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[0:00] Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word this morning. Heavenly Father, before the reading and preaching of your word, we pray to seek your help because we know our desperate situation.

[0:28] Because we know that we are powerless on our own to grasp eternal truth, to come to faith in them.

[0:45] Because we know that no matter how hard I preach, no matter how well prepared I am, apart from the work of your powerful Holy Spirit, not a single person will be saved.

[1:03] And so we ask that you speak to us this morning, address us, carry forth your word by the breath of your spirit so that we might hear and so that we might believe to your glory.

[1:41] In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Luke 24, verses 13 to 32.

[1:54] That very day, two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.

[2:07] And they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.

[2:19] But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, what is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?

[2:32] And they stood still, looking sad. 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?

[2:50] And he said to them, what things? And they said to him, concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet, mighty indeed, and word before God and all the people.

[3:03] And how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.

[3:15] Yes. And besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning.

[3:27] 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. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the woman had said, but him they did not see.

[3:47] And he said to them, O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?

[4:03] And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. So they drew near to the village to which they were going.

[4:18] He acted as if he were going further. 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.

[4:30] When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened.

[4:43] And they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 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.

[5:02] This is God's holy and authoritative word. Even if you don't teach vocationally like I do, you have probably taught someone something.

[5:14] We do all kinds of teaching informally in various contexts. And you may have experienced that gratifying moment when the person that you're teaching something to finally gets something that you're saying.

[5:26] That aha moment. The moment when the penny drops, as the expression goes. When something finally clicks in their minds and their eyes are open to new things. That teaching begins to affect that person.

[5:41] Changes the way they think where they do things. And one of the most humbling aspects of being a pastor and a preacher of God's word is that no matter how hard I try, I can't, in my own, produce that in the people that are listening.

[6:00] I can't open the spiritual eyes of a single human being to the wonders of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Christ. And that's the case not because of my personal limitations, of which admittedly there are many, but because of an inherently human limitation.

[6:23] This was the case even for the 19th century British pastor known as the Prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon. He puts it this way in one of his sermons.

[6:34] The gospel is preached in the ears of all. It only comes with power to some. The power that is in the gospel does not lie in the eloquence of the preacher.

[6:49] Otherwise, men would be the converter of souls. Nor does it lie in the preacher's learning. Otherwise, it would consist in the wisdom of man.

[7:00] The power which converts souls does not even lie in the preacher's simplicity. or adaptation to his work. That is a secondary agency, but not the cause. Again, the power which converts souls does not even lie in the pathos which the speaker may employ.

[7:18] Men may weep to the tragic muse in a theater as well as to prophetic strains in a chapel. Their creaturely passions may be impressed through the acting on the stage as well as by the utterance of God's own servants.

[7:33] No. There is something more than this needed. And where it is absent, all preaching is nothing. We might preach till our tongues rotted, till we should exhaust our lungs and die, but never a soul would be converted unless there were the mysterious power of the Holy Spirit going with it, changing the will of man.

[7:56] O sirs, we might as well preach to stone walls as preached to humanity unless the Holy Spirit is with the word to give it power to convert the soul.

[8:09] Our converts are worth nothing. If they are converted by man, they can be unconverted by man. If some charm or power of one preacher can bring them to Christ, some charm or power of another preacher can take them from Christ.

[8:28] True conversion is the work of the Holy Spirit and of the Holy Spirit alone. Our passage today is one of the clearest demonstrations of that reality in all of Scripture.

[8:49] It teaches us that God is the one who opens the eyes of our hearts so that we understand his word and believe in Christ, the Redeemer. That's the main point of this passage.

[9:02] And I will unpack that in two parts. First, we'll talk about believing in the spoken, word, in verses 13 to 27. And then we'll talk about partaking in the broken bread in verses 28 to 35.

[9:15] So let's first look at believing in the spoken word. So far in this last two chapters, we've seen two clues about Jesus' resurrection. First, the empty tomb.

[9:27] And second, the angelic announcement. But despite the woman sharing this news of Jesus' resurrection and the vision of the angels to the apostles and the disciples, it said in verse 10 that they did not believe them.

[9:41] And that brings us to this most dramatic resurrection account in all of the Gospels. It says in verse 13, that very day, meaning still the same day of the preceding events, the Sunday morning of Resurrection Sunday, and two of them were going to a village named Emmaus about seven miles from Jerusalem.

[10:00] Two of them is a reference to the group of apostles and disciples that were just mentioned, the very group that did not believe the report of the woman. And one of them is named Cleopas, verse 18.

[10:12] And since he's not one of the remaining eleven apostles, and presumably his companion is also not an apostle since he's not named, these two are part of Jesus' larger group of disciples.

[10:25] And the fact that there's two of them should be alert to us already if you've been with us throughout the Gospel of Luke, because at every critical juncture of the Gospel of Luke, Luke has taken pains to tell us that there were two or at least three witnesses to attest to every event of Jesus' life.

[10:43] At his birth, at his trial, at his death, at his resurrection. So Luke wants to note here by showing us that there were two witnesses that this is not a fanciful story made up by a disciple who is eager for people's attention.

[10:57] It's a valid testimony confirmed by two witnesses. And they're headed to Emmaus from Jerusalem, meaning that they're likely headed home.

[11:09] They had come to Jerusalem as pilgrims to partake in the Passover feast, the biggest festival of the year for faithful Jews. And perhaps they had come hoping to witness Jesus' rise to power as the Messianic king.

[11:25] Maybe they even wanted to partake in a revolution, a political revolution, to overthrow the Roman Empire. But they had been disappointed. Jesus was crucified, buried, and despite titillating reports of the empty tomb, no one had seen Jesus in this gospel account in Luke.

[11:50] They decided that they have to get back to their normal lives. But on their journey, they could not get the significant events that had just transpired in Jerusalem out of their minds.

[12:02] So it says in verse 14, they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. So earlier in chapter 24, verse 9, the woman returning from the tomb told all these things, the same phrase to them.

[12:16] And so all these things that they're talking about right now refers both to Jesus' death and to the reports of his resurrection. And it says in verse 15 that they were talking and discussing together.

[12:29] The word discuss there means to debate. It means to argue. Earlier in chapter 22, verse 23, it was translated this way that saying more, they began to question one another, referring to the 12 apostles debating among themselves which of them will be the unfaithful disciple that betrays Jesus as he just predicted.

[12:52] And it's the same word that's used in Luke's sequel in Acts chapter 6, verse 9, when it says that some of the Jews rose up and disputed with Stephen.

[13:03] It's a heated discussion because that dispute eventually leads to Stephen becoming the first Christian martyr. He's stoned to death as a result of that heated discussion.

[13:14] This is not just the kind of a casual small talk kind of conversation. This is an intense debate that these two disciples are having about the significance and the reality of the events that had just transpired on their way back home from Jerusalem.

[13:30] But while they were doing that, it says, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. It's so ironic. It's almost comical. While they are intensely debating, what just happened?

[13:45] Jesus died. But what are these women talking about that he's raised from the dead? These visions of angels. As they're doing it, Jesus himself comes alongside them and starts walking with them.

[13:57] But it says in verse 16, their eyes were kept from recognizing him. It's possible that the disciples failed to recognize Jesus because after his resurrection, he appeared to them in a different form.

[14:11] Mark 16, 12 mentions that Jesus appeared in another form to the two of his disciples. But to focus on Jesus' altered appearance in this passage is to miss the point that Luke is himself making.

[14:27] Because Luke's focus is not on Jesus' appearance, but on the disciples' lack of spiritual vision. Their eyes were kept from recognizing him.

[14:40] This is another instance of the divine passive that biblical writers often use where God is the assumed subject of a passive verb that lacks a subject.

[14:51] In Luke 9, verses 44 to 45, after Jesus predicted his death to his disciples very explicitly, he said that his disciples did not understand this saying and it was concealed from them so that they might not perceive it.

[15:07] similarly, in Luke 18, verses 31 to 34, after Jesus prophesied that he would be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon, and after flogging him, they will kill him and on the third day he will rise.

[15:25] He said that his disciples understood none of these things. The saying was hidden from them and they did not grasp what was said. These were all instances of divine concealment.

[15:40] God conceals until in his perfect time he reveals. To conceal and reveal spiritual realities is God's sovereign prerogative.

[15:54] And in this instance, God conceals the identity of Jesus from these two disciples. Verse 17 continues, And Jesus said to them, What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?

[16:09] And they stood still looking sad. It's a very dramatic moment. They were walking and as Jesus came alongside them, they didn't stop walking. They kept walking, probably assuming Jesus is another one of those pilgrims that are heading back from Jerusalem after the Passover feast.

[16:24] But then when Jesus asks this question, it stops them right in their tracks. They stop. And it says that they were looking sad. that shows how fresh this grief is.

[16:35] It's been three days. They really had put their hopes in Jesus. But Jesus died. And they were sad. And they can't believe how clueless this companion is.

[16:52] One of them named Cleopas answers Jesus in this way in verse 18. Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days? In other words, have you been living under a rock?

[17:08] How can you not know what has happened? The whole city knows about it. But Jesus wants to hear their take on the recent events.

[17:20] So he feigns ignorance. He says, what things? It's so funny. And they say in verses 19 to 20, concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet, mighty indeed and were before God and all the people.

[17:35] And how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucified him. So Jesus himself noted his prophetic identity throughout the gospel many times.

[17:46] And the crowds widely acclaimed Jesus to be a prophet. So this is not a surprising assessment of Jesus. He was a man who was a prophet, mighty indeed and word before God and all the people.

[17:58] But they say that their own people, the Jews, our chief priests, they say, our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucified him.

[18:13] Of course, the Romans were involved in condemning Jesus to death and carrying out the execution. But these disciples lay the chief blame on their own leaders. for delivering Jesus and crucifying him.

[18:25] So the disciples are relaying to Jesus a summary report of what happened over these last three days. And then in verse 21, they start to get personal. But we, but we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.

[18:42] it's really hard to imagine the depth of their disappointment. The Jewish people, if you study history, are some of the most persecuted and marginalized and oppressed people in all of human history.

[19:04] And they had been waiting for hundreds and hundreds of years for their redemption.

[19:17] And they thought their redeemer, the prophet said, Messiah, had finally come. They're putting all their hopes in him. And then just like that, after that triumphant entry to Jerusalem on Sunday, that very same week, tried, sentenced, crucified.

[19:44] They had hoped that he would redeem Israel. This is the hope that was first expressed by Zechariah's prophecy in Luke 1, 67 to 75. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.

[20:06] This expectation that Jesus would redeem Israel was confirmed by prophetess Anna in Luke 2, verse 38. When she, at the time Jesus was being dedicated in the temple, when she gave thanks to God and spoke of Jesus to all who are waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

[20:25] to redeem is to pay for the freedom of a slave. To redeem is to pay for the forgiveness of a debtor, of a sinner.

[20:40] The idea of redemption primarily recalls in biblical background the Exodus. In order to commemorate how the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt from the house of slavery, commemorating that God did this by killing all the firstborn in the land of Egypt.

[21:02] Exodus 13 commanded the Israelites consecrate all your firstborn by sacrificing to the Lord all the firstborn male animals and by redeeming all the firstborn sons.

[21:18] they had to pay, make a payment of redemption for their sons so that they could remember that their sons, their firstborn sons belonged to God.

[21:31] That they too deserved to die. The only reason they survived, the only reason Israel was redeemed out of their slavery in Egypt was because they killed the lamb following God's instruction and daubed its blood on their doorposts so that God went judging and killing the firstborns of all of Egypt passed over their households, sparing them.

[21:57] With this biblical and historical background in mind, we can better understand what it means that Jesus is the redeemer of Israel. To be sure, these two disciples and others probably had hoped that Jesus would redeem Israel from their political slavery to Roman empire as well.

[22:13] But biblically, the expectation for redemption goes way beyond that. Jesus is the one who pays for the forgiveness of their sins, for the freedom from slavery to sin and death.

[22:26] As Titus 2, verse 14 says, Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

[22:42] Apart from Christ, we are all slaves to sin. apart from Christ, we're all debtors. But because Christ paid the price of our redemption by dying on the cross, we who have been united with Christ through faith have full forgiveness of our sins and freedom from slavery to sin.

[23:06] These two disciples had hope that Jesus was the one to redeem Israel. but he was killed. Their hope was snuffed out. But then something else happened.

[23:20] They continue in verses 22 to 24. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some woman of our company amazed us.

[23:30] They were at the tomb early in the morning 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. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the woman had said, but him they did not see.

[23:48] Only Peter was mentioned as going to the tomb after hearing the woman's report in verse 12, but we find out here that Luke was being selective in his reporting earlier. There were others that went with him and we know that that's confirmed by John 20, 33 to 10, which tells us that Apostle John also accompanied Peter to the tomb.

[24:07] But the most telling point of this recounting of what has happened is at the end of verse 24. They found it just as the woman had said, but him they did not see.

[24:23] Once again, there's a contrast between hearing and seeing, which we have seen frequently throughout the gospel of Luke. Luke has been telling us over and over again that instead of seeking to see, we should hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and believe.

[24:41] And that's again his emphasis here. We saw earlier in verse 11 that the woman's report of Jesus' resurrection seemed to these disciples an idle tale and they did not believe them.

[24:53] And so these two disciples on the road to Emmaus lack faith. They have heard the report but they're still waiting for the decisive evidence.

[25:07] They won't believe until they see the risen Jesus with their own eyes. And until then, for them, resurrection is just hearsay, a rumor.

[25:19] The irony of it all, of course, is that they have Jesus right in front of them.

[25:31] They're seeing Jesus yet they are not seeing because they do not see with eyes of faith. So Jesus roundly rebukes them in verse 25.

[25:45] O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. The exclamation, O foolish one, that conveys Jesus' emotion.

[25:55] He's passionately lamenting their lack of faith. O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe. Foolishness literally means lack of understanding, a senselessness.

[26:11] But it's not merely a mental lapse or an intellectual deficiency that leads to unbelief. It's also slowness of heart. The heart is a reference to the center of a person's inner spiritual life.

[26:25] The seedbed of one's emotions, will, thoughts even. The disciples thought that what was lacking was the evidence.

[26:36] They were waiting to see Jesus with their own eyes, but what was actually lacking was their understanding. They thought that they were waiting on God to act to redeem Israel, but in reality, it was their spiritual sluggishness.

[26:53] They were the ones that were slow of heart. That's what prevented them from believing in God's redemption through Jesus. Perhaps some of you are here and you do not yet believe in Jesus because you don't think there is enough evidence.

[27:17] You won't believe in God until you see an unmistakable sign, an indisputable sign. sign. But God's word tells us that our unbelief is a reflection of our own foolishness and of our own slowness of heart to believe.

[27:42] So we are not excused from our unbelief because the blame lies not with God who failed to reveal himself, but with us.

[27:57] And notice what Jesus rebukes these disciples for in verse 25. It's really interesting. He doesn't say all foolish ones and slow of heart to believe even after the vision of angels.

[28:10] He doesn't say all foolish ones and slow of heart to believe even after seeing the empty tomb or foolish ones slow of heart to recognize me and believe in me when I'm right in front of you.

[28:22] Jesus doesn't say that. He says instead all foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.

[28:35] Jesus doesn't rebuke them for not believing what they see with their eyes. Jesus rebukes them for not believing what they have heard from the scriptures believers because they should have believed from what they have heard in God's word.

[28:54] And so Jesus continues in verse 26 was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory. Luke often uses this language of must or necessity to describe something God has foreordained.

[29:10] he's saying here that his humiliation and his glorification his death resurrection and ascension they were a divine necessity.

[29:21] Scripture demanded it because it was the means that God had foreordained and written about throughout his scriptures for the salvation of his people.

[29:34] for example Isaiah chapter 53 verse 5 prophesied that the Messiah would be pierced for our transgressions that he would be crushed for our iniquities but then later on that after suffering these things he would be raised he would be given glory victory for the salvation of many and so it was necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory just as a grain of wheat must first be buried in the earth experiencing a form of death in order for it to then sprout up into life and bear much fruit it was necessary for Jesus to suffer and die as Hebrews chapter 2 verse 14 and 15 says since the children of God share in flesh and blood Jesus himself likewise partook of the same things that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death that is the devil and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery

[30:45] Jesus had to first divest himself of his heavenly glory and take on human flesh so that he might take sinful men and women who wallow in shame and dishonor and lift them up to his glory Jesus had to first die in order to defeat death on our behalf and raise us up to eternal life Jesus had to first stoop low into our mire of sin in order to raise us up and wash us clean that's what Jesus did on the cross he was bearing the weight of our sins think about it this way imagine sin is like a great boulder beneath which we are all being crushed we're suffocating underneath it utterly hopeless under its bone crushing heft but

[31:50] Christ himself crawls underneath it and and appeared that at first he himself was overcome by it crushed by its massive weight he disappeared underneath it the rock didn't seem to budge at all but then on the third day with a great heave as if there's an earthquake the boulder stirs is lifted up from the ground and Jesus emerges from the ground to carry that massive weight and to cast it into the seas so that we could go free his suffering his humiliation his death was necessary for our redemption and then in verse 27

[32:52] Jesus proceeds to show these disciples this truth from the scriptures he says and beginning with Moses and all the prophets he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself Moses and the prophets refer to the two of the largest sections of the Old Testament scripture the law and the prophets it's often used as a shorthand for the entirety of scriptures and notice the repetition of the word all in this verse beginning with Moses and all the prophets he interpreted to them in all the scripture the things concerning himself in other words Jesus the son of God the incarnate word the word become flesh himself he believed that all of scriptures from Genesis and now to revelation spoke of him he fulfilled all of the Old Testament scriptures earlier in

[33:55] Luke chapter 16 in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus when the rich man who was in torment in Hades begged Abraham in heaven to send poor Lazarus who was in heaven with him to send Lazarus to his brothers who are living in ignorance about God he says so that he may warn them lest they also come into this place of torment Abraham answered them this way they have Moses and the prophets let them hear them for if they do not hear Moses and the prophets neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead those words are literally being fulfilled in our passage Jesus has literally been raised from the dead and he is announcing to them this redemption God's salvation plan and yet these two disciples on the road to Emmaus do not believe because they have not listened to Moses and the prophets they have not listened to scriptures they are like two men who are tinkering around with like a new toy or a gadget or a tool that they just received as a present it's a really intense discussion they are earnestly debating what it's for

[35:16] I think it's for this no then it wouldn't have this button right here I don't think it's for that it's for that and they seem really smart and serious and articulate but then it's all silly if they're ignoring the instruction manual they should have known better these two disciples were intensely debating the significance of the recent events was Jesus really the Messiah why did he die what does it all mean are these reports of the resurrection true but all along the scriptures that they claimed to believe had explained everything had prophesied of everything and too many people nowadays still do the same you sit around debating God and religion and Jesus oh no one really knows

[36:21] God they say no one really knows the way of salvation all religions are basically the same they're all talking about the same thing getting to the same place they're all partial pictures of this ultimate reality that's what they say well that sentiment sounds noble and humble until we remember that God has actually revealed himself to us God has spoken through his scriptures God has said in his word that to know him and to love him and to worship him is the reason we were created that's the purpose and meaning of our lives God has said in his scriptures that he has accomplished his salvation plan through his son Jesus Christ through his death and resurrection God has said in his word that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and if we believe in our hearts that he has been raised from the dead that we will be saved

[37:27] God has spoken he has revealed himself and for us to listen to all of that and then to plead ignorance and to claim uncertainty that's not humility that's hubris that's foolishness slowness of heart to believe and these very same scriptures are being proclaimed to you right now do you believe it we must believe in the spoken word but we also must partake in the broken bread that's my second point it says in verses 28 to 29 so they drew near to the village to which they were going he acted as if he were going further but they urged him strongly saying stay with us for it is toward evening and the day is not far spent so he went in to stay with them so as they're approaching Emmaus as Jesus acted as if he were going further this is typical kind of Middle Eastern

[38:42] Asian courtesy you don't impose on others hospitality in this culture by asking them hey I don't have a place to stay for the night can I stay at your place this evening you don't ask that in this culture because to do so would be a breach of etiquette because by asking them you're really forcing their hand because now they can't say no because if they know that brings great shame to them in that culture so instead even though Jesus wanted to stay with them he acted as if he were going further but the disciples urged him strongly saying stay with us this too is typical Middle Eastern hospitality when your guest tells you hey I really need to get going you assume that they're just being polite they don't want to over stay they don't want to be rude so you insist that they stay no you really must stay when your guest tells you I have had enough food to eat I'm full you assume that they're just being demure and then you keep heaping more food onto their plates so when the disciples insist that Jesus stay with them he says okay he obliges he stays with them in verse 30 when he was at table with them he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them this verse shares numerous parallels with two other significant meals that have taken place in the gospel of Luke first was the feeding of the 5,000 in Luke 9 verse 16 and the second was the last supper

[40:20] Luke chapter 22 verse 19 and in all three of these meals Jesus does the same things in the same order he takes the bread he blesses it or give thanks for it he breaks it and he gives it to his disciples at the institution of the Lord's supper in Luke 22 verse 19 Jesus took bread and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them saying this is my body which is given for you do this in remembrance of me so it's significant and not an accident that in the breaking of bread as it says in verse 31 their eyes were opened and they recognized him and he vanished from their sight once again a divine passive their eyes were opened who opened their eyes it was God who opened their eyes it's a reference to their spiritual sight because they had no trouble finding their way to Emmaus their eyes physically are working but they lacked spiritual vision but they were because it says in verse 16 they were kept from recognizing

[41:29] Jesus but now in the breaking of bread their eyes are opened the verb to open occurs six times in the gospel of Luke and in the sequel the book of Acts and in all six occurrences it refers to divine revelation when God sovereignly opens something opens the eyes of people so that they might perceive so that they might understand and in nearly all of those occurrences it specifically refers to God revealing himself through his scriptures and that connection is made explicitly here in verses 31 to 32 their eyes were opened and they recognized him and he vanished from their sight they said to each other did not our hearts burn with us while he talked to us on the road while he opened to us the scriptures formerly they were slow of heart to believe but when Jesus was opening up the scriptures to them their hearts burned with the light of knowledge and the fire of passion and the opening up of the scriptures is what prepares them and is what's connected to the opening up there of their spiritual eyes which happens in the breaking of bread and this sequence anticipates the corporate worship of the church in all future generations where the word and sacrament become the focal points a true church is a gathering of believers where the word of

[43:10] Christ is spoken and the bread of Christ is broken that's the definition of the church a true church is where the scriptures are opened and the sacrament is eaten and this episode is also a culmination of the motif of blindness and sight that Luke has been using over and over again in Luke chapter 4 verses 18 to 19 Jesus gave his mission statement at the onset of his public ministry and that was this the spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor he has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind to set at liberty those who are oppressed to proclaim the ear of the Lord's favor these verses were structured in a mirroring chiastic structure to highlight the middle element the center element the recovering of sight to the blind opening the eyes of the blind literally

[44:16] Jesus does that as well but even more importantly figuratively is what Jesus came to earth to do in Luke chapter 6 verse 39 he uses a parable of blindness can a blind man lead a blind man will they not both fall into a pit a disciple is not above his teacher but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher verse chapter 8 verse 10 Jesus spoke of those people who are seeing yet do not see the truth and this recurring theme of Jesus leading his blind disciples to see comes to a climax in this chapter in the road to Emmaus when their eyes are finally opened and this opening of eyes in the breaking of bread is a wonderful reversal of what happened in the fall Genesis chapter 3 verses 6 to 7 it says that Eve took of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and ate she also gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate then the eyes of both were opened and they knew that they were naked notice all the verbal perils take give eat eyes opened at the fall when the first man and woman disobeyed

[45:50] God and took and ate and gave from the forbidden tree their eyes were open to sin their eyes were open to their nakedness and shame their eyes were open to death and in the new covenant Christ takes and gives us to eat the bread which represents his body that hung on the tree of the cross the fruit that he takes from that tree and gives to us is his own body and when we eat of it our eyes are open again to his glory our eyes are open to eternal life and as if to say that as long as our spiritual eyes are open as long as the eyes of our hearts are open seeing Jesus physically is not necessary right after that opening of their eyes he says

[46:51] Jesus vanished from their sight Jesus resurrection body is obviously no longer subject to physical limitations as soon as the disciples see with faith they do not need to see with eyes and that should be encouragement to us because we don't get to see Jesus physically this is Luke's encouragement to us without seeing you can see you can believe God opens the eyes of our hearts so that we understand his word and believe in Christ the redeemer and this reality should drive us to our knees it should lead us to prayer when you realize that you are absolutely powerless to save that family member that neighbor that friend that you love dearly when you realize really that you cannot save that person you can't help but pray it drives you to your knees sovereign

[48:01] God open their eyes so that they might see so that they might know you and believe in you this is why apostle Paul prays this way Ephesians 1 17 to 19 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the father of glory may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him having the eyes of your hearts enlightened that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe that immeasurable greatness of his power that glorious inheritance that we as believers have experienced we have not come to that experience because of our own abilities God has revealed that to us the spirit has opened the eyes of our hearts and that should be our prayer for our loved ones every day because unless

[49:07] God himself illuminates the eyes of our hearts no person can see this should also make us cherish and prioritize the corporate worship of the church the means of grace that God has given us if you are lacking in faith and zeal this morning I exhorted to open up God's scriptures ask him to speak to you and give you understanding listen to the reading and preaching of God's word avidly and prayerfully on Sunday mornings partake in the breaking of bread and the fellowship of believers in the local church these are means of grace that God has furnished his people with these are the means by which God conveys his saving grace to us these are not optional for the spiritual flourishing of

[50:17]  God's people that's why Hebrews 10 24 25 says let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some but encouraging one another all the more as you see the day drawing near that day of Christ's return of our full redemption of our of the consummation of our union with Christ that day that we look forward to every day of our lives that day is coming and when that day comes our faith will turn to sight we will see everything but until then we must see with faith and in order to do that we need each other to remind each other to exhort each other because there's no eternal life apart from it please take a moment to reflect on that truth and afterward we will respond by praying out loud together as a church happy ever we do this it for the us have to