Word of Salvation – Vol. 20 No.27 - April 1974

 

The Emmaus-Travellers Received The Treatment They Needed

 

Easter Sermon by Rev. Wm. F. Van Brussel, B.D. on Luke 24:25

Scripture: Luke 24:13-35

Ps. Hymnal: 483, 251, 410:4.5, 360:3 (after Creed) 356:3

 

Jesus is alive.  WE know that.  WE believe that.  There is no doubt in our minds.  This is one of the essential points of our Christian faith which we profess in fellowship with the Church of all ages: Christ is risen...!

Our Scripture passage tells us that it was not so easy for the believers at the time to believe this.

God was aware of this difficulty for His children.  That is why He allowed our living Lord to stay around a little longer before 'going home' on the day of His Ascension.

The Master of the disciples was exalted.  He was no longer the suffering Servant.  He was the Risen Lord ready to be taken up into His glory.  Yet, in the interest of His confused people who were foolish and slow of heart He lingered for some 40 days.

Did our Lord have a busy day on that day of His resurrection!  It was a hectic day only because His disciples who knew the Scriptures did not really know the Word of God as they should have done.

In this present Service we are going to consider how THE EMMAUS-TRAVELERS RECEIVED THE TREATMENT THEY NEEDED.

We shall look at:

            1)  their need;
            2)  their treatment.

1)  Their Need

We know hardly anything about these two men, Cleopas and his friend, whose name is not even mentioned.  We find them strolling on their way from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus.  They had gone to Jerusalem perhaps to share in the Passover celebrations and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread.

We have no idea why they should have left the city at this particular hour when all the friends of the Lord Jesus Christ were wondering about what had happened to the tomb.  Personally they had no faith apparently in regard to the reports of an empty grave and a risen Master.  They had decided not to wait until further light would become available to unveil this mystery.

Thus we find them traveling on, in darkness, in doubt, at a time when they should have looked for Him Who was the Light of the world.  As far as they were concerned, there was no hope left.  "We had hoped that He was the One to redeem Israel....!”

O yes, they knew about those rumours about strange events at the grave-site.  They had also heard reports that some of the disciples had gone to the tomb straight away to find out for themselves.  And they had found the grave empty, they were told, "...but HIM they did not see''!!

Yet, they were absorbed in their conversation about the things which had happened those last few days.  Whether they wanted to admit it or not, they had not completely lost all hope, although it was mixed with a large amount of fear.

As you all know, the risen Lord Himself came and joined them as they walked on.  He caught up with them unnoticed and heard some bits and pieces of their talk before they were aware of His presence.  (Everything very much similar to what happened to the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8.)

An intriguing detail of this story is that we find it reported here that "their eyes were kept from recognizing Him,"  There is no further comment on this point which makes it hard for us to draw a conclusion, and to decide WHAT exactly kept them from recognizing Christ.

Was this due to what Mark wrote in chapter 16:12 of his Gospel, that He, that is, the Lord, appeared to them in "another form'' as they were walking in the country?

Or, were they so pre-occupied with their own thoughts and sadness that it was rather a matter of guilt than of anything else?

There may have been something of either of the two elements in it.  Whatever the reason, their eyes were spellbound.

It seems warranted to state that, since we find this time and again in the Easter-records that they KNEW and yet failed to know, that they SAW and yet did not recognize, there was a large measure of GUILT in their attitude.  This is also suggested in the way our Lord spoke to them in these words of the text, "O foolish men and slow of heart....!"

Anyway, the risen Lord gave them an opportunity to tell HIM – who seemed to be the ONLY One in all of Jerusalem Who did NOT know, what had happened – and to give vent to their feelings about this whole situation.  In particular about this that those who had reported that "Him they did not see," had made an awfully desperate impression on them.

Obviously there was no Easter-joy whatsoever in the hearts of these two men.  They were terribly worried.  They emphasized every single detail that was gloomy and their comments on the rumours in the holy city were extremely brief.  The Master's body was no longer in the grave, and they did not know what to think about that serious situation.

They were friends of the Lord Jesus all right, but their ignorance was shocking, was it not?  They were genuinely sad, but how tiny was their faith!  Somebody compared their condition with that of John the Baptizer when he sent some of his disciples from prison asking Jesus: Are YOU the Christ, or should we look for someone else?

They were terribly puzzled about the whole situation.

And what did the Lord Jesus do in these conditions?  Did He say: Well, here I am!  It is true!  I have risen indeed!  See Me, feel Me, if you want.  No, that is not what He did.

But what He did do was: go to the very heart of their need.  What He did in the first place, and with great emphasis at this stage was, that He rebuked them.  He told them off.  "O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe....!”

He spoke as their Friend, no doubt, when He said this.  His aim was certainly not to blame them, full stop.  No, He was just as much showing them His loving concern.  He felt pity for them in their awful condition.  For this was an absolutely unnecessary condition of confusion and sadness.

What they were thinking and saying was senseless for people who claimed to be among the friends of Jesus Christ.  They should know better!

These words of our Lord make us think of what Paul wrote many years later to the members of the churches over in Galatia: Foolish Galatians!  Who has bewitched you before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?"

These disciples should have known for a long time WHAT was on the Messiah's programme.  It was ALL in the Scriptures.  They were meant to be well-versed in the sacred writings of the Old Testament.  Well, those Scriptures would have told them all of this IF they had been really interested in the ways of the Lord God of Israel.  IF they had gone over them really and truly and thoroughly, and had discovered for themselves all that was said in them about the coming of the Messiah and His work.  They had failed completely in the matter of Bible study.

And, let us admit straight away that this is OUR failure, too, so frequently.  Of course, we read our Bibles more or less faithfully, and more or less carefully.  But all of us tend to be one-sided.  All of us feel like going for a ride on our hobby-horses time and again.  We put a lot of weight on certain passages of the Bible and forget about the rest.  It is often due to our lopsided approach to the Word of God that we get our troubles as Christians among ourselves.

This is a lack we must be much aware of, and on our guard against.  A lot of harm is being done to the precious cause of Christ and of His Kingdom because of our failure to study ALL that the prophets have spoken.

Jesus made it abundantly clear to these travellers on the Emmaus road that THIS was their basic problem, their need: they had not paid enough attention to what the Scriptures were teaching about the Christ.

Let us beware of this tendency to select such passages from Holy Scripture as suit us nicely.  So frequently we must discover that we have been handling the Word of God in an unworthy, and unfair, manner.  And this is a sin in response to which Jesus says: O foolish men and slow of heart to believe ALL that the Bible teaches...!

Yes, if Christ had made it obvious straight away that He was Jesus Himself, there would not have been room for laying bare THEIR REAL NEED.  They might even have said, later on: Why did not the prophets speak a bit clearer, anyway?  (As people some- times tend to do, by the way!)

But then they would not have found out that it was their OWN silly mistake when they failed to recognize Christ as the CHRIST OF THE SCRIPTURES.  And then they would have missed out on a most essential part of our Lord's teaching, that it is utterly stupid and bad IF we do not pay ENOUGH attention to ALL that the Bible says about the Christ.

The Lord Jesus even told them that they were slow of heart.  Basically they had been indifferent, easy-going, and lazy in the matter of expressing their love for the Master.  They should have studied their Bibles much more carefully.

They had said to the Master: "Are YOU the only visitor to Jerusalem Who does NOT know the things that have happened there in these days?"  But now they knew that it was THEY themselves who did not know, and who had to bear the blame for not knowing the things they ought to have known a long time ago.  This was their urgent need.

2)  The treatment they received.

The treatment followed immediately after the diagnosis.  After the Lord had told them WHAT their weakness was He commenced explaining to them WHY and HOW they should have known for themselves.  They had all the information handy in their own precious Bibles, their Old Testament Scriptures.

The Jews had always been so proud of this special treatment which the Lord God had given them.  They had their own, unique, holy books.  And these books were being read in their synagogues and in their private homes.  They were available in the shops, these parchment rolls of Scripture.  The Ethiopian eunuch purchased one before returning home after his visit to the Holy City.

Well, what had these Jewish people been doing with their Scriptures?  Had they had a good sleep over them?  Had they not found out what all these sacrifices and ceremonies of the Old Testament-time had been pointing to all the time?  Had they not learned to understand that all that had been done in the Tabernacle, and later on in the Temple, was all symbolical in preparation of what the Messiah was coming to do for and among His people?

How had they been reading all those stories of Moses and the people in the wilderness after their deliverance from the bondage in Egypt?

Jesus offered a fascinating exposition of all that the prophets had spoken.  He quoted from the law, that is, the books of Moses, and the prophets, and all the rest of the Old Testament writings.  He did it with an insight, and an application, which amazed these two men no end as they proceeded on their way to Emmaus together.

Even while He was hanging on the cross Jesus had been quoting words from Scripture.  Had they not noticed that, these foolish Bible students with their slow hearts?

The Lord Jesus took the key of David and unlocked all the Messianic teaching of God's Old Testament revelation.

That they had never discovered this as well as they were able to do that NOW, was NOT only due to their OWN failure.  It was also, and much more, due to the failure of the teachers among God's people.  Jesus Himself had passed through a difficult time as a Teacher because the people of Israel had been instructed so one-sidedly and wrongly for many hundreds of years.

This is why the church of today must be well aware of what it is doing in regard to its teaching-programme.  The church must make sure that what is being done is the opening of the Scriptures according to the meaning of the Holy Spirit Who gave these Scriptures to God's people.

The individual members may not be lazy and indifferent in regard to this business of Bible study, but the church should also do all it can to encourage the study of God's Word by a sound preaching and teaching of ALL the truth about Christ.

All of us have to examine in what regard WE are foolish and slow of heart in the matter of Bible searching.  It may seem that we are not in the same boat with these two friends of the Lord on their way to Emmaus.  WE are very fond of studying what the Old Testament prophets have said concerning Christ perhaps.  But in OUR case it may be other aspects of God's truth which we tend to overlook or perhaps treat as irrelevant.

What about our study of such passages as are dealing with the Second Coming of Christ, for instance?  Are we indeed interested enough in the FUTURE of Christ and all who belong to Him?  Are we really longing for the full revelation of Christ's glory as it was promised us a long time ago?  Or do we fail to put time into this, and are we more interested in what we can 'get out of’ our faith right now?

Let us consider carefully what we are doing with God's Word on the personal, family, and church-level.  Would it make sense for the Lord of the church to come to us perhaps and to say: You claim to be a Christian congregation, but by the way, what does My Word mean to you in the life you are living both as a church and as Christian individuals?  What are you doing with My Word?  The Bible used to speak to the Jews in the Old Testament about My First Coming.  It also speaks about My Second Coming.  Do you search the Scriptures in connection with that?.  Or are you also foolish and slow of heart?  Did Luke 24, the story which you all know so well, not teach you a lesson?

May we as a congregation never give the Lord occasion to say to us: O foolish men and women of this congregation, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!  May He find us all diligent Bible students who are aware that they are heading for a unique Day, the Day of our Lord's Return in Glory.

And let us never forget, this Day is mentioned in God's Word as the Day of judgment.

When the Lord approached these two travellers there was still time to learn at last and to respond quickly.  This opportunity still exists today.  Don't postpone paying attention to all the Word of God.

And once we start studying the Word of God more carefully, all of it, would we not become more desirous to see and to meet the Risen Lord in Person, and to join Him forever in His Kingdom of everlasting righteousness, and peace, and never ending joy?
            Christ is risen, Christ the first-fruits
            Of the holy harvest field,
            Which will all its full abundance
            At His second coming yield
            Then the golden ears of harvest
            Will their heads before Him wave,
            Ripened by His glorious sunshine
            From the furrows of the grave.      (H.360:2)

            O Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
            The clouds be rolled back as a scroll,
            The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend;
            Even so it is well with my soul.      (H.445:4)

Amen.