Summer Snapshots – Favorite Scenes from the Bible
Luke 24:13
Today we are going to do something a little different. There is an old Chinese proverb that I’m sure you’ve heard that says, “give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day, teach him to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”
Today, we are going to study a passage of scripture together. Rather than me just stand up here and pontificate, let’s read and discuss the passage. I’m really no brighter, or wiser than any of you, and the Word of God is a living document, powerful and effective. The Holy Spirit of God speaks to each of us through this Word, so let’s share this time of study together, and allow the passage to speak for itself to our hearts.
So to begin, let’s turn to the Gospel of Luke. Luke is the fourth book of the New Testament, and we are going to be reading a story from chapter 24, beginning with verse 13. If you are using a Bible from the chairs around you, turn to page 713, and feel free to take that Bible with you as you go today!
Please follow along as I read this snapshot from the Bible to you:
Read Luke 24:13-35
Isn’t that a great story? It has long been a favorite of mine. In fact, when my brother and I were about 11 & 12 years old, we saved up our money and went to the local Christian bookstore and purchased this picture for my parents for their anniversary. It is called “The Road to Emmaus,” and it shows the two men we have just read about, on their way down the long and winding road talking to Jesus. Actually, they are listening, Jesus is doing the talking!
So let’s dig in, shall we, and see what kind of practical truths there may be for us in this snapshot from the Bible. We’re gonna go through it a verse at a time and ask ourselves some questions that will help us in our study. This is called an inductive Bible study because we are going to simply ask questions of the text and allow it to speak to us. For and inductive Bible study, you need a few tools: Your Bible, a concordance, a dictionary and an inquisitive mind. The Bible is your source. A concordance is a special tool that will tell you the location of every word in the Bible, and it’s original meaning. A dictionary will help you with new or unfamiliar words. This is a great way to study the scriptures, and I would encourage you to do your personal Biblical studies this way.
Study Questions:
The first part of gaining insight to a passage of scripture is to make sure we understand the setting. In verse 13, there’s a phrase that gives us a very important starting place. It reads, “Two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus…”
“Two of them…” Two of who? Who were these two people? Take a look at the first part of the passage and tell me who you think they were.
[They were two of the followers of Jesus.] The early part of this passage is about the followers of Jesus. How they were dealing with the death of the Lord. See verse 9? The ladies, after the angel had told them that the Lord was risen, “returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to the rest. The “now tow of them” in verse 13 refers back to “the rest” in verse 9. These are two people who were supporters of Jesus. Maybe they had sat on the side of the hill and heard the Sermon on the Mount. Maybe they had eaten of the loaves and fishes when Jesus fed 5,000. Maybe they had been there when He had raised Lazarus from the dead. We don’t know a lot about them. When we look at verse 18 we see that one was named Cleopas. A quick check of the concordance will tell you that this is the only place in the Bible where Cleopas is mentioned.
The other person is not mentioned. Because of the intimate detail of this story, some have speculated that Luke was the second person, but there is not concrete evidence to support that. But obviously this story was either experienced by, or told first-hand to Luke.
“That same day…” What day was it? Look back a verse or two and tell me what day it is.
[The first Easter Sunday.]
Now before we just answer the question and move on, think about it for a minute. We tend to think of Easter as a day of great victory. In fact, without Easter, all of this is just a waste of time. If Jesus is not risen, then we are all fools! It is Easter that gives us the hope and assurance of eternal life. It was Easter when Jesus defeated death and the grave. But these guys didn’t believe it yet. They were still living in the aftermath of that terrible Friday, when Jesus was arrested under false charges, tried by a joke of a tribunal, denied justice by the Roman authorities, beaten, whipped, mocked. They still had the ringing of the crowds’ screams in their ears, “Crucify Him!” And all along, they kept waiting for Jesus to stand against them. They kept waiting for Him to lead the revolt against the Romans and put away the traitorous religious hypocrites who oppressed their own people. But Jesus said nothing. Come on Jesus, we’re waiting. You’re the man! Please say something. But Jesus said nothing. It was kind of like this…
Film clip from Apollo 13, when the capsule has not made radio contact, and everyone feels they are dead.
You see, these guys thought that Jesus was gone. They tell us later that they had a lot of hope that he was the chosen One, the redeemer of Israel, but, alas, they were wrong. Look down at verse 21, “Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.” You see, the Jews believed that the soul of a person would kind of hang around the dead for three days. After the third day, however, all hope was gone. And that is how these guys were feeling. They are feeling completely hopeless.
So that’s the setting. It’s that first Easter Sunday, and the scene opens with two distraught followers of Jesus walking down the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus, a trip of about 7 miles. As they walk, they are discussing all the things that have gone on. They are so engaged in their conversation, that they don’t even notice the approach of one from the rear.
Take a look at verses 15 and 16 again. “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.”
What stands out to you from those two verses?
[Jesus drew near] Isn’t that great? While they are discussing all these things, “Jesus drew near.” If you have a pen with you, underline those words. “Jesus drew near.” I just love little phrases like that. So full of meaning. Here in the midst of the confusion and disappointment and pain of these two disciples, “Jesus drew near.” To me, that just sounds like the title of a great Max Lucado book. I find great comfort in that phrase. When I find myself in a difficult spot, when it seems that God’s plans must certainly have gone awry, I can know that Jesus is near. Wow! What a truth! Hold on to that. Take that home with you, and just meditate on it through this week. “Jesus Drew Near.”
[Their eyes were restrained] Why do you think Jesus would have restrained their eyes? Why would Jesus not want them to recognize Him right away?
Think about it for a moment. There are times when Jesus does appear in a flash of revelation. Why not hear. Well, if you look at those times, the people to whom Jesus appears are often afraid, the focus on Him, His form, His wounds, His body. He usually speaks just a few sentences, gives a word of instruction, and is gone.
But in this case, Jesus knows that these two confused brothers need more than a flash of revelation. They need to be reasoned with. They are in need of time and extended care. It’s great that God does not treat each of us the same, regardless of our need. He knows each of us personally, and He tailors His response to our need. And so He simply restrains their eyes so that they will not recognize Him right away. That way, they will pay closer attention to the teaching, to the reasoning, and not get overwhelmed by His glory.
In verses 17 through 24, Jesus asks them “So, what are you two talking about so intently and sadly while you walk?” And then he lets them spill out all their pain and disappointment. “Haven’t you heard? Oh, it all fell apart! We were so sure that this Jesus was the One. He was a great prophet, a mighty man of God, and now He’s gone. Some of our women went to the tomb, and it was empty. They came back and said they saw an angel who said He was alive, but no one has seen Him.”
What does Jesus do while they are talking? Do you see him interrupting, or minimizing their concerns? What does He do? He listens! He allows them to pour out their hearts. Then He responds to them
On first blush, the words of Jesus seem kind of harsh don’t they? But if you get out your concordance, and look up the original meaning of the word “foolish,” you will see that it is anoetoi, which means, “dull, or slow.” Certainly it’s not a compliment, but it’s not quite so harsh as “fool.” Jesus says, in effect, “Aren’t you missing something here? You guys are good Jewish people, and all the Scriptures show that this is exactly how it was going to happen.”
Then we read in verse 27 that Jesus started “at Moses and all the Prophets, and expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”
This was more than just the picking out of a few verses. What does “starting at Moses,” mean? [From the beginning of the Old Testament – the first five books of the Bible are the books of Moses.]
He began at the very start, and showed that thought all the Scriptures, all that had happened was part of God’s plan. We don’t have any specific passages listed here. But there are plenty. Can anyone think of some passages that show that Jesus was going to come and suffer and die and be victorious over death?
Genesis 3:16 – bruised heel, crushed head
Genesis 22 – Abraham’s offering of Isaac
Exodus – the Passover Lamb
Exodus – the serpent in the Wilderness lifted up
Leviticus – the offerings for sin – the Day of Atonement
Psalm 22 – a description of crucifixion before crucifixion had been invented
Isaiah 53 – The suffering Messiah
You might use your dictionary to find out what “expounded” means. If you do, you will see that it means, “to set forth or state in detail, to explain, to interpret.” Many preachers will sometimes do an “expositional series on the book of Ephesians,” for example. It means that it’s a verse-by-verse study of the book. A great way to study and learn.
Over the years I have had the opportunity to hear some great expositors. I have sat under some great teachers. I’ve been privileged to hear Billy Graham, Chuck Swindoll, Chuck Colsen, Ravi Zacharias, Charles Stanley, Jack Hayford and many other famous speakers, as well as some great men of God whose names are known only to the flocks they served. But all those men combined together could not have equaled what it must have been to have God Himself expounding the Scriptures! Wouldn’t that have been great?! To have Jesus teaching about Himself?! Wow!
Verse 28 takes us back to the narrative. As they were entering the gates of the city of Emmaus, Jesus just kept on walking, as if He was continuing to some other place. But the two “constrained Him” to stay with them.
What does that tell you about Jesus? That He would continue on His way until asked to stay?
[Jesus will not impose on us.]
You know how it is when you get home after a long day at the office, and the phone rings, and there’s some person on the phone trying to sell you siding, or windows, or cheaper long distance, or magazines? What an imposition that is! How rude it is that they will interrupt our time at home with their sales pitch!
Jesus will not do that to us. He won’t force himself on us; He waits to be invited. These guys didn’t know who Jesus was, but they were so impressed by His words, and His presence that they wanted it to continue. And when they invited Him, He went in with them. Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock, If a person will hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to Him, and dine with Him, and He with me.” That is quite literally what happened here. They invited Him, He came in, and He ate with them.
As he sat with them, and took the bread, and gave the traditional Jewish blessing, “Blessed art thou, Oh Lord our God, King of the Universe, who bringeth forth grain from the earth.” When He spoke those words, the restraints that were placed on their eyes were lifted, and they suddenly recognized Jesus, and in that instant He vanished.
Now they knew that Jesus was alive. They had had the report of the women that morning, they had heard the report of the angels, they had heard the teaching of the Scriptures, and now they had experienced His presence! Even though He had vanished, they knew that He was alive, and that He would be with them when they faced those times of confusion and discouragement.
I just love the words one of them said to the other after Jesus was gone, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” Oh, I can just imagine what that must have been like. Have you ever had that heavenly heartburn? It is possible, you know. For while they walked along the long and winding road from Jerusalem to Emmaus with Jesus Himself explaining the Scriptures, as believers in that same Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit of God not only with us, but IN us – giving us insight and understanding. Have you ever had the Word of God come alive to you? You read a passage and it speaks directly to you in your need? That can happen, but we have to have that fellowship with Him, walking the long and winding road of life with Jesus at our side.
So what are some practical ways this snapshot from the Bible can apply to our lives?
Lord Jesus, just as you came and walked with these two in the middle of their confusion, sadness and disappointment, come and walk with us along the road of life. Open Your Word to us, by your indwelling Holy Spirit, fellowship with us, and help us to see You. May our hearts burn within us as you speak to us along the way, and open the word to us. This we pray in your precious name, Amen.
Service of Communion.
Some say that Jesus was actually celebrating communion with the two Emmaus disciples when He was revealed to them. I don’t think so. There is no mention of the wine, and these two were not part of the eleven disciples who were in the upper room on night before Jesus was betrayed. No, I believe that Jesus revealed himself to them in just an ordinary prayer of thanks over an ordinary meal. But I think that in order for us to be able to really appreciate the true meaning and fellowship of the Lord’s Table, we need to fellowship with Him in the ordinary as well.
Jesus said that we should observe this table regularly to remember His death until He comes again. As we join together today, let’s experience His presence anew.
The Bread
The Cup