Jun 11
5
Luke 24:13-35
What should we expect from Christ when our hearts are full of sorrow and confusion?
Introduce the text
I. The Narrative
A. Scene 1 – Two discouraged men on the road to Emmaus (Vs.13-14)
B. Scene 2 – Jesus joins the two men and asks them questions (Vs. 15-24)
C. Scene 3 – Jesus encourages them from the scriptures (Vs. 25-27)
D. Scene 4 – Jesus draws the men into community with Him at the center (Vs. 28-35)
II. [What should we expect from Christ when our hearts are full of sorrow and confusion?] We should we expect Christ to pursue us, to listen to us, to encourage us from the scriptures, and to draw us together as a community of faith with Him at the center.
A. Implication 1 – We should expect Christ to pursue us – (Vs. 13-15)
1. Exegesis
a. Christ’s activity in His resurrection body was a foreshadowing of His activity in this present age.
b. It is Christ who pursues His people in 24:4, 24:15, and 24:36.
c. It should be noted that these were common men, insignificant when compared with the 11 disciples.
d. The gospel is not just that Christ died for our sins, but it is also that Christ lives for us today!
i. Philippians 1:6 (ESV)
6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
ii. 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 (ESV)
23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
2. Illustration
a. Imagine a sailor saying “I have good news; you are going on a sailing trip around the world!” That is potentially good news, but only if he is going with me!”
3. Application
a. When you are down, trust in Christ to sustain you, not in yourself! We trust in Christ, not only for eternal life, but also for sustenance in this life.
B. Implication 2 – We should expect Christ to listen to us – (Vs. 17-24)
1. Exegesis
a. Vs. 17 “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?”
b. Vs. 19 “What things?”
c. There is in this passage an offer on Christ’s behalf to listen to His people.
d. Prayer is an incredible gift. It is an invitation to speak with Christ Himself.
2. Illustration
a. Good friends ask questions and then listen
3. Application
a. Spend lots of time talking with God. My challenge to you is to speak with God first and more often than you speak with others concerning your frustrations.
C. Implication 3 – We should expect Christ to encourage us from the scriptures – (Vs. 25-27)
1. Exegesis
a. What scriptures did He share?
i. Genesis 3:15 (ESV)
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
ii. Deuteronomy 18:15–18 (ESV)
15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— 16 just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ 17 And the LORD said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.
iii. Isaiah 11:1–5 (ESV)
1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
2 And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
iv. Isaiah 7:14 (ESV)
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
v. Isaiah 53 (ESV)
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
vi. The Passover
vii. The temple worship
viii. The ram caught in the thicket and offered as a substitutionary sacrifice when Abraham went to offer Isaac
b. He emphasized the necessity for the messiah to suffer
i. He predicted this throughout His ministry
ii. You can understand why people would have ignored this teaching. They were already suffering to a degree and they didn’t want any more of it.
c. We tend to miss things in scripture that make us uncomfortable. Sometimes it’s intentional, sometimes unintentional.
d. There has been a trend in the church to soften the message of scripture so as not to offend. In some ways the trend has existed throughout church history, but it seems as if we have just experienced a strong movement toward this sort or thinking over the past 20 years or so. The problem is that the core message of scripture is deeply offensive to us.
2. Illustration
a. Don’t forget that He is the potter and we are the clay. It’s certainly not the other way around!
3. Application
a. We need to be in the scriptures, allowing the Word of God to pierce us and to mold the way we view God, others, and ourselves.
b. One of the most troubling things is to see Christians who are unwilling to truly submit to the authority of God’s Word. I will admit, there are mysteries in the Christian faith, but there are also teachings that are very clear. And if scripture is clear, we must submit to the teaching even if the teaching is an indictment against us — even if the teaching goes against the grain of our culture, or seems prickly to us at first.
c. We need to be students of God’s Word living in true and honest submission to its authority.
D. Implication 4 – We should expect Christ to draw us together as a community of faith with Him at the center – (Vs. 28-35)
1. Exegesis
a. Jesus acted as if he were going farther
b. Hospitality
c. He took the bread and blessed and broke it
d. The significance of Luke’s table scenes
e. The men, who had just finished walking seven miles, returned to Jerusalem “that very hour.” They desired fellowship that intensely.
2. Illustration
a. Our time out with folks in the Church
b. Please do not expect Emmaus to be a busy Church
c. Fast moving water is usually shallow. Slow water is deep and that is where the food settles and the big healthy fish swim.
3. Application
a. Develop deep authentic, Christ centered community.
b. Have people in to your home.
c. Talk about real life, Jesus, and the Word.
d. Join a Gospel Community Group in July but do not expect them to be a continuation of the Small Group culture that you are used to.
