Luke 24:25-26 NIVUK
[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?’
‘I’m walking away
From the troubles in my life
I’m walking away
Oh, to find a better day’
So sang Craig David in his hit song from the year 2000.
And this is what we do, don’t we? We find ourselves in deep trouble and we walk away because we can’t take anymore.
Sometimes it’s justified. Even applauded. Like the Chinese grandmother Su Min, who left a long, abusive relationship with her husband and took to the road, living out of her van. Her travels, and the story of her life, have gone viral and even been turned into a movie.
Sometimes – and we have to be honest about this – it is not justified. Sometimes our walking away from a troubled situation actually makes things worse, and causes more trouble and pain, both for the people it affects and for us.
How many marriages could be saved, and how many children could have been saved from broken homes, if parents in non-abusive marriages who were simply having a hard time getting along had decided to stay where they were and work harder at their marriage?
There are times when it’s the right thing to do.
There are times when it’s completely the wrong thing to do.
Let me tell you something about the encounter on the road to Emmaus that you may not have noticed: this well-known encounter is actually about walking away.
And the situation these men were walking away from was a lot harder than most of us will ever face.
Jesus has been killed on the cross. He has been dead for three days. His body, as far as they were concerned, was lying in a stone cold tomb. There would be a not-entirely unfounded worry among the disciples that any one of them could be next. They were in Jerusalem. They were no doubt living in fear.
So we can, I’m sure, understand why anyone would want to get out of that situation and walk away. We get it.
But they were walking away from where Jesus had told them to be.
After the resurrection, He went ahead of them to Galilee (Matthew 26:32; Mark 14:28). They later returned to Jerusalem, where He told them to remain until the Holy Spirit came upon them in power (Acts 1:4-5).
But He gave no such command about Emmaus.
Emmaus was given that name likely because hot springs were present. It’s likely the case that these disciples, their heads still spinning from all that had happened, wanted to escape from the pressure of Jerusalem and take a break to ease their troubled minds.
However, we cannot be certain of whether they would have subsequently walked even further away from where they should be.
And so these disciples have become a symbol of all who have had too much, who can’t take any more, who desperately need an escape from the stress and the strain.
Does that sound familiar?
Isn’t it just a part of the fallen human condition?
Yet there are three aspects of this journey that could have eased their stress, and will likely ease ours too.
The first of these is The Person They Did Not Perceive.
The Person They Did Not Perceive
Luke 24:13-16 NIVUK
[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.
It’s always interesting to read up on other cultures before you visit there. In Scotland, for example, it isn’t unknown for people to talk to strangers on public transport (except, perhaps, on morning and evening commutes).
In London, such an approach would receive a stare and a visual rebuke in return. It just isn’t the ‘done thing’.
In places like Tokyo, people are so hooked on their entertainment accessed through their phones that no-one would even think of such a thing.
In New York, I am reliably informed that even making eye contact can provoke an aggressive response. And in a city where guns are routinely carried, it seems to me that paying attention to that piece of cultural knowledge could be very important.
In the Middle East, however, journeys were frequently arduous and carried out on foot. They could also be dangerous. Thus it was completely normal for people to converse with strangers en route. You could even end up relying on them for safety.
So here, to see two downhearted, confused disciples discussing the events of the day with a passing stranger is not at all unusual.
But here is the thing – the critically important thing: that stranger was Jesus.
Now, perhaps we could be critical of these men. After all, they had been with Jesus for three whole years. They had spent time with Him up close and personal. We might wonder how someone who had been blessed with such proximity to the Saviour could ever seemingly forget what He looked like.
And yet there is something deeply human here. They had seen Jesus die in the most violent, painful, humiliating way possible. They had clinical proof that He was dead (John 19:31-37). They were likely aware of His burial and the stone that had been rolled in front of His grave (Mark 16:1-3; John 19:38-42) – not to mention the guard (Matthew 27:62-66).
They would simply have had no expectation at all that Jesus would have been there.
In fact, they would have every expectation that He would not be there.
And so, in their grief and their bewilderment, they did not perceive Him.
But is that not just the way?
Let me tell you that this is not the only time in Scripture when God intervenes and His people are not aware of it.
For example, Jacob received his dream of a stairway to heaven in a place he did not expect (Genesis 28:12-19).
Moses didn’t immediately grasp that the Lord was in the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-6).
When the Lord spoke to Samuel, right there in His Tent of Meeting, it took Samuel a while to realise what is happening (1 Samuel 3).
And that’s just it: sometimes God intervenes in strange ways and at strange times and places.
And often, when we are in the depths of despair and confusion, we just don’t see it. We just don’t perceive it.
But if we did – if we could sense that Jesus was right there with us, in the middle of the suffering and the pain - what an incredible difference that would make for us!
What if we could sense Him standing beside us in the white hot heat of the suffering we face (Daniel 3:25), or facing the same persecution and revilement we do (Matthew 25:34-45; Acts 9:4-5)? What difference would that make?
And here He is, walking beside two men as they seemingly walk away from Him!
What a beautiful act of grace!
So we see the person they did not perceive.
However, we also see The Plan They Did Not Perceive.
The Plan They Did Not Perceive
Luke 24:25-27 NIVUK
[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.
Have you ever seen someone for the first time in a while?
We have that experience each time we head back to the Philippines – usually every two to three years. Our family usually has no difficulty recognising us, even although time has passed and we are a little more grey (and occasionally a little more fat).
Yet these disciples, having last seen Jesus just a matter of days earlier, are so blinded by their experiences and their grief that they cannot see Him.
At first glance, Jesus’ reaction to their lack of perception might seen a little harsh.
However, this is not the case.
What Jesus does here is quite brilliant.
Now, if it was us in this situation, I’ve no doubt that we would have skipped the theology lecture and said something like, ‘Hello! Hi! It’s me. Little old me. Back from the grave. Yes, I beat death and all that. Yes, that beating and those nails really hurt, but it’s me!’
Jesus, however, had a different perspective, and this perspective ought to thrill our soul.
You see, right from the early days of His ministry, Jesus presented Himself as the fulfilment of Jewish Messianic prophesies (Luke 4:14-30).
He also stated as much to a Samaritan woman:
John 4:25-26 NIVUK
[25] The woman said, ‘I know that Messiah’ (called Christ) ‘is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.’ [26] Then Jesus declared, ‘I, the one speaking to you – I am he.’
And again to His disciples in the Upper Room:
Matthew 26:24 NIVUK
[24] The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.’
And yet, despite having witnessed many of these encounters, these disciples on the Road to Emmaus have not understood that the suffering they – and Jesus – had undergone was part of God’s plan. As far as they were concerned, this was all a failure – a grand misfortune – and now it had come to an end.
But that was not the case.
And Jesus masterfully explains this while using the prophecies these men would have grown up listening to and believing. Jesus presents Himself to them as the fulfilment of Jewish prophecy.
And that is beautiful.
What is equally as beautiful is that Jesus presented to them that God was in control the whole time, that even when events seemed to be out of control, God was still Sovereign and working out His purposes.
There is a beautiful teaching here that we often miss when we are suffering.
In fact, there are seven core truths for all who find that their suffering has pushed them onto the Road to Emmaus, which may well help turn us back to where we should be:
God loves us (John 3:16)
God knows how it feels to be us (Hebrews 4:15-16)
God is still in control (Psalm 46)
God has a plan (Jeremiah 29:11)
That plan is always, only, for our good (Romans 8:28)
Whatever we face, Jesus has overcome it (John 16:33)
Our suffering is not forever, but our salvation is (Revelation 21:1-7)
The truth Jesus expounded to them from verses they would have known since they were children – that what happened to Him was the fulfilment of Jewish Messianic prophecies – formed the basis of the teaching and theology of the early church, from both Peter (Acts 2:14-36) and Paul (Acts 9:22).
But it wasn’t just theoretical theology.
It also gave these men a framework to help them understand what had happened. It gave them a way of interpreting the horror and the pain they had experienced.
But more than that: it gave them a reason to believe.
And that, more than anything, was what they needed.
Is this something you need right now?
You will find it in the seven Core Truths I shared earlier, and in many others found in the Word of God.
So apart from the person and plan they did not perceive, we also see The Presence They Could Not Perceive.
The Presence They Could Not Perceive
Luke 24:30-32 NIVUK
[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?’
I recently heard of a very famous Hollywood actor who heard that a nearby theatre had been hired for a lookalike competition, where people would be scored on how much they resembled him, so he decided to go down there, just for some fun. He finished second...
Here we see this rather wonderful event come to its conclusion.
These men, who are heading away from the stresses and strains of Jerusalem, and perhaps even their commitment to Jesus, meet Him on the way. Without knowing, they let Him in.
By doing so, everything changes.
I want you to notice the three areas where they let Him in.
Firstly, they walk with Him. Jesus, in unfathomable grace, walks with these men, at their pace, in their direction.
Even if that direction is not quite where He would want them to go.
Jesus visits them, in their journey. And they let Him.
Jesus has entered the journey of our lives. He has come to earth and, as we saw earlier, experienced all that it means to be us.
Are we willing to walk with Him?
Secondly, they talk with Him.
This is not a small thing. During this conversation, these men willingly admit that they had placed their hope in Jesus to redeem them from Roman subjugation (Luke 24:21).
That was a very subversive fact to share. It could have put them at considerable risk.
They also shared that they had heard rumours of the resurrection (Luke 24:22-24). This was something the Jewish authorities had done all they could to stamp out (Matthew 27:62-66).
So in a few short sentences, these men have pitted themselves against the Jewish religious leadership and the Roman Empire, in a conversation with a total stranger.
He must have been very disarming.
But we see here the secret to their recovery. They are willing to have Jesus walk with them, yes, but they are also willing to talk to Him.
The way back to Jerusalem began with their willingness to talk.
I wonder, are we are willing to talk to Jesus about why it is that we have walked away?
Or are we too ashamed to admit it?
Thirdly, they eat with Him.
They extend hospitality to a fellow weary traveller, and insist that He stayed with them. So He relents.
But then...
When He breaks bread to share with them, it dawns on them at last who this had been: Jesus Christ Himself, risen and victorious over all that mankind had sought to do to Him.
They also realised how they had felt, and how the burning in their hearts should have caused them to recognise their Lord and Master.
Lastly, they immediately recognised what they must do, and hastily returned to Jerusalem to tell their fellow disciples about their encounter.
They had not fully perceived who He was. Now they did. And so they returned to where they should have been all along.
Friends, this entire encounter is a marvellous act of grace. Jesus could have rebuked these men for their lack of faith, chastised them for their lack of knowledge of Scripture, berated them for leaving Jerusalem.
But what did He do instead?
He met them where they were, on the road to Emmaus, away from Jerusalem, and gently turned them around.
We will often face stern challenges to our faith – in all likelihood, not as stern as theirs, but tough all the same. My prayer is that Jesus meets us on our Emmaus Road and turns us back to where we should be with the same grace and gentleness.
Conclusion
On Saturday 23rd June 2018, a Thai boys football team was exploring a local cave system when heavy rainfall caused it to flood very quickly.
They were trapped.
The alarm was raised and, in a rescue that made international headlines, ten thousand people joined the effort to rescue these boys and their coach. Experienced, expert cave divers from across the world converged on the location. During the rescue, one diver perished. Another died afterwards from a blood infection contracted during the rescue.
However, due to their bravery, sacrifice and courage, the boys and their coach were all rescued.
In that situation – trapped in a cold, dark cave, with water rising around you – I’m sure those boys must have asked more than once if they were beyond rescue, if they had gone too far into the cave and could no longer be helped. They would not have been able to see the intense rescue efforts on the surface, nor the rolling news coverage of their situation.
Of course, we could question the wisdom of taking boys with nothing more than t-shirts, shorts and sandals into caves for an adventure. That much is certain. But the desire to rescue them blanked that out and was simply determined to get them out of there.
Sometimes our situation is our fault: we do the crime, so we have to do the time.
At other times, like these men on the Emmaus Road, our situation is too much for us precisely because we didn’t choose it and we don’t feel like we have the resources to face it.
That is where the glorious truth comes in to play that we are not, and neither will we ever be, too far gone for Jesus.
Here, in these verses, we see three things that these two disciples did not perceive that set the scene for them to walk away: Jesus’ person, plan and presence. When it dawned on them that He was with them, even if they were walking away, their hope awakened and they rushed back to Jerusalem to share the good news.
At the heart of the Christian Gospel is a beautiful, wonderful grace that reaches down to the most undeserving and raises us up to the heights of heaven. It doesn’t matter how far we perceive that we have moved from Jesus. He can find us and rescue us even from there. As David wrote:
Psalms 139:7-12 NIVUK
[7] Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? [8] If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. [9] If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, [10] even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. [11] If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,’ [12] even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
There are many today who make it their aim to run as far as they can from Jesus.
It will never work.
It didn’t work for Jonah.
It didn’t work for the Prodigal Son.
It will not work for you.
Over the past seven weeks, we have seen time and again how people found themselves in positions that seemed to be out of God’s reach, facing struggles and problems that seemed to be insurmountable and situations that seemed interminable. And yet, consistently and without fail, God rescued them. Even death itself is no barrier.
So the question is: why keep running? What are you trying to achieve? You will never out-run God! You will never find a place where He is not!
Make 2025 the year when you stop walking away and start following Jesus.
Or better still, make it now.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I am finished walking away from You. I know that I cannot outrun You. I surrender. I will follow You. Show me how and change me to be like You, I pray. Amen.
Questions
What was so significant about this journey to Emmaus? Why was Emmaus different to Jerusalem and Galilee?
Why could the disciples not recognise Jesus? What stopped them from doing so?
How did they react when they realised who He was? Will you do the same?
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