Transcript

Grab your Bibles and let’s return back to the Gospel of Luke. Luke 24. We have what is traditionally called the Emmaus Road experience. Jesus has risen from the dead, though by and large his disciples did not believe it. They were steeped in the deep waters of unbelief and we have Jesus here in what I see as a precious, wonderfully compassionate visitation of the Lord to his own to encourage them and bless them. That’s why I entitled it, “The Emmaus Road: Jesus Comes to His Own.” And by the way, there are so many truths here that parallel our experience, really our world in general, but our experience as the children of God, and that you can be for sure Jesus, if you long for him and you need him and you’re his, he will come to you. He will come to you. He comes to his own.

Luke 24, beginning in verse 13 and, Lord willing, we’ll have one other message from the Gospel of Luke and we will finish our almost six year journey through the Gospel of Luke. Luke 24, beginning in verse 13, going through verse 35.

13 And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. 16 But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. 17 And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?”

Can I just stop for a moment? That’s the equivalent of saying, “Are you stupid?” They’re literally…they don’t know it’s Jesus but they literally just said, “Jesus, are you stupid? Are you the only one on earth that doesn’t know what just happened?” Verse 19,

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

Of course, he knows. He’s trying to teach them a lesson here.

And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. 21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. 22 But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also 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 exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.” 25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. 28 And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther. 29 But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them. 30 When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. 32 They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” 33 And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, 34 saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.

First of all, these disciples that are journeying, we call them, I. The downcast disciples. I mean, these guys are pretty much without hope. I mean, if they had hope and if they had faith in what he said, they would have stayed in Jerusalem but they’re journeying seven miles outside of Jerusalem to a town called Emmaus. You know, isn’t it true of all of us, in this life we can get so downcast? It appears the everything has gone against us and all is lost? But we need to be reminded, it’s an old saying but it’s a true saying, because very often it is darkest right before the dawn. These guys couldn’t be in a darker valley. They had probably been like so many who had forsaken all and put all hope aside and placed all their confidence in Christ but it didn’t work out the way they thought it should. They saw him die. They were without all hope but, boy, is dawn about to burst upon them. You and I today, for example, live in a world where ungodliness seems to be triumphant in the streets of our nation and we’re downcast. These disciples are clearly dismayed over the recent suffering and the death of the Lord Jesus. They had such hope in him but now he’s gone.

They said, “Well, some of the women say that they saw an angel, and the angel said he’s resurrected, but the apostles didn’t believe it.” They’re implying, “I don’t know that we believed it either.” They kept going and they said, “It’s been three days now since the Lord has died.” From all they could see and all they could understand because all that they’re paying attention to is what their human eye can see and what their human brain can comprehend, and if you live your life only paying attention to what your human eye can see and what your human brain can comprehend – are you listening – you will be discouraged. If you just watch the news channel and just listen to this world and just try to comprehend with your mind, trust me, if that’s the source, you’re going to be discouraged. That’s where these guys are.

These guys are sinning in much the same way we often sin, that is, we too often think on things that are not true, and if you’re only thinking on part of the truth, then you’re thinking on things that are not true. Philippians reminds us of this. Here’s a good application lesson from this, Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, pure, lovely, good repute, any excellence and anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” What’s true. Remember, Jesus said in John 16:7, “I tell you the truth.” So what’s true, those are the things that we are to dwell on, not just what our eyes can see and not just what our ears can take in in the physical realm, but what God teaches us and tells us is indeed the truth. That’s what we place our hearts on. That’s what we place our minds on. Over and over, Jesus had taught them the truth of forgiveness of sins. Over and over, he had taught them that his ministry wasn’t primarily the healings and the feeding of the 5,000 and the other miracles, primarily it was about his coming death for the sin of the world and his corresponding resurrection.

But they were just simply overcome by what they saw and they could not stand on what they had heard him say. What we can observe in this world may contain the truth but – listen to me – what you see in this world is never all the truth. It’s never all the truth. Just because you can’t see something with your physical eye does not mean it’s true. For example, right now in this room there are cowboys and Indians fighting each other. If you’ve got the proper receiver, if you can plug into wifi or whatever it is, you could download a television show and there see cowboys and Indians fighting. They were there all the time but you couldn’t see them. And you can only imagine, go back 100, 150 years ago and try to explain to somebody how we are using electronics today and how things can exist and without being seen and can be received and observed the way we do them today, 150 years ago they would have been astonished and overwhelmed. Well, they would have laughed about it. My friend, there is a spiritual realm that is real. It is true even though you can’t see it with your human eye. I mean, I can’t see or understand electricity. I don’t know how you turn a switch and lights come on. I can’t explain that, but I’m not going to sit in the dark until I figure it out. We enjoy the truth of it.

Here’s a good point: we look at the world, we neglect his words, we become discouraged. Is that not true? We gaze too long at the world, we pay too little attention to the word, and we become discouraged. Well, that’s where these guys are. They couldn’t think on all the clear biblical promises they had heard from Jesus, including his resurrection. They had forgotten all the balanced teaching of the Old Testament which revealed the Messiah would be the suffering servant, the suffering Messiah, and would die and be resurrected.

So they’re downcast, they’re journeying down the road and in verse 15 the text says, “While they were talking,” they were just going over everything that has happened. Have you ever been in that kind of setting where people have experienced something terrible and they just keep going over it? That’s what they’re doing. But, “Jesus Himself,” verse 15 says, “approached and began traveling with them.” That’s just amazing. It’s just amazing. Boy, I don’t want to get on out on some mystic cult limb here, but I just thought to myself: could it be possible that Jesus has veiled his reality and sometimes dwelt among us? Now, forget that. Don’t build a theology on that. Don’t write a book about it. It’s just a thought because we’ve got the sure word of Christ right here. We’ll talk about that at some length in just a moment.

So they’re talking and discussing and right in the middle of their downcast, doubts, disappointments and deliberations, Jesus shows up. You never know when Jesus is going to show up. You know what I mean. I don’t mean in bodily form but Jesus shows up. He appears. He makes himself real to you. He just shows up. Adam sinned in the garden of Eden and the last thing he wanted was for God to show up but then God showed up. Elijah runs from Jezebel and then God shows up and he hears God in the still small voice. Jonah in unbelief and in disobedience runs from God and runs from his instruction and then God shows up. Do you know why? Because he’s omnipresent. He’s really always there but sometimes he lets us know it in a special way. He has omnipresence, he’s always present. Jesus himself shows up. He’s always near and, thank God, he makes his presence felt just when we need him most.

Let me give you three times when Jesus has promised to show up in a special way; three scenarios, you might say. 1. He’s promised to show up in a special way when we are serious and involved in building his church. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo, I am with you always.” Now, the truth is Christ is always with his children but what he’s saying is, “I will come in special power if you’ll get serious about building my church for my glory.” Church work. I mean, the biblical work of building the church for the glory of God as God’s promised presence and manifestation.

Secondly, he’s promised to show up in a special way when we are serious about purifying the church. In Matthew 18, as the Lord Jesus talks about church discipline and he talks about confronting a brother with sin and restoring him if he repents, but if he chooses to not repent, you’re to go with him one or two other brothers and lovingly and always confidentially try to appeal to him to repent. If he repents, you’ve won your brother. Then he says if he won’t listen to two or three, he says, tell it to the church. The whole church family should pray for that brother or sister and appeal to them, “Please don’t go down this track. We’re sinners too, we’ll help you. We’re all in this together.” But if they still won’t try, then he says they’re to be to you like a tax gatherer or a Gentile, which means outside of your fellowship. Then he said, following that text, “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am in your midst.” The point of that is, that’s in the context of the church purifying the church. When the church is serious about having a holy and righteous and good church, Christ says, “I will have a pattern of showing up in a special way in that context.”

When we’re serious about the Great Commission and building local New Testament churches; when we’re serious about the purification of the church; and, thirdly, he has promised to show up when we’re under trial and we respond in humility. When the trial comes. When the dark night is being experienced and your heart is troubled and certainly as always you do all you can in your human understanding but before that and beyond that and in addition to that, you are on your knees saying, “O God, I need you! I can’t fix it! I can’t resolve this! I can’t get through this! In humility, God, I confess my weakness. I need you.” And I’m telling you, he’s promised just like Mary, the little virgin who found out she was conceived of the Holy Spirit, had the little unborn Messiah in her womb, she said, “He has had regard for the humble state of his bondslave.” He has regard. He has a special favor when we humble ourselves and look to him in time of need. These guys are humbled and they’re broken and they need him.

Verse 16 continues on. They’re traveling down the Emmaus Road, this stranger, Jesus just appears on the road and begins talking and verse 16 says, “their eyes were prevented,” they couldn’t understand, they couldn’t see who he was. Mark said he appeared to them in another form, but what this does show us is the sovereignty of God and the manifestation of God to men. God reveals himself to whom he wants, when he wants, and where he wants to, for whatever reason he wants to. The last time I checked, he’s God. He is not submissive to nor subject to our incantations or religious ritual. He moves as he chooses to move. And at this point, in this discourse, on this journey to Emmaus, he’s decided he’s not going to reveal himself right away. God reveals himself when he chooses to. In Matthew 16:15-17, “He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'” And immediately Jesus says something astonishing. You and I would have never done this but Jesus would. Verse 17, “And Jesus said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.'” In other words, “Simon, you did not of your own human capacity get out a mathematical formula or a microscope or a telescope or go into a laboratory and study and research and experiment and find this truth. You couldn’t find it. My God had to reveal it to you. Flesh and blood did not give this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” It’s spiritually revealed by a sovereign God.

God’s primary means, as always, Romans 10:14, is the preaching of the word. Not his only means, but his primary means. “How then shall they call upon Him whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” You know, just preaching the word of God in the power of the Spirit is out of vogue in today’s evangelical church. All kinds of other stuff is being taught and emphasized and looked to and sometimes they’ll say, “Yeah, but we still preach the word,” but what in reality is happening, they’re doing so much other stuff, maybe even unintentionally, the preaching of the word is diminished as the primary thing they’re founding their church on and all the other junk is the stuff really they’re drawing people to. It’s so subtle and we have to be so careful. One thing we do know, if you’re traveling down a road and you’re downcast and you’re discouraged like these disciples were, and for whatever reason God is not revealing himself to you, you can be for certain he has a purpose. He will reveal himself later and it’s going to be ultimately for your good and for his glory. He knows what he’s doing.

Well, these disciples, downtrodden, journeying to Emmaus, they did not accept the doctrine of his resurrection, much less accept that he could be immediately present with them. Verse 17, as we continue on in the text, they said to him, “their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. And He said to them, ‘What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?’ And they stood still, looking sad.” Of course, they were likely just discusses what the Old Testament said about the Christ and all that they had experienced in seeing him arrested and beaten and his suffering and his passion and his death. They stood still looking sad. I mean, it’s like a friend walks up to you and you’re just contemplating in your mind the most difficult thing you’ve gone through in your life and they’ve said, “Can you tell me what’s going on?” and you just… That’s where they were. Almost like we don’t know what to say. We don’t know how to respond.

They are ignorant of the truth and they’re wrestling with varying waves of unbelief in their heart. Their bewilderment shows that they did love Jesus and they were deeply saddened that they had lost Jesus but, you know, here’s the most amazing thing to me: they probably could not be more discouraged and he’s just about to blow their minds and that’s the way it is for us. Very often we’re at the depths of the depths and God’s just about to do something, and if he’s not just about to, he is going to, and that’s what’s going on here. You see, in every true believer’s life, if you love Jesus, he will manifest himself to you. He will. There may be some seasons that we don’t understand, there may be some dry points, but he will come to you with his presence, his blessing and with his power. I think one thing that we need to remind ourselves of is that he’s always near, even if we don’t feel a thing. Sometimes you’ve got to have faith. He’s always near, even if we don’t sense anything at all.

Verse 18, they, in effect, “One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, ‘Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?'” They look at Jesus, don’t know it’s Jesus but they look at Jesus and say, “Are you so dull of perception that you’ve missed what everyone in Jerusalem all know full well? Are you that ignorant? Are you that ill-informed?” They couldn’t see him. Doesn’t that remind you of the way our world can’t see Jesus? Our world can’t see the truth. You should not be surprised when you look at the world and they just flounder and indulge in the depths of error. They can’t see the truth. They’re ignorant. They see the true Jesus of Scripture as irrelevant because they’re not looking for the Jesus that Scripture reveals because when they look at the Jesus that Scripture reveals, that Jesus contradicts them. They want a Jesus that complements them, that connects to them, that affirms them, that celebrates them. Everything is warped and upside down in the worldview of the modern culture. Even though many were not converted, there was a day in America when the culture was basically God-centered. You start with this objective truth God and we acknowledge his objective truth and his moral absolutes. You don’t start with yourself, you start with him. Our world has gotten upside down. We start with us and have the vile, blasphemous audacity to expect Jesus to affirm us.

First of all, he can’t do that because he’s holy and perfect and he’s not going to change holy and perfect to relate to you, the unholy and the imperfect. Liberals, for example, say that they can’t embrace the teachings of Scripture because they found a contradiction in Scripture somewhere. But the reality is, they don’t reject the Scriptures because they found a contradiction in the Scriptures, they reject the Scriptures because the Scriptures contradict them. The Scriptures reprove and rebuke them. The Scriptures expose them. The Scriptures say, “You’re wrong. You’ve fallen short. You’ve transgressed. You need a Savior. You should humble yourself before God and receive his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

But the world wants a Savior that affirms them and fits them. I thought about this and I thought, “You know, there are only two beings that Jesus affirms.” There are only two beings that Jesus affirms. 1. He affirms his heavenly Father. Of course, they’re one and the same. And he affirms those who are righteous through faith in himself. That’s the only two beings on earth Jesus affirms, or in the universe or wherever. His heavenly Father and those who have trusted in him by faith and bear his own righteousness. Well, they couldn’t see him and our world can’t see him today.

Look, if you will, at verse 19 as we continue on. “And He said to them, ‘What things?'” They’ve kind of rebuked this stranger traveling with them saying, “Are you the only one so ill of perception that you don’t know what’s going on?” And Jesus in verse 19 says, “‘What things?’ And they said to Him, ‘The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people,'” verse 20, “‘and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him.'” Verse 21, “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened.” And in that last phrase, it’s three days, they’re really making an open declaration that their hope is all gone; their hope is all past. But the problem is they’re missing the foundational spiritual truths that Jesus taught. Jesus did teach that he was going to establish an earthly kingdom. He did teach that he’s going to come and his kingdom would be a place of joy and love and peace and no suffering and that Israel would be redeemed from her slavery to other people. He did teach that, but moreso he taught that first there has to be a sin revolution, I should say, a righteous revolution overcoming the sin problem in man. And they missed that foundation stone. They missed the reality of their sin and his redemption through his death and through his resurrection. They were all only looking to the physical blessings of a messianic kingdom like so many today. You can talk to so many today about the ministry of Jesus and the love of Jesus and it’s all about, “Jesus is going to heal me. He’s going to feed me. He’s going to make me wealthy. He’s going to fix my problems.” He does that in the eternal kingdom but that may not happen here, but I promise you he will free you from the burden of sin and judgment if you’ll but turn to him and that’s the foundational issue.

But, again, they missed it. They said, “It’s been three days so in our opinion it’s all over.” But maybe we see just a glimmer of faith, look at verse 22, they continue talking to Jesus whom they have not yet recognized, of course. They say to him, “But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive.” Verse 24, “Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.” It’s like they wanted to believe that he was alive but that thought quickly vanished in the strong current of unbelief that flooded their hearts. And, again, we remind ourselves: if you don’t believe the words of Scripture and strive in faith to walk in them, you’re going to live discouraged.

So we see here these discouraged disciples. Jesus appears. They don’t know it’s him. They have poured out their hopeless unbelief. Let’s go to II, I’ve only got three. II. The discipling stranger. Here this stranger who they do not understand who he is, begins to teach them, disciple them, if you will. Look at verse 25, “And He said to them, ‘O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!'” Now, once again, I am just amazed. I mean, because all of us are inundated with this image of the compassionate, merciful and loving Jesus and he is beyond compare, but we parallel that over into how he should act all the time, and in just my human, immediate thought, I think that Jesus should put his arm around these guys and say, “Oh, it’s not so bad. It’s going to be fine. I’m here. It’s okay.” But he doesn’t do that. He rebukes them. That’s exactly what this is. He rebukes them. They’re hurting, they’re discouraged, they’re downcast and he rebukes them. Have we not seen that over and over through the Gospel of Luke? Setting after setting after setting after setting, Jesus with manly courage challenges, reproves and rebukes those who are in error and sin and in unbelief and here he does it again, this time to his own disciples. He, in effect, is saying, “You put all your confidence in so many things other than the Scriptures.”

So he says there, what is it, verse 25 again, “You’re foolish, slow of heart. You won’t believe what the prophets have spoken!” The word “foolish” means “without understanding and unwise.” He said, “You guys are without any understanding and you’re so unwise. You’re running around functioning on hearsay and on rumors, and you’ve turned your heart from the rock of Scripture.” They were looking for sympathy and compassion and Jesus gives them a solemn rebuke. But remember, this rebuke is a loving rebuke, for the root of their sorrow is unbelief. What does he say? “You don’t believe in the prophets. Your problem is your don’t know the word nor stand on the word.” In biblical counseling, very often when people come to us, almost not very often, without exception I think we could say, and they have this trouble and that trouble and this trouble and that trouble and we can open the Bible and say, “Here’s what the word says. Are you doing that? Are you standing on that?” “Well, no. Not really.” Well, that’s the problem. “Wait a minute, I’m hurting and you’re correcting me.” Yes, but that’s the solution. That’s true love. God forbid I come in here and have this gushy sentimentality and you feel a little better only to be deeper indulging in your unbelief when you leave but feeling a little bit better about it. I want to give you the truth and to set you on a rock that will get you over the despair.

So Jesus rebukes them. Proverbs 27:6, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.” Faithful. Jesus is faithful to do what’s right and best for these guys, even though human psychology and human sentiment would probably say, “That’s not what these fellows need.” Jesus knows what they need.

Verse 25, there’s something here you need to remember. He says, “You’re slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!” Listen, you’ve got to hang with me here. Look, it’s so critically important that we preach all the Bible. Expositional, verse by verse, chapter by chapter, giving the original meaning of the author so we can understand all the truth and the truth in balance and in systematization with one another. All the great, beautiful, systematic truth or theology of the Bible and there is only one way to get that, it comes verse by verse, chapter by chapter, preaching the word of God in its grammatical, historical and cultural context, getting the meaning God has for us. And then the great truths and the great doctrines of the Bible will fill our hearts and encourage our minds, fill our minds and encourage our hearts and give us a rock to stand on.

I was counseling, fellowshiping with a person the other day, it’s actually Claire’s friend that she met at school, and this girl has sweet parents and counseling and encouraging them some. I just leave often almost dismayed because I see such, I think genuine hearts and they are so deplorably poorly taught by their pastors and there is this issue and this issue and this challenge and this misunderstanding and that problem and this dilemma and that one, and it’s just like a tapestry of interwoven mess that would most likely not be there if from childhood they had been under strong, clear, all Bible preaching and teaching. I’m not saying that the preaching of the word doesn’t fix you of all your problems, but I’m telling you, it gives you an anchor for the storms of life.

Jesus said to these guys, “You’re so foolish! You’re unwise because you’re not basing your life on the Scriptures, all that the prophets have spoken!” 2 Timothy 2:15, as Paul was teaching his young understudy how to pastor and how to preach, he said, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” That’s what Jesus means when he says “all the Scriptures.” You’ve got to interpret the Scriptures in balance and get the truth the whole Bible gives you about God’s purposes and God’s plans for his people and for his own glory.

Well, verse 26, reflecting on, “If you had understood all that the prophets, all that the Bible teaches about me,” verse 26, “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” He said, “If you just read your Bibles and believed them, you wouldn’t be so discouraged right now.” I mean, Genesis predicted his suffering, his death, his resurrection. Psalms, suffering, death, resurrection. Isaiah. Deuteronomy. Zechariah. Daniel. And other places. It’s all in the Old Testament. It’s there. You just didn’t look at it and you just didn’t remember it.

Verse 27. What an astonishing thing as they’re being disciple on the road to Emmaus by this stranger. “Then beginning with Moses,” here it is again, “and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.” When the Apostle Paul was leaving the Ephesian elders, he told them it was going to be tough in the coming days and he said, “But one thing you’ll remember about me, I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.” You and I stand on doctrines here at Grace Life Church that our Baptist forefathers stood on but the modern generation very slightly touches them or ignores them. Why is that? Because I’m under a mandate from the God who called me to preach to you the whole counsel of God. The difficult, the challenging, the things that stretch us and trouble us, the whole counsel of God. And Jesus twice now has emphasized all of the Scriptures are valuable. By the way, listen, listen, listen: if we’re preaching faithful all the truth of God – listen – it all centers on and exalts Jesus Christ. Every single verse of every single chapter of every single book somehow gets to Jesus. It’s all about him. It centers on him. He’s explaining, starting with Moses the beginning writer of the book of Genesis, through all of the Bible, all the Scriptures, he explained to these guys all about himself. In Jewish history, the story is all about the line of Israel and the coming of Jesus the Savior. In the laws, the laws reveal his perfections and his holiness. The prophecies, they all pointed to him ultimately speaking. The sacrificial system, it pointed to him. The washings and the cleansings of their ceremonies all pointed to his washing and cleansing. The manna that came down from heaven was the pure bread of heaven. It spoke of him, the bread of heaven. The pillar of fire that illuminated them and guided them, it speaks of Christ. He is our illumination and he is our God. The brazen serpent that Moses held up in the wilderness and they looked on the serpent and they were healed, that’s Christ. He hung on the cross. God cursed him with our sin. He became a snake for us. It all points to him. Isaac goes up the mountain with his father and right before Abraham plunges the knife through Isaac’s chest God speaks and stops and says, “There’s a ram caught in the thicket.” The ram was Jesus. Isaac now goes free, the ram will be sacrificed. Jesus, starting with Moses and all the Scriptures show these guys, “It all was about me and about my suffering and sacrifice and death and even my resurrection.” Can you imagine Jesus teaching you Old Testament Christology, the revealing of Christ in the Old Testament? Maybe that’s what we’ll do the first 10,000 years in heaven. He will just teach us, “Let me just show you how much I’m in the Old Testament.” Who knows?

III. We’re about done. Hope restored. These guys, I said it was darkest right before the dawn, man, it’s dawn about to burst on these guys. We’ll start in verse 28, “And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther.” They still don’t know who it is now. He’s acting like he’s going to go on.

Verse 29, “But they urged Him, saying, ‘Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.’ So He went in to stay with them.” These guys, I don’t know what they’re getting right now but they just know this man is special and they remind me a little bit of Jacob when the angel of the Lord, which is a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ appeared with Jacob and the Bible says Jacob wrestled with him and Jacob said, “I’m not letting you go until you bless me.” These guys were saying, “You’re doing something. We’re getting something.” The light is dawning here and, “You’re not going anywhere. You’re staying at our house. We’re not letting you go until we find out all that you know or how do you know this knowledge? We’ve got to know more.” That’s where some of you need to be, you need to turn off the tv and turn off the radio and turn off the stinking internet sometimes and you need to get with God and say, “God, I’m not leaving until I know you better. I’m not letting you go until I know I’m yours and I know I’m secure and I know I’m where I ought to be in your will.”

A moment earlier I talked about discouragement, the world will sometimes use the word “depression,” and it’s amazing how little we give God a chance in those things. We pray for 45 seconds and then run to the doctor to get some pills. Not all pills are always bad, I’m not saying that but there is a great, great, great misuse and overuse of pills. Why don’t you lock yourself with an open Bible and just a piece of paper and just spend the day with God and say, “I’m not leaving here until I get over this depression, me and you”? Me and you. Let me give you something to do, this has never failed to work. It hasn’t yet. You get you a piece of paper and you start listing the things you’re thankful for. Start with, “God created the world.” That’s a good place to start. And just list everything you’re thankful for and then you as an act of the will and discipline, pray thanksgiving to God for all those things and add 25 a day to it and you watch if Jesus doesn’t show up, and watch if your hope is not lifted. Well, that’s just a little side note.

Verses 30 and 31 here, Luke 24, “When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them.” Maybe they’re starting to see something, remembering perhaps they were around in some dimension in the Passover situation with Jesus and the apostles. I have no idea. But nevertheless in verse 31, “Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.” Their eyes had been supernaturally closed and now their eyes are supernaturally opened. This is a type of the experience that we have in conversion. There is just a time when God in his sovereignty opens our hearts and minds to understand, and it’s also a type of heaven. I believe whether it’s through Christ returning in the air or us going through the channel of death, you’re going to get to heaven one day and you’re going to see Christ and you’re just going to be so surprised. It’s going to be so good. It’s going to be a startling, wonderful surprise.

Then in verse 31, he continues on there and says, “Then He vanished from their sight.” He didn’t stay long at all, but one day we will see him and one day we will be with him – listen to your pastor – and one day we will never, ever be without him again. Revelation 21:3 says, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.'”

So he’s vanished. Verse 32, “They said to one another, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?'” They said, “We started sensing God as ministering to us powerfully.” What deep love, what joy, what adoration for the Savior filled their hearts as Jesus taught them, explained the Scriptures to them.

Verse 33, “And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them,” verse 34, “saying, ‘The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.'” Verse 35, “They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.” Let’s remind ourselves as we conclude this section that Jesus reveals himself only to his own.

Do you remember when Jesus was standing there during his Gospel ministry and a lot of the learned and advanced religionists of his culture were rejecting him and he lifts his eyes toward heaven? He said, “I thank thee, O Father, Creator of heaven and earth, that thou has hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and has revealed them unto babes.” Jesus reveals himself only to his own. Unbelievers will counter and say, “Well, he didn’t appear to his enemies. If he wanted to prove he was really alive, he was really Lord and God, he really conquered the dead, then why didn’t he reveal himself to his enemies?” Well, first of all, being able to know the truth about Jesus is a special privilege and gift that he only gives to his children. Secondly, this shows his wisdom for there is no purpose in the divine mind for his enemies to see him resurrected. It would accomplish nothing for what he wants to accomplish. Thirdly, his enemies had no right to see him. It would be in effect throwing pearls before swine. Someone said, “He who puts out his eyes today has no right to see the sunrise tomorrow.” So men – now listen to me – men out of love for themselves and lust for sin who say no to God will not get the privilege of knowing the reality of who he is and all the blessings and all the good.

Here’s the point: if God were to peel back the veil and let us see even a little bit of his Shekinah glory and his majesty and his power and his authority, men would instantly bow before him but – listen – not because in their hearts they love him but because they love themselves and want best from him. Are you with me? But when God uses the preaching of his word, the advancement of his word, the Spirit of God uses the word of God and men’s hearts are changed, then they begin to love God and God begins to reveal himself to them on that basis. But he’s not going to intimidate men into loyalty, he wants hearts that are turned to him in genuine love and loyalty and he accomplishes that through the ministry of his word. That’s why he says to these guys, “The whole key, fellas, is the word. I did not appear to you because I want you to base your lives on the word. I did not let you know rather who I was because you had the prophets, you should have known the truth.” It’s the word. Stay in the word. Love the word. Study the word. Memorize and meditate on the word. Sit under the preaching of the word and God will reveal himself to you.

So God veils himself to the unbeliever but God reveals himself to his children and he does it by his Holy Spirit and he does it through his holy word and that will be enough for us while we’re here. But one day, the veil will be lifted, eye to eye, face to face, we’ll be with him forever. The Emmaus Road, Jesus reveals himself to his own.

Let’s stand in prayer.