The Journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus

Easter 3—30 April 2017—Bow Brickhill Benefice Service

Gospel Luke 24

Alleluia, alleluia. I am the first and the last, says the Lord, and the living one; I was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore. Alleluia.

On the road to Emmaus

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. 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 recognising 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 the only one visiting Jerusalem who does 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. 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 they did not see Jesus.’

²⁵ He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Did not the Messiah 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 continued on as if he were going further. 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 recognised 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. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together ³⁴ and saying, ‘It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.’ ³⁵ Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognised by them when he broke the bread.

Sermon

Road to Emmaus
Many people’s favourite story. Puzzling—many unknowns. Fast paced—9 different verbs describing movement. Occurs only in Luke—Easter Day afternoon just after passion narrative.

Unknowns
No one knows where Emmaus was—7 miles from Jerusalem. Only one traveller is named—Cleopas appears nowhere else in gospels—his companion not named. Did Luke actually know?

Luke dives right in:

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.

Two of whom?—probably an ‘outer circle’ including certain women (Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James) and the others with them—travellers to Emmaus not of the ‘Twelve’ disciples. Were they men—or was one a woman?

Some of this group—especially women—had visited tomb early Easter morning—they were involved and active—not peripheral.

Jesus not recognised—even when expounds and explains Scriptures, until Eucharistic meal—words used clear parallel to Last Supper—almost identical in NT Greek.

Perhaps ‘outer circle’ not as familiar with Jesus during his ministry as the immediate disciples. “They were kept from recognising him” may even mean influence of Holy Spirit in delaying recognition until Jesus revealed in breaking of bread.

Journey — PART ONE
The Two—discussing momentous events of past few days in Jerusalem—Jesus joined in—unusual he was accepted as a stranger—roads dangerous and travellers avoided contact with possible robbers.

Even ‘outer circle’ familiar with Jesus’ Messianic claims:
‘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.

Then they described visit of women to the tomb—vision of angels—some of ‘outer circle’ visited tomb and verified what women had seen—did not see Jesus.

Jesus condemned the foolishness of The Two. He explained how the Messiah must suffer—according to Scriptures—and how these Scriptures applied to himself. By this time the 3 had reached Emmaus—about 2½ hours in all.

Jesus the stranger wants to continue alone—the Two persuade him to accept their hospitality—walking alone after dusk is very risky.

Journey — PART TWO
Eucharistic formula renders Jesus immediately recognisable—just as the words used are instantly familiar to us:

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 recognised 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?’

This ‘theophany’—recognition of Divine—opens their eyes to Jesus’s presence and immediately signals his disappearance from their sight.

Cleopas and the other disciple, in spite of the danger, set off to walk back to Jerusalem—they report to the 11 what has happened and confirm Simon Peter’s report that Christ had risen from the dead. They both recall how their hearts had been burning within them along the way, as Jesus expounded to them the Scriptures.

Significance
The empty tomb is the foundation of our faith—this point Paul makes in 1 Corinthians 15:

¹⁴ … if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.  ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.  ¹⁹ If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

You might say—we cannot witness to the empty tomb, can we? I would make 3 points:

1. The Emmaus story shows how the first Christians did not believe because of what was said by Jesus or by others. His resurrection was not self-evident to his followers—the reason they came to believe was because he appeared to them.

Even so, we cannot believe by reason of our own intellect or strength—it is through action of the Holy Spirit that we come to believe.

2. It is usually in the setting of Christian worship that we come to believe—including the exposition of the Scriptures through the readings, then in the sermon—and of course in smaller group settings like your Lent course.

But it is also in the coming together of us all round the communion table in the breaking of the bread and in our sharing of the Eucharist, Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion. This is the context in which Jesus continues to reveal himself and sustain our faith. Surely all this is clear from the events of the Emmaus road.

One theologian puts it this way:
The Christian faith is born and nurtured where people share in worship through word, gesture, and earthly means, such as water, bread, wine, and tactile expressions of mutual care--the smile, the clasp of another's hand, perhaps even an embrace.

3. As I said at the beginning—story full of movement. That movement has not stopped, even after 2,000 years—as we share in the Eucharist, sustain our belief, and take our faith into the world outside these 4 walls, we ask ourselves what is the purpose of our movement? It is not a movement for its own sake—but has a purpose.

That purpose is to tell the story of Jesus, to interpret it, to have fellowship (communion) with Jesus and others, and to share it all with others. That is what it means to be the church.

My prayer, today, is that, like the Two on the Emmaus road, we may fully recognize Christ in the breaking of the bread, and that having done so our hearts may burn with us in a new way this Eastertide. Amen