When Jesus Walks with You

Luke 24:13-35 chronicles one of the many Jesus-sightings that took place after the Resurrection. It tells the story of two followers of Jesus who were walking from Jerusalem to a place called Emmaus, and while on they were on the road, they were processing everything that had just happened. They were processing Jesus’ death. It’s interesting to me that Luke adds the note about these two being on the road to Emmaus, on the road away from Jerusalem. Given all they had experienced, the trauma of the crucifixion, it makes sense that they just had to get away from Jerusalem. Too much had gone down in Jerusalem. The crucifixion had taken the life of Jesus, the One they had been following, the One they had placed all their hopes in.

These two disciples had seen enough from Jesus to have developed the mindset that nothing bad would ever happen to Jesus. He stilled storms. He healed the sick. He literally slayed demons. In their minds, He was indestructible. Even if He was crucified, they could have imagined that they would see a last-minute miracle that would turn it all around, but things ended, in their minds, with a cold, dark tomb.

I don’t know what they had abandoned to follow Jesus, what it had personally cost them to join the growing Jesus-movement, but following Jesus now wasn’t possible. They were literally in shock, in grief, in disbelief that their pursuit of Jesus could have led them to that moment, could have led them to a dead end.

Have you ever had an experience that caught you by such surprise, in a bad way, that you found yourself saying, “How can this be my life right now?” “How am I having to deal with this right now?” “How is this the way my story ends?” “How could God let this happen?” Such was the mindset of these two disciples.

Sometime, in those moments, getting away, walking away, distancing yourself from the physical place where some pain occurred, is all that is on your mind. I don’t know why the two in the story were walking to Emmaus, but I don’t think it is a stretch to believe they just couldn’t take being in the place of Jesus’ death. Getting away was the only thing they knew to do.

It is often our natural instinct to want to get away from that which has disappointed us, from situations and people who have crushed us, from circumstances that have disillusioned us, but we see in this story, that Jesus wasn’t going to let them simply “walk away.” He was going to join them on their walk. Oh, hallelujah! Praise the God who joins us in our pain, who seeks us when we have questions, who pursues us on the path when we are processing life’s hurts.

So, Jesus sort of slipped up on them and joined their walk and talk. Verse 16 of Luke 22 tells us that “they were kept from recognizing Him.” We don’t know if God was somehow keeping them from realizing that it was the resurrected Jesus who had joined their journey or if in their discouraged condition, they just weren’t able to process His identity, but they didn’t know it was Him.  They had seen Him crucified. Scripture tells us that because of what He endured, He was severely disfigured to the point of being unrecognizable. His risen condition would have been a complete 180 from the horrific vision they had seen a few days prior.

We aren’t sure why they didn’t recognize Him, but I do know this, God often inserts Himself into our lives, and we fail to see Him. There are people He sends at the right time to encourage and care for us, but we fail to give Him the credit for those happenings. There are signs of His goodness along the way that we don’t acknowledge come from Him. When life rocks us to the core, it can be difficult to see anything beyond what we feel or beyond what we “think” we know. They had seen a crucified Jesus. They weren’t wrong about that. They had seen Jesus entombed. They weren’t alone in what they had seen. They were processing the whole thing in the context of community. No one had any answers. The point is, they weren’t looking for Jesus in the midst of their circumstances because they had already trusted in their personal experience and in their feelings.

Oh God, give us eyes to see where You are working. That kind teacher that gives us another opportunity to take a test, the unexpected financial blessing that came right on time, the help from a neighbor to clean up after this week’s storms, the text from a friend to ask how we are doing, the grace given when a late fee is waived, the song that comes on the radio that speaks to our spiritual and emotional need, the appreciation we receive after a season of feeling overlooked, the offer to help us in some tangible way, the advice we get that sends us in the right direction…every good and perfect gift comes from God. May we have eyes to see Him at work.

And, God, Give us faith to believe that even when we can’t see it You ARE working.

On the Road to Emmaus, we learn the lesson that we can never count Jesus out! God is never without options. He knows no limitation. Even when something is “over,” it isn’t always “over,” and if it is “over” in an earthly sense, Jesus will be there to walk with us as we process our sorrow.

I want to pick up the story in verse 17: ¹⁷ He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast. ¹⁸ One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

Cleopas basically said, “Have you been living under a rock?” Jesus could have answered, “Well, temporarily, I was.” (Help me out here, people. I worked on that joke in my head all week, and it went off much better in my head than it did just now! )

Jesus played the situation off as if He didn’t know what they were talking about. He went on to say, “What things?” They replied, “About Jesus of Nazareth. He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. ²⁰ The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; ²¹ but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. 

There it is. “We had hoped.” We had a hope for something that doesn’t seem to be panning out. We had expectations that weren’t met. We had dreams that have been crushed.

Ever been there? You had a picture of the way your life would go, and the current state of affairs doesn’t resemble it at all. Your hopes have been dashed. Jesus joins you on that journey. He walks with you in those moments.

Isn’t it interesting, that the very thing they hoped for, was the very thing Jesus accomplished! It just didn’t look like they thought it would. Jesus did come to redeem Israel. Friends, can we learn to let God be God and let Him execute His plans in the way that will bring Him the greatest glory? Jesus came not only to redeem Israel, but the entire world. Their hopes and dreams for Israel to be liberated from Rome were way too small. God had far greater plans!

God has far greater plans for each of us than we could have for ourselves. Refuse to evaluate His success based on physical, earthly evidence. Trust that something greater is always at work when God is working things out for you. Cleopas went on in verse 21 to say, “And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. ²² In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning ²³ but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. ²⁴ Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”

Wait a minute. They had heard the testimony of the women who reported the angel sighting and the news of the Resurrection. They knew that some of the disciples went to the tomb to find it empty, something that you would think would have been a great encouragement to them, but it wasn’t enough. Because the disciples who went to the tomb, saw the empty tomb, but didn’t see Jesus, Cleopas and his companion didn’t contemplate that the story could be true.

Remember what I mentioned last week from John 20:8? When John saw the strips of linen inside the empty tomb, he saw the evidence and believed. John’s testimony was the same as the women’s testimony. Jesus was alive, but Cleopas and the other disciple, didn’t believe. The women saw the angels, and empty tomb and believed. John saw the strips of linen and believed, but Cleopas and his friend couldn’t believe. Maybe he was like Thomas who said he had to see the risen Lord for himself in order to believe.

Listen to John 20:24-29 ²⁴ Now Thomas (also known as Didymus^[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

²⁶ A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” ²⁸ Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Just as Jesus appeared to Thomas because He knew what Thomas needed to be able to believe for himself, He appeared to these two on the Road to Emmaus who were having trouble believing anything but their feelings. Oh, how grateful I am that Jesus joins us in our doubts and fears. He comes where we are to reveal Himself to each of us. Listen, He is here today. He is speaking. He is reminding you of your value and worth to Him. He is reminding you of His presence in your life. He hasn’t abandoned you. He hasn’t given up on you. He hasn’t walked away from you. He is the One chasing you down. Today, the word for someone is stop doubting and believe.

It was Jesus’ turn to talk on the Emmaus walk: 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.

Allow me some quick takeaways:

1. When Jesus walks with you, He will explain and confirm His Word.

How do you know when the Resurrected Lord is walking with you? He will bring Scripture to your mind. He will give you understanding about what He has already said. He will lead your mind into the truth. Until you have a word from the Word about your situation, you haven’t heard from Jesus on whatever the subject is. The Word of God is our authority. It will trump our feelings. It will surpass our understanding and outstrip our perspective and our intellect. Jesus took them to the Word because it is ultimate. The Word of God is living and active, Hebrews 4:12. It is still relevant for today. As Jesus walks with us, He will take us to His Word. Get in the Word as often as possible, so that you are regularly availing yourself to His instruction. The role of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to guide our minds and hearts to God’s truth on every situation. That happens as we read the Word.

²⁸ As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. ²⁹ But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

When you have welcomed instruction from the Word, you will want to hear more and more of what Jesus has to say.

2. When Jesus walks with you, and you receive Him, you won’t want your time with Him to end.

There are times, even in our worship services, when we are experiencing the manifest presence of Jesus with us, and I don’t want to go home. I don’t want it to be over.  Anyone know what I am talking about? There is a comfort and peace that comes when Jesus joins you on your way that you won’t want to let go of.

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 recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 

In that moment, as Jesus broke bread and gave thanks, they were jolted into the reality of who the stranger was. It was the One they were grieving, the One they had set their hopes on, the One that in that moment, they realized they could follow forever.

3. When Jesus walks with you, He will open your eyes to receive a full revelation of Himself.

Anyone need a jolt of reality this morning? Anyone need to see Jesus in their midst? Anyone need to recognize that He has been walking with you all along? Anyone need to see what is really going on in your circumstance? When they recognized that it was Jesus in their midst, every wrong thought they had dwelled on, every false feeling they had been clinging to, was radically changed. Seeing Jesus made the difference in their doubt, their disappointment, and their defeated outlook.

One important detail of this story that I don’t want us to miss is that revelation came, help came, a reordering of their story came because they invited Jesus to spend time with them.  Verse 29 tells us that they asked Jesus to stay with them.

I believe every Sunday Jesus walks the aisles of this church. I believe every time we gather that He speaks to us individually. I believe He calls to each of us as individuals. I believe He seeks to walk alongside us, but hear me, deeper revelation will only come, the kind of revelation that brings liberation from our pain and heartache, when we invite Him to stay with us. I guess what I am trying to say is that Jesus wants to walk with you, but you have to want His company to benefit from His presence.

Well, the text tells us that Jesus disappeared from their sight, and after that, they had something new to process.

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?” ³³ They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem.

There was an immediate change in their lives. Because of time with Jesus, they were on the road back to Jerusalem. They had tried to distance themselves from reminders of life and time with Jesus. They had tried to get away from their pain, but meeting with Jesus pointed them again to the purpose for which they had been called to follow Him. They joined the others again. They reaffirmed their place in the Christ-community again.

There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together ³⁴ and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” ³⁵ Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

Those two dejected disciples found themselves reconnecting with the people they had disconnected from. Time with Jesus led them back to His people. Time with Jesus led them back to being part of the group of Christ-followers who had also experienced the Resurrected Lord. Time with Jesus led them to testify to the Resurrection for themselves and reunited them with those who would go on to preach the Good News.

4. When Jesus walks with you, you will rediscover your purpose and identity.

Are you trying to walk away from some painful event, some broken experience?  Has it been difficult to see Jesus in the midst of your story? Have you been looking for Him? Have you believed in faith that God has a plan greater than what you can see? That He IS working even if it is tough to find evidence for His workings?  Do you see the confidence that other people have in Christ, but struggle to believe in Him for yourself? What place does His Word have in your life? How many times this last week did you stop to read a Psalm or a Gospel story? Have you welcomed Him and invited Him to stay with you?

Those disciples on the Emmaus Road were grieving that something had ended.  Life with Jesus the way they knew it HAD ended. He would be ascending to the Father, and He would send the Holy Spirit to live in the hearts of His followers, to equip and empower them from the inside out to live out His life here on earth. It was bigger and better than anything they could have imagined. Maybe one take away for us is this:

There had to be an ending before there could be a new beginning.

Jesus’ earthly ministry and life had to end before sin could be atoned for, before death could be conquered, before Satan could be defeated, and before the Holy Spirit could be poured out and the Church could be born. Jesus, the Resurrected Lord, was inviting those two disciples to a new beginning with Him.

What new beginning might be on the other side of some pain for you? How is Jesus trying to insert Himself into your life right now? How does your purpose and identity need to be reclaimed or reshaped?  In what ways do your eyes need to be opened to fully see Jesus? Jesus wants to walk with you today. Will you share your journey with Him?