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Year A Easter 3 - 6th April 2008
Luke 24: 13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 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. 17 He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?" 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 him they did not see." 25 He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Christ 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. 28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted 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. 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. 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?" 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.
Last week we looked at Thomas, nicknamed "The Doubter" ( John 20.19-end ). In today's gospel we have two other people who certainly deserved the title "doubter". Emmaus was a small village eight miles northwest of Jerusalem. The two men walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus were discouraged, doubting disciples who actually had no reason to be disheartened. Last week we saw how Jesus graciously and compassionately met Thomas where he was. He wanted proof and Jesus offered his hands and his side. Here, Jesus graciously walks beside these two men and joins into their discussion. There is some humour in this because he had been at the centre of what had happened, yet he asked "What are you discussing together as you walk along?", v17.
They didn't listen to the message of the witnesses and the message of the Scriptures
the message of the witnesses
They had heard the reports of the women that the tomb was empty and that the angel said Jesus was alive. The apostles had testified to the empty tomb, but the two did not believe any of them, vs. 22-24. The two men had hoped that Jesus would redeem Israel (Luke 24:21), but their hopes had been shattered. IT could be they were discouraged and disappointed because God did not do what they wanted and expected Him to do. They were, clearly, like many others at the time, hoping that Jesus would lead a successful rebellion against Roman rule and establish a prosperous earthly kingdom, as his ancestor David had. They couldn't see that God's kingdom was different and would be established by Jesus being rejected, betrayed, unjustly crucified, and resurrected. Jesus had taught his followers this time and time again, but they had refused to accept what he said. Their presuppositions blinded them to what God was doing and what he wanted to communicate with them.
We can see this blindness today. Some people have the presupposition that miracles do not happen. So this blinds them to what Jesus did and, perhaps who he is. Some people have the presupposition that once you are dead you are dead, so this blinds them to the resurrection and the Christian message. Some people are proud and this blinds them to being corrected by Jesus' teaching.
However, if people listen to Jesus in humility, aided by the Holy Spirit, they will be able to see, like the men on the road to Emmaus. I like verse 31 "Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight." So they saw him, for who he was, briefly, then he was gone! They had seen him for some time, yet not recognised who he truly was. Similarly, they had seen Jesus for some time, yet never recognised the type of Christ that he is.
They didn't listen to the message of the witnesses...
and the message of the Scriptures
There is a song called "Break Thou the bread of life" that links in with this. The third verse is
O send Thy Spirit, Lord,
Now unto me,
That He may touch my eyes
And make me see;
Show me the truth concealed
Within Thy Word,
And in Thy Book revealed,
I see Thee, Lord.
When we read the Bible with the help of God's Spirit this will lead us to Jesus. The Holy Spirit inspired the Bible to be written, 2 Tim. 3.16. The Holy Spirit also opens the eyes of people to see and understand the Bible. E.g. Eva, Stoke, had read the Bible, never made sense, came to Alpha, Holy Spirit opened her eyes and mind to understand and gave her the gift of trust in Jesus and understanding of the Bible.
These two men were Jews, brought up knowing the Old Testament. Jesus used this to show that that what had happened was in there. v.26 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?"
These two needed to look at the O.T. with a new perspective, and Jesus gave this to them, enabled by the Holy Spirit.
We don't know for certain what Scriptures Jesus spoke about. Wouldn't it be fantastic if we did?!
He may have refereed to the covenant that God made with Abraham that "through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me." Gen 22.18. Jesus was, of course, a descendant of Abraham.
He might have referred to Abraham being prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac, in the way that God let his son die as a sacrifice.
He may have told about the blood of the lambs painted on the door posts at Passover and of the his blood, like a sacrificial lamb, shed so that people may escape death.
He may have referred to the bronze serpent that the Israelites looked up at to be saved from the snake bites and how he was lifted up on a cross so people could be saved, see John 3.1-16.
He might have referred to the prophecy of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53 that pointed to him.
Jesus might have referred to God coming down to Mount Sinai to be seen by his people on the third day as a forerunner of him being resurrected on the third day Exod 19.11.
He might have used Psalm 22, which he quoted from the cross, which foretells what would happen to him.
Psalm 69 also paints a picture of Jesus on the cross and foretold that he will be offered vinegar v. 21, so he may have mentioned this.
Last week we looked at the key to John's gospel, 20 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Here we see the key to the whole Bible, which is Jesus Christ. 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
Even when he had done this they did not identify him. Their hearts were burning as Jesus' expounded the Scriptures to them but they still did not recognise him!! It was only when they were having a meal together, not a eucharist, that they recognised Jesus when he gave thanks and broke the bread. Jesus was recognised in a common meal. That is often the way that he comes alongside us, in the ordinary things of life.
Mary experienced this too. She recognised Jesus when he simply said her name, Jn 20.16.
We are to look for the risen Jesus in our lives and in one another.
The first thing that the two men did was to travel the eight miles back to Jerusalem from Emmaus to tell the apostles who, in turn, told them that Simon had seen him. I bet they ran some of the way.
The first thing Mary did was to tell the disciples, Jn 20.18.
We gather here today as those who have met with the risen Lord Jesus and who have been told about this. As those who want to continue to meet with him as he draws alongside us in the ordinary things of life, but transforms them and us as we meet with him and experience his Spirit working within us.
The risen Jesus also revealed himself in spectacular ways too. In John 21 he calls out to the disciples who had been fishing without success to throw their nets to the right. Mirroring what had happened when he first called them, they experienced an enormous, miraculous catch. The first thing John did was to tell Peter that this was Jesus. Again the pattern of recognition and telling.
We will experience the risen Jesus is different ways. Let us build one another up by sharing this. Let us bring others to trust in him by telling them, too.
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I was walking through Norwich last week and recognized Clive & Margaret Grinham, walking near the market. We served together in Derby 14 years ago, and haven't seen one another for 13 years. I recognized Margaret immediately, He said I hadn't changed. I have, I shaved my moustache off in 2001, and have done ever since!
Why did the men on the road not recognize Jesus?
Also Mary, thought Jesus was gardener, 2 weeks ago John 20:15, though she recognized his greeting.
He appeared suddenly to disciples, they thought he was a ghost Luke 24:37, but showed them his hands and feet.
John 21 Jesus stood on the shore but the disciples didn't realize it was him, though could have been the time and the distance.
Jesus was not resuscitated, but resurrected, He received a new resurrection body. Able to suddenly appear and disappear into and out of a locked room.
So it is clear the resurrection body is very different, but there is some continuity. Certainly the personality of someone is not lost. Perhaps in the way that someone who is 50 might say they feel young within.
We, like the men on the Emmause road, can encounter the risen Lord Jesus Christ today. How ?
Through His Spirit and Through God's word.
God's Spirit enabled the men on the road to Emmaus to understand and get excited about the scriptures that pointed to Christ.
The Spirit opened their eyes to recognize Jesus, verse 31.
We need to be open to God's Spirit, through His word, in our beings.
It is only through the work of the Spirit that people can understand the Scriptures, have their eyes open and respond in faith. e.g. Eva.
We need to pray for God's Spirit to be at work in us, so we are ready for heaven.
We need to pray for God's Spirit to open the eyes of others to what God has done for them in Jesus. We need to pray that God's Spirit will change them from within.
Through the church, the body of Christ.
Every believer has Jesus living within them by His Spirit. This should lead to a deep respect and love for fellow believers because when we deal with them we deal with Jesus.
If we deal with them well that is great. If we do not, we are accountable for that, as we read in the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25, illustrated by the story I told in the Parish News this month.
Philippians 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
Let us encounter the risen Lord Jesus through His Spirit, through the Scriptures, through and in the church, in others, and may others know the risen Lord Jesus in us.
Pray to:
To receive God's Spirit;
For someone to come to faith;
For our church and for everyone in it that we may manifest the love and power of the risen Lord Jesus in our corporate and individual lives.
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Luke 24:13-35
It was late afternoon on Easter Sunday. We have two followers of Jesus, who were not part of the group of the eleven remaining disciples. They were showing typical signs of the first emotions of bereavement. They were sad ( verse 17 ), and disappointed ( verse 21 ). There was also confusion over the empty tomb and resurrection stories ( verses 22-24 ).
Jesus joined them without being recognized ( verse 16 ). It says that they were kept from recognising him, suggesting that this was the work of God. This is probably the main feature of this passage, the recognition of Jesus as the true, risen, Messiah. Jesus came among these two people to reveal himself to them. As a Saviour who has conquered death as foretold in the Scriptures. Our Old Testament.
Note how Jesus engineers the conversation to talk about the crucifixion and resurrection in verses 17 and 19. He wanted to hear what they thought before he speaks himself. Their opinion focuses on Jesus person and mission.
They said that he was a prophet, a spokesman from God. Whilst Jesus certainly did speak the words of God he is a lot more. Today people may have an inadequate picture of who Jesus is that denies his deity and denies a call to respond to what he has done. An example of this is the opinion that Jesus was a good moral teacher. There is an element of truth in this, Jesus was a great moral teacher but he is so much more !
They said he was powerful in word and deed. It is important for someone's words to be backed up with their actions. So, for example, it is no use the Conservative or Labour Parties saying that they support families when they have introduced tax legislation that has eroded benefits for married couples. Words and actions. It is so important for us as Christians that what we say, we do.
In verse 21 they say that "we had hoped he was going to be the one who was going to redeem Israel". Jesus is the one who has redeemed Israel. He has rescued from the power of sin and death the people of God. The true Israel. But the speakers were looking to a different kind of redemption. Someone who would set the nation of Israel free from the Romans. Someone who would lead the nation of Israel to the glory that it had enjoyed under the rule of King David. To someone who had these hopes the crucifixion of Jesus was a disaster. But it was God's way of showing his glory, and his victory.
Their reports of an empty tomb bear the marks of a true story. They are clearly unsure about exactly what has happened, as well as the significance of it. They are not expecting Jesus to rise. Note that there is no report of a sighting of the risen Lord Jesus yet, verse 24. This is part of the jigsaw of facts that prove the resurrection of Jesus. A physical resurrection. We are not talking about Jesus' spirit leaving his body. Otherwise the tomb would not have been empty. Death would not have been conquered. But we have an empty tomb and a risen, transformed body. One that is not bound by space and time. That can appear in a locked room, verse 36. That can disappear, verse 31. There is continuity with Jesus old body, such as the nail marks. But his risen, glorified body is different too. The Bible says that when we are resurrected we will be like him. So this gives us some clues about what our resurrection bodies will be like.
Jesus doesn't pull any punches. He calls these two foolish and slow of heart ( verse 25 ) ! Again this suggests it is a true story. Who would make up a story where Jesus insults you. Jesus points to the Scriptures, our Old Testament as the authoritative proof of his crucifixion and resurrection. The common hope of a Messiah who would defeat the Romans and restore the nation of Israel was wrong. The Old Testament backs up Jesus claims to be the Messiah. It would be fascinating to know exactly what Scriptures Jesus referred to. Perhaps these included Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22.
On Antiques Programmes they sometimes mention the word 'provenance'. This is something that is evidence that the piece is what it is claimed to be. So an old piece of furniture might have an old receipt, or proof of carriage as provenance that it existed at a certain time and place.
Jesus sees the O.T. as authoritative in pointing to his person and work as Messiah. The anointed one sent by God to set his people free. This is one of the important uses of Scripture, pointing to Jesus, who has died in our place on the cross, and who has risen from death. Jesus is the Christ and this is proved by Scripture, and by his resurrection. Jesus is the key to the Bible. Jesus saw the O.T. as important. We should not disregard it because it shows us a God who has revealed himself to his people in history. And it looks forward to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
A tourist was looking around a picture gallery in Florence. He asked "Are these masterpieces ? I certainly don't see very much in them." The curator replied, "Sir, it is not the pictures that are on trial. It is the visitors!"
So with the Bible. It is not on trial. It is a masterpiece that has no equal. It is how we respond to it and use it that is the important thing.
When a Bible is being studied properly it is an exciting, challenging book. As Jesus expounded the Scriptures to the two men their "hearts were burning" , verse 32. God the Holy Spirit who inspired his word to be written will work in people to alter the way that they see Jesus. And the way they live their lives.
As they approach Emmaus Jesus went to continue on the road. Being good hospitable Jews the two men offer Jesus an evening meal and bed. It was late in the day and they had walked 7 miles in hot dusty conditions. They urged Jesus strongly to stay, he did not push things although he used the opportunity to move the men on in their understanding of Jesus. It was usually the duty of the host to break the bread and give thanks. Yet Jesus did this and so revealed who he is. We don't know exactly how the men knew. Perhaps they saw the wounds on his hands. Perhaps he had a distinctive way of breaking bread and giving thanks. Verse 35 could suggest this. Perhaps God, who had stopped them from recognising Jesus in verse 16 opened their eyes. It is only through the work of God's Holy Spirit that we can recognise who Jesus really is, to understand God's word the Bible, and to enable people to turn to Christ. We can co-operate by praying for those who do not know Christ as their friend and saviour, that God the Holy Spirit will work in them to open their eyes to Jesus, and their will to respond to his love.
This recognition of Jesus as the true, risen, and glorified Messiah is the point of this story. It is another piece in the jigsaw puzzle that gives shows the truth and the meaning of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Borne out by Scripture that were written many hundreds of years before Jesus was born. Scriptures that Jesus could not deliberately have fulfilled. For example, that none of Jesus bones were broken after he had been crucified ( John 19:36 ).
Having walked the seven miles from Jerusalem the two were so excited that they walked all the way back to find the eleven disciples. When they got there they would have been happy, perhaps relieved to find that Jesus had appeared to Simon also. There is no mention of the sightings of the women. Women were second class citizens and their testimony considered invalid in court. Even a single testimony by a man was considered insufficient. Perhaps this is why Luke records two men meeting the risen Lord Jesus.
This passage is part of the proof of the risen Lord Jesus. A proof that backs up his claim that he is God, sent to die in our place on the cross to receive the punishment for everything that we have ever done wrong. The resurrection is God's 'Amen' to that.
This passage shows how Scripture points to Jesus. We need to understand how the O.T. and the N.T. point to Jesus, and the lives that God wants us to live in response to his grace. We need to study the O.T. and the N.T. to allow our theology, experience, and way of living to make sense. To harmonise with one another.
Finally this passage shows us something about the resurrection bodies that we will inherit when Jesus comes again. Bodies that will have continuity with our earthly bodies, yet ones that will be transformed and renewed.