Luke 24:13-35 When the women went to the tomb on the first day of the week, they had no expectation of actually seeing Jesus alive. We know this because they took with them spices to prepare Jesus body for its final burial. When Jesus died on Friday they did not have time to anoint and wrap his body according to the customs because it was so close to sundown, and then came the Sabbath when they were not allowed to do any work, and so now they went to the tomb early in the morning to get Jesus body ready for his final burial. There was no expectation and no hope of meeting Jesus that day, but all that changed when they arrived at the tomb and found the stone rolled away. Now what happens from there is a little uncertain. While the gospel accounts of the resurrection are all clear about the women going to the tomb with spices, once they get there and see the stone rolled away, the details get a little more uncertain.
From the gospels we hear that angels were there telling the women that Jesus is not dead but alive. The women go and tell the disciples what has happened, Peter and John run to the tomb to find only the grave clothes lying inside, and then at some point after all the others have left, Mary encounters Jesus outside the tomb in the garden. The news of an open and empty tomb and maybe a risen Jesus are so staggering that it is understandable that things get a little confused, and little confused is how we find these two followers of Jesus who were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Remember that Jesus doesn’t appear to all of the disciples until later in the day, and so as these 2 men are walking along the road all they know for certain is that Jesus had died a few days ago, but now his grave was empty, his body missing and there is this story that some of the women had seen him.
What’s interesting to me is that even with all this information these followers of Jesus are leaving the city of Jerusalem. If they had any hope that Jesus was alive you would have thought they would have stuck around to see him, but it says they were leaving the city and on the road to Emmaus, it’s like they had given up. Even their words show that they had given up, they said, we had hoped he was the one who would redeem Israel. They had hope, but they don’t have any hope now. As they are walking along the road in their disappointment and doubts – Jesus appears and begins to walk with them. They haven’t asked Jesus to walk with them, they aren’t looking for Jesus, and they don’t even think Jesus is alive, but Jesus is there none the less and this, to me, is one of the fundamental truths of the resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus means that Jesus is here. We don’t have to go search for him, we don’t have to beg Jesus to come to us, we don’t even have to ask him to come and be with us because he is just here. Even if we have doubts about our faith or disappointments about how things seem to turn out, Jesus is here. We may not have come here this morning expecting to meet Jesus or hear his voice or see his presence, but he is here. Just as Jesus appeared along the road to Emmaus, Jesus is here today – that is what the resurrection of Jesus is all about, God coming to be with us.
Now look at what Jesus does when he appears. At first he just listens. Jesus begins just listening to the conversation of these men and then he asks them a few questions to get them to open up even more and they not only share what they have heard about Jesus, but they also share their shattered hopes and dreams. They share with Jesus how they had hoped he would have been the one to redeem Israel. They shared the longing and the desire of their hearts to see the goodness and the kingdom of God, and Jesus simply listens.
The resurrection of Jesus means that Jesus is not only with us; it means that Jesus is here to listen. He doesn’t interrupt, he doesn’t rebuke, he doesn’t laugh or ridicule and he doesn’t reject us as we share, he simply listens. We can share with Jesus today the deepest longings of our heart. We can share our hopes and dreams as well as our shattered hopes and dreams. We can share with God our failures and disappointments, even our anger and our fears. We can even share with Jesus our doubts and questions about him. Isn’t that what these disciples are doing? They are sharing with Jesus their doubts about him, wondering why he did not redeem Israel and save God’s people, and Jesus listens.
But Jesus doesn’t just listen, after he has heard from these two men, he shares with them the truth and the love of God. It says that beginning with Moses and then going through the whole history of Israel, Jesus taught them about the Messiah and his work and the kingdom of God. The resurrection of Jesus shows us that Jesus comes back to speak to his disciples and give them truth that will bring them hope. For us, the resurrection of Jesus means that Jesus is still speaking. Jesus speaks to us today if we will be willing to listen. I believe there are three primary ways God speaks with us today. First and foremost God speaks through his word. The bible is said to be living and active, which means it speaks to our lives and the situations we find ourselves in. If we will take the time to listen to God’s word – we will hear what we need. If we need comfort – it is here. If we need hope – it is here. If we need forgiveness and grace – it is here. If we need guidance and direction – we can find it here. God’s word still speaks which is why it is important to take the time to listen.
God also speaks through his people. God speaks profound truth through the wisdom and experience of his people which is why it is important for us to spend time talking to one another not just about families and jobs and sports, but about how God is working and moving in our lives. Together we are called the body of Christ, and as the body of Christ we have a mouth to share the word of God with one another. And the third way I believe God still speaks is simply through the power of God’s Holy Spirit, and this can be experienced in so many ways. We can hear God speak through the world around us, through a still small voice in the depth of our heart, or through a conscience that gives us direction. Through the Holy Spirit, God speaks in a variety of ways. In different ways God spoke to Abraham, Moses and Elijah as well as Peter, and the apostle Paul and while we don’t know how God spoke, but we know he did, and I believe God still speaks to us clearly through his spirit.
So we see from this Emmaus road encounter with Jesus that the resurrection means that Jesus is with us, and that he listens to our hearts and hopes and dreams and speaks words of encouragement, grace and truth, and then comes the crucial moment in the story. As the disciples come near to the village where they are staying Jesus walked ahead of them like he was going to keep on going, but it says the disciple urged him strongly to stay. Let me put this another way, the disciples invited Jesus to enter into their lives.
The resurrection of Jesus isn’t just about Jesus overcoming sin and the grave. It is that, and that victory assures us of eternal life but the resurrection of Jesus opens the door for us to invite the living Christ into our lives so that our eyes can be opened to what real life is all about. That’s what happens to these men on the road to Emmaus. It is after they invited Jesus to stay with them that their eyes and hearts were opened in the breaking of the bread, and it was after seeing Jesus clearly that their lives changed forever.
It is only after we invite Jesus into our lives and accept for ourselves his love and grace and power that our eyes will be fully opened to the power of Jesus and the potential of new life. It is when we accept Jesus as our savior that we begin to experience the healing touch of God’s grace and feel the power of God helping us overcome sin and the failures of our lives. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, it means we are trusting Christ for complete forgiveness and with that forgiveness comes a wholeness and freedom that allows us to experience a new life, and when we accept Jesus as our Lord we begin to live into that new life by following Jesus where he leads us. When we accept Jesus as our Lord we are giving him the opportunity to work in our lives the way God wants to, and I can tell you right now that what God wants for you and for me is new life. God wants us to experience the full measure of life and love and joy and peace and all of that is possible because of the resurrection of Jesus, and all of that will come if we will invite Jesus to enter our live and then be willing to go where his spirit leads us.
New life is what the two disciples experienced after their eyes and hearts were opened. The day began with doubts and fears, they walked along the road hopeless and confused, but after they experience the Risen Jesus, they are changed. They are filled with hope and joy – it says their hearts burned within them, and they have a renewed sense of purpose – they returned to Jerusalem to share this good news with others.
The resurrection of Jesus is all about new life, not just a new life for Jesus, but new life for each and every one of us. The resurrection of Jesus is about experiencing hope and joy and possibility because God is with us. Whatever seems hopeless and impossible today – the resurrection of Jesus can change. If our financial and job situation is hopeless, God can open up for us doors of new possibilities. If our relationships, marriages and families are going through difficult times, God can bring healing and grace and love and teach us how and who we need to forgive. If we struggle to see the value and the worth in our lives, God can open our eyes so that we can see ourselves the way God does. If Jesus died and rose again for us, then God must see something good in us. God sees in us value and worth and potential and the resurrection of Jesus can help us see all of that as well. The resurrection of Jesus can change everything because it tells us that there is no power or force greater than God. If God can raise Jesus from the dead, then there is no situation, no relationship and no person beyond God’s ability to heal, restore and transform.
These followers of Jesus were different when they returned to Jerusalem, and we can be different when we return home today if we will invite Jesus into our lives and allow his power and love to bring us life. That’s what the resurrection of Jesus is all about.
