Sermon

Eyes opened on the road Luke 24v13-35

April 8, 2018 Carrigaline Baptist Church - Sermons

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at verse 13.
Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus about seven miles
from Jerusalem.
They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.
As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and
walked along with them.
But they were kept from recognizing him.
He asked them, what are you discussing together as you walk along?
They stood still, their faces downcast.
One of them named Cleopas asked him, are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not
know the things that have happened here in these days?
What things, he asked.
About Jesus of Nazareth, they replied.
He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.
The chief priests and the rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death and they crucified
him.
But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.
And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.
In addition, some of our women amazed us.
They went to the tomb early this morning but didn't find his body.
They came and told us what they had seen, a vision of angels who said he was alive.
Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said.
But they did not see Jesus.
He said to them, how foolish you are and slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken.
Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?
And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the
scriptures concerning himself.
As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued as on as if he was
going further.
But they urged him strongly, stay with us for it is nearly evening, the day is almost over.
So he went in to stay with them.
When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give
it to them.
Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him and he disappeared from their sight.
They asked each other, were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the
road and opened the scriptures to us?
They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem.
There they found the eleven and those with them assembled together and saying, it is true,
the Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.
Then the two told what had happened on the way and how Jesus was recognized by them when he
broke the bread.
Well, let's pray and ask for God's help as we look at his word together.
Father, thank you for your word, for Luke's account, these eyewitness accounts of the risen
Lord Jesus.
And yet we recognize that as we come to our word, that we need you by your Holy Spirit to open
up our eyes.
For we too want to see Jesus.
We want to love him, obey him and follow him.
Father, may your spirit descend with power so that our hearts might burn, burn with a love
for you and burn with a joy that the Saviour has risen.
Help us, we ask in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Amen.
Well, the most amazing event in history has just happened.
Remember what the angel said to the women as they came to the tomb looking for Jesus?
Look back at chapter 24, verse 5.
Why do you look for the living among the dead?
He is not here.
He has risen.
Listen, this is the climax of Jesus' journey to Jerusalem.
We followed and watched as Jesus has died on the cross.
We have seen how Jesus has been laid and buried in an empty tomb.
Now, three days later, we are greeted with this earth-shattering, life-transforming, glorious
news that Jesus is risen from the dead.
But no one has yet seen the risen Jesus.
All the evidence so far points to the fact that he has risen, but nobody has seen Jesus.
Well, all that is about to change as Jesus now embarks on another journey with two people.
One we know the name of.
His name is Cleopas.
The other, was it his friend or perhaps his wife?
We don't know.
But on this journey, as Jesus walks with them, he makes himself known to them.
And we read these wonderful words, verse 31,
As they walked along, then their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus.
Now, I think Luke is inviting us to walk this same journey.
Because this journey is also our journey.
As we walk with these two travellers, we too will come to experience and see the risen Jesus.
It's a journey that begins with great disappointment, but it ends with burning hearts.
So put on your boots, tie up your laces, and let's go for a walk.
First, disappointed by Jesus.
Look back at verse 13.
Now that same day, so this is Easter Sunday morning,
two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.
They had come to Jerusalem with great hopes,
but now they were leaving with heavy hearts.
Verse 14.
They were talking with each other about everything that had happened,
about, do you remember how the crowds had welcomed Jesus as King,
but only a few days later they were now crying out,
Crucify Him!
Verse 15.
As they talked and discussed these things with each other,
Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them.
But they were kept from recognizing Him.
More on that later.
He asked them,
What are you discussing together as you walk along?
They stood still,
their faces downcast.
Everything they had built their life upon has come crashing down.
Dejected and depressed,
they are disappointed with Jesus.
They are so disheartened,
they can't even recognize Him,
though He's with them.
Why?
Why can't they see Jesus?
Well, let me give you two reasons.
First,
they have false hopes about Jesus.
Look at verse 21.
It's kind of comical,
the scene.
They're talking to the risen Jesus,
verse 21,
and they said,
We had hoped that Jesus was the one
who was going to redeem Israel.
Jesus was their hope.
Remember,
Israel was under the might and authority of their enemies,
the Roman Empire.
Now this Jesus person had come along.
Verse 19,
He was a prophet,
powerful in word and deed,
before God and all the people.
He was teaching great things.
He was doing mighty miracles.
He was their hope.
In their minds,
He was going to come and kick the Romans out
and redeem Israel.
But,
verse 20,
the chief priests and our rulers
handed Him over to be sentenced to death
and they crucified Him.
Their powerful rescuing King
was now dead.
The one to restore and redeem
was broken and defeated.
As Jesus died on the cross,
their dreams were completely shattered.
They had false hopes.
But they also had false expectations.
Look at verse 22.
In addition,
they're still talking to Jesus,
of course.
He said,
Some of our women amazed us.
They went to the tomb early this morning,
but didn't find His body.
They came and told us
that they had seen a vision of angels
who said,
Jesus was alive.
Now,
resurrection implies
that the person
must first die.
And for these couple of disciples,
that's a huge problem.
If you claim to be God's king
and you die,
that's a problem.
Jesus is meant to be the one
with absolute power
and supreme authority.
He's victorious,
not defeated.
He's the ruler,
not a failure.
He's powerful,
not weak.
He's the redeeming hero.
The only thing
the resurrection implies
to them is
that Jesus has died
and Messiahs aren't meant to die.
What good is a resurrection
when you've just been defeated
by your enemies?
It's too little,
too late.
You see,
they had hoped
that Jesus would redeem Israel.
They expected Jesus
to defeat their enemies.
But Jesus has been crushed,
defeated,
shamed by hanging on a cross,
mocked by the sign
that hangs above Him,
King of the Jews.
Jesus has failed them
spectacularly.
Look at the end
of verse 17.
They stood still,
their faces downcast.
They are disappointed
with Jesus.
Everything they had built
their life upon
has come crashing down
around their feet.
Do you ever feel
this way about Jesus?
I do.
An unexpected illness
comes
and we hope
that Jesus
will heal us.
We face
financial pressures
or
some family concern
and we expect
Jesus to just
take it away,
make it all better.
But instead of healing,
the sickness
seems to progress.
Instead of deliverance,
God's only answer
is
more trials.
We pray more,
we believe more,
but
the suffering
seems to go on.
Our hopes
are gradually
shattered
and our
expectations
of Jesus
are brutally
destroyed.
Like these
two disciples,
we stand
still,
our faces
downcast.
We're disappointed
with Jesus.
Where are you,
Jesus?
What are you
doing,
Jesus?
You said
you were
King,
the all-powerful,
all-healing,
all-delivering
God.
But slowly
over time,
the struggles
and suffering
cause us
to doubt
that Jesus
is who
he claims
to be.
And if
he is
the so-called
King,
we can't
really trust
him.
We're left
disappointed
with Jesus.
But as
we go
along this
journey,
not only
do we
see that
we can
be
disappointed,
but we
are actually
confronted
by the
risen
Jesus.
The
wonderful
thing
about
this
journey
is
Jesus
actually
meets
us
in our
disappointments.
Look
back to
verse 15.
As they
talked and
discussed
these things
with each
other,
here they
are filled
with deep,
heavy hearts,
broken and
dejected,
and in the
midst of all
of their
brokenness,
verse 15,
Jesus
himself came
up and
walked along
with them.
How comforting
is that?
He doesn't
ignore their
situation.
He's not
immune to
their heartache
and their
pain.
Jesus
draws
alongside
us in
grace
and gently
confronts
us.
First,
he gently
rebukes
us.
Go to
verse 25.
Jesus has
been listening
carefully to
all their
concerns.
And he
responds to
them,
verse 25,
he said to
them,
how foolish
you are.
And how
slow to
believe all
that the
prophets have
spoken.
You're not
thinking
clearly.
You're not
seeing things
as you
should.
You've lost
your vision
of who
Jesus is.
Verse 26,
did not
the Messiah
have to
suffer these
things and
then enter
his glory?
And beginning
with Moses
and all the
prophets,
which is
shorthand for
all the
Old Testament,
he explained
to them what
was said in
all the
scriptures
concerning
himself.
disciples.
Now put
yourself in
the shoes of
these two
disciples and
all that's
gone on in
their
disappointment.
What these
two disciples
desperately need
is to be
able to see
the risen
Jesus.
And isn't
that what we
long for in
our disappointments?
In the midst
of our troubles
and struggles,
maybe if
Jesus just
showed up
just for
one minute,
just for
thirty seconds,
if the risen
Jesus just
appeared,
then everything
would be
different.
Well, as
Jesus gets
alongside the
downcast
disciples,
he does
reveal himself,
but look how
he does it.
He doesn't
just jump out
of his magic
box and go,
surprise,
here I am,
it's me,
Jesus.
No,
look at
verse 27.
And beginning
with Moses
and all
the prophets,
he explained
to them
what was
said in
all the
scriptures
concerning
himself.
Jesus
conducts
a Bible
study.
Are you
surprised?
He takes
them on a
journey through
the Old
Testament,
pointing out
who he is.
as they
walk along
the road,
Jesus
began to
teach them
the Bible.
We can
imagine what
he might
have said,
starting in
Genesis.
See,
Adam,
well,
he was the
one who
failed the
test in
the Garden
of Eden
and brought
the curse.
But Jesus,
well,
he's the
one who
passed the
test in
the Garden
of Gethsemane
and brings
you blessing.
Or,
look at
the Exodus,
the great
rescue of
God's people
who lived
in slavery,
who were
under a
brutal king.
Well,
Jesus is the
one who's
come to
set you
free from
sin so
that you
can live
for a
better king.
Or,
remember
David.
He was
called by
God to
go and
fight against
Goliath,
thereby securing
a victory
for his
people.
Well,
Jesus is the
one who
stands in for
us and
fights our
ultimate enemy,
sin and
death,
so that we
can share
in his
victory.
Can you
imagine what
they would
have been
thinking as
they heard
Jesus teach
about the
Old Testament?
And look
at the
temple.
You know
the temple
back in
Jerusalem,
where God
comes to
meet his
people,
but yet
only partially
and only
annually because
of everybody's
sin.
But Jesus,
if you could
meet him,
well,
he's the
true temple
where we
can meet
God without
fear or
guilt or
shame,
any time,
any place.
But what
about Nehemiah?
Remember how
God had
directed him
to rebuild
the city of
Jerusalem?
Well,
Jesus is much
better than
Nehemiah.
He is the
one who's
come to
build the
ultimate city,
the new
heavens and
the new
earth where
we will be
with him
forever and
ever.
This must
have been
the greatest
Bible study
ever.
The risen
Jesus teaching
his way through
the scriptures,
through the
Psalms,
through the
prophets,
showing us
that actually
all our
hopes,
all our
expectations
are met
in Jesus
Christ.
So let
me ask
the question,
where do
you run
to when
you are
disappointed?
Who do
you look
to for
your comfort
when things
are turned
upside down?
Do you
run to
your children?
Maybe
food?
Maybe
drink?
Maybe it's
a secret
look at
pornography?
Or maybe
it's a
treat
myself and
go to
the shops.
Where do
you run
to when
you are
disappointed
and you
want to
be lifted
and be
comforted?
Well,
listen to
what Jesus
is saying.
We meet
the glory
and the
beauty of
the risen
Jesus who
satisfies us
and fulfills
us and
meets all
our hopes
and all
our
expectations
as we
read
his
words.
Jesus
comforts,
encourages,
and restores
us through
the
scriptures.
So
Jesus
comes
alongside
us
and
gently
rebukes
us,
showing
us,
revealing
us to
us who
he is
through
the
Bible.
Secondly,
he graciously
teaches
us.
Look
again at
specifically
what Jesus
taught.
Verse 26.
Maybe you
missed it.
Listen to
what Jesus
was teaching
them as he
went through
the scriptures.
Did not
the Messiah
have to
suffer these
things and
then enter
his glory?
Suffering
and then
glory?
you see,
their hope,
their expectation
was the
Messiah,
God's
chosen
king.
Someone
with power
who was
mighty and
full of
strength.
Someone
who would
rule and
be victorious.
But to
start talking
about a
Messiah that
suffers,
well that's a
contradiction.
How can a
shamed,
mocked,
dead and
defeated man
on a cross,
how could he
do anything
for you?
You don't
expect us
to believe
that.
If Jesus
is the
Messiah,
he's a
failure.
But Jesus
needed to
correct their
expectations.
You see,
Jesus did
have to die.
He did
come in
weakness
because his
weakness
was his
power.
His
suffering
was his
victory.
The death
of Jesus
on the
cross was
not a
failure,
it's the
fulfilment
of God's
master plan.
The cross
is the
means of
securing
our ultimate
redemption,
forgiveness
of all of
our sins,
freedom
from Satan,
a future,
an eternity
with him.
And the
proof that
he redeems
us,
the proof
that he
actually does
a work in
our life,
is his
resurrection
from the
dead.
The
resurrection
proves
that
Jesus
has
absolute
power
and
supreme
authority.
You see,
we need
Jesus to
come alongside
us by
his
spirit
to teach
us.
We need
to be
people who
line up
our hopes
and our
expectations
with the
Jesus of
the Bible,
not the
Jesus of
our own
making.
Look what he
says in
verse 26,
did not
the Messiah
have to
suffer these
things and
then enter
his glory?
You see,
look,
as Jesus
is teaching
them,
he's showing
us the
pattern for
his life,
that death
must come
first and
then the
resurrection.
It's going
to be
suffering now
and then
glory.
And as
he's teaching
them,
he's showing
them,
look,
this is the
pattern for
the journey
of your
life also.
Line up
your hopes
and your
expectations
behind the
Jesus of
the Bible.
Death
comes first,
then the
resurrection.
Suffering
comes now,
glory later.
You see,
we're still
living in a
sin cursed
and broken
world.
And the
effects are
all around
us.
There's
disorder,
there's
destruction,
there's the
sadness of
death itself.
But the
resurrection
gives us
hope as we
walk through
our journey
of suffering
that this
is not the
end.
Brand new
bodies in a
brand new
world awaits
us and that
future hope
gives us
peace and
comfort today.
Suffering
now,
glory later.
This is the
journey that
Jesus walked
and this is
the way that
we must
follow.
So as we
walk this
journey,
we can be
disappointed,
but as we are
confronted by
Jesus, we
begin to see
who he is
and what to
expect.
eyes opened
by Jesus.
I wonder,
have you ever
experienced the
risen Jesus
yourself?
You see, what
Jesus teaches
here is not
easy to accept.
It's hard.
It's a hard way
to follow.
And like these
two disciples,
to be able to
grasp it and to
be able to
follow, we
need to have
our eyes
opened.
The journey
begins, if you
remember, if you
look back at
verse 15, it
begins with
their eyes
being closed.
Verse 15,
as they
walked, or as
they talked and
discussed these
things with each
other, Jesus
himself came up
and walked along
with them, but
they were kept
from recognizing
him.
Part of their
blindness, of
course, was not
seeing Jesus the
way they should
see him.
All they have
seen is a
failed, dead
Jesus hanging
on a cross.
That's all they
can see.
So it's as if
they're kept
from recognizing
him.
They can't
make him out.
They can't
understand what's
gone on.
But then they
are confronted
with the message
of the scriptures.
Verse 31,
then their
eyes were
opened and
they recognized
him and he
disappeared from
their sight.
You see, it's
through God's
word that they
began to see
who Jesus
was.
They began
to make sense
of who Jesus
is, that he
had to die, that
he had to rise.
We need to
understand that
as Jesus spoke
to them, he
opened up their
eyes.
And we need to
pray that the
Lord Jesus would
open up our
eyes so that we
can begin to see
him clearly.
and when he
does, look
what happens.
Seeing Jesus
clearly changes
everything.
Verse 32,
they asked each
other, were not
our hearts burning
within us while
he talked with
us on the road
and opened the
scriptures to us.
One writer put it
so well when he
said, burdened
hearts now become
burning hearts.
hearts.
These guys are on
fire.
Their downcast
faces are beaming
brightly.
Their disappointment
has turned to
glorious joy.
What a transformation
from the outset of
their journey to the
end of the journey.
They start
confused, hopeless,
failed expectations.
expectations.
The end of their
journey, their eyes
are opened, filled
with hope and
certain expectation.
How did it all
happen?
What's the point in
which everything
comes clear?
But we're told in
verse 32, were not
our hearts burning
within us while he
talked with us on
the road and opened
the scriptures to
us?
I would love for
Jesus to walk
through those doors
physically.
To just burst in
through those doors.
To come in and sit
right down beside
you.
Could you imagine
that?
To start comforting
you.
To listen to your
questions.
How amazing that
would be.
if Jesus came in
that door and
sat down with
you.
Well this may
sound shocking
to you.
That wouldn't be
the best way to
meet Jesus.
It's not the way
Jesus has chosen
to come to us
and to meet
with us.
Remember the
two guys as they
walked along the
road?
They still don't
get it.
But Jesus
shows himself
through the
scriptures.
He comes
alongside us.
He meets with
us as we
open up the
Bible.
It's in the
pages of
scripture that
Jesus comes to
us and meets
us in our
disappointments and
teaches us and
reveals us,
reveals himself to
us and encourages
us and builds us
up.
God's word.
If you are
disappointed today,
if you are
struggling to make
sense of life
today, go to
God's words
and by his
Holy Spirit
ask that your
eyes would be
opened and as
you read through
it ask, help me
to see Jesus.
Jesus.
And I guarantee
you will see the
risen Jesus
and you will
continue to see
him until that
day when the
risen Jesus will
return and then
you will see him
face to face
and all our
hopes and all
our expectations
will be fully
and finally
realised as we
sit and eat
and feast
with him.
Disappointed,
let the
scriptures confront
you, let your
eyes be opened
and your hearts
burn with fire
as we meet
the risen Jesus.
Let's pray.
Amen.
,
here we go.