Encountering Jesus On The Emmaus Road

SERMON OUTLINE:

(1). Broken Hearts (vs 13-14)

(2). Blinkered Hearts (vs 15-26)

(3). Briefed Hearts (vs 27)

(4). Burning Hearts (vs 28-32)

(5). Boasting Hearts (vs 33-35)

SERMON BODY:

Ill:

• DVD Clip:

• Or Story: https://youtu.be/hnOPu0_YWhw

• On January 12, 2007 at 7:51am in the morning;

• An experiment began … sponsored by the Washington Post newspaper.

• A musician takes his position against a wall in the metro station;

• Of the Washington DC., subway.

• He is wearing jeans; a long-sleeved shirt, and a baseball cap.

• He opens his violin case … removes the instrument;

• Throws a few dollars into the case from his pocket as “seed money” … and begins playing.

• He plays for the next 43 minutes … and during that time

• He performs six classical pieces – flawlessly!

• During that 43 minutes;

• 1,097 people passed by, tossing in a total of $32.17 into his violin case.

• Of that 1,097 people;

• Only seven paused longer than sixty seconds to listen to this performance;

• Of those seven who lingered … only one recognized the violinist!

The name of the violinist was Joshua Bell:

• Three days prior – he had filled Boston’s Symphony Hall;

• Where just “adequate” tickets sold for $100 apiece.

• Joshua Bell’s talents & artistry commands an average of $1,000 per minute;

• Yet, when performing this day in the subway;

• He barely earned enough to pay for a pair of cheap shoes.

Now..

• You can’t fault the instrument;

• He was playing a Stradivarius worth 3.5 million dollars!

• You can’t fault the performance …

• He flawlessly played some of Johann Sebastian Bach’s best work!

• Yet … scarcely anyone noticed the presence of such artistry in this context:

• Flanked by a kiosk on one side and a shoe-shine stand on the other

• Most of those passer-by’s cynically wrote off this entertainer;

• Little did they know that among them was a genius;

• And if they gave him some time he would greatly enrich their lives!

• TRANSITION: Joshua Bell is not the only one to go unrecognized;

• 2,000 years ago on that first Easter Sunday Jesus too went unrecognized.

• We are going to look at two people walking along the road to Emmaus;

• And like the busy commuters on the Washington DC., subway.

• These two people had no idea of the identity of the one they would soon encounter!

(1). Broken Hearts (vs 13-14):

“Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.”

• Some of the saddest words in our language begin with the letter D?

• For example:

• Disappointment, doubt, disillusionment, defeat, discouragement,

• Despondency, depression, despair and death.

• Disappointment, doubt, disillusionment, defeat, discouragement, despair and death;

• Are all words that sum up how Cleopas and his companion were feeling;

• As they trudged up the road toward a village called Emmaus.

Notice: How this section begins: “Now that same day”:

• The day Luke is referring to is mentioned in verse 1.

• The first day of the week was Sunday.

• This was the very first day that we now call ‘Easter Sunday.’

Luke tells us that these events happened:

• On the same day Jesus rose from the dead.

• But these two people were unaware of the good news of the resurrection;

• Because they had left the other disciples and were walking to a village called Emmaus.

• As they travelled together, they were sad and disillusioned.

• Emmaus was about 7 miles away from Jerusalem.

• And it would take them about 2-3 hours to walk there

Pause and ask the Question: Who is the other person with Cleopas?

Answer: Verse 9 gives us a clue.

• We are told that the women reported the news of the resurrection;

• “To the Eleven and all the others.”

• The news of Jesus being risen from the dead was not only to the Eleven disciples;

• (Judas was absent because we are told that he had left them and committed suicide),

• But we know from his verse and elsewhere;

• That Jesus had many more disciples than just the Twelve.

• Luke records, at the beginning of the book of Acts,

• That there were about 120 followers of Jesus.

The two walking on the road to Emmaus were two of that 120:

• One of these disciples is identified in verse 18.

• His name was...Cleopas.

• We are not told the identity of the other person.

• It may well have been the wife of Cleopas, or even a brother, or relative.