Luke 24:13-35 - Two Men See Jesus

Luke 24:13-35

And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. But 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. 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?” And He said to them, “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, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. 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. 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. 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.” And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther. 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. 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. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. 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?” And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.” They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.

Message: Two Men See Jesus

Time:  Luke, a non-Jew, written in Theophilus, by a physician, is a careful chronological rendering of the events of Christ's life. Luke takes his writing from primary sources - those people who had witnessed the ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Luke wrote this probably from 58-60 AD as he accompanied Paul. His second volume was Acts. He writes of salvation to all men. 

What the Lord is Saying:

In this passages the past several days, I have been reading now about the Jesus that encounters us, His people. He revealed himself to Philip who told Nathanael so that Nathanael could see Jesus. And then a Samaritan woman, unexpectedly, just going to get water, meets Jesus and discovers He is the Living Water and He is all she really needs. As Jesus gets closer to the cross, He wants to do the Father's will at whatever cost. He submits to the authority and yet He is still our King, the King of Kings with all authority given to Him by God and He will be our ransom, fully man. 

Now, in this passage, Jesus has died on the cross and He meets two men, though he is not recognizable immediately by them (this is on purpose by Jesus). Initially, my impressions from this passage is these men are walking in sorrow, stuck in the moment. Even after the women had seen that no one was in the tomb, they continued to not really believe that Jesus was coming back. Yet Jesus had said to his followers previously, several times, that he would suffer, be rejected, be killed, but then rise again (see Jesus Reveals His Purpose in Coming). It is almost like the words of Jesus are echoing, "O ye of little faith." Like the disciples with him in the storm and he calms the sea, Jesus is still present. He is still with us. What He said, He will do. 

This is a message we need even today - as we stare at our world and all of its uncertainties, I wonder if we begin to question or have less faith in our God because the problems seem large. But Jesus is still Lord and He still does the impossible and we are still doing and to do greater things. God can work through any situation.   

Eventually, Jesus reveals Himself to these two men so that they can see that He is in fact alive. But then he vanishes. 

The other message here is that Jesus is true only to people when He reveals Himself to them. Despite the overwhelming evidence and even His words up to this point, some people simply will not believe. I admit that this can be discouraging. It is hard in life to present the truth and yet people remain darkened. Jesus said in John 3:5 -- “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." To see the Kingdom of God, one must be born again. When Jesus is seen, like He was seen by these two men, the light bulb gets turned on and what do they immediately do? And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.” They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread. In other words, they told others. 

Promise: We need to pray that the Spirit will move in people's lives and they will know the truth. It is only by God working in a person's life that they come to know Him. Yet, our mission remains. Pray and share and sharing is automatic for great news must be shared. 

Prayer: Lord, I heard that song yesterday, O Lord You're Beautiful, and it reminded me of that Joy that I have of you and the joy of my salvation sometimes is fleeting. Sometimes it is not as alive as it was when I first discovered that You had saved me and called me to be yours. Wake Me Up Lord. I want to stay excited and thrilled and sharing You with others. I am too often dealing with my life and all that it presents and getting sidetracked. Give me rest Lord. I don't want to lose sight of You and want to stay Fired Up. Thank you Jesus for saving me, for choosing me. Be glorified. 

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation. The month of May is about solus Christus - Christ Alone; April was about salvation by grace alone; March about the sovereign providence of God; February was about the doctrine of revelation and the various aspects of the doctrine of Scripture that sola Scriptura seeks to preserve; January was about the doctrine of God.

- His Encounters - Jesus called Philip and then he told Nathanael to come and see so he could see that Jesus reveals himself to Nathanael. Then when Jesus meets a Samaritan woman, we see that Jesus knows everything about us and loves us still and wants us to drink of the living water that He offers that will give us eternal life. And Jesus is our King, but also the Man, who like Adam will atone for our sin as Jesus stands before Pontius Pilate.