The Jesus Way: Finding the Way of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke | Donovan Rillion | The Revealed Way

There was a kid in the youth group at the first

church I worked at as a youth minister back in

LaGrange, Georgia. And there was this story about

this kid. At the time I met him, he was like

15 or 16. But before this, like 10 plus years

ago, when he was like seven or eight, maybe a

little bit younger, he went missing. They were

at church for a Sunday morning worship gathering.

They had Bible class and everybody was where

they were supposed to be or so they thought.

And his parents thought, oh, he's with the kids

in Bible class. And so after Bible class, they

go to get him and he's not there. And so they

start to panic. As you can imagine, parents would

panic if their kid was missing. So they look

all over the church building and they try to

find him in every closet, every classroom, everywhere

they could look, they looked. And then, you know,

they panic a little bit more. So the rest of

the church is helping them look for him. So they

start looking in the neighborhood. They live

near the church building. So they thought maybe

he walked home. So they go to their house. They

look all over this downtown area and they cannot

find their son. They keep looking and they keep

looking. And finally, somebody is looking at

the church and he pops out from behind the podium.

He was hiding in the pulpit the whole time. They

looked all over the town. They looked all over

the church building. They could not find him,

but he was right there the whole time. And imagine

you've lost someone. You're freaking out because

you think there's nowhere. We can't find him.

Surely he's gone somewhere far away. Somebody

took him. Or maybe he was out walking and they

picked him up and they took him farther away

than he really was. But the whole time, he was

right where they were. I tell you that story

to try to set up what we're going to see in Luke

Luke 24:13–35

chapter 24, verses 13 through 35. See, in this

story, you've got the disciples. They're still

terrified. They're still worried because they

haven't seen Jesus yet. They know, well, they've

heard that he's risen from the dead. He's not

in the tomb anymore. They've seen the empty tomb,

but they have not seen Jesus. And so in this

story, you've got these worried, fearful, uneasy

disciples who feel like they've lost Jesus. And

I want us to look at this story together with

all of that in mind. Luke chapter 24, verses

Luke 24:13–24

13 through 24 here first. 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're 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 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.

So here you have these two disciples. They're

walking along the road. They're talking to each

other. And as it describes, they were still kind

of worried. And what you see is that based on

the conversation that they're having, that they're

not just worried, they're troubled. They're disturbed

with the events of this past week. And you could

imagine how that would feel. This rabbi that

you've been following for all this time, you

just watch him delivered up to be beaten, to

be crucified, to be mocked, to be spit on, to

be stabbed. Like the man that you put your trust

in, that you've given your life to, who has just

faced the most brutal death you could imagine.

And you thought that he was the one that was

going to save your people, but instead he died

just like any other man. And so they're very

deeply troubled. And even after going to the

tomb, which was proclaimed empty. The women that

they were friends with, that they trusted said,

we saw an angel that said, he's not here, he's

risen. And they go back, they see the tomb empty,

but they're like, well, we still haven't seen

him. And what I think of is like, they probably

were thinking, well, maybe he just was stolen.

His body was taken. Or maybe this is some practical

joke. Or maybe he did rise, but he left us. He

just abandoned ship and he went back to heaven.

I don't know what exactly they were thinking,

but I want you to just kind of feel the trouble

that they were feeling. They're understandably

sad. And as they're walking in this sadness,

this random guy who we know because we read it

as Jesus, but as far as they know, this is just

some stranger that's being annoying and walking

with them while they're trying to grieve. And

so they're walking along the road. This guy walks

up, and he starts following them, and he hits

them with this question, kind of like, well,

what you talking about? And I could imagine if

I was them, I'd be looking at this guy like,

why are you talking to me? I don't know you.

Also, I'm upset. Can you not see that? But he's

just like, what y 'all talking about? Have you

ever been in a bad mood, and then somebody comes

along, and they do something like mildly inconvenient

that really sets you off? In our house, we use

the word overstimulated, like I'm already stimulated

and you are overstimulating me. That's how I

feel like I would be if I was in these disciples'

shoes. This guy, he's overstimulating me. I'm

already feeling things, and now you come in and

you're bothering me. I want you to hold on to

that feeling as we read verses 17 through 18.

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?

Do you feel that tension? These guys look at

Jesus. They don't know it's Jesus, but they look

at him and they're like, dude, seriously? Are

you the only person in town that doesn't know

what's going on? You're the only person that

doesn't know that this man who had this, like,

regional fame, everybody has been talking about

him for the past three years. He's just been

brutally murdered, and the Jews think they've

won. The Romans think they've won. We feel like

we're defeated. You don't know that this is happening?

Seriously. And then he's like, no clue. What

happened? Again, overstimulating. Why are you

bothering me? This is like when your parents,

they already know that you did something wrong,

but they ask you what you did because they want

you to confess to it, and they want to see if

you're willing to be honest. They want to see

if you're going to own up, or maybe they have

an inkling of an idea, but they don't know the

full story. But they ask you anyways to see what

you're going to say. That's what I think Jesus,

he's asking them. No, why don't you tell me what

happened? And so they tell him. And I want to

draw attention to how they tell this story because

I think it's very interesting the way they say

these things. They say, Jesus of Nazareth, a

man who was a prophet. Or they say, we had hoped

that he was the one to redeem Israel. And then

they say, some of us went to the tomb and we

found it empty, but him we did not see. You see,

there seems to be a lot of doubt, a lot of uncertainty.

A lot of disappointment. And you know what that

feels like. When someone that you thought you

knew, someone that you had such high hopes for,

that you felt like, I understand the potential

they have. I know what they're capable of, or

I think I know who they are. And I know, I have

so much confidence in them that they're going

to come through. And so the disciples, they felt...

that. And then when Jesus in their mind doesn't

come through, it's this serious disappointment.

Like we thought we knew who Jesus was. We thought

he was God. We thought he was the Messiah, the

one who was going to save us. We thought he was

going to defeat death and conquer Rome, but instead

he died like any other man. And he told us that

he'd be back in three days, but Here we are on

day three, and we hadn't seen them. That's what

they're feeling. And I don't know why they were

so unsure after seeing the empty tomb, but I

think I get it. I think I understand. Because

sometimes witnessing the back end of a miracle

just isn't enough to convince us. Like, they

saw the empty tomb, but they didn't see the one

who made it empty. And so they're not convinced.

And maybe for us, like seeing the change in somebody's

life isn't enough for us to understand the one

who did the changing. Like sometimes seeing the

healing on the other side of it isn't as real

as like when you're in the weeds and you see

the healing happen. We don't find ourselves convinced

when we just see the backside of the miracle.

But for the disciples, this shouldn't be the

case because they had lived with Jesus for all

this time and they had been told, they had been

taught by Jesus and by the Jewish prophets like

the Old Testament is littered with examples and

stories and promises of the Messiah being exactly

who the New Testament proves he was going to

be and prove he was. And so this shouldn't have

been shocking for them. It shouldn't have been

a surprise. And for those of us in Christ, it

also should not be a surprise. When we see lives

change, when we see transformation happen, when

we see someone literally raised from the dead

and made into a new person, it should not shock

us that Jesus can change lives like that. But

I love how the story illustrates a very important

and grace -filled truth for us to remember. Jesus

meets us where we are. In the midst of our doubting,

in the middle of all of our uncertainty, when

we're not sure what life is going to look like,

when we're not sure what our purpose is, why

we're here, when we don't know, when we are afraid,

Jesus meets us where we are. just like he met

these disciples as they were walking. And that

doesn't mean he doesn't meet us there with some

uncomfortable truth. It doesn't mean he doesn't

meet us there with some challenges, but it means

he meets us where we are. Just hear what he says

to the disciples in chapter 24, verses 25 through

27. And he said to them, O foolish ones, and

slow apart 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 and all the scriptures

the things concerning himself. You know, it's

always fascinating to me, every single week,

every single morning, my kids cannot comprehend

that mom has to go to work. Like that thought

doesn't make sense to them. Mom has to go to

work. She has to leave the house, go somewhere

that is not with us, and be there for eight hours.

And then after school, when we come home, she

will eventually come home too. Like that thought

process is really hard for them. But it has to

happen. And every day, we tell them the same

thing. We're going to work, but we're coming

home. But that doesn't make sense to them. And

when I look at this story, like I see the same

thing of Jesus had told them, I've got to go.

I have to go to work. I've got to go do what

the prophet said I was coming to do. I've got

to go do what God sent me to do. I have to go

to work. And even then, the disciples still don't

get it and they're still sorrowful. But he's

like, don't you know? Don't you get it? Oh, foolish

ones. Like, I'm here. I'm here with you. I'm

standing. I'm walking with you in your doubt,

but I still need you to understand that you're

being a little crazy. He looks at them. He says,

you knew this was supposed to happen. And then

he proceeds to share the gospel with them, the

good news of God's promise to redeem his people

and how it had been prophesied that God was going

to come. He was going to save his people. He

would leave. Then he'd come back. And then he'd

leave again. And he's going to come back. And

this is the Jesus way being revealed to them

through Scripture. It says Jesus walked them

through the Scripture. He taught them. He probably,

like I imagine, he would, you know, he'd say,

well, do you remember in Isaiah when it said

this? They're like, yeah, we do. Okay, well,

do you know what that was about? Well, yeah,

we, no, no, no, no. This is what that was about.

And that's what I imagine is happening here.

He's revealing the way that he was going to come,

live, die, rise, go, come back. He was revealing

the gospel to them through Scripture. And in

telling them all that he did, pointing them back

to Scripture, he's helping them understand the

nature and the way, the plan that was always

the case for the Savior. And he shows them that

his way aligns with Scripture. That Scripture

has told it the whole time through. This long

-awaited prophecies, the earliest promises of

God pointed to this Jesus. And I think that should

help us understand just how important studying

Scripture is. We can't live this life without

studying Scripture to see who God is, to see

what His way is, to see what His plan was. And

I think when we read both the Old Testament and

the New, we see the fullness. of God's goodness

displayed. I do believe studying Scripture reveals

the nature and the heart of God. And for the

disciples and for us, it reveals the way of Jesus.

A life of sacrifice, of mercy, of goodness, of

grace, and ultimately of resurrection. And isn't

that the life we want? We want to live good lives.

We want to live lives that one day when this

physical life is over, when this worldly life

is over, we rise again to live in that full,

abundant, eternal life. Before we move on, I

want you to notice that they still don't recognize

Jesus. He's walked through Scripture with them.

He's walked with them. He's been talking to them,

and they still don't recognize Him. And I want

to say, well, maybe I'm asking a question. Is

it fair to say that we can know Scripture, like

we can quote the Bible all we want, we can know

Scripture and still not recognize God, even when

He's right in front of us? Or as it says on the

screen, we can know Scripture and still miss

Jesus. And there's a lot of people, a lot of

good intentioned people that know their Bible.

But I will say, sometimes the way they act, let

me put myself in there. Sometimes the way we

act and sometimes the way we speak, the things

we do and even the things we think, they illustrate

to the world that we don't know Jesus. But even

though knowing Scripture isn't enough, just knowing

the Bible isn't enough, I have hope. I have hope

because I do believe spending time with Jesus

coupled with... Studying His Word is how we see,

how we are revealed, or how Jesus is revealed

to us. I want us to look at the rest of this

encounter in Luke 24, verses 28 -32. So they

Luke 24:28–32

drew near to the village to which they were going.

He acted as if He were going farther, 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. And 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, and 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? You see, they spent

hours walking and talking with Jesus, and they

still didn't recognize him. But then when he

gets into their home, and he sits down at the

table with them, he spends time with them, and

he breaks bread with them, and he has this meal.

He draws them back to about a week ago where

he sat at this table with his disciples for this

last meal before his arrest. And he tells them

what's going to happen. And he tells them why

it's going to happen. And he institutes the Lord's

Supper and he says, we're going to eat this meal

together again one day. I'm going to come back

and we're going to break this bread together.

And it's not until this happens where they break

the bread together that they recognize. He had

taught them the scriptures. He walked through

the scriptures with them. And because they were

lifelong Jews, they knew their word pretty well.

And that wasn't enough, but it's when he sits

down at the table with them and they spend time

just fellowshipping with God and he draws them

back to that sacrifice, that broken bread. That's

when... it all becomes clear to them. He goes

from this mystery man to revealed, risen Savior.

And that's where he changes everything. I love

that it says their eyes were opened. Because

we know their eyes had been opened this whole

time. It's not like they were like walking around

with their eyes closed. That's not what they

were doing. They just didn't recognize him. But

when this happens, when he breaks that bread,

and I imagine like he's passing it to them. And

he's probably saying some of the same things

he said at that last supper. That is when it

became clear. That's when Jesus, Son of God,

risen from the dead, was revealed to the disciples.

And that didn't happen because they fully understood

Scripture. It happened because they spent time

in Scripture with Jesus in his presence. And

that reminds me of a book I read recently by...

a preacher named John Mark Comer. And in that

book, Comer calls us to not just know about Jesus,

but to be with him, to not just study his word,

but to apprentice under him, to let his presence

shape us, to let being with him make us into

new people. And you know what that's like when

you spend time with people. And you spend a lot

of time hanging out with people. And that's the

people you talk with. It's the people you play

golf with, the people that you go to the movies

with, the people that you hang out with at home.

These are the people that you spend time with.

And over time, spending time with them starts

to rub off on you. It's why your parents told

you, be careful who you hang out with. Because

what they do is going to turn into what you do.

And what they say is going to turn into what

you say. And who you spend time with is going

to determine what your life looks like. And so

the more we spend time with God, the more our

lives look like God. But we've got a lot of people

that are content with just spending an hour with

Jesus on Sunday mornings or just spending an

hour with them on Wednesday nights. And maybe

they do like a morning Bible study. And that's

it. I got to tell you. Eight hours a day at work,

five days a week is a lot more than one hour

on Sundays, one hour on Wednesdays, and maybe

20 minutes every morning. The math is simple.

The more time I spend with Jesus, the more time

I spend with Jesus' people, the more like him

I will be. John Mark Comer writes that following

Jesus isn't just knowing scripture, but it's

arranging our lives around being with. and like

him. And I think it's in that being with Jesus,

that daily presence, that's where transformation

happens. That's where life change happens. It's

not just knowing more. It's being more. It wasn't

the sudden intellectual breakthrough that changed

everything for the disciples. It wasn't through

more study that their eyes were opened. It was

the engagement with Jesus and their willingness

to invite him in that he was revealed to them.

And that's the same way God works in our lives.

I do truly believe that true. He doesn't always

reveal himself through some prophetic word, some

revelation that comes to our minds. He doesn't

always reveal himself through these dramatic

events or miracles. I do believe those things

can happen, but I don't believe that's how he

always does it. I actually think often he reveals

himself in the small, ordinary rhythms of our

lives, in the little moments. There's a book,

it's called Domestic Monastery, and it talks

about how being a parent is where spiritual formation

can happen the most. And it's in those little

moments of mommy, can I have a glass of water?

Or daddy, can I have the juice box? Or hey, I

peed in my diaper, I need a diaper change. It's

in those little moments that we experience change.

And I think there's more to it than just being

a parent. I think in our friendships, we see

these little moments changing our lives, transforming

us. And if we're aware and if we're paying attention,

we can notice God working in those moments. So

I'll say this, discipleship isn't just about

accumulating knowledge. It's about arranging

our lives to be with Jesus. That is the revealed

way. It's seeing Jesus in scripture. It's spending

time with him in our lives and inviting him into

everything we do. And here's the deal. When we're

confronted with these new revelations, this new

material, these new truths that have been revealed

to us, when we're confronted with new revelation,

we have to respond accordingly. I'm a believer

that when you get new information, when you discover

something new, when something becomes clear to

you, you have to respond, and you will respond

in one of two ways. Maybe there's a couple other

ways, but you'll either choose to ignore it,

you'll choose to obey it. You'll pretend it never

happened, or you'll say, there's something here

that I need to do. And every time something becomes

clear to you, you have a choice to respond in

one of those ways. And I want you to see how

the disciples in this story responded in verses

33 through 35. And they rose that same hour,

and they returned to Jerusalem. And they found

the eleven and those who were with them gathered

together, saying, The Lord has risen indeed and

has appeared to Simon. Then they told what had

happened on the road and how he was known to

them in the breaking of the bread. You see, earlier

in the story, the disciples, they seemed troubled,

and they seemed really unsure, and they were

maybe even fearful. Well, this is a complete

about -face for them. This is a complete shift

because they were afraid and they were unsure,

but now they're declaring, they're proclaiming,

the Lord is risen. They didn't just believe.

They didn't just appreciate the experience. Like,

they are convicted, and now because of this conviction,

they immediately, they go and they share the

good news. When something is revealed to you,

you have to respond accordingly. And for the

disciples, it was revealed that Jesus Christ

had risen from the dead. He is no longer dead.

And if he has risen from the dead, we have nothing

to be afraid of. And that is good news. And that

news needs to be shared. And so the first thing

they do, they go share it with their friends,

their closest companions. And then as scripture

will tell us, and as we'll see, even when we

get into our series on the book of Acts, they

go and they tell the world, Jesus is risen indeed.

When the good news is revealed to us, the appropriate

response is to go reveal it to others. We can't

keep it to ourselves. We can't keep it in these

seats. We can't keep it in our homes. We can't

keep it in our cars, on the radio. It has to

be shared with the world. I want you to think

of the hard time that the other disciples were

having. Like we see it told that these disciples

were kind of unsure, but think about the other

ones. how worried they must have been, how afraid

they must have been, how unsure they were about

life. And when the good news is shared with them,

I just imagine how alleviating that was, how

transformative it was to know we have nothing

to be afraid of now. Everything that Jesus said

would happen has happened, so we can trust in

God. We can trust that this was the Messiah.

This was our Savior. And so here's how I want

to challenge us this morning. I want us to understand

the importance of studying Scripture because

in Scripture is where we begin to have the goodness,

the nature of our good and merciful God revealed

to us. I do believe we seek understanding, we

seek direction, we seek guidance in Scripture.

But I also want us to practice presence. I want

us to be a people that spend time with God outside

of this hour, outside of the times, like the

little moments in the day where we do our little

Bible studies. Like I want our lives to be arranged

to where it just feels like Jesus is walking

with us everywhere we go. There's a song. You

got to take the Lord with you everywhere you

go, in the street, in the home, on the highways,

the byways. You got to take the Lord with you.

Take him with you. Be present with Jesus everywhere.

where every moment, and then reveal revelation.

What God has revealed to you, what God has made

clear to you in the good book, what he has revealed

in your life, go share that with others. Because

it's in sharing the good news with the lost and

troubled world that we will change their lives.

And I want you to remember the story about the

kid hiding in the pulpit. Everybody's searching.

Everybody's panicking, they're worried, they're

wondering where he was. And the whole time, he

was right there. Right there where they were

all looking just an hour before. He was right

there. They just didn't see him. Maybe there's

times in your life where you wonder, God, where

are you? I've been told... And I've been told

through scripture that you've risen. I've been

told that you are an active God, that you're

a present God, but I don't feel you in my life.

Like maybe it's the sickness, the diagnosis.

And you're like, there's no way that a good living

God who has promised eternal and abundant life

would put me through this. Maybe it was the loss

of a loved one and you're thinking there's no

way. Maybe it's like the real inconveniences

in life, the lost job. the financial troubles,

the unsureness of everything going on in the

world. In those moments, it's very easy to say,

where are you, God? But what I believe Jesus

shows in this story and all throughout Scripture

is God is a whole lot closer than we think. Just

because we can't see Him now does not mean He's

not in the room with us. There's another song.

Have you seen Jesus, my Lord? He's here in plain

view. Take a look. Open your eyes. He'll show

it to you. Just because we're in dark moments,

just because we're not sure what's going on in

our lives, in this world, just because it's troubling

now does not mean He is not here. It does not

mean He's not working. And so what I'm challenging

us to do is look to Scripture. It's there. Practice

being with him. He's there. And when you find

that he is with you, when you see that he is

changing you, that he's changing people around

you, go and tell the world. Because we're all

searching for something. We're all stressing.

We all have our things in life that ask or make

us ask, where is God? But I do believe that he's

here and he's working. And he wants you to see

him. And so I know there are some in this room

who are really struggling, like more than just

struggling, but they're troubled. I want you

to hear this. He's not far. He is not far at

all. And he wants you to see him. He wants to

reveal himself to you. And if you need help.

If you need help seeing him or wanting to know,

like, how can I find that revelation? How can

he be revealed to me? I want to know him more.

I want to know how I can spend time with him.

I want to know how to follow him more. Wherever

you are, I want you to not find yourself looking

back like the disciples did in verse 32 and saying,

well, didn't we see? Didn't our hearts burn?

Didn't we know that that was our rabbi right

next to us? Don't ignore the feeling that you

have right now of like, Is there something stirring

in me that's trying to get me to respond? Don't

look back and say, how did I not feel that? Or

how did I not recognize that? Respond to it.

And if you are someone who does know Jesus already,

but maybe you've been having some trouble seeing

him this week or in your life recently, the invitation

is the same for you. Don't ignore the burning,

the stirring. And when you find the good news

revealed in your life and revealed to you, respond

to it accordingly. We offer a time of invitation

at the end of the sermon. If there is anything

you need, if there is a feeling that you need

to respond to or a truth that you need to respond

to, we're inviting you to respond to it now,

not to wait, but to understand that God wants

to reveal himself to you. He's just waiting for

you to come and open your eyes. Whatever you

need, we invite you to respond to the invitation

now as we stand and as we sing.