Let’s turn back to the gospel of Luke to the last chapter, chapter 24. It can be found on page 885 in the pew Bibles. We’ve come to our last sermon in this series on the gospel of Luke tonight.
Sometimes the generation gap can show up in the smallest ways, like with the most basic form of punctuation – a period. Apparently, you can tell a lot about the age of someone texting by the way they end their texts. So for instance, and this is quoting from a New York Post article, “While older texters may consider the period an innocent symbol that a sentence has ended, digital natives consider it a triggering form of aggression. Gen Z and Millennials agree that ending a sentence with a period is overly hostile and worse yet, extremely uncool.” It seems like a natural way to end a sentence, but to some, it can come across as being too stern or too abrupt.
And then there’s the ellipsis, that little dot-dot-dot that can either connect two thoughts or kind of leave a text hanging. Here are a few headlines from online articles. “Why do old people love ellipsis so much?” and “The ellipsis is widening the gap between Millennials and Boomers.” And I’m sure that most of you can identify yourself in one of those two groups. And for what it’s worth, I’ll admit a natural tendency in the direction of periods and ellipses and so you can just call me old because of that.
But I bring that up not to call people out as old or not to correct the way that we text, but to think about the ending of the gospel of Luke. Tonight we come to the end of Luke’s gospel, but it’s better to think of Luke’s gospel as ending with an ellipsis rather than a period because the story of Luke will continue in the book of Acts. This is what, Luke is what Jesus began to do and to teach until the day when He was taken up. Now when we get to the book of Acts, that tells a story of what Jesus continues to do and continues to teach through His disciples by the power of the Holy Spirit. Acts is the sequel, you see. And it reminds us that this gospel, that the gospel story is part of a much bigger story. And we need to keep that bigger story in mind if we are going to be faithful to Jesus and if we are going to serve Him with joy.
And so our outline for this passage tonight will be two points. One, sad hearts. And then two, glad hearts. Before we read, let’s ask God’s blessing on the reading and preaching of His Word.
Our Father, we need You to do the very thing that we are going to read about in this passage, and that is to open our eyes and help us to see Jesus and help us to understand the Scriptures and the way that all the law and the prophets, Moses and the prophets and the Psalms are about Him. Help us to see Jesus and to come to Him by faith. Speak Lord, for Your servants listen. We pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.
Luke chapter 24, starting in verse 13:
“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.
As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, ‘Peace to you!’ But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.
Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.’
And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.”
Amen. The grass withers and the flowers fall but the Word of our God endures forever.
Sad Hearts
I’m not sure what it is exactly, but there’s something that we love about this passage, and I think it has something to do with the road to Emmaus and the thought of walking along in conversation with Jesus. It’s something different from the usual way that we think about learning and discipleship. It’s not a sermon. It’s not a lecture. It’s a dialogue with Jesus. And there’s even a subtle sense of humor, I think, in this passage. Whatever it is, here are these two people and they’re heading from Jerusalem, they’re on their way to this village called Emmaus, and verse 14 says they were talking to each other “about all the things that had happened.” The things that had happened with Jesus and the cross and the empty tomb.
And I wonder how many times we’ve heard about those things. How many times have you heard about Jesus’ death and resurrection? If you have grown up in the church, then it could be thousands if not tens of thousands of times. There are too many times to count most likely. And that may be part of the problem. It can become so familiar, ordinary even, that it’s lost its sense of freshness, its sense of wonder. It may have been at the RTS preaching lectures this past year that Brian Habig shared a quote about preaching, he said he has posted in his study so that he can be reminded of this quote whenever he’s preparing a sermon. And he said he wasn’t sure where the quote came from, but here it is. It’s, “A man may be called to preach the Gospel in the same place for years and he may at times feel burdened by the thought of having to address the same audience on the same theme week after week, month after month, year after year. He may feel at times at a loss for something new, something fresh, some variety. But it is well for the preacher to bear in mind on every fresh occasion rising to preach that those to whom he preaches are really ignorant of the Gospel. And hence, he should preach as though it was the very first time his audience had ever heard the message and the first time that he had ever delivered it.” In other words, he’s saying that there should be, in preaching, a sense of urgency, a sense of burden for the Gospel. Because we are so far removed from the events that took place 2,000 years ago and we’ve heard the story so many times that it may not rouse our hearts like it’s supposed to; it may not capture our attention as it should.
But here’s the thing. Here’s the thing. This conversation in Luke chapter 24 on the road to Emmaus, it may be the first time that a full summary of the Gospel had ever been communicated. If you look back at the second half of verse 19 after Jesus had approached these travelers on their way to Emmaus, He asked them what they were talking about. And what were they talking about? Here’s their conversation, verse 19 – it was 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. They said they hoped that He was going to be the one who would redeem Israel and now it was the third day since those things had happened and there were women who had come to the tomb, they could not find His body, and they came back saying that there were angels who told them that Jesus was alive. It’s all right there. That is the Gospel! And Jesus Himself is standing right there with them; He’s talking to them. It doesn’t get any closer to the events of the Gospel! It doesn’t get any closer to the person of the risen Jesus! And what are they like? They’re sad. They’re “slow of heart to believe,” as Jesus says in verse 25. And it’s the same way later on in the passage with the eleven and with those who are gathered together in Jerusalem. When they heard what had happened on the road to Emmaus, when they saw the risen Jesus among them, verse 38, “they were troubled.” Doubts arose in their hearts. And verse 41 says that when Jesus told them to touch Him, to see that it was Him, they disbelieved. They disbelieved for joy and were marveling. It didn’t make sense to them what they were seeing, what they were hearing.
It almost seems too late in our study of Luke to be bringing up for the first time one of the common patterns that we see throughout this gospel, but one of the things that we see throughout Luke’s gospel is the use of story pairs or repetitions. We saw it from the very beginning with the announcement to Zechariah, then the announcement to Mary, the birth of John the Baptist and then the birth of Jesus. Luke does this. He tells these similar stories and he ties them together. And this passage is the same way. It’s basically telling the same story in a different context. And in both places, Jesus opens the Scriptures to show them the things concerning Himself. Why? Why did Jesus do that? Because His disciples and because this pair on the way to Emmaus, they had sad hearts. Their hearts were sad. They knew the events of Jesus’ life. They knew about His death and His resurrection to some extent. And they even had Him right there with them. But something was missing and they were slow of heart. Their hearts had given way to doubt.
You see, the problem is not so much an over familiarity with the Gospel and it’s not so much being too far removed from the events themselves. It’s something else. The other day I had the Gospel explained to me like this. Just listen to this explanation of the Gospel. “The Gospel refers to the message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. The Gospel is the central message of the Bible and encompasses the entire story of God’s relationship with humanity. The Gospel message teaches that all humans are sinners and separated from God because of their sin. However, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to live a perfect life, die on the cross for the sins of humanity, and rise again from the dead to conquer death and offer salvation to all who believe in Him. Through faith in Jesus Christ, people can be reconciled to God and receive eternal life. Overall, the Gospel message is one of hope, forgiveness, and salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.” And that’s true. We could offer an “Amen” to that, couldn’t we? If we weren’t Presbyterians.
But do you know who said that? ChatGPT. It’s a web bot. It was AI generated. It’s basically just data. And it has all of the details there. It has all of the details stated remarkably clear and precise. Scary almost. ChatGPT even quoted John 3:16 in the fuller explanation that it gave to me. But something’s missing. And in that case, what’s missing is faith in God and a relationship with Him. You see, sometimes we can get it all right and not get it. And we miss the big picture and we forget that Jesus is the center of the whole story. It happens all the time, doesn’t it? We worry about how many people attend a service or a ministry event. We worry about numbers. Or we take pride or ownership in a certain ministry program, so much so that our identity becomes wrapped up in that ministry program and our focus becomes on propping up that program over anything else. Worship can become consumption or entertainment. Leadership means running a good meeting and all in favor say “Aye!”
Just take today’s elder election. The outcome of today’s elder election is not a personal referendum on anyone’s value in the congregation or on their call to serve in ministry. Why not? Because there’s a bigger story going on. And any time we make it about us, any time we make it about the institution or what people think about us, any time that our main focus becomes parenting or marriage or youth group or school choice or self-help or style of music or likes on social media or any of those kind of things, any time self becomes the focus, we miss it. We miss it. And what’s most likely to happen when we miss it, is it’s going to dull our hearts and ultimately that can only lead to sad hearts.
Glad Hearts
But what happens to the sad hearts in this passage? They’re turned into glad hearts because on the road to Emmaus, Jesus began with Moses and the prophets and He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. And after He broke bread with them, their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus. Verse 32 says, “They said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road and while He opened to us the Scriptures?’” And then to the eleven and to the rest, Jesus also opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And the book ends with them worshiping Him. They return to Jerusalem with great joy.
What made the difference? Well for one thing, and this is something we don’t understand, it’s a mystery to us, but God had to open their eyes. God had to open their eyes to see these things, to see Jesus. Their eyes had been kept from recognizing Him, but when they sat down to eat, their eyes were opened and they recognized Him. That’s something that we see other places in the Scripture as well. Think about when Elisha’s servant saw the Syrian army that had surrounded them in 2 Kings chapter 6. Elisha prayed and God opened the eyes of the servant and he looked out and he saw a mountain full of horses and chariots of fire all around him. In other words, they were safe but he couldn’t see it until God opened his eyes. And that’s a mystery. And this is too. This is a mystery to us. We don’t know why they didn’t recognize Jesus at first, but God had to open their eyes in order to see Him, and God has to do that for us too in order for us to see Jesus and to understand how He fits in with the big story. And that’s something we can pray about. We can ask God to open our eyes and to help us to see Jesus and to help us to understand the Scriptures and for the Holy Spirit to make our hearts burn when we read it and hear it. And God would delight to answer those prayers.
But then the other thing that caused their hearts to burn and the other thing that filled them with joy was Jesus showed them how He is the focal point and the fulfillment of the whole story of Scripture. Now I’m not a big puzzle guy, but someone in our family has been known to wait until close to the time when the puzzle is being finished to come in and take that last piece and put it in, have the enjoyment of finishing the puzzle. I won’t name names on that. I heard recently, someone told me her dad would swap out one piece of the puzzle, one piece of a puzzle with a piece from another puzzle and they would get to the very end and that piece wouldn’t fit. Now that’s just wrong! And it’s not a perfect analogy, but for the Old Testament scriptures, Jesus was the missing piece of the puzzle. He completed the big picture. He makes sense of the whole thing. And we see that throughout His ministry. The authority by which He calmed the storm and stilled the waves, the power by which He multiplied the loaves and the fishes and fed the 5,000 and the rest, that’s the same power by which Jesus created and upholds all of creation. And the whole storyline of the Old Testament, from Adam’s sin to the rainbow in the cloud to the son of the promise to Abraham, the death of the firstborn in Egypt and the giving of the Law, to the settling of the land and the king on the throne and the glory of God filling the temple, and then the exile and the restoration of Israel, all of those things, the whole storyline, it all points to Jesus. In temptation, Jesus said, “Get behind Me, Satan.” And like at the flood, Jesus said, “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man.” And as for the promised son, “You are my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” And the Passover? “This is My body given for you.” And the Law, the way of God? “I am the way and the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me.” And the land – “Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you” – what? “Rest.” And the temple – “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” And the king – “The Lord said to my lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.’” And the restoration – “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” It’s all about Jesus. The Old Testament is the promise of forgiveness and rest and fellowship and the presence of God and the blessing of God. It’s the promise of life and Jesus is the fulfillment. He is the fulfillment of all of those promises. Don’t miss the big picture. God is doing a work of salvation, He is faithful to His promises, He is faithful to His people, and “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
And you see, the events that had unfolded in these days in Jerusalem, the things that had happened, they weren’t a failure, they weren’t a defeat, they weren’t a tragedy, they were not the loss of all the things the people had been hoping for. No, according to the plan of God, “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory?” “Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer, and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations,” which is to say that Jesus is the key and He is the reason for all of it. He is the reason why we gather. He is why we worship. He is why we serve. He is why we give. He is why we order our relationships – our marriages, our parenting, our lifestyles around the Word of God. Because as He says in verse 48, “You are My witnesses of these things.” And when we remember the big picture and keep Jesus in the middle of it, then sad hearts become glad hearts because He is the fulfillment of the covenant love of God to His people. Verse 50 says, “Then Jesus led them out as far as Bethany and lifting up His hands He blessed them. While He blessed them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. They worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, continually in the temple, blessing God.”
We’ve been talking a lot about hope, well the central hope of the New Testament, the central hope of the Christian life is just this – that Jesus ascended into heaven and that He, right now, reigns at the right hand of God. And one day, Jesus will return at the last day and He will make all things right; He will make all things new. That’s the central hope. How often do we think about that? How often do we think about those things? And think about all of the people, all of the marginalized people that we met in the gospel of Luke – the poor and the lame and the blind and the leper and the Samaritan. And think about all those meals that Jesus enjoyed and gathered people together around Himself and the people that He ate with, the sinners and the tax collectors and the disreputable women and the fickle disciples, maybe even a believing Pharisee or two. And then think about all of the brokenness and the mess in our own lives and in the world around us, the brokenness and the mess in our own hearts. Do we not long for that day? Can we not join those people in Luke’s gospel in longing for that day when the ascended Jesus will return? Do we not long for resurrection life? See, that’s the hope at the end of the gospel of Luke.
And sometimes the best stories have open endings. So take The Lord of the Rings – Sam returned home and it says this. “And the evening meal was ready and he was expected. And Rose drew him in and set him in his chair and put little Eleanor upon his lap. He drew a deep breath. ‘Well, I’m back,’ he said.” And there’s more to be told, isn’t there? Or what about the last page of The Chronicles of Narnia. “The things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us, this is the end of all the stories and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them, it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and title page. Now at last they were beginning chapter one of the great story which no one on earth has read, which goes on forever, in which every chapter is better than the one before it.” There’s more to find out.
And the end of the gospel of Luke is not the end of the story. There’s more to be told in the book of Acts. And Lord willing, we’ll go there in the fall and study through the book of Acts. But there’s also more to be told until the events of the book of Revelation. But the expectation at the end of Luke is the same as the one in the book of Revelation. And we read that, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely, I am coming soon.’” And don’t you also want to say, “Amen, come Lord Jesus”?
Let’s pray.
Father, we want hearts that burn, that are glad when we hear the message about Jesus and of His victory over sin and death, of His ascension and of His return one day. Would You give us that hope – a hope that is centered on Christ. And in that hope, would You help us to persevere through sin, through disappointments, and through mess and brokenness. And help us to be faithful. Help us to be witnesses of all the things we have heard and to bring glory to our Savior, Jesus. We pray all of this in Jesus’ name, amen.