Their Eyes Were Opened

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word this morning.

Heavenly Father,

before the reading and preaching of your word,

we pray to seek your help

because we know our desperate situation.

Because we know that

we are powerless on our own

to grasp eternal truth,

to come to faith in them.

Because we know that no matter how hard I preach,

no matter how well prepared I am,

apart from the work of your powerful Holy Spirit,

not a single person will be saved.

And so we ask

that you

speak to us this morning,

address us,

carry forth your word

by the breath of your spirit

so that we might hear

and so that we might believe

to your glory.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Luke 24,

Luke 24:13–32

verses 13 to 32.

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 this 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 indeed,

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.

But we had hoped

that he was the one to redeem Israel.

Yes.

And besides all this,

it is now the third day

since these things happened.

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 woman had said,

but him they did not see.

And he said to them,

O foolish ones,

and slow of heart

to believe all that the prophets have spoken.

Was it not necessary

that the Christ should suffer these things

and enter into his glory?

And beginning with Moses

and all the prophets,

he interpreted to them

in all the scriptures

the things concerning himself.

So they drew near to the village

to which they were going.

He acted as if he were going further.

But they urged him strongly,

saying,

Stay with us,

for it is toward evening

and the day is now far spent.

So he went in to stay with them.

When he was at table with them,

he took the bread

and blessed and broke it

and gave it to them.

And their eyes were opened.

And they recognized him.

And he vanished from their sight.

They said to each other,

Did not our hearts burn within us

while he talked to us on the road,

while he opened to us

the scriptures.

This is God's holy

and authoritative word.

Even if you don't teach vocationally

like I do,

you have probably taught someone something.

We do all kinds of teaching informally

in various contexts.

And you may have experienced

that gratifying moment

when the person

that you're teaching something to

finally gets something

that you're saying.

That aha moment.

The moment when the penny drops,

as the expression goes.

When something finally clicks

in their minds

and their eyes are open

to new things.

That teaching begins

to affect that person.

Changes the way they think

where they do things.

And one of the most humbling aspects

of being a pastor

and a preacher of God's word

is that no matter how hard I try,

I can't,

in my own,

produce that

in the people that are listening.

I can't open the spiritual eyes

of a single human being

to the wonders of the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

Christ.

And that's the case

not because of my personal limitations,

of which admittedly there are many,

but because of an inherently

human limitation.

This was the case

even for the 19th century

British pastor

known as the Prince of Preachers,

Charles Spurgeon.

He puts it this way

in one of his sermons.

The gospel is preached

in the ears of all.

It only comes with power

to some.

The power that is in the gospel

does not lie

in the eloquence

of the preacher.

Otherwise,

men would be

the converter of souls.

Nor does it lie

in the preacher's learning.

Otherwise,

it would consist

in the wisdom of man.

The power which converts souls

does not even lie

in the preacher's simplicity.

or adaptation

to his work.

That is a secondary agency,

but not the cause.

Again,

the power which converts souls

does not even lie

in the pathos

which the speaker

may employ.

Men may weep

to the tragic muse

in a theater

as well as

to prophetic strains

in a chapel.

Their creaturely passions

may be impressed

through the acting

on the stage

as well as

by the utterance

of God's own servants.

No.

There is something

more than this

needed.

And where it is absent,

all preaching

is nothing.

We might preach

till our tongues

rotted,

till we should exhaust

our lungs and die,

but never a soul

would be converted

unless there were

the mysterious power

of the Holy Spirit

going with it,

changing the will

of man.

O sirs,

we might as well

preach to stone walls

as preached to humanity

unless the Holy Spirit

is with the word

to give it power

to convert

the soul.

Our converts

are worth nothing.

If they are converted

by man,

they can be

unconverted by man.

If some charm

or power

of one preacher

can bring them

to Christ,

some charm

or power

of another preacher

can take them

from Christ.

True conversion

is the work

of the Holy Spirit

and of the Holy Spirit

alone.

Our passage today

is one of the

clearest demonstrations

of that reality

in all of Scripture.

It teaches us

that God

is the one

who opens

the eyes

of our hearts

so that we

understand his word

and believe

in Christ,

the Redeemer.

That's the main point

of this passage.

And I will unpack

that in two parts.

First,

we'll talk about

believing in the

spoken,

word,

in verses 13 to 27.

And then we'll talk

about partaking

in the broken bread

in verses 28 to 35.

So let's first

look at believing

in the spoken word.

So far in this

last two chapters,

we've seen

two clues

about Jesus'

resurrection.

First,

the empty tomb.

And second,

the angelic announcement.

But despite

the woman

sharing this news

of Jesus'

resurrection

and the vision

of the angels

to the apostles

and the disciples,

it said in verse 10

that they did not

believe them.

And that brings us

to this most dramatic

resurrection account

in all of the Gospels.

It says in verse 13,

that very day,

meaning still the same day

of the preceding events,

the Sunday morning

of Resurrection Sunday,

and two of them

were going to a village

named Emmaus

about seven miles

from Jerusalem.

Two of them

is a reference

to the group

of apostles

and disciples

that were just

mentioned,

the very group

that did not believe

the report of the woman.

And one of them

is named Cleopas,

verse 18.

And since he's not

one of the remaining

eleven apostles,

and presumably

his companion

is also not an apostle

since he's not named,

these two are part

of Jesus'

larger group

of disciples.

And the fact

that there's two

of them should be

alert to us already

if you've been with us

throughout the Gospel

of Luke,

because at every

critical juncture

of the Gospel

of Luke,

Luke has taken pains

to tell us

that there were

two or at least

three witnesses

to attest to

every event

of Jesus' life.

At his birth,

at his trial,

at his death,

at his resurrection.

So Luke wants

to note here

by showing us

that there were

two witnesses

that this is not

a fanciful story

made up by a disciple

who is eager

for people's attention.

It's a valid testimony

confirmed by two witnesses.

And they're headed

to Emmaus

from Jerusalem,

meaning that they're

likely headed home.

They had come

to Jerusalem

as pilgrims

to partake

in the Passover feast,

the biggest festival

of the year

for faithful Jews.

And perhaps

they had come

hoping to witness

Jesus' rise to power

as the Messianic king.

Maybe they even wanted

to partake

in a revolution,

a political revolution,

to overthrow

the Roman Empire.

But they had

been disappointed.

Jesus was crucified,

buried,

and despite

titillating reports

of the empty tomb,

no one had

seen Jesus

in this gospel

account in Luke.

They decided

that they have to

get back

to their normal lives.

But on their journey,

they could not get

the significant events

that had just

transpired in Jerusalem

out of their minds.

So it says in verse 14,

they were talking

with each other

about all these things

that had happened.

So earlier

in chapter 24,

verse 9,

the woman returning

from the tomb

told all these things,

the same phrase

to them.

And so all these things

that they're talking

about right now

refers both to Jesus' death

and to the reports

of his resurrection.

And it says in verse 15

that they were talking

and discussing together.

The word discuss there

means to debate.

It means to argue.

Earlier in chapter 22,

verse 23,

it was translated this way

that saying more,

they began to question

one another,

referring to the 12 apostles

debating among themselves

which of them

will be the unfaithful

disciple

that betrays Jesus

as he just predicted.

And it's the same word

that's used

in Luke's sequel

in Acts chapter 6,

Acts 6:9

verse 9,

when it says

that some of the Jews

rose up

and disputed

with Stephen.

It's a heated discussion

because that dispute

eventually leads

to Stephen

becoming the first

Christian martyr.

He's stoned to death

as a result

of that heated discussion.

This is not just

the kind of a casual

small talk

kind of conversation.

This is an intense debate

that these two disciples

are having

about the significance

and the reality

of the events

that had just transpired

on their way back home

from Jerusalem.

But while they were doing that,

it says,

Jesus himself

drew near

and went with them.

It's so ironic.

It's almost comical.

While they are

intensely debating,

what just happened?

Jesus died.

But what are these women

talking about

that he's raised

from the dead?

These visions of angels.

As they're doing it,

Jesus himself

comes alongside them

and starts walking

with them.

But it says

in verse 16,

their eyes were kept

from recognizing him.

It's possible

that the disciples

failed to recognize Jesus

because after his resurrection,

he appeared to them

in a different form.

Mark 16, 12

mentions that

Jesus appeared

in another form

to the two

of his disciples.

But to focus

on Jesus'

altered appearance

in this passage

is to miss the point

that Luke

is himself making.

Because Luke's focus

is not on

Jesus' appearance,

but on the disciples'

lack of spiritual vision.

Their eyes

were kept

from recognizing him.

This is another instance

of the divine passive

that biblical writers

often use

where God

is the assumed subject

of a passive verb

that lacks a subject.

In Luke 9,

Luke 9:44–45

verses 44 to 45,

after Jesus

predicted his death

to his disciples

very explicitly,

he said that

his disciples

did not understand

this saying

and it was concealed

from them

so that they might

not perceive it.

similarly,

in Luke 18,

Luke 18:31–34

verses 31 to 34,

after Jesus prophesied

that he would be

delivered over

to the Gentiles

and will be mocked

and shamefully treated

and spit upon,

and after flogging him,

they will kill him

and on the third day

he will rise.

He said that

his disciples

understood

none of these things.

The saying

was hidden

from them

and they did not

grasp

what was said.

These were all instances

of divine concealment.

God conceals

until in his perfect time

he reveals.

To conceal

and reveal

spiritual realities

is God's

sovereign prerogative.

And in this instance,

God conceals

the identity of Jesus

from these two disciples.

Verse 17 continues,

And Jesus said to them,

What is this conversation

that you are holding

with each other

as you walk?

And they stood still

looking sad.

It's a very dramatic moment.

They were walking

and as Jesus came

alongside them,

they didn't stop walking.

They kept walking,

probably assuming

Jesus is another one

of those pilgrims

that are heading back

from Jerusalem

after the Passover feast.

But then when Jesus

asks this question,

it stops them

right in their tracks.

They stop.

And it says

that they were looking sad.

that shows how fresh

this grief is.

It's been three days.

They really had put

their hopes in Jesus.

But Jesus died.

And they were sad.

And they can't believe

how clueless

this companion is.

One of them named Cleopas

answers Jesus in this way

in verse 18.

Are you the only visitor

to Jerusalem

who does not know

the things that have happened

there in these days?

In other words,

have you been living

under a rock?

How can you not know

what has happened?

The whole city

knows about it.

But Jesus wants to hear

their take on

the recent events.

So he feigns ignorance.

He says,

what things?

It's so funny.

And they say

in verses 19 to 20,

concerning Jesus

of Nazareth,

a man who was

a prophet,

mighty indeed

and were before God

and all the people.

And how our chief

priests and rulers

delivered him up

to be condemned

to death

and crucified him.

So Jesus himself

noted his prophetic

identity throughout

the gospel

many times.

And the crowds

widely acclaimed

Jesus to be a prophet.

So this is not

a surprising

assessment of Jesus.

He was a man

who was a prophet,

mighty indeed

and word

before God

and all the people.

But they say

that their own

people,

the Jews,

our chief priests,

they say,

our chief priests

and rulers

delivered him up

to be condemned

to death

and crucified him.

Of course,

the Romans

were involved

in condemning

Jesus to death

and carrying out

the execution.

But these disciples

lay the chief blame

on their own leaders.

for delivering Jesus

and crucifying him.

So the disciples

are relaying to Jesus

a summary report

of what happened

over these last three days.

And then in verse 21,

they start to get personal.

But we,

but we had hoped

that he was the one

to redeem Israel.

it's really hard

to imagine

the depth

of their disappointment.

The Jewish people,

if you study history,

are some of the most

persecuted

and marginalized

and oppressed people

in all of human history.

And they had been waiting

for hundreds

and hundreds of years

for their redemption.

And they thought

their redeemer,

the prophet said,

Messiah,

had finally come.

They're putting

all their hopes in him.

And then just like that,

after that triumphant entry

to Jerusalem

on Sunday,

that very same week,

tried,

sentenced,

crucified.

They had hoped

that he would redeem Israel.

This is the hope

that was first expressed

by Zechariah's prophecy

in Luke 1,

67 to 75.

Blessed be the Lord God

of Israel,

for he has visited

and redeemed his people

and has raised up

a horn of salvation

for us

in the house

of his servant David.

This expectation

that Jesus would redeem Israel

was confirmed

by prophetess Anna

in Luke 2,

Luke 2:38

verse 38.

When she,

at the time Jesus

was being dedicated

in the temple,

when she gave thanks to God

and spoke of Jesus

to all who are waiting

for the redemption

of Jerusalem.

to redeem

is to pay

for the freedom

of a slave.

To redeem

is to pay

for the forgiveness

of a debtor,

of a sinner.

The idea of redemption

primarily recalls

in biblical background

the Exodus.

In order to commemorate

how the Lord

brought Israel

out of Egypt

from the house

of slavery,

commemorating

that God

did this

by killing

all the firstborn

in the land

of Egypt.

Exodus 13

commanded the Israelites

consecrate

all your firstborn

by sacrificing

to the Lord

all the firstborn

male animals

and by redeeming

all the firstborn

sons.

they had to pay,

make a payment

of redemption

for their sons

so that they

could remember

that their sons,

their firstborn sons

belonged to God.

That they too

deserved to die.

The only reason

they survived,

the only reason

Israel was redeemed

out of their slavery

in Egypt

was because

they killed

the lamb

following God's

instruction

and daubed its blood

on their doorposts

so that God

went judging

and killing

the firstborns

of all of Egypt

passed over

their households,

sparing them.

With this biblical

and historical

background in mind,

we can better

understand what it

means that Jesus

is the redeemer

of Israel.

To be sure,

these two disciples

and others

probably had hoped

that Jesus would

redeem Israel

from their political

slavery to Roman

empire as well.

But biblically,

the expectation

for redemption

goes way beyond that.

Jesus is the one

who pays

for the forgiveness

of their sins,

for the freedom

from slavery

to sin

and death.

As Titus 2,

Titus 2:14

verse 14 says,

Jesus Christ

gave himself

for us

to redeem us

from all lawlessness

and to purify

for himself

a people

for his own possession

who are zealous

for good works.

Apart from Christ,

we are all

slaves to sin.

apart from Christ,

we're all debtors.

But because Christ

paid the price

of our redemption

by dying on the cross,

we who have been

united with Christ

through faith

have full forgiveness

of our sins

and freedom

from slavery

to sin.

These two disciples

had hope

that Jesus

was the one

to redeem Israel.

but he was killed.

Their hope

was snuffed out.

But then something

else happened.

They continue

in verses 22 to 24.

Yes,

and besides all this,

it is now the third day

since these things happened.

Moreover,

some woman

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 woman

had said,

but him

they did not see.

Only Peter

was mentioned

as going to the tomb

after hearing

the woman's report

in verse 12,

but we find out here

that Luke

was being selective

in his reporting earlier.

There were others

that went with him

and we know

that that's confirmed

by John 20,

33 to 10,

which tells us

that Apostle John

also accompanied Peter

to the tomb.

But the most telling

point of this

recounting

of what has happened

is at the end

of verse 24.

They found it

just as the woman

had said,

but him

they did not see.

Once again,

there's a contrast

between hearing

and seeing,

which we have seen

frequently throughout

the gospel of Luke.

Luke has been telling us

over and over again

that instead of

seeking to see,

we should hear

the gospel of Jesus Christ

and believe.

And that's again

his emphasis here.

We saw earlier

in verse 11

that the woman's report

of Jesus' resurrection

seemed to these disciples

an idle tale

and they did not

believe them.

And so these two disciples

on the road to Emmaus

lack faith.

They have heard

the report

but they're still waiting

for the decisive evidence.

They won't believe

until they see

the risen Jesus

with their own eyes.

And until then,

for them,

resurrection is just

hearsay,

a rumor.

The irony of it all,

of course,

is that they have

Jesus

right in front of them.

They're seeing

Jesus

yet they are not

seeing

because they do not

see with eyes

of faith.

So Jesus

roundly rebukes them

in verse 25.

O foolish ones

and slow of heart

to believe

all that the prophets

have spoken.

The exclamation,

O foolish one,

that conveys

Jesus' emotion.

He's passionately

lamenting

their lack of faith.

O foolish ones

and slow of heart

to believe.

Foolishness

literally means

lack of understanding,

a senselessness.

But it's not

merely a mental lapse

or an intellectual

deficiency

that leads to unbelief.

It's also

slowness of heart.

The heart

is a reference

to the center

of a person's

inner spiritual life.

The seedbed

of one's emotions,

will,

thoughts even.

The disciples

thought that

what was lacking

was the evidence.

They were waiting

to see Jesus

with their own eyes,

but what was

actually lacking

was their understanding.

They thought

that they were

waiting on God

to act

to redeem Israel,

but in reality,

it was their

spiritual sluggishness.

They were the ones

that were slow of heart.

That's what

prevented them

from believing

in God's redemption

through Jesus.

Perhaps some of you

are here

and you do not

yet believe

in Jesus

because you

don't think

there is

enough evidence.

You won't

believe in God

until you see

an unmistakable

sign,

an indisputable

sign.

sign.

But God's

word

tells us

that our

unbelief

is a reflection

of our own

foolishness

and of our

own slowness

of heart

to believe.

So we are

not

excused

from our

unbelief

because the

blame lies

not with God

who failed

to reveal

himself,

but with us.

And notice

what Jesus

rebukes

these disciples

for in verse 25.

It's really

interesting.

He doesn't say

all foolish

ones and

slow of heart

to believe

even after

the vision

of angels.

He doesn't

say all foolish

ones and

slow of heart

to believe

even after

seeing the

empty tomb

or foolish

ones slow

of heart

to recognize

me and

believe in

me when

I'm right

in front

of you.

Jesus

doesn't say

that.

He says

instead

all foolish

ones and

slow of heart

to believe

all that

the prophets

have spoken.

Jesus

doesn't

rebuke them

for not

believing

what they

see with

their eyes.

Jesus

rebukes

them for

not

believing

what they

have heard

from the

scriptures

believers

because they

should have

believed

from what

they have

heard

in God's

word.

And so

Jesus

continues in

verse 26

was it not

necessary

that the

Christ should

suffer these

things and

enter into

his glory.

Luke often

uses this

language of

must or

necessity to

describe something

God has

foreordained.

he's saying

here that

his

humiliation

and his

glorification

his death

resurrection

and ascension

they were a

divine

necessity.

Scripture

demanded it

because it

was the

means that

God had

foreordained

and written

about throughout

his scriptures

for the

salvation of

his people.

for example

Isaiah

Isaiah 53:5

chapter 53

verse 5

prophesied

that the

Messiah

would be

pierced

for our

transgressions

that he

would be

crushed

for our

iniquities

but then

later on

that after

suffering

these things

he would

be raised

he would

be given

glory

victory

for the

salvation

of many

and so

it was

necessary

that the

Christ

should

suffer

these

things

and enter

into

his

glory

just as

a grain

of wheat

must first

be buried

in the

earth

experiencing

a form

of death

in order

for it

to then

sprout up

into life

and bear

much

fruit

it was

necessary

for Jesus

to suffer

and die

as Hebrews

Hebrews 2:14

chapter 2

verse 14

and 15

says

since

the children

of God

share in

flesh and

blood

Jesus

himself

likewise

partook

of the

same

things

that

through

death

he might

destroy

the one

who has

the power

of death

that is

the devil

and deliver

all those

who through

fear of

death

were subject

to lifelong

slavery

Jesus

had to

first

divest

himself

of his

heavenly

glory

and take

on human

flesh

so that

he might

take sinful

men and

women

who wallow

in shame

and dishonor

and lift

them up

to his

glory

Jesus

had to

first

die

in order

to defeat

death

on our

behalf

and raise

us up

to eternal

life

Jesus

had to

first

stoop

low

into

our

mire

of sin

in order

to raise

us up

and wash

us clean

that's

what Jesus

did on

the cross

he was

bearing

the weight

of our

sins

think about

it this

way

imagine

sin is

like a

great

boulder

beneath

which we

are all

being

crushed

we're

suffocating

underneath

it

utterly

hopeless

under

its

bone

crushing

heft

but

Christ

himself

crawls

underneath

it

and

and

appeared

that at

first

he

himself

was

overcome

by it

crushed

by its

massive

weight

he

disappeared

underneath

it

the rock

didn't

seem to

budge

at all

but

then

on the

third

day

with a

great

heave

as if

there's

an

earthquake

the

boulder

stirs

is lifted

up from

the ground

and

Jesus

emerges

from

the ground

to carry

that

massive

weight

and to

cast it

into the

seas

so that

we could

go free

his

suffering

his

humiliation

his

death

was

necessary

for our

redemption

and

then in

verse 27

Jesus

proceeds

to

show

these

disciples

this

truth

from

the

scriptures

he

says

and

beginning

with

Moses

and all

the

prophets

he

interpreted

to

them

in

all

the

scriptures

the

things

concerning

himself

Moses

and the

prophets

refer to

the two

of the

largest

sections

of the

Old

Testament

scripture

the

law

and the

prophets

it's

often

used

as a

shorthand

for the

entirety

of

scriptures

and

notice

the

repetition

of the

word

all

in

this

verse

beginning

with

Moses

and

all

the

prophets

he

interpreted

to

them

in

all

the

scripture

the

things

concerning

himself

in

other

words

Jesus

the

son

of

God

the

incarnate

word

the

word

become

flesh

himself

he

believed

that

all

of

scriptures

from

Genesis

and

now

to

revelation

spoke

of

him

he

fulfilled

all of

the

Old

Testament

scriptures

earlier

in

Luke

Luke 16 · chapter mention

chapter

16

in

the

parable

of

the

rich

man

and

Lazarus

when

the

rich

man

who

was

in

torment

in

Hades

begged

Abraham

in

heaven

to

send

poor

Lazarus

who

was

in

heaven

with

him

to

send

Lazarus

to

his

brothers

who

are

living

in

ignorance

about

God

he

says

so

that

he

may

warn

them

lest

they

also

come

into

this

place

of

torment

Abraham

answered

them

this

way

they

have

Moses

and

the

prophets

let

them

hear

them

for

if

they

do

not

hear

Moses

and

the

prophets

neither

will

they

be

convinced

if

someone

should

rise

from

the

dead

those

words

are

literally

being

fulfilled

in

our

passage

Jesus

has

literally

been

raised

from

the

dead

and

he

is

announcing

to

them

this

redemption

God's

salvation

plan

and yet

these two

disciples on the road to Emmaus do not believe

because they have not listened to Moses and the prophets

they have not listened to scriptures

they are like two men who are tinkering around with like a new toy or a gadget

or a tool that they just received as a present

it's a really intense discussion they are earnestly debating what it's for

I think it's for this

no then it wouldn't have this button right here I don't think it's for that it's for that

and they seem really smart and serious and articulate but then it's all silly if they're ignoring the instruction manual

they should have known better

these two disciples were intensely debating the significance of the recent events was Jesus really the Messiah

why did he die

what does it all mean

are these reports of the resurrection true

but all along

the scriptures that they claimed to believe

had explained

everything

had prophesied of everything

and too many people nowadays

still do the same

you sit around debating God

and religion

and Jesus

oh no one really knows

God they say

no one really knows the way of salvation

all religions are basically the same

they're all talking about the same thing

getting to the same place

they're all partial pictures of this ultimate reality

that's what they say

well that sentiment sounds noble

and humble

until we remember

that God has actually

revealed himself to us

God has spoken through his scriptures

God has said

in his word

that to know him

and to love him

and to worship him

is the reason we were created

that's the purpose and meaning of our lives

God has said in his scriptures

that he has accomplished

his salvation plan

through his son

Jesus Christ

through his death

and resurrection

God has said in his word

that if we confess

with our mouth

that Jesus is Lord

and if we believe

in our hearts

that he

has been raised

from the dead

that we will be saved

God has spoken

he has revealed himself

and for us to listen

to all of that

and then to plead ignorance

and to claim uncertainty

that's not humility

that's hubris

that's foolishness

slowness of heart

to believe

and these very same scriptures

are being proclaimed to you

right now

do you believe it

we must believe

in the spoken word

but we also must partake

in the broken bread

that's my second point

it says in verses 28 to 29

so they drew near

to the village

to which they were going

he acted as if

he were going further

but they urged him

strongly saying

stay with us

for it is toward evening

and the day is not far spent

so he went in

to stay with them

so as they're approaching Emmaus

as Jesus acted

as if he were going further

this is typical

kind of Middle Eastern

Asian courtesy

you don't impose

on others

hospitality

in this culture

by asking them

hey I don't have

a place to stay

for the night

can I stay at your place

this evening

you don't ask that

in this culture

because to do so

would be a breach

of etiquette

because by asking them

you're really forcing

their hand

because now they can't

say no

because if they know

that brings great shame

to them in that culture

so instead

even though Jesus

wanted to stay with them

he acted as if

he were going further

but the disciples

urged him strongly

saying stay with us

this too is typical

Middle Eastern hospitality

when your guest tells you

hey I really need

to get going

you assume

that they're just

being polite

they don't want

to over stay

they don't want

to be rude

so you insist

that they stay

no you really

must stay

when your guest

tells you

I have had enough

food to eat

I'm full

you assume

that they're just

being demure

and then you keep

heaping more food

onto their plates

so when the disciples

insist that Jesus

stay with them

he says okay

he obliges

he stays with them

in verse 30

when he was at table

with them

he took the bread

and blessed

and broke it

and gave it to them

this verse

shares numerous parallels

with two other

significant meals

that have taken place

in the gospel of Luke

first was the feeding

of the 5,000

in Luke 9 verse 16

Luke 9:16

and the second

was the last supper

Luke chapter 22

Luke 22:19

verse 19

and in all three

of these meals

Jesus does the same

things

in the same

order

he takes the bread

he blesses it

or give thanks

for it

he breaks it

and he gives it

to his disciples

at the institution

of the Lord's

supper

in Luke 22

Luke 22:19

verse 19

Jesus took bread

and when he had

given thanks