WHAT JESUS DOES FOR US PART 2

JESUS OPENS OUR EYES

Luke 24:13-35.

Luke 24:13-35 (HCSB) - ¹³ Now that same day two of them were on their way to a village called Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴ Together they were discussing everything that had taken place. ¹⁵ And while they were discussing and arguing, Jesus Himself came near and began to walk along with them. ¹⁶ But they were prevented from recognizing Him. ¹⁷ Then He asked them, “What is this dispute that you’re having with each other as you are walking?” And they stopped [walking and looked] discouraged. ¹⁸ The one named Cleopas answered Him, “Are You the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that happened there in these days?” ¹⁹ “What things?” He asked them. So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus the  Nazarene, who was a Prophet powerful in action and speech before God and all the people, ²⁰ and how our  chief priests and leaders handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified Him. ²¹ But we were hoping that He was the One who was about to redeem Israel. Besides all this, it’s the third day since these things happened. ²² Moreover, some women from our group astounded us. They arrived early at the tomb, ²³ and when they didn’t find His body, they came and reported that they had seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. ²⁴ Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they didn’t see Him.” ²⁵ He said to them, “How unwise and slow you are to believe in your hearts all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Didn’t the  Messiah have to suffer these things and enter into His glory?” ²⁷ Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted for them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. ²⁸ They came near the village where they were going, and He gave the impression that He was going farther. ²⁹ But they urged Him: “Stay with us, because it’s almost evening, and now the day is almost over.” So He went in to stay with them. ³⁰ It was as He reclined at the table with them that He took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him, but He disappeared from their sight. ³² So they said to each other, “Weren’t our hearts ablaze within us while He was talking with us on the road and explaining the Scriptures to us?” ³³ That very hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem. They found the Eleven and those with them gathered together, ³⁴ who said, “The Lord has certainly been raised, and has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵ Then they began to describe what had happened on the road and how He was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

INTRO:  Last week we started a six part Easter series entitled, “What Jesus does for us.”  Last week we saw that the first thing is He forgives us of our sins.

This week we are going to look at the next thing He does for us:  “Jesus opens our eyes.”

Here we have a story that takes place after the resurrection of Christ.  Luke is the only Gospel writer to include this story.  If you really study this story out, it is not only just a story about these two Disciples of Christ and how they didn’t recognize Him, but it is also reveals something about who we are, and how that Jesus still opens eyes to see Him for Who He is and about how we can come to know Him.

Just a little information concerning this passage.  These two disciples are debating and strongly discussing with one another the things that have just taken place.  How Jesus died, and 3 days later women approached the tomb and found it empty, and then some others found the same thing.  What had occurred was simply amazing.  Jesus prophesied both His death and resurrection, and it had come true.  But for these two disciples, it was devastating.  You see, they didn’t really believe this story that the women and others after them had told.  They were hoping Jesus was the one, but after His death, they had their doubts. v. 21 - But we were hoping that He was the One who was about to redeem Israel. Besides all this, it’s the third day since these things happened.

As they are discussing this, Jesus approached them, with His identity not being revealed to them.  Like the story of the Prince being disguised as the Pauper, Jesus appears to them as an ordinary man who is unknown to them and asks them about all that happened.  Jesus began to show them from the Old Testament Scripture how all this was to be fulfilled.  They asked Him to stay with them and when He broke the bread of the meal, it was revealed to them who He was.  You see, their eyes were opened; then He vanished.  Notice what they say about Him from v. 32 - “Weren’t our hearts ablaze within us while He was talking with us on the road and explaining the Scriptures to us?”

Now this road to Emmaus is both a literal and spiritual journey.  We saw what it says literally.  But it also represents spiritually for us the journey that we all take from not knowing or recognizing Jesus, to understanding what the Scriptures says about Him, to recognizing Him for who He is to finally giving witness of what we have experienced.  You see, all of us as Christians have an Emmaus road experience that we can share.

Let’s look at four things from this passage that we can learn about Jesus opening our eyes.

1.  Knowing about Jesus is not the same as knowing Jesus.

A.     Evidently these two disciples, who were not among the 12, we followers of Christ.  They saw His miracles, heard His teachings, saw Him confound the Scribes and Pharisees, but they did not recognize Him.

B.     In the same way, we live in a society that is bombarded with images and stories concerning Jesus Christ.

1.      Quite honestly, there are many people who attend churches who truly have knowing of Jesus.

2.      You see, knowing implies relationship, and relationship doesn’t happen on Sunday’s and Wed.’s but 7 days a week.

3.      What kind of marriage would I have if the only time I spent with Laura is one hour on Sunday morning, and then the rest of the time ignored her, or didn’t think about her.

C.     Another reason that they didn’t recognize Jesus is because things didn’t go as they wanted.

1.      It was God’s plan for Christ to be crucified and buried in a tomb, but they didn’t believe in this evidently.

D.     Sometimes we fail to see Christ or Christ as work because His plans and ways are completely opposite of our plans and ways.

1.      We may quote Scripture, think we understand, but in the end, we are after our own agenda and not God’s.

2.      Christ Jesus can get hidden in this.

E.      These two disciples also didn’t recognize Jesus because of their lack of faith.

1.      They just really didn’t believe the story the women and others were saying about Him rising from the dead.

F.      We need to be careful not to make the same mistake, to discount what God has done, simply because we cannot explain it or understand it.

2.  Jesus used Scripture to open their eyes.

v. 27 - Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted for them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

A.     While we do not know the specific passages that Jesus used, we know He opened to them the Scripture with a view toward showing them how all of the Old Testament pointed to Him as the fulfillment of Scripture.

1.      I can imagine Jesus using Genesis 3:15 -  I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your  seed and her seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.   I can see Him explaining this to them.

2.      Or maybe Deuteronomy 18:15 - “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.

3.      Or how about Isaiah 7:14 - Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.

4.      How about Isaiah 53:7 - He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, He did not open His mouth.

B.     The point is, Jesus wanted them to see that if they would only believe what The Scriptures say about Him, they would understand why He came and why He had to suffer and they would have known who He was.

C.     Jesus still uses Scriptures to open eyes about Him.

1.      Why?  Because the Scriptures testify concerning Him.

John 1:45 - Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the law (and so did the prophets): Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth!”

John 5:46 - For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, because he wrote about Me.

D.     It also takes Scripture to understand to build our faith in order to see Him.

Romans 10:17 - So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.

3.  It takes spending time with Him in one on one fellowship so that your eyes may be continually opened and that He might reveal more of Himself to you.

Luke 24:30-31 - ³⁰ It was as He reclined at the table with them that He took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him,

A.     It was only as they fellowshipped with Him the Jesus revealed Himself to them.

B.     If you want to know Jesus, if you want Him to reveal Himself to you, you have to spend time in the Word, worship, prayer, and fellowship with Him.

C.     Notice that after the resurrection, two other appearances of Jesus are associated with table fellowship other than this one.

Acts 1:4 - ⁴ While He was together with them, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise.

         1.  This phrase, “together with them,” in Greek means, “sharing a meal with them.”

John 21:9-14 - ⁹ When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish lying on it, and bread. ¹⁰ “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus told them. ¹¹ So Simon Peter got up and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish—153 of them. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. ¹² “Come and have breakfast,” Jesus told them. None of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?” because they knew it was the Lord. ¹³ Jesus came, took the bread, and gave it to them. He did the same with the fish. ¹⁴ This was now the third time Jesus appeared to the disciples after He was raised from the dead.

D.     Jesus describes a relationship like a meal.

Revelation 3:20 (NLT) – Look!  I stand at the door and knock.  If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.

4.  When your eyes are opened, you will want others to have their eyes opened.

A.     Every time that Jesus touched someone’s life in the gospels, they couldn’t wait to go out and tell others.

B.     When we see Jesus for who He really is, we will want our family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, even our enemies to see Him as well.

Luke 24:33-35 - ³³ That very hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem. They found the Eleven and those with them gathered together, ³⁴ who said, “The Lord has certainly been raised, and has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵ Then they began to describe what had happened on the road and how He was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

C.     Notice that these two disciples didn’t wait till morning.  They didn’t care about the lateness of the hour, they wanted everyone to know that they had an encounter with the risen Jesus.

CONCL:  Would you know Jesus if you saw Him?  With all the evidences we have, the message of Scripture, the testimony of witnesses and present day changed lives, the movement of His Spirit, what would it take for you to believe that Jesus is who He said He is, and that He died and rose again?

Maybe you are a Christian but you have no day to day personal relationship with Him.  Don’t allow Christ to be hidden from you.  You have to have that relationship for Him to be revealed to you more and more.