Revelation in Relationship - Luke 24:13-32

Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.

17 And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”

18 Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?”

19 And He said to them, “What things?”

So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. 21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. 22 Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. 23 When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. 24 And certain 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 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. 29 But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.

30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.32 And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”

Along the Road

Emmaus - village in Judea

Cleopas (short for Cleopatros, commentaries make guesses as to the other disciple as Cleopas’ wife or son, or possibly Luke (who modestly left himself out of the record).

Jesus buried at the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea outside of Jerusalem (a little South of the Mount of Olives)

Bethany - Lazarus, Mary and Martha hometown - Mary anointed Jesus for burial, ascension

Context - Luke

So, to set the scene, Jesus has gone to the cross, and risen. Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdelene and others have visited the empty tomb and encountered angels asking why they look for the living among the dead. You know the story. The very next encounter with Jesus is on this little road trip.

Map of Emaus and Jerusalem

So this is the 7 mile map. I assume that

“So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.” Luke 24:15-16

Who was conversing here? Well, there is some debate. The only person listed is is Cleopas (Cleopatros) but I tend to favor the idea of husband and wife along the road. Part of my thought there is that the following Scripture says that they return to the 11 (who Luke is a part of), Jewish scribes typically listed male names, but also the redemptive arch of Scripture. In the garden, the first to fall is Eve. After Christ is resurrected, the first to encounter that reality is Mary - woman falls first, woman is redeemed first. That fall in the garden broke marriage. Here on the road to Emmaus, the next redemption is a marriage relationship. Then finally to the men that were the disciples.

Talking politics, their sadness, how broken this world is that the savior would be so callously cast aside, how evil seems to win, how its all going to Hell in a hand-basket.

Why did they not see Him?

No Helper

Slow of heart (faith)

Focus on the outward

Christ didn’t reveal himself

17 - “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”

In the Greek, conversation is a translation of the word antiballo - to throw at in opposition, exchange with, or perhaps to compare. Sad = Skuthropos - gloomy or sullen.

So here they are, throwing words around comparing what they have seen and heard, convinced things aren’t going so well.

what were they discussing?

“The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. 21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. 22 Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. 23 When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. 24 And certain 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.”

are we ever disappointed with Christ?

“25 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”

You don’t even trust your own Scriptures, your inward you, the center or middle of you is just dull to the Word. I’m gonna waken that heart of yours to what you are missing. Revelation.

Cross Reference:

John 5:39-40 - You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

Col 2:16-17 - So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.

They constrained Him - “Abide with us ...”

I love that Jesus longs to sit and abide with us.

Cross Reference:

Jesus told us to expect He’ll join us. Matt 18:20“For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

Verse 30-31 - “Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.”

Obvious communion message - Feeding of the 5000 story

He vanishes from their sight once they knew Him - in the resurrection we do not know Him by sight. It is by faith

Paul quotes Habakkuk 2:4 several times “Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by faith.”

Rom 1:17- “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

Gal 3:11 -Paul tells us that the law does not justify us in the sight of God (those things that we see), but again the just live by faith. He is declaring that if you do the outward practices (what you can see, the law, the ceremonial), then you live by them

Hebrews 11 - “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We do not know Christ after the flesh anymore.

2 Corinthians 5:16 - “Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh, Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.”

Once they consumed Christ, the scales fell off their eyes

32 And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”

Application:

As you walk along your path in life, walk it in community. With your wife, your children, your brother’s and sister’s in the Church, and even those we call ‘lost.’ Reason about Him as you Christ calls us to love Him with all our strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Why? Because in that he meets us along the road, and He reveals Himself in communion. Walk with expectation.

I suppose that as I was thinking about this message, it occurred to me that Wednesday is half-way to the end of the week. We’re sort of on our way to somewhere else, and we are stopping as its toward evening, and we have this opportunity to toss some words and ask Christ to tarry for a few with us. As we eat together, let’s ask Christ to abide with us and share words of eternal life that set our hearts aflame. Would you pray with me?

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