Opening Scriptures, Opened Eyes
Luke 24: 13 Now that same day two of them were on their way to a village called Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 Together they were discussing everything that had taken place. 15 And while they were discussing and arguing, Jesus himself came near and began to walk along with them. 16 But they were prevented from recognizing him. 17 Then he asked them, “What is this dispute that you’re having with each other as you are walking?” And they stopped walking and looked discouraged. 18 The one named Cleopas answered him, “Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that happened there in these days?” 19 “What things?” he asked them. So they said to him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet powerful in action and speech before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him. 21 But we were hoping that he was the one who was about to redeem Israel. Besides all this, it’s the third day since these things happened. 22 Moreover, some women from our group astounded us. They arrived early at the tomb, 23 and when they didn’t find his body, they came and reported that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they didn’t see him.” 25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Wasn’t it necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted for them the things concerning himself in all the Scriptures. 28 They came near the village where they were going, and he gave the impression that he was going farther. 29 But they urged him, “Stay with us, because it’s almost evening, and now the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 It was as he reclined at the table with them that he took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, but he disappeared from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Weren’t our hearts burning within us while he was talking with us on the road and explaining the Scriptures to us?” 33 That very hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem. They found the Eleven and those with them gathered together, 34 who said, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they began to describe what had happened on the road and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
The minds and hearts of the disciples are revealed in this text. They were downcast, depressed, discouraged, even arguing with each other. All because of Jesus. They rightly believed that his words and miracles proved he was sent from God. They rightly believed he was sentenced unjustly by the Jewish leaders. But above all they believed, as far as they knew, he was still dead. They had hoped he would be the Messiah who would in some sense redeem Israel. But that did not seem likely now.
But they had also become confused because of reports from some of the women who had been to the tomb, claiming to have seen angels who talked to them and who supposedly told them Jesus was alive again. This seemed nonsensical. But two others – Peter and John – had gone to the tomb and confirmed it was empty.
At this point, these two only knew the tomb was empty and no one had yet seen a risen Jesus. They were not sure what to believe. “We only have confirmation of his death,” they were thinking. “We have been in Jerusalem since Jesus was killed on Friday and this is now Sunday, but we have not seen him alive nor has anyone told us, as of right now, they have seen him alive. Now we’re going home to Emmaus with our fear, discouragement, confusion, no real hope – not yet anyway.”
They had believed Jesus was the Messiah and would redeem Israel. But what did that mean to them? They had likely been influenced by the popular Jewish understanding of the Messiah of that time. It would have been similar to how we might think of a certain candidate for president: if such and such a person is elected, he would help establish or restore civility, prosperity, sanity, safer streets, less crime, less poverty, better health, secure freedom of speech and religion, respect for the sanctity of life, true marriage, etc.
This was how many back then viewed the coming Jewish Messiah; many were hoping Jesus would be a political Messiah. These two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and perhaps most of the other disciples of Jesus, were influenced by the popular idea of a political Messiah, who would rescue or redeem the Jews from political oppression and bring about political peace and earthly prosperity for Israel.
So, if this had been the thinking of these two disciples on the road to Emmaus – where all they knew for sure was that Jesus had been handed over by the Jewish leaders to their political oppressors, the Romans, who then killed him – no wonder they were greatly discouraged, depressed, and even arguing with one another.
Before these events occurred, Jesus had explained all this to them: he told them he had not come to bring earthly or political peace. He also had clearly told his disciples numerous times that a terrible suffering and death would be, needed to be, a reality, followed by his resurrection on the third day. They had been forewarned.
And yet they found themselves to be greatly discouraged, sad, scared, at each other’s throats, and without hope. Why? Because to some degree they bought into the popular cultural understanding of the Messiah – “We thought you would redeem Israel in a political way, in an earthly way!” They had bought into a wrong understanding – a popular cultural understanding – of the Messiah.
But that also pointed to a second thing they had been doing. According to their own words, they were only focusing on and believing those prophecies that spoke of his amazing miracles and captivating words. But they were ignoring and not trusting in those sections that predicted his suffering and death followed by his resurrection.
I want you to remember and understand the power and influence of popular cultural religious assumptions. Popular cultural assumptions can easily become true in one’s mind even though they are not true. We saw this in the last several centuries in many countries dominated by Christian churches: a different understanding of Jesus Christ became popular. A number of scholars and theologians decided to figure out who the real historical Jesus was. There’s nothing wrong with such a quest; in fact, it is a noble one, one that Jesus encouraged people to think about (like when he asked the question, “Who do people say that I am?”). The scholars who pursued this question were men like Thomas Jefferson, Albert Schweitzer, David Friedrich Strauss, Rudolf Bultmann, and others, asking, “who really was Jesus?” But of one thing they were all sure. They were all sure that the real historical Jesus could not be the Jesus of the Gospels, of Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John. That is because they all shared one assumption that made the Jesus of the Bible impossible: they all essentially said that miracles were not possible. The miraculous cannot be true. That is still a popular view. In their quest for the historical Jesus, they throw out the true historical Jesus.
Today there are also other popular cultural religious assumptions that get in the way of the true understanding of the Messiah Jesus. Perhaps the most popular one is the one you see being advertised by churches that display a pride flag, banner, or poster outside their church. That pride flag is redefining Jesus, it is expressing their belief that Jesus accepts, affirms, and approves of beliefs and lifestyles that God and his Word have always condemned, along with all other sins. But Jesus did not come to approve and affirm sin, but to forgive sin, all sin, and to forgive sinners, of whom I am the worst. The point is, what is popular can easily get in the way of the real Jesus and he can be easily lost. That’s what happens when something interferes with the true and biblical understanding of Jesus, the Messiah, the Redeemer.
Now back to these two disciples. They were discouraged, sad, scared, confused, and without hope, influenced by the world around them and their own unbelief. And they tell Jesus about their discouragement and confusion and fears and unbelief found in their hearts and their minds. And Jesus listens, even though they do not know it is him.
What does Jesus do for these two confused, discouraged, scared sheep after they unburden themselves to him? After they unload their discouragement and doubts and hopelessness? Two things. First, he rebukes them: “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Wasn’t it necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and enter into his glory?” In other words, “You are missing a big part of the prophetic picture of the Messiah. You are focusing on and believing only those parts that predict his amazing miracles and captivating words. You are ignoring and not trusting in those sections that predict his suffering and death, followed by his resurrection.” That’s the first thing he does.
And here’s the second thing Jesus did for them: “Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted for them the things concerning himself in all the Scriptures.” He takes them to the Bible. “Let’s put culture aside, let’s do a Bible study, book by book. Because what this book is about, more than anything, is me, even though right now I am keeping you from recognizing me.” And that’s what he did. No one knows the Old Testament better than Jesus. He is the author.
Every major event in the life of Christ was predicted and described in the Old Testament. His conception and virgin birth, his birthplace, where he would grow up, his identity as both man and God, the one who would prepare the way before him, his miracles, the good news he preached, who he claimed himself to be, his arrest, his suffering, his crucifixion, his death, his coming to life; plus, the reason for all of this: the forgiveness of all the sins, and peace – not political peace, but eternal peace with God – and eternal health, eternal prosperity, and eternal life. It’s all there predicted and described in pages of Genesis through Malachi.
He explains all this to them before he allows them to recognize him. He opens the Scriptures to them, he explains the Bible to them. And what do they say? “Weren’t our hearts burning within us while he was talking with us on the road and explaining (opening) the Scriptures to us?” It is exciting to see Christ in the Scriptures. Only there do we find the real Christ. And only in him do we find the remedy for our sins, doubts, fears, and hopelessness.
There are two kinds of prophecies of Christ in the Old Testament. There are what we can direct prophecies that tell us who he is and what he would do or be done to him. That would include passages like Ps. 22, Isaiah 7 and 53, Micah 5, and many others that describe his immaculate conception, place of birth, his miracles, his identity, his suffering, death, and resurrection. But we also have what are called typological prophecies or types of Christ; we could also call them picture prophecies – objects or people in the Old Testament that foreshadow or point to Christ. This would include, for example, Adam as a type of Christ, but also Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, the kings, especially King David, the priests, the prophets – they are all pictures of or foreshadow Christ.
They of course are all fallen and often fail in their roles. But they all point to their perfect fulfillment, the one who would not fall or fail. Why not? Because he was the almighty God in human flesh and because this almighty God in human flesh loved sinners, all sinners, unconditionally and sacrificially.
And that’s what these two disciples on the road to Emmaus heard explained to them. And then with their own eyes they saw that the one explaining all this was the one who had died, willingly and necessarily, for them, but was now very much alive. They go from scared, discouraged, confused, hopeless sinners to joyful, comforted, hopeful, and forgiven sinners. And so may we.
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