Luke 24:13-35
[Title]: Walking with the Risen Savior
There was a young man who took a shortcut home late one night through the cemetery.
And he fell into an open grave.
He called, and he tried to climb out. To no avail.
There was no one around to hear his cries or lend a hand.
So he settled down for the night in a corner of the darkened grave to await morning.
A little while later another person came the same route through the cemetery, taking the same shortcut
home.
He also fell into the same grave, and started clawing and shouting and trying to get out just as the first
had done.
Suddenly, the second fellow heard a voice out of the dark corner of the grave saying, "You can't get out of
here."
But he did!
The man was able to blow his and the other man’s expectations.
It’s clear that he had a little extra energy and motivation to help him.
This morning, we’re celebrating someone else coming out of a grave.
But what’s significant was that He was actually dead.
And what’s even more significant for us is that Jesus’ died in order to pay the penalty for our sins.
By His rising from the grave, we know that His payment of our sin debt was accepted.
Let’s turn to Luke 24 as we join two of Jesus’ followers who hadn’t heard about His resurrection.
* 13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem,
14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were
talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept
from recognizing him.
Soon after the events that we’ve read about this morning, that very day, these two disciples head out.
And it’s the events of the weekend that they would’ve been talking about, as they’ll detail in verses 20-24.
It’s likely that they were in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, which would’ve drawn a lot of people.
I doubt Jesus is speedwalking here.
I imagine that these two men are taking their time, processing as they walk
- moseying as we called it in TN.
If they’d recognized Him, they would’ve been like “Well, speak of… the exact opposite of the devil!”
It happened a number of times in the gospels that Jesus wasn’t recognized.
He wasn’t a “master of disguise.”
There were just times when God didn’t allow Him to be recognized for His own purposes.
* 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And
they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only
visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
Cleopas’ reaction reveals that he’s a little irritated by the question.
His response makes is seem painful for them to talk about.
Cleopas’ question reveals how commonly known the events of the last weeks truly were.
During the Passover, the population of Jerusalem swelled from around 30k to as much as 150k.
It tells us something that Cleopas expected anyone coming from there would know what happened.
And he is basically asking the Creator God if He’d been living under a rock.
He’s one of those guys in the Bible who’s only appearance seems to be so he can stick his foot in his mouth.
* 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who
was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and
rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was
the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.
There’s a sense of humor to Jesus asking “What things?”
We’re going to unpack their response and their misconceptions in a bit.
* 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and
when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who
said that 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 him they did not see.”
So, we see here that these two heard the reports just prior to leaving.
They didn’t stay long enough to hear from those who had seen Jesus alive outside the tomb.
All the rumors and hearsay that they’d heard just got their hopes up.
But what mattered to them was, as far as they knew, no one had seen Jesus alive.
* 25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And
beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things
concerning himself.
The New English Bible translate Jesus’ statement as “How dull you are!”
I think this might be an appropriate jab at them for them asking if Jesus was the only person who didn’t
know what had been going on.
What are they dull to? - All that is taught in the Old Testament about what the Messiah must do.
Notice, He’s not chiding them for not believing the testimonies of the women who’d seen Him.
He’s rebuking them for not believing what the Scriptures had to say.
But Jesus doesn’t then say, “You blew it Newbies! I’m outta here!” and disappear.
No, the architect of history graciously walks them through biblical history explaining it all points to Him.
I don’t know about you, but I would’ve loved to have been sitting in for that sermon!
It would be the ultimate “connect the dots” experience.
There’s so much in the Old Testament that makes us uncomfortable.
We see the depth of the depravity of man’s sin - much of it committed by God’s own people.
We see the justice of God carried out in frightful ways.
And we also see the grace and mercy of God patiently being shown to those who didn’t deserve it.
Having the full Scriptures in our day and age, we’re responsible for what we see in them.
We see the horrific consequence of sin and the justice and grace of God finally culminate in the death of
Jesus on the cross.
But we also see that His role was handled perfectly in the fact that He rose from the dead.
His resurrection is evidence that His payment of the penalty of sin (death) was acceptable and powerful.
* 28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but
they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So
he went in to stay with them.
It was a normal thing for people at that time to stop traveling in the evening.
But it must not have been too late if Jesus was going to continue down the path.
I don’t think that Jesus was acting in the sense of deceiving them.
His actions showed that He was going to go further down the road.
But His companions urged Him to stay with them, likely using the lateness of the evening as their excuse.
* 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And
their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each
other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the
Scriptures?”
It’s hard to know what tipped these two off that they’d been spending their day with the one who’s death
they’d been morning.
I like how the New Testament Commentary describes what happened when Jesus broke the bread -
“Something in the action awoke a chord, or perhaps they saw the nail-marks in Jesus’ hands for the first
time. Or perhaps it was just God’s time. Their eyes were opened may mean that God chose this moment
to make it clear that this was his Son. At any rate they recognized him. And as they did so, he [gave
them a little wink and] vanished from their sight.”
Clearly, they’d been stirred deeply form Jesus’ exposition of the Scriptures.
They both felt their hearts burn within them.
God’s Word had become clear to them and moved them in their deepest parts.
* 33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who
were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”
35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the
bread.
The verbiage means they up-and-left.
Suddenly, these two aren’t concerned about traveling the seven miles back to Jerusalem at night.
Upon arriving, they find that the other disciples are still up talking about what took place on the day of
Jesus’ resurrection.
Apparently, Jesus has been busy and has also appeared to Simon Peter.
I have to wonder if the ladies who saw Jesus at the tomb are thinking, “So, now y’all believe?!”
But what’s most important is the message that has carried from that moment forward -
“The Lord has risen indeed”
I want to encourage you to walk with Jesus as Your Risen Savior and to -
1. SEE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF JESUS’S DEATH & RESURRECTION.
* 25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And
beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things
concerning himself.
The ALL that the prophets had spoken included foretelling Jesus’ substitutionary death on a cross.
These prophecies about Him included
* Isaiah 53:10 10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul
makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand.
Along with His death would be His return to heaven as our resurrected and triumphant Savior.
Ancient architecture is amazing.
There’s so many elements that are still used today which were thought up 3000 years ago.
One of these is the stone arch.
In these arches, the most important stone is the keystone, which rests at the top and locks the rest of the
arch into place.
But even though, it’s the most important, it’s put into place as the last stone among the others.
Jesus Christ is the KEYSTONE of the Bible and especially as our substitutionary sacrifice.
Everything was building toward Him and the moment when He would pay the penalty of our sins.
For centuries, God was laying stones—Abraham, Moses, David, the prophets…
But none of them carried all their full significance until the keystone was set.
Take away Jesus, the keystone, and the whole narrative of Scripture falls apart.
Do you recognize that the righteous justice and love of God met in the substitutionary death of Jesus?
I also want to encourage you to walk with Jesus as Your Risen Savior and to -
2. LET JESUS’ RESURRECTION EXPAND YOUR WORLD.
What do I mean by letting Jesus resurrection “Expand Your World”?
It’s more than just expanding your thinking - that could just be making you more open-minded.
It’s more than just expanding your understanding - that could just mean being smarter about God.
It’s more than just expanding your experience - that could just mean making you more wise.
I encourage you to Let Jesus’ Resurrection Expand Your World, meaning to transform your life.
Your desires, your mindset, your psyche, your self-image, your outlook, your relationships, your future…
There’s three ways that we observe in our verses that Jesus can expand our worlds.
The 1 st way Jesus’ resurrection expand your world when you accept Him as -
2A. THE SON OF GOD - NOT JUST A PROPHET
* 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who
was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,
These followers of Jesus call Him a prophet.
It’s a correct statement but an inadequate description of who He is.
During a conversation with the 12 disciples, Jesus asked who people say that he is.
o * Matthew 16:14-16 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say
Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say
that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
We don’t know when these two people joined the Jesus revolution.
It may’ve been just in the previous week, as many did from Jesus teaching in Jerusalem.
They get the gist that His mighty miracles, healings, and teachings showed that He’s God’s man for the job
of redemption.
But, in their minds, Jesus couldn’t make it past the political power of the Jewish leaders and the imperial
power of the Roman rulers.
The 2 nd way Jesus’ resurrection can expand your world when you accept Him as -
2B. REDEEMER OF THE WORLD - NOT JUST ISRAEL
* 21a But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.
In their minds, this meant they were wrong about Him being their redeemer.
The interesting idea about redemption is that something always has to be paid.
Common contexts would be using a coupon by bringing it to the store and handing it over or when
someone pays a ransom to redeem a loved one.
They never imagined that Jesus would be their redeemer by paying with His life.
And for them, Jesus was only thought to be the redeemer of Israel.
This would mean throwing off the Roman occupation and asserting the nation once again as God’s people.
But it’s clear in the Bible that God intended for His redemption plan to expand to every nation and tribe.
Just two small places where this is taught is in -
o * 1 John 2:2 2 He is the propitiation [appeasement] for our sins, and not for ours only but also
for the sins of the whole world.
o * 1 John 4:14 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the
Savior of the world.
Of course, it took the death of the almighty Son of God for His redeeming work to cover all of mankind.
And it took the death of the eternal Son of God for His redeeming work to cover all time periods.
The 3 rd way Jesus’ resurrection can expand your world when you accept Him as -
2C. DEFEATER OF DEATH - NOT DEFEATED BY DEATH
* 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him… 21B
Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.
You know the reason visitations used to be called “wakes” is because sometimes a person thought to be
dead might WAKE UP.
For these two followers of Christ, it being the third day meant He wasn’t just catching His second wind.
In their minds, He was gone for good.
Instead, it just made for an even more awesome display of Jesus’ power.
And Jesus’ resurrection is a key point of the gospel as we read in -
o * 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he
was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
The same chapter goes on to explain how Jesus’ resurrection ensures that we too can be resurrected one
day.
o * 1 Corinthians 15:20-21 20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of
those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the
resurrection of the dead.
You ever notice how confident people can be… right before they’re completely wrong?
There was a time when the most educated people in the Western world were absolutely convinced that
the earth was the center of the universe.
It felt right. The sun rises, the sun sets—it all seems to revolve around us.
Case closed. Except… it wasn’t.
The entire system they were so sure about turned out to be far too small.
There was also a time when “civilized” people believed that bathing was actually unhealthy.
The thinking was that water opened your pores and allowed disease to enter your body.
So people thought that the cleaner you got, the sicker you’d become.
Which means, at one point in history, the medical advice was essentially: “For your health… avoid soap.”
Turns out, the problem wasn’t too much cleanliness—it was misunderstanding how sickness spread.
And then, in the 1800s, respected scientists confidently declared that it was impossible for anything to fly.
Not unlikely—impossible. Humanity would never fly because we’re heavier than air.
And then a couple of bicycle mechanics from Ohio, named the Wright Brothers, showed up and quietly
proved that the scientists needed a better understanding of physics.
Now here’s the pattern:
Again and again, people looked at the world, gathered the evidence, formed conclusions
They weren’t being foolish, they were being limited.
Their understanding of reality was just too small - it only fit their experience.
And then something happened that forced them to expand it.
That’s exactly what the resurrection does.
When Jesus rose from the dead, it didn’t just add one more belief to consider—it confronted the
boundaries of what man thought was possible.
It challenged the assumption that death is final, that this world is all there is, that each person must pay
the penalty for their sin themselves.
And it’s intended to expand your world as you believe it and trust in Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
We can live with a very settled, very reasonable view of reality—what God can do, how He works, what’s
possible in our lives.
And then the resurrection stands in front of us and says:
Your world might be too small.
You see, because Jesus rose from the dead, what He said is actually true.
He truly is the resurrection and the life, and no man can come to God except through Him.
Have you embraced Jesus as the Son of God, acknowledging that He humbled Himself to save you?
Have you embraced Jesus as the Redeemer of the World, believing that salvation is available to you?
Have you embraced Jesus as the Defeater of Death, letting you live without the most common fear?
When we embrace Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we’re acknowledge all these truths about Him.
What would’ve happened if these two people just kept walking and never heard the rest of the story?
In their minds, Jesus may have just stayed a prophet who wanted good things for only Israel but was
defeated by death.
With this understanding, they may never have been saved from the penalty of their sins.
And they never would’ve walked with the risen Savior.
This is true for us as well, we’re still able to claim to be followers of Christ.
But it’s not true of us unless we’re actually walking with the risen Savior ourselves.
