leads to sending.

Jesus's self-revelation always leads to sending.

They rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem.

Which honestly, if you think about it, is a little bit ridiculous.

Just like that.

Jesus joins them as they walk together in the wilderness seven miles.

Luke tells us that's how far they walked.

Dirt road.

Jesus reveals himself in the scriptures along the way.

And then finally, it's like the sun is going down, the day is getting late, it's time to eat.

They press Jesus, come inside, they sit down, he breaks bread, their eyes are opened, they see Jesus.

Jesus leaves and they get up from the table right away, even though at this point it must certainly be nighttime, and they've already walked seven miles, and they start walking right back.

All the way back to Jerusalem.

Jesus reveals himself to them, and then they've got to go.

It seems like they just can't help themselves.

They've got to tell somebody.

They've got to stand up, they've got to get moving.

Friends, hear this.

Hear this when I say it to you.

Jesus doesn't reveal himself to us so that we can stay in the same place.

He didn't die and rise again for us to stay the same.

And so they go.

They get up and they go all the way back to Jerusalem, the full seven miles again, where verse 33 tells us they find the eleven.

Those who are with them gathered together.

In that group, the eleven are saying, The Lord's risen indeed, which is where we get those words.

He's appeared.

Simon Peter saw him.

And then verse 35, these two men told them what had happened to them on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Jesus reveals himself to them.

And then he leaves.

And they get up and they go and they tell the Lord has risen indeed.

Alleluia.

Alleluia.

Friends, wilderness seasons are inevitable.

Some of you are in them in one right now.

Times of suffering, confusion, darkness, hardship, grief.

Inevitable.

Inevitable.

Some of you maybe seem like you've been in it forever.

But God doesn't waste it.

He doesn't waste it.

He never wastes it.

Instead, it's often those stretches of life along those roads that He meets us in extraordinary ways.

We often won't see it in the moment.

Doesn't mean he isn't there.

If we pay attention, we'll look back and we'll see him everywhere.

And in particular, it seems, we'll look back and realize that he's found us and is finding us today the same way he found these two men two thousand years ago.

As we walk and talk about him with others, as we seek him in the pages of the scripture, as we gather around his table.

You want to see Jesus?

These places are an awfully good place to start.

Will you stand and pray with me?

Oh gracious God, would you help us to see you?

Would you, by your grace, give us eyes to see you?

I'm so encouraged that as these men walked along the road, you're the one that found them.

God, would you come and find us anew this week as we walk together with others?

I pray by your spirit that you would empower us, help us to seek you in the pages of Scripture this week.

Oh, and Lord, as we prepare to come to your table, would you meet us again as you always do in the breaking of bread.

We pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.