Have you ever been walking at dusk as darkness closed in and felt the desire to be finished? This summer for four days I walked about 25 miles each day. Each day started further and further away from where we were staying, and each day we ended later and later. There is something about dusk that reminds you how tired you are and how much you wish the journey were over. By the time a hiker reaches the end of the day his or her feet and muscles are tired, and it may seem as if the journey will never end.

Life is sometimes like this. Perhaps we have suffered a shock like losing a job, or being deserted by a partner or spouse, or being diagnosed with a serious disease, or being betrayed by an old friend. Perhaps we have been struggling with a problem for a long, long time and have grown weary of the struggle. We fell as if we have nothing left in life but endless struggle with an insolvable problem. Perhaps we felt that we were making progress in some area of our life, only to discover that we were wrong and are right back where we began. Perhaps we know we are nearing the end of the journey of life and we are tired and sick. At such times we feel as if we are walking into a gathering darkness.

On the Road to Emmaus

The way Luke tells the story of the resurrection the first people to find the empty tomb were the women who followed him. When they arrived early in the morning, they found the stone that covered his grave rolled away, and two angels asking them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5) Returning to the Upper Room, the women told the Eleven (Judas being dead) what they had seen (24:9-10). Peter then ran to the tomb and saw it was empty, the grave clothes lying on the burial stone, and no body. He was confused and did not know what to think (24:11).

Later on that day, two disciples were walking to Emmaus, a village seven  miles from Jerusalem. They were very obviously confused, sad, and depressed about the death of Jesus. We can be sure they were talking about the heartbreaking events of the past few days (24:15). Suddenly a stranger, Jesus, appeared, though they did not recognize him (24:16). Jesus asked them why they were so depressed, and that is where we begin our text:

They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” “What things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”  He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread (Luke 24:17b-35).

Walking towards the Darkness

The Scottish commentator, William Barclay entitled his commentary on this passage, “The Sunset Road that Turned Darkness into Dawn.” [1] His caption is based on the insight that most probably this incident occurred the evening of the day of the resurrection. The two disciples, one we know was named “Cleopus,” were walking home from Jerusalem to Emmaus, near the conclusion of the first Easter Sunday. Almost certainly, they had been in Jerusalem on Good Friday, witnessed the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Jesus, knew of his death, and had heard of the missing body directly from the disciples or the women. Emmaus was West of Jerusalem, so that they would have been walking into the setting sun.

Not only were they physically walking into the sunset, so also they were walking into the sunset of their hopes and dreams. When Jesus questioned them about the discouraged look on their faces, they told him they were followers of Jesus, a mighty preacher and healer. They had hoped that Jesus was the Messiah of Israel. They had committed themselves to him, hoping that he would rescue them from the Romans and establish again the kingdom of David, bringing in a time of peace, freedom, prosperity, and plenty. Then, suddenly, over the past few days, their hopes and dreams had been shattered.

As I mentioned before, life is often like this. We begin a job, a relationship, a move, a family, or a time of life filled with hope for the future, but then gradually ever so gradually, life wears us down. People, institutions, bosses, employees, spouses, friends, co-workers let us down or fail to meet our expectations or we simply grow old and weary, losing our enthusiasm and hope for our future. When this happens, we enter a period of going through the motions through the gathering darkness of our lives.

A Word of Hope

As the two discouraged travelers poured out the facts of the day and their discouragement, Jesus listened. Then, he said something I suspect no counselor would have encouraged him to say, “How foolish you are and slow of heart to believe all the prophets have spoken!” (24:25). (This is a really bad grief counseling technique.) Jesus went on to explain that all the events of the weekend, the betrayal, arrest, suffering, crucifixion, and death were part of God’s plan. “Did you not know that the Christ would have to suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” (24:26).

Having gotten their attention, we are told Jesus went through the entire Old Testament, from the works of Moses through all the Prophets, explaining to them how the fall of the human race, the unfaithfulness of Israel, the need of a sacrifice for sins, the promise of a true heir to David, the need for a Suffering Servant foretold by Isaiah, all these prophesies and more, were fulfilled by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. You can imagine how encouraging this was to Cleopus and the other disciple, to hear a word of hope from Scripture at a time of suffering—to see in Scripture the promises of God.

There is a verse in Scripture that reads, “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). As we shall see in a moment, hearing is not enough to create faith, but without the content of the Gospel and an explanation of who Christ is, it is impossible to come to faith. What Jesus did for the two disciples was to explain to them why it is possible for the Messiah to be the sort of person Jesus was and to experience the suffering and failure Jesus experienced. By the time they arrived at the inn, they were interested enough to ask Jesus to stay and hear more.

Speaking the Word of Christ into the life of another person is a precious and holy opportunity. Last Thursday, a group of local pastors had lunch. One of our members just returned from a deployment as a chaplain in the military. One of the treasures of his time away was the opportunity to share the Word with young men and women, some of whom had never been to church in their lives. We should all try to be prepared for such an opportunity if it comes to us. We all need to know how to share the gospel with others. What we say, our testimony of that God has done in our lives and our understanding of the Good News of Christ cannot of itself save anyone. Only God by grace and the power of the Holy Spirit can change a life. However, we can do our part.

The Moment of Revelation

As the threesome approached the little village of Emmaus, it was getting dark, so the disciples invited the stranger to stay with them and have a meal. Perhaps they merely wanted to hear more. Luke tells us that as they were breaking bread together, the eyes of the disciples were opened, and they recognized the Risen Christ. Just as this occurred, Jesus disappeared from their sight. At that moment, as if a light went on in their minds and hearts, they realized who Jesus was and and the impact he had on them.

When Jesus was physically with us, his call was to come and physically follow him. Those who did not have the kind of faith necessary to leave all and follow him, did not become disciples. When Jesus ascended into heaven, the call of the apostles was to trust, believe in and follow the Risen Christ, becoming a part of the little and sometimes-persecuted fellowship of Christians. After the resurrection, the call is always first to have the kind of faith that experiences and then follows a now invisible Jesus who is present in his people by the power of the Holy Spirit. The faith the disciples needed to follow Jesus was no different than the faith we need to follow Jesus. Faith is the decision of the heart to trust, ask God to come into your heart, and follow Jesus for the rest of your life. Faith is a total commitment in view of what God has spoken into our hearts. [2]

The Response of Faith

Our text tells us that the disciples immediately got up and returned to Jerusalem. This is the equivalent of Matthew’s recounting that the Peter, Andrew, James and John “immediately” followed Jesus (Matthew 4:18). When the arrived, they gave their testimony to the disciples, declaring that Jesus was alive, that what Simon had seen was evidence of the resurrection, and that the women had told the truth. They gave their personal testimony to what had happened to them on the Road to Emmaus and how the recognized him when they sat down to eat together.

Ninety percent of the sermons I have heard on this passage concentrate on the walk to Emmaus and the revelation of Jesus at the breaking of the bread. When we concentrate only on who Jesus is, the moment of revelation and faith, we miss something important: It was late, the disciples were hungry and tired. Nevertheless, when they received the revelation, the two disciples got up, retraced their six to ten mile walk uphill to Jerusalem, found the disciples, and gave them their testimony. They might have said, “This is great news. Jesus is live. We are saved. Let’s go to bed and get a good night’s sleep.” They could have said, “Tomorrow, if we have time, we need to send a message to the Twelve telling them about what we experienced and see what they make of it.” They could have done a number of things. What they did do was get up, walk to Jerusalem, and tell the disciples of this great event. The two disciples shared their new faith with the still doubting Twelve.

Faith always invokes a response. If we have committed ourselves to follow Jesus, then we must be committed to share what we know, learn more about what we have experienced, live and think more like Jesus, and continue the walk. One of the blessings of being with new Christians is the blessing of hearing their testimonies and sometimes experiencing their fearlessness.

Not long ago, one of our members shared with me an experience that ended up with our member sharing her faith with a pimp and drug dealer who happened to live nearby. It took courage, spiritual power, and wisdom to do this. God provided all these things. Why could she share her faith in such a powerful way? Because she responded to her own Walk to Emmaus by sharing what she knew with another person.

The disciples who left Jerusalem were walking west into the sunset on their way to Emmaus. It was the sunset of their hopes and dreams. The disciples who walked from Emmaus back to Jerusalem were walking east into the sunrise. They were walking into the sunrise of a new life in Christ. There are many folks in our society walking west into the sunset. They pass us every day. The question is, “Will I see the Risen Christ in the ordinary things like breaking bread, and then will I walk East into the sunrise, sharing what I have experienced with others?”

Amen

Copyright 2015, G. Christopher Scruggs, All Rights Reserved

[1] William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke in “The Daily Bible Study Series” Rev. Ed. (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press, 1975), 293ff.

[2] In The Cost of Discipleship Bonhoeffer speaks of the continuity between the call of Jesus in the Gospels for disciples to “follow me,” and the call of Paul, the early Church, and the Church today to believe and be baptized. Both are a call to utterly commit oneself to God in Christ. Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship 2^nd ed. (New York, NY: McMillan, 1959), 255. I owe this section of the blog for the week to Bonhoeffer’s insight.