Walking to Emmaus
Barrett Case
Easter 2017 • Sermon • Submitted
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Sometimes Meghann and I take a walk together. After the sun starts to go down, I'm more apt to go for a walk. I'm very, very white and I currently hold the world record for getting sun-burnt in the shortest amount of time. 27 seconds.
Sometimes we’ll head out for a walk, and we'll take our two dachshunds, Peanut and Pig. If you see us walking, you might think, “Oh, how sweet…Barrett and Meghann out for a walk, enjoying one another's company.” And that's very true.
But there's more to it than that. It's not just a walk. It's Meghann trying to increase the life expectancy of her fat dachshund, Pig, and her tubby husband, Barrett. That's the reason behind the walk. She has her work cut out for her though: Pig will just decide she's done walking and lay down in the middle of the street. It's a pretty smart move. I've even tried it myself.
“Nope, uh uh…not going any farther. You’ll have to carry the both of us.”
What appears on the surface to be a walk is, in fact, something more than a walk.
>Watch this video. Some random guy walking down the driveway? Are you wondering why in the world I would show you a 10-second video of some random guy walking? “Why,” you might be wondering, “is there even a video of something like that?” Well, suffice it to say, there’s more to it than meets the eye.
Watch it again. This is more than a guy walking down his driveway.
This is Ryan Stollings. He was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) when he was 22. MS is a degenerative disease with gradually inhibits the body’s ability to move. At the time of diagnosis, there was no known cure for MS. At age 30, Ryan struggled to walk more than 10-15 steps at a time without bracing himself.
After a new round of treatment in Chicago, this is Ryan Stollings a week or so ago, walking.
More than some random guy walking down the drive. This is no mere walk; this is miraculous.
>Here’s a picture of one of my favorite paintings. We actually have a copy of this in the entryway by my office. It’s a little wrinkled and beat up, but I love it.
At first glance, though, it’s just a painting of three guys walking down the road, obviously discussing something.
But, as we’ll see this morning, there’s much more to this painting than meets the eye. This is more than a painting of three random people walking down the road. There’s more to it than that...
>They took this walk the same day that Christ arose, the first day of the new world that rose with Him.
13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.
That same day…Jesus has been raised from the dead. The One who was delivered over to the hands of sinners, the One who was crucified is now raised to new life (Luke 24:7).
These two men who are traveling this road to Emmaus were part of the group of people who had been with Jesus. They were some of His followers, some of His disciples (not part of The 12); they were His students, His followers, His disciples.
The two of them were heading away from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus, likely on their way home, wherever home might have been for them.
14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.
Situated here at the end of the Gospel of Luke, there’s been quite a bit that has happened…but we know almost without a doubt what they were talking about.
“Everything that had happened” certainly refers to the crucifixion of Jesus.
Jesus, the One who had taught them and loved them; the One who had been their Teacher and their Leader for months, maybe years; the One for whom they had left behind everything—their jobs, their homes, maybe even their families; the One they loved and trusted; the One they had longed for, waited for, hoped for; the One they had hoped would fix everything and make all things sad come untrue—that One had been killed.
The death of Jesus was the talk of the town. Jesus was betrayed by one of His own. He was arrested in the garden. He was mocked and beaten. He was put on trial. And, at the shouts of “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”, Pilate gave in to the crowd of people, released a man named Barabbas, and surrendered Jesus to their will (Luke 23:25)
At this, Jesus and two other men, both of whom were criminals, were all led out of the city to be executed. When they got to Golgotha, the place called “The Skull”, they crucified Jesus there, along with the other criminals.
At about noon on Friday, darkness came over the whole land until about 3:00 in the afternoon. The curtain of the temple was torn in two and Jesus breathed His last.
A man named from Arimathea asked Pilate for Jesus’ body. He took it down from the cross, wrapped it in linen, and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock.
All of this had happened in the most public possible way. Anyone who was in or around Jerusalem would have heard about this or watched it unfold before their very eyes.
So these two were talking with each other about everything that had happened.
I imagine most people were talking about what had happened. This is the gossip of all gossip, this is the scuttlebutt at morning coffee, this is the conversation you have for days.
Millions of people are talking about this today, two millennia later.
>But verse 15 is where it gets really interesting. These two travelers are heading out of Jerusalem, and we’re told they talked and discussed these things with each other.
This makes us think that the conversation is rather intense, since the word used for discussed (syzeteo) usually refers to debating.
These two travelers are talking, debating, and then…and then something incredible happens (but these two don’t realize it quite yet).
15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
Part of what makes this account of the resurrection so enjoyable is that we know more about what is taking place than these two disciples who unknowingly encounter the risen Jesus!
My beautiful bride and I have a few TV shows we like to watch together. Some of the TV shows we like are medical-based, some crime thrillers, some comedy, some zombie, some courtroom dramas.
A good amount of the time, though we’re enjoying the show, we can guess what’s going to happen. I’m sure you’re the same way. Sometimes we’re caught off-guard and thoroughly surprised, but most of the time, we can figure out what’s going to happen.
At times, Meghann will say, “I could write this show.”
Not so with these disciples! But, then again, who could’ve guessed this would happen? Who could write this? Who could make this up? We, with our perfect 20/20 hindsight, think we would have figured it out, but I really doubt it.
What’s more, for some reason Christ kept his identity a secret for the moment and fell in with them as they were walking and eavesdropped on their conversation.
Jesus isn’t being cruel here, keeping them from recognizing Him. Jesus’ gradual revelation of Himself allows them to learn certain lessons about trusting in God’s promises.
The disciples had been told about these events many times. They should have known, should have believed this would happen; they just couldn’t begin to understand how they would come to pass.
Then Jesus—who is, for all they know at this moment, just another traveler—steps up and interrupts their conversation:
17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast.
It’s here, verse 17, where we start to understand how these two men are feeling. Jesus’ question—to them, a question from a stranger—stops them in their tracks; their faces are downcast. They are sad and it shows.
They are sad, and they’re a little bit confused by the question.
18 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?”
In other words: “What’s the matter with you? How in the world do you not know the things that have happened?”
I wonder if they would have been quite so snarky if they knew it was Jesus.
The resurrected Jesus, the man of the hour, the object of their conversation, shows His sense of humor: “What things?”
“Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that have happened?” they ask.
Jesus replies, “What things?”
Ha! The Sovereign of the Universe is playing dumb. If anyone knows the events of the last few days, it’s the One who personally experienced the events of the last few days.
But this, like keeping the two travelers from recognizing Him, opened the door for the two men to lay it all out there.
“What things?” asks Jesus. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they reply to Jesus.
19 “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. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 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. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
For these disciples, hope had been buried in Joseph’s tomb. Hope is dead. Hope has disappeared. Notice verse 21:
21 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.
They had hoped. They had had hope that Jesus was the One who would redeem Israel. They had hoped…but that was days ago. It’s in the past. Hope is long gone. We’re days outside of hope.
These are hopeless men.
I’m guessing some (or many) of you know what it’s like to feel this way—hopeless. I’ve been there myself. I’ve lived in despair, not knowing what’s next, believing all hope was lost.
I had hoped the job would work out. I had hoped his cancer was gone. I had hoped the diagnosis was incorrect. I had hoped that phone call was just a bad dream. I had hoped she would be okay.
These are hopeless men…little did they know, Hope was walking on the road beside them.
These men, as they recount to Jesus the details of the last few days, hit the main events: the crucifixion (v. 20), the women finding and telling the disciples about the empty tomb (v. 22, 23), Peter and another disciple going to the empty tomb and not finding Jesus (v. 24), but they recount all of this with sadness, with sorrow, without hope or joy.
“The women’s report of the empty tomb (confirmed by men) and the vision of angels amazes these men but does nothing to alleviate their sadness (v. 17) or dashed hopes (v. 21).” -R.C. Sproul
We may not recount the events of this last week with sadness or sorrow, but I wonder if we speak about it with as much hope and joy as we should.
These men don’t believe the women; what the women reported seemed like nonsense (as a side note, it’s best to believe the women in your life).
Even Peter who ran to the tomb and saw it empty with the strips of linen lying by themselves, went away, wondering what had happened. “Welp. Tomb’s empty...”
They don’t know what to do with the reports. They don’t understand that the empty tomb is Good News!
“They didn’t find His body…they didn’t see Jesus.”
Even with the reports that Jesus’ body wasn’t in the tomb, that Jesus was nowhere to be seen, these two are not yet convinced that Jesus was raised from the dead.
In the Biblical accounts, poor Thomas gets all the attention for doubting that Jesus was actually raised from the dead. He’s even called ‘Doubting Thomas’, for goodness sake. Poor guy's dubbed a doubter from the moment he doubted for the rest of human history, but he’s not the only one who doubted! Thomas was merely one in a large crowd of doubters, including these two followers.
As it sits now, resurrection isn’t a consideration for these two as they walk to Emmaus next to the Resurrected One. In their summary of the things that had happened in Jerusalem over the last few days, resurrection wasn’t one of them. There’s an empty tomb, but there’s no thought in their heads about the resurrection.
Like many modern skeptics, they will only be persuaded if they actually see Jesus.
Don’t you just want to yell: “Look at the guy walking next to you!”
>Here is one of the major lessons of the Emmaus Road experience: Though the resurrection is hard to believe, rest assured it happened.
Walking to Emmaus with these two disciples was one of many appearances Jesus made after His resurrection.
These two travelers were witnesses of the after-effects of the bodily resurrection of Jesus.
There’s a reason why the tomb was empty!
There’s a reason Peter found the strips of linen lying in an empty tomb!
There’s a reason why they didn’t find Jesus’ lifeless body!
JESUS LIVES! And He’s taking a walk to Emmaus with a couple of His followers.
The resurrection might be hard to believe, but rest assured: it’s gloriously, wondrously, amazingly true!
>The two walking down the road need some further instruction. They haven’t quite grasped the reason behind everything that had happened.
So Jesus interjects. Mind you, these two travelers still don’t know this is Jesus walking along with them.
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
Jesus reminds His two walking buddies that the Messiah, the Christ, the Promised One had to suffer these things.
This is just exactly what the angels at the tomb told the women:
6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”
What Jesus does next is absolutely incredible. How I wish I could have been there on that road with these two as they walked along and listened to Jesus.
27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
Jesus had a good amount of time to expound the Old Testament (it’d take a couple hours to walk 7 miles; more if you give up, lay down, and refuse to walk any farther).
And so Jesus walks them through bit by bit, showing them how the Messiah, the Christ, the Promised One is the fulfillment of every promise, the hope of all generations, the One come to save His people from their sins.
Jesus made it clear that “every story whispers His name.”
The disciples on the road have been slow to believe. They’ve read Genesis and Isaiah and the Psalms and Daniel, but without understanding.
By taking them back to the Bible, Jesus was showing these two that what took place over the last few days was all part of God’s plan and promise—everything thing from the mockery, to the casting of lots for the Messiah’s clothes, to the brutal, crushing torture of the cross—all part of God’s plan and promise.
The Bible’s promise centers on Jesus.
28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 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.
The story just gets better and better. Jesus pretends He’s going to journey on, but these two have so enjoyed their conversation that they invite Him to stay with them—typical hospitality.
And then it happens:
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.
This has happened before. All of this is familiar. This happened when Jesus miraculously fed the five-thousand. Jesus took a loaf of bread, He gave thanks, He broke it and gave it to His disciples only four days ago.
The setting here at the end of the walk is no mistake. Jesus knew they were going to sit down at the table and share a meal. What better way to make Himself known than to take some bread, give thanks for it, and hand it to His followers?
As we gather at the table this morning, as we take the bread and eat and take the cup and drink, we do so as those who belong to Christ; we eat this bread and drink this cup and commune with Christ—the One who offered Himself up for us, the One who was willingly broken for our sake, the One who has given Himself to us.
(COMMUNION)
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.
The disciples finally understood who it was they’d been walking and talking with. They recognize Jesus and then He disappears.
That Jesus is alive is all the disciples need to understand.
They can now fully appreciate that Jesus is with them—He is not dead; He’s alive!
All of a sudden, the entire discussion they had on their way to Emmaus makes sense. The whole mess of recent events finally becomes clear. An understanding of new life is opened up to them.
These formerly hopeless men, now chalk-full of hope and joy and thrill ask each other:
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?”
With a fire in their bones, in their hearts, they return to the gathering of disciples in Jerusalem (seven miles in the other direction). It was nearly seven long miles back to Jerusalem and evening had already come.
But they couldn’t stay.
They couldn’t stay.
Their hearts were too glad. Their spirits were overflowing—they couldn’t wait to tell all the Jesus-people: “We’ve seen Jesus! He is alive. He’s alive!
33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
The news is too good to keep to themselves. To know Jesus is to be thrilled at the thought of sharing news of Him with others.
These two disciples have walked to Emmaus from Jerusalem and now ran a nice 10k from Emmaus back to Jerusalem to let everyone know the Good News, find the Eleven and all those with them hanging out together.
Before the two disciples can catch their breath, they hear the Good News they've come to share: “It’s true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”
Jesus is among all of them. Jesus is alive!
Can you imagine the flood of emotion in the room as the stories of Jesus’ appearance flowed in? What an incredible, world-changing day!
It’s true! The Lord has risen!
>Oh, how the world changes when we know Jesus is alive. He is alive. He’s alive.
The news is too good to keep to ourselves. To know Jesus is to be thrilled at the thought of sharing news of Him with others.
It’s this—the Good News that Jesus died, was buried, and three days later rose from the grave—it’s this Good News that saves.
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Jesus came down, lived a perfect life, was crucified for our sins, was buried in a borrowed tomb, and on the third day rose victoriously over sin and death.
All this, He did for you. To make you right with God. To pay the price of your sinfulness. To adopt you into His family.
All this, He did for you, so that you could enjoy a relationship with Him—so that you can experience what those two on the Emmaus road did; so that you can say: “He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own.”