Christ’s Appearance On The Road To Emmaus

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TRIAL, CRUCIFIXION & RESURRECTION SERIES: CHRIST’S APPEARANCE ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS

Pastor Mike here.

I want to talk to you about Christ’s Appearance On The Road To Emmaus today.

This is the fifth in a series on the Trial, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

CHRIST’S APPEARANCE ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS TEXT IN THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

Christ’s Appearance On The Road To Emmaus is found in the Gospel of Luke chapter 24, verse 13 through 35, where it reads…

13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem,

14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened.

15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.

16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.

17 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.

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?”

19 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,

20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him.

21 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.

22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning,

23 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.

24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”

25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!

26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”

27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther,

29 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.

30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them.

31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.

32 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?”

33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,

34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”

35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

THIS WAS ALL DONE FOR US

And so we have Christ’s Appearance On The Road To Emmaus in the Gospel of Luke.

And before we dive in to the text, let me just remind you of the main point of the entirety of this series on the Trial, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This was all done FOR US.

Jesus was put on trial, sentenced for execution, nailed to a cross of wood, suffered, bled and died there, was buried and rose again from the dead on the third day so that we could be saved of our sins and have eternal life.

This was all done FOR US.

VERSE 13

Which brings us to the text.

Verse 13 starts out, “That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.”

Now “the day” that it’s talking about here is the day of the resurrection of Christ, the day that has been described in the previous 12 verses of Luke chapter 24.

The women have gone to the tomb, discovered it empty and then come back to tell the apostles and others that Jesus had risen according to the message of two angels.

It is on this day – Resurrection Sunday – that “two of them,” v. 13 goes on, “were going to a village named Emmaus.”

Emmaus was indeed “7 miles [away] from Jerusalem” where the most recent events of the trial, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus have taken place.

VERSE 14

Now these two men (who we’ll find out later one of them is named Cleopas in v. 18) are walking together and “talking with each other,” v. 14 continues, “about all these things that had happened.”

We’ll find out exactly what their conversation surrounded in just a moment.

VERSE 15

But first, in v. 15, something unusual – and incredible! – takes place to the two men while they are traveling on the road.

A mysterious stranger draws near to them and then He continues with them on their journey.

And they have no idea who it is.

It is none other than the risen Christ!

Verse 15 puts it, “While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.”

VERSE 16

And then v. 16 adds, “But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.”

Now later on, in the first part of v. 31, it will read, “And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him (Jesus).”

In v. 31 “eyes were opened” is passive in the Greek, meaning that God is the One doing the opening.

And so in similar fashion in v. 16, God is also the One who keeps the two men on the road “from recognizing [Jesus]” while later on He will open their eyes to recognize Jesus.

VERSE 17-19

Continuing now with v. 17, while they remain in the dark as to who the mysterious stranger is that has joined them, Christ asks them a question, “And he said to them, ‘What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?'”

And v. 17 goes on, “And they (the two men) stood still, looking sad.”

Of course, they are.

The worst thing imaginable has happened in their mind (which in truth is actually the best thing that could have happened, but they will only realize that later).

And v. 18 goes on now with how Cleopas answers Jesus’ question with a question himself and much likely saying it in a surprised fashion, “‘Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?'”

VERSE 19-24

Verse 19 frames our Lord’s response in a third question, “And he (Jesus) said to them, ‘What things?'”

Now this is a bit humorous on the part of our Lord.

He plays like He’s the One in the dark while He’s the One who’s keeping the two men in the dark!

Now the two men who think they know everything – they answer Jesus’ question, “‘What things?'” by describing to Him everything that’s taken place from their perspective.

In just a moment, Jesus will describe it from His perspective.

The men speak in v. 19 through 24…

19 “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,

20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him.

21 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.

22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning,

23 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.

24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”

VERSE 25-27

Now Jesus responds in v. 25 by saying to the men, “‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!'”

And this is really the heart of the issue in Luke chapter 24 as a whole.

Throughout the chapter, the importance of believing without seeing is emphasized.

Believing (the words spoken) without seeing (the Lord Jesus Christ).

Again, Jesus says, “‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!'”

And Jesus goes on in v. 26, “‘Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?'”

Of course, it was.

The entire Bible is about the promise of the Messiah to come and die in the place of sinful man.

And then now v. 27 ends with, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he (Jesus) interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”

And it’s interesting to imagine Christ here explaining stories like Abraham sacrificing Isaac and the Passover lamb and David’s defeat of Goliath and Jonah in the belly of a great fish for three days, etc. and how each of those stories along with all the others in the Old Testament were pointing to Him, to His sacrifice in the place of sinners and to His rising from the dead on the third day.

VERSE 28-35

The two men will have their eyes opened later on that evening as regards the mysterious stranger when Christ breaks bread with them during a meal.

Jesus will then vanish “from their sight.”

And they will then go on tell the apostles and others their experience with the risen Christ while walking on the road.

DR. PAUL KRETZMANN ON CHRIST’S APPEARANCE ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS

In his commentary on the entire Bible including the Gospel of Luke, Dr. Paul Kretzmann adds this regarding Christ’s Appearance On The Road To Emmaus…

[The “t]wo of them,” [traveling on the road to Emmaus are] not of the apostles, but of the larger body of the disciples. Most commentators agree in stating that Luke himself was one of the two men, and that he here tells his own experience in such graphic detail. …The two men were conversing together on all the things which had taken place in Jerusalem in the last few days, on all the happenings that had transpired there. The discussion at times waxed lively, being carried on almost with some heat. It may be that one was skeptical about the reported resurrection, while the other was strongly inclined to believe. And while they were thus traveling along, all oblivious to their surroundings, a third wanderer joined them, Jesus Himself having chosen to walk with them. But their eyes were restrained, were held from recognizing their Master, in order that they might not know Him for the time being. Jesus had His own reasons for dealing with them thus; He wanted to give them a lesson in believing the Word.

Dr. Kretzmann goes on…

The two disciples saw in Jesus only a companion by the way, and His entire manner tended to confirm this idea. He inquired of them, after the manner of a casual acquaintance, as to the matters concerning which they were exchanging ideas as they were walking along, about which they were so excited. What He already knows He wishes to hear from their own mouths, and His tone is one of genuine, sympathetic interest. The two men were deeply touched by the stranger’s kindly interest. They stood still to face the newcomer, and their faces registered the deep grief which was filling their hearts. As they thereupon resumed their journey, with Jesus in their company, one of the two, whose name was Cleopas, took it upon himself to explain to the stranger the questions which were agitating their minds.

His first words express his great surprise that here was a pilgrim, probably the only one in that class, that did not know what had happened in Jerusalem during the last days. And when Jesus, to draw them out still further, interjected a surprised “What things?” both of the men eagerly explained to Him the cause of all their anxious conversation. The entire speech is true to life, as if people speaking under the stress of great excitement. They refer to important points, but do not explain them; they mix up their own hopes and fears into the narration; and the entire presentation savored of the confusion which was then prevailing in both their hearts. The facts concerning Jesus of Nazareth were making them feel so sad. For that Man had become in their midst a Prophet mighty in both word and deed, irresistibly eloquent in His preaching and incontrovertible in His miracles. Both before God and before all the people this testimony must stand. This Man the high priests and the rulers of the people had delivered to the sentence of a shameful death on the cross. He was dead; so much was certain. And here the dam of restraint almost gave way. They, the disciples, with the apostles in the lead, had cherished the fond hope, the eager expectation, that He would be the one to bring salvation to Israel, that He would deliver His people, the children of Israel, from the bondage of the Romans, and establish a temporal kingdom in Jerusalem. But now, in addition to all their shattered hopes, there is the further hard fact that this is the third day since His death. And there was another disquieting fact. Certain women from the circle of the disciples had greatly disturbed them all, had filled them with anxiety and fear, for they had been at His tomb at the break of day, and, not finding His body, they had come to the city with the news that they had seen a vision of angels, who told them that Jesus was living. Several men out of their midst had then gone out to verify the news, if possible, and they had found things just as the women had said; but Him, their Lord, they had not found. It was a sad tale of woe which the two men, with Cleopas taking the lead in the conversation, poured out into the sympathetic ears of the Savior. It showed how pitifully weak their faith still was in many respects, that their minds were even now filled with the Jewish dreams of an earthly Messiah, and that the many intimate talks, the long discourses of Jesus, had not had the proper effect.

And the experience of these two disciples is repeated over and over again in our days. We Christians indeed believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. But this our faith and hope is often subject to vacillations and uncertainties. Hours of weakness, of trouble and tribulation will come, when all the things which we have learned from Scripture seem no more than a pious dream. Then it seems to us as though Jesus were dead, as though we had lost Him and His salvation out of our hearts.

Dr. Kretzmann concludes…

The first words of the Lord in commenting upon the information He had received were a firm reproof, not unmixed with gentleness. Foolish men He calls them and slow of heart to trust and believe in all things that the prophets had spoken. They had not properly attended to the description of the Messiah as given by the prophets, and they had not looked upon His own teaching and miracles with enlightened eyes. It was a necessity for Christ, for the Master in whose company they had been all these long months; it was an obligation resting upon Him which He could not evade. First the Passion, then the glory; through cross to crown.

At all times there is much sin, foolishness, lack of faith mixed with the weakness and grief of the believers. And this must be pointed out without hesitation. For that will open the way to a better understanding, in this case. The Lord deliberately began with the books of Moses and then continued through the books of the prophets; He interpreted to these two disciples the passages concerning His person and work, He compared prophecy and fulfillment; He pointed out the meaning of passages which to them had been hidden treasure-chests; He took His time to explain every word thoroughly, in order that their eyes might finally be opened. It was a long discourse, and from the mouth of the greatest Teacher of all times. Would that we had its exact contents today! But probably it has purposely not been preserved, in order that we may search the Scriptures of the Old Testament all the more diligently.

Meanwhile, the two or two and one-half hours needed for a slow journey to Emmaus had brought them to the village, and Jesus purposely assumed the air of one that intended to go farther. He wanted to see whether His explanation of the Scripture and its application had made such an impression upon them that they would want to remain in His company. Happy they that have Christ with them thus! His plan succeeded beautifully, for both of the disciples urged Him with earnest pleading: Abide, remain with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is drawing to a close. Their real reason was, of course, that their hearts had been so touched and overwhelmed with the beauty and power of His explanation that they wanted to hear more of this charming and edifying conversation.

Note: This is ever the effect of the doctrine of the Gospel: wherever it is felt, its Author, the ever-blessed Jesus, is earnestly entreated to dwell in the heart. And so Jesus went in to tarry, to remain, with them for the evening meal, at least. But when He reclined at the table with them, He thought the time fitting to reveal Himself to them. Accordingly, He took the bread, gave thanks over it, broke it, and gave it to them. At this act their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him. This stranger was no one else than their Friend and Master, the same who had so often, in His capacity as the Head of the little band, performed this customary work. But in the same moment when their faces lighted up in joyful recognition, Jesus became invisible before them, He vanished out of their sight; He departed from them in that invisible manner. Though He was still their Master and Friend, they could no longer enjoy His intimate company as in the days before His suffering. They should no longer be bound by His visible presence, but learn to place their trust in the word of His Gospel which He has left for all men.

BELIEVING WITHOUT SEEING

And so we have Christ’s Appearance On The Road To Emmaus in the Gospel of Luke.

Believing without seeing is the emphasis.

Believing (the words spoken) without seeing (the Lord Jesus Christ).