ON THE EMMAUS ROAD
20 February 2005

Focus: God's grace finds us no matter where we are
Function: To get the congregation to discover God's grace where they are on their journey

I. Road to Emmaus -- Luke 24:13-34
-- This is a familiar passage to us, but before we get into it, I need to share with you the context of where we are
-- Jesus has just been delivered up to the Chief Priests -- He has been tortured and crucified and died -- He was buried in a borrowed tomb -- and that is as much as these two disciples on the Emmaus Road knew
-- they had heard that the women went to the tomb and found it empty -- they knew that Peter and John had gone to the tomb and found it in the same way -- but they didn't know why -- they didn't understand the meaning of the empty tomb
-- all they knew was that Jesus was dead -- their hope was dead -- and all they had dreamed and believed about Jesus was dead too -- all they knew was that the disciples had scattered and the priests were persecuting them -- while some of the disciples hid in the upper room out of fear of the authorities, these two did the only thing that made sense to them -- they left Jerusalem

-- now, let's read verses 13-14
-- 13. Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.
14. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.

-- What was Emmaus? -- we know from the text that it was a village about seven miles from Jerusalem -- you can go to Israel today and see Emmaus -- or at least the ruins of Emmaus -- that is the historical and physical fact
-- But, Emmaus was something else spiritually to these two disciples -- it was the place of defeat -- and when they set out on the road to Emmaus -- they were on the road of despair and discomfort and disbelief -- the road of discouragement

-- think for a moment about the two towns that laid on either end of the road
-- Jerusalem represented God for the Jewish people -- Jerusalem was the place where the Jewish people went to worship -- it was the place where the temple was located -- and God lived in the temple -- within the veil in the Holy of Holies
-- for the Jew -- to come to God meant you went to Jerusalem

-- but think about what these two disciples were doing -- they were headed to Emmaus -- and in order to do so, they turned their back on Jerusalem -- they turned their back on God -- they turned their back on their faith
-- Emmaus represented a turning away from God and a turning towards the world -- a rejection of God -- a loss of hope and of faith
-- these two disciples were without hope and without faith so they headed away from the only One who could help them

-- now, if we're all honest, you would have to admit that we've all been on this road to Emmaus at some point or the other -- maybe you're on the road right now -- or if you're not, then you're either just now getting off the road or you're headed to it
-- we all have been on the road to Emmaus -- times of despair and discomfort and discouragement -- times when we just lose our hope and our faith in God

II. What puts us on the road?
-- the two disciples were put on the road because of the death of Jesus and the death of all they had believed and hoped in -- but we can find ourselves on that same road in several different ways

A. Failure of Self
-- times when we sin against God -- when we just don't do what we know is right -- when we let ourselves down can put us on the road to Emmaus -- sometimes we just look at life and we look at what we're doing and we just have no hope and no faith -- we've lost it somewhere along the way, and we find ourselves separated from God -- with Jersualem at our back and Emmaus before us

B. Failure of Others
-- another way we find ourselves on the road to Emmaus is when others fail to meet our expectations -- Family lets you down -- Spouse lets you down -- Friends let you down
-- maybe there's job problems -- Financial problems -- Life problems
-- Worries of world choking out faith -- in the Bible Jesus told the parables of the seed -- and some of the seeds landed in the soil and sprung up only to be choked out by the worries of the world -- that's the road to Emmaus -- the road to worry and hopelessness and faithlessness

C. Failure of God
-- the last way we can find ourselves on the road to Emmaus is when God doesn't meet our expectations -- when God doesn't act the way we expect or want Him to -- when our prayers go unanswered or when God just says "no"
-- maybe we've just looked at our life and we've thought, "God, what's going on? I've been faithful -- I've trusted you -- but look at how my life is in shambles -- look at what I'm going through -- don't you even care?"
-- sometimes we feel that God has failed because He hasn't done what we wanted Him to do
-- that is exactly what is going on in this passage -- the two disciples are downcast and
discouraged because Jesus did not do what they expected

-- look with me at verses 15-21a
-- 15. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them;
16. but they were kept from recognizing him.
17. He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" They stood still, their faces downcast.
18. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?"
19. "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.
20. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him;
21. but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.

-- did you see the tone of that passage -- the disciples were downcast -- "we had hoped" -- "HAD" -- they had given up hope -- they had lost faith -- they had lost their trust in Jesus and in His promises because He hadn't done what they expected
-- they all expected Him to come to Jerusalem and to establish His kingdom there -- when He rode in on Palm Sunday and the crowds shouted "Hosanna!" and the people praised Him, they just knew it was all happening
-- and now, just one week later, He has been tortured and killed and buried in a borrowed tomb -- hardly the path of a Messiah
-- and so they find themselves on the road to Emmaus -- lost -- discouraged -- hopeless -- and without faith -- putting their face towards Emmaus and their backs towards Jerusalem, for what could it possibly hold for them now?

III. The Way Back
-- Road to Emmaus is not a fun route -- walk through despair, discouragement, hopelessness, faithlessness -- but there is good news on the road

-- 21b. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.
22. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning
23. but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive.
24. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."
25. He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
26. Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?"
27. And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28. As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther.
29. 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.
30. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.
31. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.
32. 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?"
33. They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem.

-- Jesus came and met the disciples on the road -- He restored their faith and hope in Him
-- Example of Grace -- the prevenient grace of God reaching out to us through the problems of life -- meeting us at the point of our need -- even on the road to Emmaus -- even when we've turned our back on Him

-- look back at Verse 31 -- "Their eyes were opened" -- God's grace shows us the truth of our circumstances -- it provides hope in the midst of despair and faithfulness in the midst of adversity -- on the road, we are walking with a veil over our eyes -- like walking in a fog -- but God's grace removes the veil and clears the fog so we can see clearly and be encouraged by His presence

-- I really think that Verse 33 is the key verse in this passage -- "they got up and returned at once to Jerusalem" -- they returned at once -- they turned back to faith - they turned back to Jerusalem -- they turned back to Jesus
-- wonderful picture of repentance -- turning away from sin -- turning away from despair and discouragement and lack of faith -- turning to the author and perfector of our faith

-- on the road they learned the truth of what happened in Jerusalem on the cross as Jesus spoke to their hearts:
-- Forgiveness of Sin
-- Power over Death
-- Restoration of Fellowship -- with man and with God
-- Understanding of what God was doing

IV. Closing
-- where are you at this morning? -- are you on the road to Emmaus -- clouded with doubt and despair? -- filled with a sense of dread -- helpless -- hopeless -- lost?
-- if there's anything you should get from this passage today, it is this:
1) No matter where you are on your journey, God is there with you -- His presence is there with you -- His grace is there with you -- you just need to open your eyes and look and receive Him into your heart
2) Roads run both ways -- the road to Emmaus is also the road to Jerusalem -- the difference is in the direction -- and the direction is your choice