Road to Emmaus

Text: Luke 24:32.  “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?"

Opening Comments

      At about sunset on Wednesday, the 13th day of Nisan, probably only minutes before the 14^th day the month began, Jesus' body was buried in a tomb in Joseph's Garden. A little over three days later, very early in the morning on Sunday, the 17th of Nisan, three women went to the tomb and found it empty. (Matthew 28:1). Jesus’ body was not there. He rose from the dead, and likely left the tomb, before sunset marked the end of the Sabbath.  

Are you with me so far?  Do you understand what I said? Jesus of Nazareth died on the cross at Calvary two days earlier than most people believe. He was not crucified on “Good Friday” and He was not resurrected on Easter Sunday morning. He died, and was buried on Wednesday. His resurrection was on Saturday.

Was Jesus truthful?

Do you believe Jesus always meant what He said? If you do you’ll have to agree - He was crucified at least thirty-six hours earlier than tradition says. Didn’t He say, on several occasions and in more than one way, that He would rise again three days after He was buried?

How much time would have elapsed between a burial just before sunset on a Friday evening and a resurrection just before sunrise on a Sunday morning? The answer is not “three days;” it is “thirty-six hours.” That fact has led other people to check the record. Perhaps it will pique your curiosity too? It is foolish to believe everything you hear about the Bible, no matter who says it. So read it yourself and read it carefully.

Explanation

Our day does not begin at sunrise; it begins at midnight. The Hebrew day begins six hours earlier than ours, at sunset. Tradition, which seems to ignore the time difference, limits Jesus’ time in the grave to about half as long as He was there.   But Jesus said He would rise from the dead “on the third day” (Luke 18:33), after being in the grave for “three days and three nights.” (Mat. 12:40). 

Passover requirements  

The Hebrews celebrated Passover after sunset on the 14th of Nisan (or Abib). Their lambs were killed, and prepared for the Passover meal three hours earlier, at 3 PM on the 13^th. Those two events took place only three hours apart but they were separated by a sunset. So the commemorative meal that was prepared on the 13th was eaten on the 14^th.

Jesus of Nazareth was God’s Paschal Lamb. His blood would cover the promise associated with all sin offerings over the years, including lambs killed in Passover celebrations. He completed his role as the ultimate sacrifice on the 13^th of Nisan - while the Jews were preparing their own lambs for that year’s Passover celebration.

Jesus and His Disciples celebrated the Last Super a day early that year. John 18:28, John 19:14, and Matthew 27:62 indicate He died on the day of preparation. Preparation day, the 13th of Nisan, was Wednesday, not Friday. So Jesus died on Wednesday afternoon and was buried just before sunset the same day. Since He said He would rise again on the third day, after three days and three nights in the tomb, the resurrection took place just before sunset on Saturday, the 16^th of Nisan. 

Scripture Reading

Now I want to talk about an incident that took place Sunday afternoon, as recorded in Luke 24:13-19. “Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened.  So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.  And He said to them, ‘What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are Sad?’ 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?’ And He said to them, ‘What things?’ And 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.’”

The meeting

When the risen Lord Jesus approached Cleopas, and another disciple on the road to Emmaus, He asked about their conversation and why they were sad. Their reply centered on unfulfilled hopes. They had counted on Jesus of Nazareth as Israel’s Messiah but he died on a cross and was buried. They were confused, too, because His body was missing. Some women had discovered His tomb empty very early that Sunday morning.  

Jesus explained   

Luke 24:25-27 tells us Jesus used the Scriptures to give the two disciples some insight on the events in question and how they fit into God’s plan for man’s redemption. “Then He said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!  Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?’  And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”

Jesus said, in effect, "Don't let circumstances mislead you. Remember what you were taught. Consider the Scriptural prophecies concerning the Messiah. Then He recalled pertinent Scriptures, applying them to His own experiences.

Excitement

It must have been exciting.  Imagine the things Jesus must have said and how the men were thrilled by the truth of His words. Their hopes were justified after all. He was Israel’s Messiah. God planned Jesus’ life and death in order to free men from sin’s penalty. He also advertised coming events in advance so Jesus could be recognized for who He was.

Luke 24:32 indicates the two disciples were excited by Jesus’ revelations. “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?’" I trust your heart will “burn” within you - as we consider some of the things Jesus could have discussed with those disciples. What He did for them, He did for us too. God’s love is universal and timeless.  As Romans 5:8 says, He demonstrated “His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

Discourse

Biblical Scripture contains many references to our Lord in the Old Testament. Where, do you suppose, would Jesus have begun His discourse?

1.       At the beginning, perhaps? 

      Where Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” it used the Hebrew word “Elohim,” which describes Almighty God in a plural sense.” Although “The LORD our God is one LORD” (Deuteronomy 6:4), and we are to have no other God’s before Him (Mark 12:29), He expresses Himself in more than one personality. Proverbs 30:4 speaks of God the Father, asking “What is His name and what is His Son’s name, If you know?” (John 1:2-3).

Jesus spoke of God’s plurality too, saying, “I and my Father are one.” (John 10:30). And Jesus meant what He said. The Apostle John referred to His oneness with God when he wrote;  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

As “God the Word,” Jesus participated in creation. “He was in the beginning with God, All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” (John 1:2-3). As “God the Son,” Jesus paid the price to redeem fallen men from the penalty of sin. (John 3:16).

2.       The solitary one

            By His own decision, God the Son would become the “Daysman” or mediator between God and man that Job longed for, one “Who may lay his hand on us both.” (Job 9:33).

God the Father prepared a human body for His Son to occupy (Hebrews 10:5) so He could “come” into the world to do the Father “will.”  (Psalm 40:6-8).       Psalm 68:6 predicted that event, and man’s reaction, saying, “God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.”

The word “solitary” can be translated to “The unique One,” God’s only, only begotten Son. (Strong’s Greek 3173, and TWOT 858a). “Families” refers to Jesus’ humanity. God the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, was born into a human family. His mother descended through the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and David. He came to live as a man and die for man’s sins. Those who accept His gift are born-again through the blood of Jesus and enter into prosperity as joint heirs with their Lord. Those who refuse salvation through Jesus remain bound in the dry land of lost sinners eternally, unable to experience the joys of son ship.

3.   First promise

            Genesis, Chapter 3, contains the first recorded promise of man’s redeemer in the person of Jesus Christ. God stated it when He pronounced sentence on the serpent. Verse 15 speaks to Satan: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

When Adam sinned he died spiritually. His descendants inherited his dead spiritual condition. Redemption would come when one of Eve's offspring overcame Satan. Jesus was the "offspring of Eve” but not of Adam. As God’s sinless Son He could become the Messiah. Spikes bruised his heels at the cross; Satan’s head was bruised in the process.

      4.   Our determined Savior

            At this point, Jesus could have told them of His commitment as man’s savior before anyone sinned. He was  “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8). He probably reminded them, too, of His prediction that He would be rejected, killed, and resurrected on the third day. Matthew recorded His claim: “From that time Jesus began to show to his disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.” (Matthew 16:21). Isaiah predicted Jesus’ resolve in the face of His certain rejection. He knew what awaited Him in Jerusalem but He went anyway. “For the Lord GOD will help me; Therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore have I set my face like a flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed. (Isaiah 50:7).

       5.      Y’shuwah our salvation

First Peter, Chapter One, speaks of Old Testament prophets trying to understand the “sufferings” of Christ at Calvary and “the glory that should follow.” (Verses 10 & 11). Peter said we were “not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold,” but “with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (Verses 18-20). As Peter would tell the Jews at Pentecost, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this same Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2:36).

One word that Biblical prophets used often, but may not have understood, was “salvation.” The first recorded use of that word says, “I have waited for your salvation, O LORD.” (Genesis 49:18). The word used there for “salvation” was “y’shuwah,” the Hebrew name for Jesus.  Jesus became salvation for us when He died at Calvary.

More

There are other prophecies concerning y’shuwah’s coming too. Jesus may have quoted some of them on the road to Emmaus: “The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation: He is my God, and I will praise Him; my father's God, and I will exalt him.” (Exodus 15:2). “Oh that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When God brings back the captivity of his people, Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.” (Psalms 53:6). “He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of his people He will take away from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken. And it will be said in that day: ‘Behold, this is our God; We have waited for him, and He will save us. This is the LORD; We have waited for Him; We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.’” (Isaiah 25:8-9).

6.   The Paschal Lamb

Jesus must have explained His role as the ultimate Paschal Lamb. Exodus 12 describes the first Passover celebration, where the blood of lambs protected the Israelites when death claimed the firstborn of Egypt.  The lamb’s blood had no merit of its own. God accepted it as a temporary remedy.  It would cover confessed and forsaken sins only until Jesus’ blood was shed at Calvary. Every animal sacrifice pointed to Jesus Christ as the One “who would take away the sins of the world.” (John 1:29).

7.       Isaiah’s predictions

As I indicated earlier, Jesus role was determined before man’s creation.  He was “foreordained as the lamb without blemish and without spot, before the foundation of the world.” (1 Peter 1:19-20). Isaiah recorded His death many years beforehand:  “Surely He has borne our grief’s And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 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.  He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.” (Isaiah 53:4-7).

Jesus was smitten for our sins. He bore our sorrows. He carried our grief. He was afflicted and oppressed without complaint. These disciples knew it happened as predicted. Isaiah 53:12 says, “He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.” How did Jesus pray on the cross? He asked, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34). Isaiah 55:12 said He would be numbered with the transgressors. Luke 23:33 says He was crucified between two criminals. He died where lawbreakers were commonly executed. Isaiah 53:9 said He would “make His grave ... with the rich at His death.” Luke 23:50-53 says He was buried in the new, unused tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, a very rich Jew.

      8.   The suffering Savior

Psalm 22 described the scene at the Cross, long before Jesus died there: Perhaps Jesus quoted that Psalm to the disciples as they walked to Emmaus. 1. My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?  Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning? 7. All those who see Me laugh Me to scorn; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head saying, "He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!"  14. I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me.  15. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death.  16. For dogs have surrounded Me; The assembly of the wicked has enclosed Me, They pierced My hands and My feet; 17. I can count all My bones.  They look and stare at Me.  18. They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots. Jesus suffered humiliation and indignities at Calvary, being surrounded by dogs (Gentiles), as soldiers cast lots for his clothing. (Luke 23:34).

9.   The first coming

The Bible predicted the first coming of Christ over and over again.  Jesus likely related many of those predictions for the two disciples: Moses: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear.” (Deut. 1:8:15).  Balaam:  “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel.” (Numbers 24:17). Malachi: “But to you who fear My name, The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves.” (Malachi 4:2). Isaiah:  “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign:  Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”  (Isaiah 7:14). Micah:  “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathath, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth have been from of old, From everlasting.” (Micah 5:2). Malachi: “Behold, I send My messenger. And he will prepare the way before Me.  And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple. Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight.  Behold, He is coming,” Says the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 3:1).

10.       Epiphany

Some people did not need to await Christ’s incarnation to see Him. He appeared in bodily form to more than one person in Old Testament times. He may have mentioned some of those incidents to the two disciples, including His walking and talking with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

As Jesus said in John 4:24, God is a Spirit.  Jesus Christ is the One in whom “dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” (Colossians 2:9). Adam and Eve must have seen “God the Son” in the Garden of Eden. The animals that died so He could make clothing for them foretold His own death to pay for man’s sins. (Genesis 3:21).

Abraham saw the pre-incarnate Christ. Jesus said, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad. (John 8:56-58). Genesis 18:1 records a specific incident: “Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. Jacob saw, and wrestled with the pre-incarnate Christ. (Genesis 32:30). Joshua saw Jesus and worshipped Him. (Joshua 5:13-15). Isaiah saw Him “In the year that King Uzziah died” “sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.” (Isaiah 6:1).

King Nebuchadnezzar saw Jesus in a burning furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and said His form was “like the Son of God.” (Daniel. 3:25). Daniel saw Jesus in a vision:  “One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven!” “His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed. (Daniel. 7:13).  

11.      Encouragement

The two disciples were encouraged. Now they knew, Jesus’ death was a triumph, not a tragedy. Genesis 22:18 said, “In Him, all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Isaiah 53:11 said: By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. He justified us when He became “the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” (Romans. 10:4).  He “who knew no sin” became “sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Cor. 5:21).

Jesus quoted Isaiah 61:1-3 at Nazareth, identifying Himself with that prophecy: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted. To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God:  To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.” Then Jesus told the Nazarenes,  "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." (Luke 4:21). 

Jesus may have quoted Psalm 30 in His dissertation on the road to Emmaus. Verses 4 and 5 speak of sorrow turned to joy for the Disciples. “Sing praise to the LORD, You saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.”

The joy described by verses 4 and 5 came to the disciples because of Christ’s resurrection. Verses 11 & 12 speak of His own rejoicing:  “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.  O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.”

12.      Second Coming

Thank God for Jesus of Nazareth. Aren't you glad He was able to complete His assignment as our Redeemer? Are you looking forward to His soon return? The Bible predicts His second coming. Perhaps He quoted one of the oldest prophecies to the Disciples who walked with Him to Emmaus. Genesis 49:10 says:  “The Scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.”

Jesus will not return as the sacrificial lamb.  He fulfilled that role when He bound "his donkey to the vine, And his donkey's colt to the choice vine, as He washed his garments in wine, And his clothes in the blood of grapes.” (Genesis 49:11). He will return as the Lion of Judah who must be obeyed, wielding the scepter of authority and ruling His millennial kingdom with a rod of iron. (Revelation 19:15).

Job probably did not know there would be two advents of the Messiah he said:  “I know that my redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another.  How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19).

Isaiah could not have known 2000 years would pass between a partial and a complete fulfillment of his prophecy: “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given, And the government will be upon His shoulder.  And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever.  The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7).

Jesus Identity

Gideon called the pre-incarnate Christ “Jehovah Shaloam,” (Judges 6:24); a name used for God. Jesus called Himself I AM. (John 8:58 and John 18:5). God identified Himself as “I Am” to Moses. (Exodus 3:14).

David spoke of Jesus in Psalm 110:1: “The LORD said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, Til I make Your enemies Your footstool.’" And Jesus is the LORD we are encouraged to seek, Till He comes and rains righteousness upon us. (Hosea 10:12).

At Pentecost Peter said, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”  (Acts 3:36).  That, I believe, is the impression the two disciples received from our Lord as He spoke with them on the Road to Emmaus.

Jesus of Nazareth is both Lord and Christ. It was neither an accident nor a coincidence that the hearts of the disciples burned within them as they walked with Him to Emmaus. He arranged the encounter.

Luke, Chapter 24, indicates Jesus arranged another meeting for later that same evening, after the two disciples returned to Jerusalem to recount their experience. He appeared there to “open” their “understanding,” so they could preach “repentance and remission of sins - in His name to all nations.” (Luke 24:47).

Those men, and others of their generation, did turn the world upside down - with news they learned from personal experiences with their Lord. (Acts 17:6). Are you are prepared to share their vision and their response?  Don't wait too long. The age of Grace is about over.

If you are not a born-again Christian, begin an eternal relationship with Him today. Trust Him as your redeemer, and serve Him as your Lord. Jesus said, "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out." (John 6:37).  But people must be invited to come to Him. And that’s your job.

You need to be involved in fulfilling the Great Commission. Will He find you working for Him when He gets here? Study your Bible. Find out what it says to you. Learn to share the truths of the gospel accurately and effectively as God leads you.

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David E. Beneze, Colorado Springs, CO, 06/08/1992. Inspired by Miles Monroe on TBN. See also, “The Day of Debt,” in Chuck Missler’s “Personal Update” Volume 10, No. 4, April 2000. Latest revision, 26 February 2007.