Luke 24:13-35

Easter Sunrise Bible Study

March 27, 2005

Introduction

Life has often been described as a journey, a path, the “road of life”.

But sometimes life isn’t so fun on the road.

Illustration

A man was driving along the highway, and saw a rabbit hopping across the middle of the road. He swerved to avoid hitting the rabbit, but unfortunately the rabbit jumped in front of the car and was hit. The driver, being a sensitive man as well as an animal lover, pulled over to the side of the road, and got out to see what had become of the rabbit. Much to his dismay, the rabbit was dead. The driver felt so awful, he began to cry. A woman driving down the highway saw the man crying on the side of the road and pulled over. She stepped out of her car and asked the man what was wrong. “I feel terrible,” he explained, “I accidentally hit this rabbit and killed it.” The woman told the man not to worry. She knew what to do. She went to her car trunk, and pulled out a spray can. She walked over to the limp, dead rabbit, and sprayed the contents of the can onto the rabbit. Miraculously the rabbit came to life, jumped up, waved its paw at the two humans and hopped down the road. 50 yards away the rabbit stopped, turned around, waved and hopped down the road, another 50 yards, turned, waved and hopped another 50 yards. The man was astonished. He couldn’t figure out what substance could be in the woman’s spray can!! He ran over to the woman and asked, “What is in your spray can? What did you spray on that rabbit?” The woman turned the can around so that the man could read the label. It said: “Hair spray. Restores life to dead hair. Adds permanent wave.”

I want to take a few minutes to look at a couple of fellows on the road of life, guys who feel like they’ve just been run over by a Mac truck.

These are two guys who feel totally disillusioned with life.

These are guys who have lost all hope.

(Luke 24:13-35 NKJV) Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.

:14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.

:15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.

We too are on a journey, a path in life.

The men are talking about Jesus.

Jesus shows up

Fellowship

(Mat 18:20 NKJV) "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."

:16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.

It seems that in His resurrected body, Jesus had the ability to keep people from recognizing Him.

Mary didn’t recognize Him until He spoke her name.

Peter didn’t recognize Jesus until they pulled up the net full of fish.

:17 And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?"

and are sad –

There is sadness in unbelief.

These fellows don’t understand yet what has happened with Jesus’ death and resurrection. They don’t believe yet in what Jesus did. They don’t believe in His death for their sins. They don’t believe in His resurrection from the dead.

There is joy in believing.

(John 20:29 NKJV) Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed (“happy”) are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

Lesson

Believing

Trusting means that we are willing to count on Him, even when we don’t understand the circumstances of life.

Abraham was one hundred years old and Sarah was ninety years old when they gave birth to the promised child Isaac.

(Rom 4:18-21 ICB) There was no hope that Abraham would have children. But Abraham believed God and continued hoping. And that is why he became the father of many nations. As God told him, "Your descendants will also be too many to count." {19} Abraham was almost 100 years old, much past the age for having children. Also, Sarah could not have children. Abraham thought about all this. But his faith in God did not become weak. {20} He never doubted that God would keep his promise. Abraham never stopped believing. He grew stronger in his faith and gave praise to God. {21} Abraham felt sure that God was able to do the thing that God promised.

One of the keys to getting down life’s road is learning to trust in Jesus.

:18 Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?"

It’s funny how we assume what people know and don’t know. Cleopas just assumes by what Jesus has said that He doesn’t know what’s been going on. Yet in reality there is no one who knows better what has gone on than the one Cleopas is talking to.

:19 And He said to them, "What things?" So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,

:20 "and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.

:21 "But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.

Lesson

Hope

They had lost hope (“we were hoping”)

The resurrection brings hope.

They were hoping that Jesus redeem Israel by being the one to deliver the nation from their bondage to the Roman Empire.

But Jesus did redeem Israel.

He purchased them out of a slavery far greater than that of Rome. He redeemed them from their sin.

He redeemed us by dying for our sins.

It’s one thing to just “say” that you’re going to die for someone’s sins, but how do you know if they’ve actually accomplished it?

We know that Jesus actually did die for our sins because He was able to come back from the dead. He had enough “life” left after dying for us, that He came back to life. His resurrection proves that He died for our sins.

Paul wrote,

(1 Cor 15:17 NKJV) And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!

For us, the resurrection gives us hope.

It gives us hope that our sins have been paid for and that we too will be able to be accepted by God.

It gives us hope that we can have the strength to keep going.

(Rom 8:11 NLT) The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as he raised Christ from the dead, he will give life to your mortal body by this same Spirit living within you.

It gives us a hope that there is life after death.

When you die, it ain’t over.

For you who have loved ones who trusted in Jesus and have died – it ain’t over.

You will see them again.

:22 "Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us.

:23 "When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive.

:24 "And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see."

:25 Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!

:26 "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"

:27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

Lesson

A rational faith

The fulfillment of prophecy.

Some folks make it sound as if Jesus was just a nice guy who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. They say that it was a darn shame that He ended up being put to death by the Romans. They say that the disciples, and especially the apostle Paul, later came up with these crazy ideas that Jesus was something special as a way to compensate for this tragic accident of Jesus being put to death.

The cover of Newsweek has the headline: “How Jesus became the Christ”

It was no mistake. There was no accident. Jesus didn’t “become” the Christ. He was the Christ.

It was all very carefully planned out before the world was even created. The coming of the Messiah was well documented by the Old Testament prophets.

What are the odds?

Peter Stoner wrote a book called Science Speaks (Moody Press, 1963), that applies the science of probability to the prophesies of Jesus.

First, Stoner looks at just eight of the prophecies and considers the probability of just these being fulfilled by one man. (from Evidence That Demands A Verdict… pg.174-176)

Being born in Bethlehem (Mic.5:2)

Preceded by a messenger (Is.40:3)

Entering Jerusalem on a donkey (Zec 9:9)

Betrayed by a friend (Ps.41:9)

Sold for 30 pieces of silver (Zec 11:12)

Money thrown in the temple, buying a potter's field (Zech 11:13)

Dumb before accusers (Is.53:7)

Hands and feet pierced, crucified with thieves (Ps.22:16; Is.53:12)

Stoner concludes that the odds of any man that might have lived down to the present time fulfilling all eight of these prophecies are 1 in 10¹⁷. That's a one with seventeen zeroes after it!

To grasp the size of this number …

“Suppose we take 10¹⁷ silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wished, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one. What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man, from their day to the present time, providing they wrote them in their own wisdom.”

But keep in mind, that's with only EIGHT of the prophecies! Don’t forget that there were over 300 specific prophesies in the Old Testament concerning the first coming of Jesus Christ.

If you will take time to look at the facts, it really isn’t all that hard to have faith.

:28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther.

:29 But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent." And He went in to stay with them.

:30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.

Lesson

Communion, remembering Jesus

It was just a couple of days ago when Jesus had been in the Upper Room with His disciples. He gave them something to do to remember Him. Paul wrote about this:

(1 Cor 11:23-26 NKJV) For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; {24} and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." {25} In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." {26} For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.

As often as you eat this bread …

We think of this as a special sort of ceremony where we take little pieces of bread or crackers and little cups of grape juice – then we spend some time praying and thinking about Jesus.

But in Jesus’ day, taking bread and wine would be pretty much a daily sort of thing. It’s what meals are all about.

Jesus wants us to remember Him often. Do you remember Him at MacDonald’s? At Taco Bell? At the dinner table?

Introduction

Life has often been described as a journey, a path, the “road of life”.

But sometimes life isn’t so fun on the road.

Illustration

I want to take a few minutes to look at a couple of fellows on the road of life, guys who feel like they’ve just been run over by a Mac truck.

These are two guys who feel totally disillusioned with life.

These are guys who have lost all hope.

(Luke 24:13-35 NKJV) Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.

:14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.

:15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.

We too are on a journey, a path in life.

The men are talking about Jesus.

Jesus shows up

Fellowship

(Mat 18:20 NKJV) "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."

:16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.

It seems that in His resurrected body, Jesus had the ability to keep people from recognizing Him.

Mary didn’t recognize Him until He spoke her name.

Peter didn’t recognize Jesus until they pulled up the net full of fish.

:17 And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?"

and are sad –

There is sadness in unbelief.

These fellows don’t understand yet what has happened with Jesus’ death and resurrection. They don’t believe yet in what Jesus did. They don’t believe in His death for their sins. They don’t believe in His resurrection from the dead.

There is joy in believing.

(John 20:29 NKJV) Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed (“happy”) are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

Lesson

Believing

Trusting means that we are willing to count on Him, even when we don’t understand the circumstances of life.

Abraham was one hundred years old and Sarah was ninety years old when they gave birth to the promised child Isaac.

One of the keys to getting down life’s road is learning to trust in Jesus.

:18 Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?"

It’s funny how we assume what people know and don’t know. Cleopas just assumes by what Jesus has said that He doesn’t know what’s been going on. Yet in reality there is no one who knows better what has gone on than the one Cleopas is talking to.

:19 And He said to them, "What things?" So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,

:20 "and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.

:21 "But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.

Lesson

Hope

They had lost hope (“we were hoping”)

The resurrection brings hope.

They were hoping that Jesus redeem Israel by being the one to deliver the nation from their bondage to the Roman Empire.

But Jesus did redeem Israel.

For us, the resurrection gives us hope.

It gives us hope that our sins have been paid for and that we too will be able to be accepted by God.

It gives us hope that we can have the strength to keep going.

It gives us a hope that there is life after death.

:22 "Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us.

:23 "When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive.

:24 "And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see."

:25 Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!

:26 "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"

:27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

Lesson

A rational faith

The fulfillment of prophecy.

It was no mistake. There was no accident. Jesus didn’t “become” the Christ. He was the Christ.

If you will take time to look at the facts, it really isn’t all that hard to have faith.

:28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther.

:29 But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent." And He went in to stay with them.

:30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.

Lesson

Communion, remembering Jesus

It was just a couple of days ago when Jesus had been in the Upper Room with His disciples. He gave them something to do to remember Him. Paul wrote about this:

:31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.

They “remembered” Jesus. That’s all that Jesus wanted them to do – to remember Him.

:32 And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"

Lesson

Open the Scriptures …

One of the things that Jesus did with these fellows to help them on the road was to open the Scriptures to them.

God’s Word stimulates our faith.

(Rom 10:17 NKJV) So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

:33 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,

:34 saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"

:35 And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.

Having a hard time on the road of life? Feel like you’ve been run over by a truck?

Fellowship – Take time to be with the brothers and sisters, talk about Jesus

Believe

You have a rational faith. There are reasons to believe.

There is hope in the resurrection. There is more to life than what you see.

Open the Scriptures

Tell others – share your faith.