Locked in Fear? Hear What the Risen Jesus Says to You- Sunday Sermon (Copy)
Scripture Reading: Luke 24
That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 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. 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?” 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?” 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, 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. 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, 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 women had said, but him they did not see.” 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?” 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. He acted as if he were going farther, 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. 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, 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?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Known in the Breaking of the Bread: A Sermon on Luke 24 (Road to Emmaus)
Preacher: James Huenink Scripture: Luke 24 (Road to Emmaus)
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God, our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Road to Emmaus: Two Disciples and a Stranger
Today, our story from the Gospel of Luke is a fascinating one — a story about two disciples going along the road to Emmaus, joined by Jesus, but they don't recognize him. Such a fascinating story: he walks with them and talks with them, and they still don't see who he is, until we get to the very end, when he breaks the bread and they see Jesus, and finally they recognize him.
This passage is all about the culmination of a theme that Luke has in his Gospel: table fellowship. Christ comes to be with his people at a table, and that theme culminates here as he is revealed in the breaking of the bread. This passage helps us to see the beauty of Holy Communion, since Christ has not left us alone, but comes to us in our own breaking of the bread.
So that's what I'd like to talk about today — this passage showing the beauty and glory of Christ's coming among us in the breaking of the bread.
Luke's Theme of Table Fellowship
I mentioned that the Gospel of Luke plays on a theme called table fellowship. Throughout the gospel, Luke shows Jesus eating meals with more people than any other gospel. Sure, in some of the gospels we get Jesus coming and eating with sinners and tax collectors, but it's mentioned briefly and then they move on. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus has meals with all sorts of people — with the tax collectors, with Levi, with the Pharisees, with people, over and over and over again.
And Luke always combines it with two things: there is teaching and food, and of course, the presence of Christ. It happens over and over — Levi's banquet, the tax collector, the sinful woman, Zacchaeus, the feeding of the 5,000 — and then finally, we see it here.
Why Did They Not Recognize Jesus?
Our story begins with two disciples walking along the road. Jesus comes up to them and begins speaking to them, and I want you to pay attention to why they did not recognize him. It says in verse 16: "but their eyes were kept from recognizing him."
They didn't make a mistake here. This isn't like Mary Magdalene, who just didn't recognize Jesus until he spoke. They were prevented. They were kept from recognizing Jesus.
Sometimes you can expect why people don't recognize each other out of context. If I were to go running and run past you in my running clothes, I bet most of you wouldn't recognize me at all, right? Because I'm not wearing the uniform. I could walk up, say your name, and you'd be like, "Oh, now I get it." But that's not what happened here. When Jesus started speaking as they're walking along the road and teaching them, if this had been one of those situations, they would have figured it out. They spent years with the guy, learning and listening — but they were prevented. They were kept from recognizing him.
The passive construction shows that something is going on here outside of the normal — that God's power is at work, keeping them from understanding who Jesus was.
Scripture Explained on the Road
So while they are walking, Jesus explains to them all of the passages of Scripture that are about him, as it says: "Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? And beginning with Moses and all the prophets he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself."
Sometimes I wonder how long they were walking, because this sounds like a really long sermon from Jesus — with Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.
So as they walk, their hearts burn with joy at the words of Christ, and even then, they still don't recognize him — until they ask him to stay.
"Stay With Us": An Evening Prayer
It says, "but they urged him strongly, saying, 'Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.'"
I highlight these words because our evening prayer service uses them as part of the introduction. If you come on our Wednesday nights during Advent and Lent, you will hear them:
Jesus Christ is the light of the world, the light no darkness can overcome. Stay with us now, for it is evening and the day is almost over. Let your light scatter the darkness and shine within your people here.
That's where we get that from. So they urge him to stay for the meal, following up in Luke's pattern of table fellowship.
The Breaking of the Bread: The Pattern of Holy Communion
And so what does it say? "When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them."
This should sound rather familiar. As you look at this pattern of words, it sounds like another time that Jesus was with a group of disciples — when he took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and then distributed it.
In fact, we see it a couple of times in the Gospel of Luke. The first time is in the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 (Luke 9), where it says: "And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, said a blessing over them, and then he broke the loaves and gave it to the disciples and set it before the crowd."
But the one that probably got your ears ringing is from Luke 22, when Jesus institutes the Last Supper: "And he 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.'"
It's not an accident that the pattern is followed here. Luke is showing us that what Jesus is doing is not just dinner. He is showing them the breaking of the bread — the pattern of Holy Communion that we still follow today when we speak the words of institution. It's the culmination of all of the meals, of all of the teaching. Everything comes together in this breaking of the bread.
Their Eyes Were Opened: Christ Revealed in the Sacrament
And then what happens as he breaks the bread? He vanishes in front of them. "And their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he vanished from their sight."
So it was in this pattern — taking the bread, blessing it, giving thanks, breaking it, and giving — that they recognized Jesus. Their eyes were opened. The force that was preventing them from recognizing him suddenly opened their eyes. The power that kept them from seeing Jesus suddenly showed him to them in the breaking of the bread.
Christ is with us. He doesn't leave us alone. He comes to us in this breaking of the bread, the same way now as he did with those disciples. When we break the bread together, when we gather around Christ's body and blood, he doesn't leave us alone. Despite ascending into heaven, he comes to be with us — with his body and his blood — to be with you, to comfort you.
And Luke gives us a way to understand how it's even possible that Christ can do this, because we know he's just a human being, right? How can the body be like that? How can Christ be everywhere, at every altar, in every place?
Well — because he is also the Son of God. His body can do things that other bodies cannot.
He vanishes from their sight. This is not Batman throwing down a smoke bomb and dodging out the window. Jesus is not a ninja. He disapperates. He disappears in front of them. I don't know about you, I can't do that — but Christ is able to, because he is the Son of God. And this is why we can say that his body is here on this altar and every other altar all across the planet, and why he can come to be with us, with his body and his blood, to give you peace and give you grace and give you salvation.
"He Was Known to Them in the Breaking of the Bread"
After seeing this, the disciples know exactly what is going on. Scripture tells us they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem, and they found the eleven gathered, saying, "The Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon."
And here's what they say: "They told what had happened on the road and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread."
He was known to them. He was revealed to them in the breaking of the bread. They recognized him in the moment of that breaking of the bread.
What Some Translations Miss
I emphasize this because of how some Bible translations handle this passage. If you read in the NIV, it says: "Then the two told what had happened on the way and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread." The CEV says: "Then the disciples from Emmaus told what had happened on the road and how they knew he was the Lord when he broke the bread." The Amplified Bible: "They began describing in detail what had happened on the road and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread."
These translations make it sound like the breaking of the bread was just the time marker — that over time they were just thinking, "This guy looks familiar. What is going on?" And then he breaks the bread, and they go, "Oh, now I get it."
That's not what's going on here. Jesus is being revealed in the breaking of the bread. His presence is known in the breaking of the bread.
The Breaking of the Bread in the Early Church
And so when the apostles come together in Acts 2, devoted to "the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, the breaking of the bread and the prayers" — they're not coming just to eat. They're coming for Holy Communion.
The same themes in the Gospel of Luke show up in the life of the church, as the church gathers around the Word and the Sacrament — so that the risen Christ can be among us in unrisen bread, so that our Savior can be here among us, not leave us alone, but dwell with us every Sunday.
Christ Does Not Leave Us Alone
That's what the Savior of the world does for us. He comes to us to be with us, even after ascending into heaven. He doesn't leave us alone. He reveals himself now in the breaking of the bread, so that even when we are lonely or hurt — or whatever it was those disciples were going through — our Savior doesn't leave us.
We may be comforted, as he says: "This is my body. This is my blood."
Our Savior comes to us and makes himself known in the breaking of the bread.
In Jesus' name. Amen.