Sermons

Luke 24:13 And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And they were conversing with each other about all these things which had taken place. ¹⁵ And it came about that while they were conversing and discussing, Jesus Himself approached, and began traveling with them. ¹⁶ But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. ¹⁷ And He said to them, "What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?" And they stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸ And one of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, "Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?" ¹⁹ And He said to them, "What things?" And they said to Him, "The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, ²⁰ and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him up to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. ²¹ "But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. ²² "But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, ²³ and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that He was alive. ²⁴ "And some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see." ²⁵ And He said to them, "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ "Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?" ²⁷ And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. ²⁸ And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He would go farther. ²⁹ And they urged Him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over." And He went in to stay with them. ³⁰ And it came about that when He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. ³¹ And their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. ³² And they said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?" ³³ And they arose that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, ³⁴ saying, "The Lord has really risen, and has appeared to Simon." ³⁵ And they began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.

"AUTHENTIC ENCOUNTER"/LUKE 24:13-35

The title of a NEWSWEEK article in the August 29-September 5, 2005 edition caught my attention. The title was In Search of the Spiritual: Move over, politics, Americans are looking for personal, ecstatic experiences of God, and, according to our poll, they don’t much care what the neighbors are doing. The article reports on a poll taken by NEWSWEEK and Beliefnet. The poll concluded that "eight in 10 Americans–including 68 percent of evangelicals–believe that more than one faith can be a path to salvation ..." So, where does all this find us today? If the results of the NEWSWEEK/Beliefnet survey are correct, then the majority of us are "looking for transcendence in the midst of the mundane." We are seeking something to help us make sense of our day-to-day lives–the ups and downs. My purpose is to help each of you to have an "authentic encounter" with the Divine. It is possible for you to have such an encounter. We now embark upon such a search by considering a story of ...

I) AN AUTHENTIC ENCOUNTER WITH THE DIVINE–Luke 24:13-35

A) The Bible reading today is about two men who unexpectedly, and unknowingly at first, encounter the resurrected Jesus. Let’s walk through this story and consider how, we too, might encounter God who, alone, can, and I pray will, transforms our lives.

1) We find these two men talking, and greatly perplexed about the events surrounding the crucifixion and death of Jesus (vv.13-14). There may be among us today those who are wondering, as did these men, about the death and resurrection of Jesus. I have good news ...

2) Jesus joins them, the resurrected Jesus that is, but they are unaware of who He is (v.15). But, why? They were prevented by divine prerogative (v.16). Do you see Him today? If you do, then it is only because God has chosen to reveal Him to you. If you don’t see Him, then you need God to remove the scales of unbelief from your eyes. There is no other way to have an authentic encounter with God cf. 1 Corinthians 2:14-15.

3) Jesus engages these men by asking what they were talking about (v.17). They took Him as one being "out of the loop," but went on to explain anyway (vv.18-24). Their problem was that they were just "hoping" that Jesus truly was the one who would deliver them from sin, death, the wrath of God, and the one who would establish a kingdom of righteousness. What these men needed was not only to hope, but to have trust in Jesus’ person and works. The same is true of us today, we must personally trust in Jesus Christ, if we are to have an authentic encounter with God.

4) Jesus goes on then to give them correct understanding of the events surrounding His death (vv.25-29). Jesus tells them what they misunderstood about the events of His death and resurrection. What they missed was what was proclaimed in the Bible. At the heart of all this is the fact that Jesus came for the purpose of suffering for sinners, and then, by virtue of that suffering, enter into His glory (v.26). To help in understanding this more fully, let’s consider Luke 24:46-47. In these verses are found the means to an authentic encounter with God. You must believe what is written of Christ in the Bible–He suffered, rose from the dead, and that a message of repentance be proclaimed to all the nations and personally received. Do you believe this?

5) What’s next in the story is of utmost importance to us now. Jesus reveals Himself to these men (vv.30-32). Note verse 31: "And their eyes were opened ..." That’s what we need today to encounter God. We are told in God’s Word that there are none who seek for God (Romans 3:11b), and we are told that it is God who is seeking worshipers (John 4:23). All human effort is futile, as God alone must draw us to Himself cf. John 6:44. By this, God makes clear that He alone gets all the credit for salvation–the real deal in an authentic encounter.

6) These men, upon having their spiritual eyes opened, remembered their feelings at the hearing of God’s Word about Jesus (v.32). Is your heart burning within you this morning? Could it be that God is opening your spiritual eyes to see Jesus, to encounter God in the flesh? If you sense this, then hear these words from God’s Word, and do what they say: Acts 2:37-38; 16:31; Romans 10:8-11; John 1:12-13.

7) One final thing to consider: the response of the two who encountered Jesus (vv.33-35). They went about proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus, and giving personal testimony of their experience with Jesus. If we’ve had an authentic encounter with Jesus Christ, then we will do the same. So, let us go and do likewise! Let us proclaim that He is Risen!