The resurrection lies at the heart of the gospel. Notice how the apostle Paul summarises the gospel in 2 Timothy 2:8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel. Of course there are many other elements in the gospel – Christ’s atoning death, his imputed righteousness, forgiveness of sins, eternal life and so on but Paul chooses to summarise the gospel by saying Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David.
- EASTER SUNDAY – READ LUKE 24:13-35
Our reading today is that familiar passage of the encounter between two disciples on the road to Emmaus and the risen Christ. Emmaus was about 11km from Jerusalem. Much ink has been spilled about the identity of these two people. We know from vrs 18 that one of them was called Cleopas. Who was the other? Many men have been suggested. But why should it be a man? Why could it not have been Cleopas’s wife? We know from John 19:25 that Mary the wife of Clopas was at the foot of the cross. Slightly different spelling but not that different!! This Mary is most likely the mother of James the younger (Matt. 27:56 and Mark 15:40) an apostle. If they lived at Emmaus they would certainly not have travelled on the Sabbath. This was their first opportunity to return home. Of course it is mere conjecture, but to identify the travellers as Mr & Mrs Cleopas is as likely a suggestion than many others. What does our passage have to teach us about these two travellers?
a) CONFUSION (vrs 13-24) – There was only one subject that occupied their minds. We see this from vrs 14; They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. Three days ago Jesus was still among them. In vrs 21 they said; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. Of course the redemption that they had in mind was more political than spiritual. Then on Maundy Thursday everything spiralled out of control. The Jesus Christ roadshow was derailed. His betrayal, arrest, trial and sentence of death followed in quick succession. All the high hopes of disciples
like Cleopas were dashed. In vrs 17 we are told that they stood still, their faces downcast. I want to suggest to you that this is a picture of everyone’s life without Christ. Speak to them about dying and vrs 17 kicks into overdrive in their lives.
b) EXPLANATION (vrs 18-29) – As they travelled we are told that the risen Christ joined them but according to vrs 16 they were kept from recognizing him. We are not told how. In vrs 17 Jesus asked the question; what are you discussing together as you walk along? He received an exasperated reply in vrs 18 “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?” In response to Jesus’ leading question they repeated the previous couple of day’s events in vrs 19-24. If we were Jesus how would we have responded to these disciples dejection? We would be tempted to shout out; “look it’s me! It’s really me . . . I have risen!! The show is back on the road!!” That is not what Jesus does. What does he do? In vrs 25-27 he pointed them back to the Scriptures to explain all the facts as to why things had happened the way they did. What a sermon that must have been? To hear from Jesus’ own mouth how everything from Genesis to Malachi was really all about Him. He would definitely have taken them to Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 and shown them how his death was predicted in amazing detail. He would have taken them to Psalm 16 to explain the resurrection that the women had witnessed that morning. If these disciples were going to encounter Christ they would do so through the Scriptures. That is where a person meets Christ. As Jesus spoke, the fire of their faith that had died out on Golgotha came back to life and burned with that familiar hope, the hope that Jesus was indeed the Christ. Why do you suppose these two people were “kept from recognizing” Jesus for hours (v. 16)? The clue, I think, is in verse 25. Jesus called them “foolish” and “slow of heart to believe” the Scriptures. Their outward inability to recognize Jesus mirrored their inward unbelief of what the Scriptures revealed about him. Now, Jesus fully intended to help them see. But notice the priority of Jesus’ revelation: before he opened their physical eyes, he purposed to open their heart-eyes. Explanation must always precede a personal experience.
c) WITNESS (vrs 30-35) – The two travellers hearts were thrilled with Christ’s exposition of Scripture. In vrs 32 they said “were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” When they got to their homes, Jesus made as if he was going ahead. They were not having any of it. It was early evening and they urged him to stay with them. In vrs 30, 31 we read; 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. What was the response of these two disciples? In vrs 33-35 they got up and ran another 11km back to Jerusalem. There they saw the eleven disciples and others assembled with them. In vrs 34, 35 they said it is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon. In their excitement they blurted out their good news. Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. In their excitement they hurried back to tell others that Christ had risen. Luke is telling us that the authentic response upon meeting the risen Christ is to tell others. Was this not what the angels told the women who first witnessed the empty tomb? In Matthew 28:6 after first inviting them to come and see the place where he lay the angels instruct them in vrs 7 to go and tell his disciples. Who in your circle of friends or acquaintances do you need to speak to about the resurrection of Christ?