Luke 24. I've been very struck as we've been
going through Acts of the Apostles. We have the Holy Spirit coming
in power upon the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ and there's
a remarkable verse in chapter 3 where it says that He shall
send Jesus Chapter 3, verse 20 in Acts. And he shall send Jesus which
was before preached unto you. The times, and it's called the
times of refreshing, shall come from the presence of the Lord.
So the Road to Emmaus story is well known. You know that this
is Sunday afternoon after the resurrection of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and the women have been at the tomb, and Peter had been
at the tomb, and we're not for one moment told why these two
disciples, two of them, they weren't two of the apostles,
they were two of the, probably the 70 that are recorded in Luke
chapter 10 that the Lord Jesus sent out two by two. But there
they were, these two, there in Jerusalem, was an empty tomb. There in Jerusalem was the witness
of Mary, there in Jerusalem was the witness of Peter, there in
Jerusalem were the apostles gathered. The church in a sense in that
very early day gathered as we will see later on down in Luke
24. They were gathered there and
yet these two had wandered away. I love what Genesis 49 speaks
of Judah, and it says, unto him shall the gathering of the people
be. And the Lord typifies himself as the great shepherd of his
sheep. So I just wanted to look at this
in the context of these two men. We are, we sing that song, don't
we? Prone to wander, Lord, I feel
it. Prone to leave thy courts above.
Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it. seal it to himself. Anyway, let's
read this story and we'll just walk along and I just want to
make some points out of all this. And I think they're just wonderful
points. I have been very struck by it over this last week or
so as I've been reading it in light of what we've been looking
at in Acts. And verse 13, and behold, two
of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which
was from Jerusalem about three score furlongs. It's about 11
kilometers to Emmaus. So it's quite a long walk, seven
miles. And they talked together of all
these things which had happened. And it came to pass, while they
communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near and went
with them. I love that phrase, isn't it? It came to pass. What's it? It
is God's eternal purposes, isn't it? Here we have these two wandering
away, wandering in a sense in unbelief, wandering in a sense
with their eyes downcast. And the Lord Jesus came near,
but their eyes But their eyes were holden that they should
not know him." The first thing I want us to
take note of is that it is so significant and so important
that the people of God, whenever we have the opportunity, when
we get together and commune, we commune about the Lord Jesus
Christ. It is, and it should be, the
heart's desire of the Lord's people that we would talk about
Him when we get together. Because look what happened to
these two. These two were being wayward like us. These two, in
a sense, were wandering from the fold. And the Great Shepherd
came, but He came as they were talking one to another. There
is that wonderful description of the Lord's people, that remnant
of the Lord's people in Malachi chapter 3. that last book of the Old Testament,
Malachi 3. I love what verse 16 says, then
they that feared the Lord spoke often one to another, and listen,
and the Lord hearkened, the Lord hearkened and heard. He heard
it and he was moved by his hearing of it. And a book of remembrance
was written before him for them that feared the Lord that thought
upon his name. It is a remarkable thing, isn't
it, when the Lord's people get together, when two or three are
gathered by Him together, He actually comes and is in their
midst. David said in Psalm 119, he says,
I am a companion of them that fear Thee. It is just so special
and so important. that we actually gather with
God's people. And when we gather with God's people in church,
He promises to be here. But when we gather with God's
people outside of church, it is so important, so significant
that we actually have conversations that are about Him. Because,
what did He do? He drew near and He went with
them. But their eyes were holden, their
eyes were veiled, that they should not know him. He had a purpose in veiling their
eyes, didn't he? He deliberately, at this time,
with these two disciples who were wayward, he deliberately
hid himself from them and he didn't want them. They didn't
recognise him because he didn't want them to recognise him. He
talked. And he said unto them, what manner
of communications are these that you have one to another as you
walk and are sad? And one of them, his name was Cleopas.
He's the father of James and Jude. answered and said unto
him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known
these things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things?
And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was
a prophet, mighty indeed, and word before God, and all the
people. So they give the history of this
last little while, don't they? And how the chief priests and
our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have
crucified Him. But we trusted, we trusted that
it had been He which should have redeemed Israel. And beside all
this, today is the third day since these things were done.
Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished
which were early at the sepulchre. And when they found not his body,
they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels
which said he was alive. and certain of them which were
with us went to the sepulcher and found it, even so as the
women had said, but him they saw not." So why are they sad? Why are they so sad? In their sadness the Lord Jesus
Christ doesn't reveal himself to them, he veils himself from
them. and he wants to hear from them,
he wants to draw from them about their sorrows and their unbelief.
He wants for them to bring these things to his mind, not that
he is short of knowledge, but it was important for them. It
was important for them that they have and have their sorrow exacerbated
in a sense by their own declaration that they had witnesses there,
they had a testimony in Jerusalem that they had walked away from.
I don't know what the reason was, the Holy Spirit hasn't given
it to us, but nevertheless, rather than these men going to the sepulcher,
rather than these men going and talking to Mary and the others
and getting that sort of evidence, they actually operated sadly
in unbelief. And so do us so often. Why are we sad? Why are the children
of God sad? Why are they downcast? There
is one answer to it, isn't it, all the time, generally, isn't
it? It's just unbelief. It is just unbelief. You see, in verse 21, we thought,
we thought We trusted that it had been He
which should have redeemed Israel. What had He just done on that
previous Friday as He hung on Calvary Street? He had redeemed
Israel and He had redeemed all of spiritual Israel. They were
in their unbelief, strangers to the promises of God. They
were like the Jews and like us so often. When we operate in
unbelief we turn our eyes to the things of this world and
away from the promises of God and away from the Lord Jesus
Christ. You see they, these disciples who had all of that time with
the Lord Jesus Christ and all of that testimony, they were
like the rest of the Jews, weren't they? They were thinking that
there was to be an earthly kingdom with all the glory of Solomon
and all the power of his father David. And yet they had so much reason
to believe that he had risen from the dead. the Lord Jesus Christ had in
the last part of his ministry continually told anyone who would
listen that he was going to Jerusalem. He set his face like a flint
to go to Jerusalem and he must go to Jerusalem and he must suffer
and he must be killed. He must be raised on the third
day and he told them again and again and again. I suppose one of the things that
is so attractive about these people is the reality of their
unbelief and the reality of their carnal thoughts. Because, brothers
and sisters, it's just so much like us. It's so much like us,
so often. But I love the way the Lord Jesus
Christ restores them. The natural man receiveth not
the things of God, they are foolishness. to him. Their religion in unbelief
had become earthy and fleshly. But in the Lord Jesus Christ
we have this great shepherd, this great shepherd coming to
these two strange sheep. And the thing that's remarkable,
and the reason He veiled their eyes so they wouldn't see Him,
is that when the Lord Jesus comes to gather His own to Himself,
when He comes to turn their sadness into joy, to turn their disbelief
into belief, to bring them the comfort, the joy and peace of
believing, how does he come? He comes as a preacher. He comes
as a preacher. He veiled himself from them that
he could be a preacher. And if you look at the things
he preached, he preached exactly what we see preached in Acts,
didn't he? He preached those same, same
things. He says to them, verse 25, He
said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe. See, that's where sadness comes
from, isn't it? Slow of heart to believe all that the prophets
have spoken. Jesus Christ is just rehearsing
exactly what Peter is going to be preaching on the day of Pentecost
in those sermons that we've been looking at in Acts. It's this
word in love, isn't it? When the Lord Jesus rebukes His
people, He always rebukes them in love. A word from Him that
causes us to pause and give thought to where we're going is a word
of love and a word designed to comfort. So here comes the preacher,
because faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. As Romans 10 says, they must
be sent. How can they believe unless someone
is sent? And how are they sent? They are
sent in exactly the same way that the Lord Jesus sent Peter,
in exactly the same way that He comes Himself. Veiled from
their eyes as the Lord of Glory, but preaching the Lord of Glory
as a preacher. hearing comes, faith comes by
hearing and hearing by the word of God. And his people, as he
says in Psalm 110 verse 3, thy people shall be willing in the
day of his power. His power comes forth, isn't
it? The power of the gospel. The gospel is the power of God
under salvation. And it comes through the declaration
of who the Lord Jesus Christ is and what he has done and what
he has accomplished. See they saw him not, verse 24,
the people went there but they saw him not. How do you see him
these days? How do you see the Lord Jesus
Christ? You see Him in the preaching
of the Gospel. And the Holy Spirit takes the
Word of God, the declarations of Jesus Christ the crucified,
and He reveals Him to people. And when do you see Him? You
see Him when it pleased God through the preaching of the Gospel.
He speaks in love to them. They're slow of heart to believe. Slow of heart to believe all
that the prophets have spoken. And he says, ought not, verse
26, ought not the Christ, the Christ must have suffered all
of these things and enter into his glory. Beginning at Moses and all the
prophets. He expounded unto them in all
the scriptures the things concerning himself. Brothers and sisters,
He wanted to lay before these people, these two wandering disciples,
the one thing that is needful, isn't it? The one thing that
is needful for us to turn our sadness into joy is for us to
be in the Word of God and for God to enlighten His Word and
to bring it to us with clarity and cause us simply to trust
I love what Peter said in 2 Peter 1 verse 19. There those apostles,
Peter, James and John on the Mount of Transfiguration saw
the most remarkable scene that any of them had seen. All of
a sudden, on top of that mountain, the Lord Jesus Christ, His deity,
shone through His humanity. And there He was, shining bright. and God the Father speaking to
him, and Moses and Elijah speaking to him of his death that he should
accomplish at Jerusalem. The Father speaking, isn't it?
This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. And this voice
which came from heaven we heard when we were with Him in the
Holy Mount. And then Peter wants to make
sure that you understand the priority of things, as remarkable
as that event was and as necessary as it was. Verse 19. We have something better, brothers
and sisters. You're holding it in your hand right now. Something
better than seeing the Lord Jesus Christ transfigured on that mount.
We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do
well to take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place.
The Lord Jesus Christ shone in that dark place. But we have
something which is better than seeing that. a light that shineth
in a dark place until the day dawn and the day star arise in
your hearts. Knowing this first, that no prophecy
of scripture is of any private interpretation, for the prophecy
came not in old time by the will of man. It wasn't a clever human
being who worked it out, but holy men of God spake. as they
were moved by the Holy Ghost. We have just one foundation,
brothers and sisters. There's one foundation that turns
sadness into joy. There's one foundation and that's
God's Word. I love what Martin Luther said,
he said, I've covenanted with God that he would send me no
visions and cause me to have no dreams, but he would just
cause me, and I'm only paraphrasing him, he would cause me simply
to rest everything upon the written word of God. You see, their sadness
was because they didn't believe Moses and the prophets. The Lord
Jesus Christ came and he preached to them. He preached himself. He preached himself out of the
Old Testament Scriptures, beginning with Moses and all the prophets.
We keep going through it, but you can just think, wasn't he?
He was the seed of the woman who was going to crush the serpent's
head. He was that lamb that was sacrificed
in the garden to cover the shame of Adam and Eve. He was the sacrificial
lamb that Abel brought. He was the ark that Noah and
his people and the human race survived in. the chosen race
of God. He was the One that was the provision
for the substitutionary sacrifice of Isaac on that mountain. He
was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He
was the Passover Lamb in Exodus Chapter 12. He was the One that
God the Father said, when I see the blood, I'll pass over. He
was the One. personified throughout the rest
of the scriptures in remarkable chapters that speak with such
clarity about Him in Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53. It is that Lamb
now personified. He is the serpent lifted up.
He is Boaz the Kingsman redeemed. He is the Bridegroom of Song
of Solomon. He is the Great Shepherd of Ezekiel
34. He is all of that, all of the
scriptures. speak of Him. And so when we
read our scriptures, when we read our Old Testament scriptures,
we have one task in mind, and that's to see the Lord Jesus
Christ and Him crucified there. And He's there. If we can't see
Him, we just have to wait, because He is there. You see, their sadness
was that they didn't believe Moses and the prophets. There is just one message of
this book, isn't it? It's Jesus Christ and Him crucified. But if He's going to reveal Himself,
if He's going to show Himself to people, He's going to show
Himself through the preaching of the Word of God. He's going
to show Himself through a preacher. To hear Him these days and to
see Him through the eyes of faith, you must hear His servants. So that's why he veiled their
eyes. There was a purpose for the Lord Jesus Christ veiling
the eyes of these two, wasn't there? He veiled their eyes that
their faith might rest in the Word of God and not in visions
and not in excitement. Imagine if he'd revealed himself
to them straight away. He would have had no opportunity
to preach to them. They would have been so excited. But here
he does this remarkable thing, doesn't he? He begins at Moses
and the prophets, and He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures
a thing concerning Himself. Verse 28, And as they drew nigh
unto the village with which they went, He made as though He would
have gone further. And I love this, isn't it? It
is remarkable, isn't it? When two disciples of the Lord
Jesus Christ have Him come and commune with them, because they've
been speaking of Him, they constrained Him. They still only thought
He was a preacher, didn't they? They constrained Him, and then
that lovely word, abide with us, remain with us. Preacher, stay and tell us more
about the Lord Jesus Christ. Abide with us, for it is toward evening and
the day is fast spent." And he went in and to tarry with them. It is remarkable, isn't it, to
think how the Lord God Almighty in the Lord Jesus Christ stops,
stops and is constrained by the cries of His people to commune
with them and to abide with them. What a great prayer, brothers
and sisters, that we would have His fellowship, that we would
have Him come and abide with us. And He went in to tarry with
them, and it came to pass, as He sat at meet with them, He
took the bread. He took the bread. and blessed
it and break it and gave it to them." You see, when do the people
see Him? They see Him in Him crucified,
the broken bread. And their eyes were opened and
they knew Him and He vanished out of their sight. He wanted
them to know for certain it was Him, but He wanted what remained
with them. was the preaching of the Word
of God. And look what happened. Look
what happens when the Lord Jesus Christ and the Blessed Holy Spirit
comes. and speaks to God's people. And
they said to one another, this is why they constrained him,
didn't they? This is why they call on him to abide with them.
Did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us by
the way and while He opened to us the Scriptures." You see,
it's the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, brothers and sisters, who opens
to us the Scriptures. When we see Him in the Scriptures,
it is a sovereign act of our God in grace and love and mercy
to reveal Himself to His own. What an appalling judgment upon
people. who have this book before them
and don't have him come to reveal himself in it. Such was the state
of that Jewish nation. Hearts burning within us. Hearts burning. Is your heart
burned? Has your heart been moved in
such a way that it feels... Turn with me to Jeremiah chapter
20. I don't ever like talking about people's call to ministry,
but if there was ever a verse in all the scriptures that the
Lord used to move my heart, about what
I'm doing now, and it was many, many years ago, is in Jeremiah. Jeremiah is complaining. Jeremiah
is complaining because there he is in Jerusalem and listened
to by almost no one and issuing the warnings from God in the
face of false teachers all around him and the imminent, imminent
horrible destruction of Jerusalem before him. He says in verse 8, for since
I spoke, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil, because the
word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me and a derision daily.
He was made, he was made to feel like he was the reproach of men
and he was in derision daily. You can read of the things they
did to him again and again and again. Then I said, Jeremiah
complained, I will not make mention of him. nor speak any more in
his name. But, but, his word was in my
heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones. I was weary of
forbearing and I could not stay. He was weary of holding it in.
Holding it in became a burden to him and he must speak the
Word of God. He must speak what God calls
for him to say. The Lord, just over a chapter
or two in, just turn over a couple of pages to chapter 23 verse
28. He speaks of these other prophets. that prophet that hath
a dream, let him tell a dream, and he that hath my word, let
him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat,
saith the Lord? Is not my word like as a fire,
saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Hearts burn. Hearts burning. When the Gospel is preached,
there is a fire, isn't it? The problem with the lay to see
in church is what? They were lukewarm. There was
nothing on fire. To be lukewarm is to be comfortable. To be on fire is to be moved. That was that live coal, wasn't
it, that came from the altar and touched the lips of Isaiah. and he was told that his sin
is taken away. And what does Isaiah say in response? Who shall I send, says the Lord.
Isaiah says, well send me, I'll go, I'll go. I'll go was a difficult
message. But in coming back to our text,
What a close of these thoughts. We are often, aren't we, like
these two disciples. In so many ways we find ourselves
wandering. We find ourselves caught up in
the carnal things of our minds as we look without the eyes of
faith about the things around us. And we keep thinking, don't
we, about what we have to do and about what has been done.
and how difficult it might all be, and we are sad and we are
discouraged and we are downcast. But the good shepherd will never
ever leave his sheep for very long in that situation. So he
comes, doesn't he? The shepherd comes. The shepherd
comes to his own. He will gather them, won't he?
He will gather them. Read Ezekiel 34 at your leisure
when you go home. It is just a remarkable description
of our Lord Jesus Christ and the power of his shepherding
of his own. The shepherd comes and he preaches
them and he turns them from man's religion. They were caught up
in the religion of the Jews, weren't they? Rather than the
religion of the Lord Jesus Christ and him crucified. The shepherd
comes and their hearts burn and they call on him, they constrain
him and they want him to abide with them. His company has been
so delightful that they don't want it to finish. And then he
reveals himself in the broken bread. He reveals himself as
the crucified Messiah. the crucified Messiah who now
reigns supreme and comes to his own. He wasn't crucified and
just left there, was he? He was crucified in humiliation,
but he was raised again in great glory. And what happens when
the Lord Jesus comes? They arose, verse 33, they arose
at the same hour and returned to Jerusalem. They returned to
Zion, they returned to the apostles, they returned to the church. And what happens when they come
back together? The Lord Jesus comes and he meets with all of
them again. He's gathered these two wandering
sheep and he's brought them back. He's made them willing in the
day of his power. In the day that he reveals himself
in his glory, he brings them to himself, doesn't he? He brings
them. And what does he do? If you look
down at verse 44, He speaks of all things which must be fulfilled,
which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and
the Psalms. He doesn't have to change His message one little
tiny bit. They were terrified when they
saw Him and He preaches exactly the same message to them again. And He opened their understanding,
verse 45, that they might understand the Scriptures And he said unto
them, Thus it is written, thus it behoved, it was absolutely
necessary for Christ to suffer and rise from the dead the third
day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached
in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye
are witnesses of these things. All of the Lord's people who
are being taught by him are witnesses. They're witnesses to him gathering
them. They're witnesses to him bringing
them together. They're witnesses to him revealing
himself through the scriptures to themselves. They're witnesses. They're witnesses to the glory
of our great and sovereign God. What a great shepherd we have,
brothers and sisters. Why do doubts arise? Why are we sad and downcast? When this great shepherd is our
shepherd, the great shepherd, he'll never lose one of them.
He says in John 10, doesn't he, there will be one flock. And
there's one shepherd. You'll never lose one of them.
He's a good shepherd. Let's pray.