On The Road To Emmaus
This week, I'd like for us to take a look at a very interesting event which occurred immediately following the resurrection of Jesus. Two disciples of Jesus, one of whom was named Cleopas, the other unnamed, were traversing the road to a village called Emmaus, which was approximately seven and a half miles from Jerusalem. This event is recorded in Luke, chapter 24, verses 13-32...
"And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.
But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre. And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not. Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him, and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
The first thing that we notice is that these two disciples left from Jerusalem, and walked the road to Emmaus, approximately a two hour walk. We are not told why they were going to Emmaus, but from the context, it would seem that they were leaving Jerusalem, possibly returning home, disappointed and saddened by the things which had happened to Jesus. It seems as though, perhaps, that their faith had been seriously shaken, and though they had been told that Jesus had risen from the dead, they were unsure of what to believe. We are told in verses 14 and 15 that "they talked together of all these things which had happened", and that "they communed together and reasoned", which leads us to believe that they were trying to make sense of it all, to come to terms with things, and to figure out where to go from there. Suddenly, "Jesus himself drew near and went with them", just as He does with us any time that we are confused or downtrodden. Verse 16 tells us that "their eyes were holden that they should not know him", and whether Jesus took on another form, or whether their physical eyes were restrained from discerning who He was, we are not told. Either way, they did not realize that it was Jesus who walked with them. Jesus then asks them, "What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?" Notice here that Jesus took note of their sadness, and so it must have been apparent, which is another clue to their mental state. Their sadness eludes to the fact that they were unsure whether or not to believe in His resurrection, because if their faith had been solid, and they had believed that He was raised from the dead, they would have no reason for sadness, and most likely would have stayed in Jerusalem with the rest of the disciples, waiting for Jesus to return. Jesus felt their sadness, and He sought to ease their pain, just as He does with us, as Paul tells us in Hebrews 4:15..."For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities..." Jesus has true empathy for us, He knows our pain, and our sadness, and it is only through Him that our situations will improve. With verse 18, we see Cleopas answering Jesus, seemingly surprised that the stranger is unaware of the events of the past few days, and as Jesus inquires further, Cleopas explains the circumstances surrounding the condemnation and crucifixion of Jesus. Interestingly, in verse 21 Cleopas says..."But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel...", which further explains the sadness and confusion that these two disciples must have been feeling. There was a general sense among the people in Jerusalem that Jesus was sent to free the Jews from the oppression of Rome, to overthrow their empire, and to set things right again. But Jesus had come for a much greater purpose. It was the freeing of mankind from the clutches of Satan that Jesus came and died for. The Jews were under the control of Rome, and could not accept the fact that the Messiah would come without freeing them from their oppressors, thus they rejected Him, which ultimately led to His crucifixion. Of course, all of these things were foreknown, planned from the beginning, and all had to occur just as it did in order for us to receive the atonement. Only through His death, burial, and resurrection can we have the forgiveness of our sins. However, this gives us an interesting insight into the mindset of these two disciples. They could not see beyond their present situation to realize that it WAS He who had redeemed Israel, not necessarily from the oppression of Rome, but from a much more powerful enemy. He had redeemed them from their sins, and brought them eternal life. He not only redeemed Israel, but all of humanity who would from that point forward believe on Him.
It is at this point that Jesus reproves the disciples for the weakness of their faith, and their narrow mindedness. "O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?" He then begins with Moses and the prophets, and draws out the parallels and the foreshadowings of Himself, and how it was foretold that the Messiah would suffer and die and be raised again the third day. The Old Testament is filled with glimpses of Jesus, and with prophecies concerning His life, as well as His death and His resurrection, but sometimes these are hard to see, and difficult to discern. We have a good example of this in Acts 8:30-35, as Philip sheds light on the prophecies of Jesus to the Ethiopian eunuch..."And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus." And so, these two disciples were blessed to have Jesus Himself to guide them, to explain the prophecies and parallels firsthand to them, which had a very profound effect on these men.
With verses 28 and 29, we see the disciples approach the village of Emmaus, and we are told that Jesus "made as though he would have gone further", in other words, it seemed to the disciples that this was not the intended destination of their new acquaintance, that he was traveling further. "But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them." Take note here, that Jesus had no intentions of going any further, He simply wanted to be constrained by the disciples. This is what He desires from us, as well. He wants us to invite Him in. Jesus wants to hear us say, "Abide with me." We need His precious Presence, because it IS toward evening, and the day IS far spent. We need to recognize the eternal importance of clinging to Jesus, of inviting Him in to tarry with us, as our society continues to crumble, and the morals, ethics and values that we hold dear are systematically abandoned. Jesus is our only Hope in these last days.
We read in verses 30 and 31..."And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight." As the disciples sit down to eat, Jesus takes over as the Master of the feast, blessing and breaking the bread, and giving it to them, at which point the veil was lifted, and their eyes were opened. Likewise, our eyes are opened as we break the bread of life, in the reading and studying of God's word. Jesus then "vanished out of their sight", giving these disciples just enough of a glimpse of Himself as to confirm that it was indeed He who had eased their minds on the road to Emmaus. He had opened their spiritual eyes to the truth of the gospel before He opened their physical eyes as to His true identity.
We conclude with verse 32, and the reaction of the two disciples to the revealing of Jesus..."And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" The original Greek text reads, "kardia kaiomene", literally, "heart burning", denoting the intensity with which the words of Jesus had affected these disciples. A fire had been rekindled and stoked in these men, insomuch that there was no longer any doubt as to the resurrection of their Lord. He had reaffirmed their faith, while at the same time, relighting the fire in them that was barely flickering at the beginning of their journey. May the words of Jesus burn within our hearts, and light a fire, just as they did in the hearts of these two disciples. Jesus changed their lives on the road to Emmaus, just as He can change our lives no matter what road we may be on.
"And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.
The first thing that we notice is that these two disciples left from Jerusalem, and walked the road to Emmaus, approximately a two hour walk. We are not told why they were going to Emmaus, but from the context, it would seem that they were leaving Jerusalem, possibly returning home, disappointed and saddened by the things which had happened to Jesus. It seems as though, perhaps, that their faith had been seriously shaken, and though they had been told that Jesus had risen from the dead, they were unsure of what to believe. We are told in verses 14 and 15 that "they talked together of all these things which had happened", and that "they communed together and reasoned", which leads us to believe that they were trying to make sense of it all, to come to terms with things, and to figure out where to go from there. Suddenly, "Jesus himself drew near and went with them", just as He does with us any time that we are confused or downtrodden. Verse 16 tells us that "their eyes were holden that they should not know him", and whether Jesus took on another form, or whether their physical eyes were restrained from discerning who He was, we are not told. Either way, they did not realize that it was Jesus who walked with them. Jesus then asks them, "What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?" Notice here that Jesus took note of their sadness, and so it must have been apparent, which is another clue to their mental state. Their sadness eludes to the fact that they were unsure whether or not to believe in His resurrection, because if their faith had been solid, and they had believed that He was raised from the dead, they would have no reason for sadness, and most likely would have stayed in Jerusalem with the rest of the disciples, waiting for Jesus to return. Jesus felt their sadness, and He sought to ease their pain, just as He does with us, as Paul tells us in Hebrews 4:15..."For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities..." Jesus has true empathy for us, He knows our pain, and our sadness, and it is only through Him that our situations will improve. With verse 18, we see Cleopas answering Jesus, seemingly surprised that the stranger is unaware of the events of the past few days, and as Jesus inquires further, Cleopas explains the circumstances surrounding the condemnation and crucifixion of Jesus. Interestingly, in verse 21 Cleopas says..."But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel...", which further explains the sadness and confusion that these two disciples must have been feeling. There was a general sense among the people in Jerusalem that Jesus was sent to free the Jews from the oppression of Rome, to overthrow their empire, and to set things right again. But Jesus had come for a much greater purpose. It was the freeing of mankind from the clutches of Satan that Jesus came and died for. The Jews were under the control of Rome, and could not accept the fact that the Messiah would come without freeing them from their oppressors, thus they rejected Him, which ultimately led to His crucifixion. Of course, all of these things were foreknown, planned from the beginning, and all had to occur just as it did in order for us to receive the atonement. Only through His death, burial, and resurrection can we have the forgiveness of our sins. However, this gives us an interesting insight into the mindset of these two disciples. They could not see beyond their present situation to realize that it WAS He who had redeemed Israel, not necessarily from the oppression of Rome, but from a much more powerful enemy. He had redeemed them from their sins, and brought them eternal life. He not only redeemed Israel, but all of humanity who would from that point forward believe on Him.
It is at this point that Jesus reproves the disciples for the weakness of their faith, and their narrow mindedness. "O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?" He then begins with Moses and the prophets, and draws out the parallels and the foreshadowings of Himself, and how it was foretold that the Messiah would suffer and die and be raised again the third day. The Old Testament is filled with glimpses of Jesus, and with prophecies concerning His life, as well as His death and His resurrection, but sometimes these are hard to see, and difficult to discern. We have a good example of this in Acts 8:30-35, as Philip sheds light on the prophecies of Jesus to the Ethiopian eunuch..."And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus." And so, these two disciples were blessed to have Jesus Himself to guide them, to explain the prophecies and parallels firsthand to them, which had a very profound effect on these men.
With verses 28 and 29, we see the disciples approach the village of Emmaus, and we are told that Jesus "made as though he would have gone further", in other words, it seemed to the disciples that this was not the intended destination of their new acquaintance, that he was traveling further. "But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them." Take note here, that Jesus had no intentions of going any further, He simply wanted to be constrained by the disciples. This is what He desires from us, as well. He wants us to invite Him in. Jesus wants to hear us say, "Abide with me." We need His precious Presence, because it IS toward evening, and the day IS far spent. We need to recognize the eternal importance of clinging to Jesus, of inviting Him in to tarry with us, as our society continues to crumble, and the morals, ethics and values that we hold dear are systematically abandoned. Jesus is our only Hope in these last days.
We read in verses 30 and 31..."And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight." As the disciples sit down to eat, Jesus takes over as the Master of the feast, blessing and breaking the bread, and giving it to them, at which point the veil was lifted, and their eyes were opened. Likewise, our eyes are opened as we break the bread of life, in the reading and studying of God's word. Jesus then "vanished out of their sight", giving these disciples just enough of a glimpse of Himself as to confirm that it was indeed He who had eased their minds on the road to Emmaus. He had opened their spiritual eyes to the truth of the gospel before He opened their physical eyes as to His true identity.
We conclude with verse 32, and the reaction of the two disciples to the revealing of Jesus..."And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" The original Greek text reads, "kardia kaiomene", literally, "heart burning", denoting the intensity with which the words of Jesus had affected these disciples. A fire had been rekindled and stoked in these men, insomuch that there was no longer any doubt as to the resurrection of their Lord. He had reaffirmed their faith, while at the same time, relighting the fire in them that was barely flickering at the beginning of their journey. May the words of Jesus burn within our hearts, and light a fire, just as they did in the hearts of these two disciples. Jesus changed their lives on the road to Emmaus, just as He can change our lives no matter what road we may be on.
Amen
ReplyDelete