Luke 24

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0:00 The rest of us, we're gonna look at the walk to Emmaus as well. It's in, the story is in Luke chapter 24, if you wanna look there with me. It's a cool story. And to set the scene for us a little bit here, it's true Jesus has accomplished life and then endured the week of the Passion.

0:30 He's gone through the trials and the cross. He's gone through the conversations with Pilate. He's carried the cross. He's endured the crucifixion. He's hung there on the cross while the people are making fun of them. He's looked over at the thief and said, today you'll be with me in paradise. And then whatever happens there after my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And he says, into your hands, I commit my spirit.

1:01 And he breathes his last and they take his body down, you know, and they put him into the tomb. And then something happens, right? We don't know what exactly happens there, but Jesus comes back to life and Mary and the other Mary, they go to the tomb with the spices and he's not there. And then it gets kind of, things happen really quickly. In loose gospel, he appears to the women and tells the women,

1:33 hey, go back and tell Simon Peter and the boys that I'm raised from the dead. And Simon Peter and the boys, they run to the tomb and the way Luke tells the story, they don't see him. But they recognize that he's not there. And they're having trouble squaring with that reality and what the women are saying and what they've seen happen. And then the very next thing that Luke tells us in Luke 24 on that very day, two of them were going

2:07 to a village named Emmaus. This is Luke 24 verse 13. That very day, two of them were going to a village named Emmaus about seven miles from Jerusalem and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. And while they were talking, discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him and he said to them, what is this conversation

2:39 that you're having with each other as you walk and they stood still and looking sad. Then one of them named Cleopus answered him, are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days and he said to them what things? And they said to him concerning Jesus of Nazareth, the man who was a prophet mighty indeed in word before God and all the people and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucified him.

3:10 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeemed Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said,

3:42 but him they did not see. And they said to him, and he said to them, O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken, what was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? And beginning with Moses and the prophets, he interpreted to them all of the scriptures said concerning the things of himself. This is the first thing that occurs to me with this story always is I don't know what it takes to go through that crucifixion

4:13 and the three days in the tomb. Like I don't know what's going on there. You know, there is like in our Apostles Creed, it says that he descended into hell. And Peter says that he announced victory to the captives in that day. I don't know what the victory lap or what is happening in those three days. But I imagine it's pretty grueling. You know what I mean? Like to get through those three days and come out alive is a big accomplishment. This is the like turning point of humanity, sorry.

4:46 This is the turning point of humanity. Like a lot is going on and this is the point to which Jesus has been building for a long time. Like if you look at the story of scripture in Genesis chapter three, like at the beginning of the counting of time, God promises that Jesus will do what he's done. And the very day he accomplishes it, what does he do? He like shows up to two buddies surreptitiously.

5:16 Disguised. Like the day I get that done, I'm not like going for a seven mile walk and hiding my identity. You know what I mean? The day I get that done, they're like, you're welcome. Like everyone will know what I have accomplished for them. You know?

5:47 And in Jesus doing this, there is like some humility definitely. Like these are just two people. And the same day he accomplishes it, he goes to find them on the road and he doesn't tell them who he is, but also he kind of plays with them. So we get humility in Jesus. We also get like,

6:18 like he has unlocked the key, like the door to eternity with God. And then he's like kind of like walking with two dudes and like hiding it and like explaining it to him. And as soon as they get it, look, as soon as they get it, he leaves. Look, so he says that, and beginning with Moses and all the prophets,

6:53 he interpreted to them in all the scriptures that things concerning himself. So they drew near to the village to which they were going and he acted as if he were going further. He's like acting like he's gonna just keep on going. Like I'm not done walking. I've been seven miles, here's a may as you don't know who I am, I don't know why, but I just blew your minds on the scriptures and I'm gonna keep going. And they're like, I keep going, just stay and have a meal with us. Like you, that was pretty cool what you told us.

7:26 And he acted as if he were gonna keep going, but they urged him strongly saying, stay with us for it is towards evening and the day is now spent. And so he went in to stay with him and when he was at the table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And this is like so, we just talked about the Lord's Supper, like this is right there at that same kind of thing.

7:57 And in this thing that Jesus has done so many times, you know, they recognized him. And then their eyes were opened and he recognized him and he vanished from their sight. And they said to each other, did not our hearts burn within us. Well, he talked to us on this road while he opened us to us the scriptures. And they rose that same hour

8:27 and returned the seven miles to Jerusalem. And he found the 11 and those who were with them gathered together saying, the Lord has risen indeed. Oh, we say that. And has appeared to Simon. And then they told what had happened on the road and how he was known to them and breaking the bread. So like the first thing here in the story of Emmaus is we have to recognize we get definitely Jesus humility. He's just accomplished this thing that is the turning point for all humanity. We don't know what it took,

8:58 but we know only God could get it done. And he doesn't just like immediately take a victory lap. He takes a humble walk and hides his identity, but then he also plays with them. So we get kind of a sense of humor. Like he's like gonna just move on and just not even reveal himself to them. And then the last is like, we get this crazy thing where he just like disappears, which he does several times after the resurrection. And it's worth thinking about for just a minute

9:29 because remember that Paul said, if there is no bodily resurrection, then we of all people are to be fools the most. Like we are the most foolish. If there is no resurrection of the dead. And so like when Jesus is like appearing at the road to Emmaus, he appears and disappears and it's easy to go. What is happening here? Is he like really, what's going on? And I want to say like, I don't all the way know.

10:04 In some of the most pressing and important questions in the story of scripture, we gotta go. There are some things I know to be true and I'll hold on to those even when I can't explain the things I don't know. I know that Jesus was completely enfleshed. He came out through the womb of Mary. Amazing.

10:34 I know that he bled real blood as they nailed his hands to the cross. Flesh and bone. I know that he rose victorious from the dead, rose himself victorious from the dead. And as he died before he rose, the veil was torn in two, right? And the sun was blotted out. And then he rose himself from the dead. I know that he is a God and man, a hundred percent God and a hundred percent man.

11:09 I know this because the story of scripture affirms it and Jesus spoke of it. And I know that he, when he rose from the dead, he made a point of demonstrating to his closest friends that he remains fully enfleshed. He said, put your hands in my side where the spears have. Put your fingers in the, I am here. He embraced them. He ate food in their midst as a demonstration

11:42 of the reality of his presence. He's actually here. And I know because he talks about it, Jesus does, that this world is not all there is for me. That there is more yet to come. And that he's, that he, because he's not here, he's gone to prepare a place for me, somewhere else, and for you.

12:14 And so somehow, beyond the imagination of Stanley and the Marvel people, deeper than what are those things that they have, or that Dr. Strange moves between, it's deeper than that. It's beyond your quantum theory. It's in the paradigm of the divine.

12:47 Jesus steps into the divine. Into our reality and steps out. Comes in to meet with the folk on the Emmaus Road, because he wants to, and leaves when he's done, to wherever God dwells infinitely. This is encouraging for me.

13:19 It's consistent with the God of creation and life. The God of creation and life, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is always, in ways we could feel, see, taste, touch, breaking into our reality, and then stepping out when he's done. Coming into, accomplish something, and going back to where every dwells infinitely, and he does it here on the road to Emmaus. The next question is why? The simplest answer is because he wants to, but there's more there.

13:50 Took me a little bit of research, not a lot, but a little bit. It's important when they name people in the gospels. Right? We know that Luke was this like a companion of Paul on the missionary journeys, probably a Greek physician. We know that while Paul was in house arrest, before he goes to Rome, after that visit to Jerusalem, there's a window there where Luke went to visit, probably Mary and a couple other people,

14:20 and got the story of Jesus' time on earth. And so he has this particular viewpoint on the life of the church, and when he puts the names of people in there, it's because the readers, whenever the gospel circulated, might know the names of the people. So it'd be like an origin story. Ah, here's where Cleophus comes into the story. What's interesting is John, in his account of the gospel,

14:53 mentions a story where Jesus is on the cross, and that there's Mary and her sister Mary, the wife of Cleophus. Not Cleophus, but then when we have several manuscripts of Luke and John, and both of them spell that name differently. There are some manuscripts of John, where it's spelled Cleophus, and there are some manuscripts of Luke, where it's spelled Clopus. So many scholars think that Clopus and Clopus are the same,

15:28 that Luke mentions Clopus, Clopus on the road to Emmaus, and John mentions Clopus, Clopus at the foot of the cross. This is consistent because if you think about Luke's, what he said right there, that they're on the road to Emmaus on the same day that Jesus accomplished the resurrection, and they know that the women went to the tomb and found no one and heard from the angels, and they know that Simon Peter and the disciples went to the tomb and didn't find anything.

15:59 This is the kicker, they know this is happening, and they leave. They're like, we can't figure this out. Well, time to go back home. Even, this is even crazier. When you read John's Gospel and you realize he's talking about Clopus, Clopus at the foot of the cross, or his wife Mary, it's because she's Mary's sister, which would put Clopus as Jesus's uncle.

16:33 So Mary's sister, so then people say, Clopus is going back to Emmaus with his companion who's not named, and we've talked about how rare it would be for them to name a woman, especially if she's traveling on the road, and if Clopus were visiting with his wife, it's unlikely that he would be walking back without his wife to Emmaus. So it's fair to guess that what we have on the road, whom Jesus on the day that he accomplishes the resurrection,

17:07 toys with is Mary, his mother's sister, and Clopus, his uncle on the road to Emmaus. A walks with them for seven miles and doesn't tell him who he is. What a kicker. Here's the other one thing when I try and figure out why. I mean, if it's Mary's sister,

17:45 she was there at the foot of the cross with John, she saw Jesus die. Not everybody did, right? Not everybody had the courage or the fortitude to be at the crucifixion, she was there. So you could appreciate her level of conviction around the reality that Jesus was dead. And yet, what are they running home to, right?

18:17 Like her nephews, the triumphal entry, the cleansing of the temple, and then this crazy crucifixion, and everybody's there in this like bonkers, like maybe they're afraid, the disciples are kind of afraid, right? Maybe they're afraid and that's why they're going back, but like it definitely doesn't communicate that they had faith or confidence in Jesus.

18:51 And that's why you get, it makes sense that Jesus is when they tell him, we don't know what's going on, and he says, oh, foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets had spoken. It just makes it crazy to me that Jesus goes to get him.

19:22 This is another place where his humility, sincerity, and love beats mine. Like, we just said he's accomplished something significant at great personal expense, and his family is giving up on him. And he goes to get them.

19:59 They don't, they're not, they're walking literally, they are walking away from him, literally. Having heard that the tomb was empty, announced by the angels, he's among the living, not among the dead, and they've got to get home, right?

20:33 Oh, you foolish, so slow of heart to believe here. I know there's probably other things I should be doing, I just accomplished the salvation of the world. Let me mask myself to you and walk on the road for seven miles with you and explain it to you in order that you might get it, you two. The level of patience and love for those that are his own.

21:07 This is incredible. Their relationship, like, immediately, once they get it, they immediately go back. Holy cow, they've just walked seven miles, forget it, turn around. It's dinner time, forget it. The two of us on the road by ourselves at night, back to Jerusalem. We are not waiting another minute.

21:37 Once they get it, that's it. They go all the way back to the upper room. Next week, we'll talk about it, but they show up there and everybody's there and then Jesus comes. But they already got a special seven-hour conversation, seven-mile conversation with them. Like, here's the, I mean, there's a lot of takeaways, but one of them is this, your relationship

22:09 to the God of the universe rests with him, not with you. He was committed to them when they had abandoned him. They were walking away and Jesus went and got them. He can certainly get you.

22:50 You can't get too far away. Jonah couldn't get too far away. You can't get too far away. Cleopas and his wife were at the epicenter. Missed it. And Jesus held no offense or grudge. He was so unoffended by their persistent ignorance

23:23 and lack of faith that he didn't even want to rub their face in how they had abandoned him. He just wanted them to get it. So he went for a walk with them and explained it to them and then was just gonna leave. Now that they've got it figured out, he'll leave. And they're like, just stay with us. He's like, he couldn't not, right? It's his uncle and his aunt and they're on the road and he just accomplished the salvation of humanity. So he stays with food. And then when they recognize him, he doesn't want to even stay and embarrass him

23:55 or like make it a big deal. His salvation of their souls and his special visit of the resurrected Christ to walk with them for seven miles doesn't want to make a big deal about that. And so he leaves. Like that's how committed he is to them. And Luke tells us the story. So we'd get a glimpse of the personality of the God

24:25 who loves us, but also that we might take heart. To know that Christ accomplished crucifixion, resurrection, ascension in the greatest of humility and with the most generous spirit. His glory is for our good, not for his self-aggrandizement.

24:56 He's not interested in that. God accomplished the work of Christ in order that he might have every means to get to you. It's like always, I mean, like popping in and out of the space, time continuum, a world

25:27 where he's preparing a place for us is crazy to believe and hard to imagine. And also it's not always understandable or apparent how it's applicable to the fact that we've got to get home. That you've got actual things you've got to figure out. You've got groceries, you've got to buy,

25:57 you've got houses you've got to take care of. You've got relationships that are drag, you've got work, you've got to get done. I don't know how the fact that Christ is there's an applies to all of them for you, but I know that the great story that trumps them all, that at times in moments in little fits and starts will get it and when we do, we'll run back to Jerusalem. We'll run back to what's important.

26:27 We'll get it that all else pales, everything else can go away. This is what's preeminent. It won't happen all the time, we won't see it. We'll walk for miles in the wrong direction. We'll walk right past the angels and the disciples and the empty tomb. We will and we'll spend whole days doing the wrong thing, but that's okay because we belong to the one who will come and get us. Even when we find ourselves in the wrong city

26:58 at the wrong time apart from our people, God will come and get us and bring us back. So wherever you are today, faith or no faith, rest assured. You belong to the Christ and He will come and get you. If you find yourself lost, just stay still for a minute. And maybe even call him. Hey, good Lord, I forgot where I am going. I feel like I gotta run home,

27:29 but maybe I'm headed in the wrong direction. I feel like I have pressing matters that are all I can think about, but maybe I'm walking past the tomb. I feel like there are people over there that I've got to get to, but maybe I'm leaving the ones that I should be with. Good Lord, come and get me. And remind me of what matters. This is what I take away from the story of Emmaus, that I can ask God to remind me what matters and He knows even when I forget.

27:59 Let's pray. Hey Lord, thank you for the story of Cleopas and his wife and your faithfulness in Christ to them. Be faithful to us. Open our eyes and ears and hearts to the ways in which you are faithful, that we might respond and run back to the room and meet you again with our people in front of you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.