May 4, 2025 Luke 24:13-35 “Are Your Eyes Open or Closed?”

01 May May 4, 2025 Luke 24:13-35 “Are Your Eyes Open or Closed?”

May 4, 2025    Luke 24:13-35       “Are Your Eyes Open or Closed?”

I know that we do things that we might not normally do when we act on the spur of the moment.  Here is a case in point.  At times I think that we all judge people and situations.  Sometimes we do this before facts are known and sometimes after facts are known.  I remember once a few years ago we had an NBA owner make some racial remarks.  After the story broke, there were many who jumped on the condemning bandwagon.  At that point there was no evidence one way or another if these statements were even true.  There shouldn’t have been any judgment at that point because it was only, he said versus she said.  However, sponsors, players, and others started to convict this guy with no evidence.  This sounds like a daily condemning that we see on Facebook.  As far as I’m concerned it is not a relevant story until there are witnesses or proof.  We talked about this last week.  In this case much later the proof came out and the story was sad but true.  I think that Christians judge the same way.  We hear the story of Jesus.  We know and love many of the characters involved.  And yet we judge all of the disciples and followers.  We think ‘How could they not know who Jesus was?’  All the proof was right there and they didn’t get it.  Today, we are going to take a walk down Emmaus Lane.  Let’s see if we find ourselves and the proof in this Emmaus Walk.

There is a TV show on that is called CSI.  As a matter of fact, there have been several shows by this name that are located in different cities.  CSI stands for crime scene investigator.  Many times, the premise of a show is that the perpetrator denies all knowledge of a crime.  They may have alibis putting them far from the scene of the crime.  Personally, I think one of the fallacies of any crime show on TV is that they portray the criminal as smart and cunning.  In reality, most criminals are not very smart at all but that is a whole other topic.  Anyway, these crooks deny everything until the CSI people bring out the magic bottle.  They have stuff now-a -days that they can spray to see if human blood has ever been on the floor or walls or anywhere.  It seems that you cannot clean up good enough to escape this spray.  When this happens, the crooks are caught in their own tangle of lies.  This spray unveils the evidence for the police.  As we take our Emmaus Walk, let’s also see what it takes for the truth to be unveiled for you.

The walk to Emmaus takes place on Easter Sunday, the same day as the resurrection.  We have two disciples walking to this town which is about 7 miles away, a ten-minute drive in one of our cars but a good 2-3 hour walk.  They were talking about all the things that had happened in Jerusalem over the weekend.  They were talking about the sham of a trial that Jesus had.  They were talking about the execution of Jesus by the hanging on the cross.  And finally, they were talking about Jesus not being in the tomb.  They were in mourning and very confused because they didn’t understand what all this meant to them.  Then a stranger comes along and joins them on their walk.  The stranger asks what the topic of discussion is.

I want us to notice what they were talking about.  They thought that Jesus had been their Messiah but now He was dead.  Then they had taken the body from them.  They had seen a vision of angels.  These two people were in mourning.  They were sad.  They were referring to everything in terms of how they felt.  They could only look at themselves and not the big picture.  In a way this whole thing had been all about themselves and not the things that Jesus had taught.

So let me ask you, ‘what is your road to Emmaus and where is your ‘focus’?’  Hopefully, you aren’t like many people of the world that don’t have a clue where their road will take them.  The road to Emmaus, by the way, is your road to life or your road to faith.  For the most part we like to put our faith in our own brain and ingenuity.  I am guilty of this along with most of us.  I think it is called our independent American spirit.  What I have found is that this spirit works much better if you couple it with the Spirit of God.

Here is a reason why it is so important that we know Jesus in all we do.  If you remember, we were made in the image of God.  We were made to be in partnership with God.  In other words, we can have all the independent American spirit we want if we partner that with the Holy Spirit.  It was this combination that founded this country and it will be this combination that we get us out of our present predicament.  God will help us in most situations if we are focused on Him.

The trouble that we have is that this focus tends to fixate on ourselves.  We think we are the center of the universe.  We think we can do it all.  We are pushed this way by our society.  I don’t know if I’ve ever seen an ad on TV that is concentrated on bringing glory to God.  If you take a close look at this, you will find that the focus of all ads is on you.  It is no wonder that we have trouble getting our eyes off of ourselves.  We even have many churches like this where they preach some sort of feel-good theology, which is totally false.  Everywhere we look, we have mirrors set up so that you are the main focus.

When I try to change our attitudes by following the Scriptures and I get labeled a conservative Christian.  That is about the most baloney label there is next to liberal Christian.  Then because I’m labeled a conservative Christian, I must also be a Republican.  Then of course I must believe certain ways.  When we start throwing these labels around, we lose our perspective, our independence.  And by the way, I don’t consider myself in any of these categories.

But if we must label, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty.  Let’s call a spade a spade and quit being so politically correct.  Let’s throw out liberal and conservative.  Why don’t we call each other Godly and people who don’t believe or kind of believe, ungodly.  With honest labels, maybe we would get people to pay a little closer attention.  I mean it would be pretty easy.  If you follow God, you are Godly, and if you don’t you are ungodly.

The two people walking the road to Emmaus were Godly people acting in an ungodly manner which is another possibility.  They were focused on the wrong place.  Enter Jesus.  They weren’t allowed to recognize Jesus right away because Jesus had to get them off themselves and onto bigger things.  They were not bringing glory to God and that is what you are all about.  Now notice what Jesus does.  He doesn’t reveal himself yet but tells them how slow they are to believe.  He talks to them about the Scriptures and how they relate to Jesus.

Can you imagine this?  These two chaps walked along for 2+ hours listening to Jesus tell how the Old Testament Scriptures are related to Him.  I think this is a little nuance that we don’t think much about but what an honor.  I think what Jesus is really trying to do here is to get these two off of themselves.  He is telling them about the things that really matter in life.  He is telling them about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  As long as these two were focused on themselves, they were downcast and sad.  But soon that was put aside because Jesus got them to focus on the only thing that mattered–God.

When He does this, things begin to change.  The focus goes off yourself and things get a little better.  As a matter of fact, they invite Jesus to stay the night.  They are no longer talking about their only hope that died, but rather they want to help this stranger.  This is very important to us.  How many people here today have ever been down in the dumps?  It happens all the time and it is nothing to be ashamed.  But do you know the best way to get out of the blues?  Go out and do something to get your mind off of your troubles.  This is why they try to tell people who suffer from depression to get some sort of work that will take their mind away from their situation.  There are other things that enter into clinical depression but keeping busy is one of the ways to overcome it.

Haven’t you ever noticed how things go better when you are busy, when you don’t have to think about yourself?  I think that time flies when I’m working for the betterment of others.  Churches have many mission projects.  All you have to do is do them.  You can collect money for homeless people.  You can collect clothes for the children because there is a great need for this.  You can gather food for various things.  You can do our school kits and health kits every year.  You can try to have youth projects and programs.  You can sponsor things that will attract youth.  You can have adult Bible studies and you can have youth Bible study also.  There are many other things you can do.  Pick something out and go after it!

A problem with many of these is that you think you need a pastor to lead of them.  Don’t get me wrong, I would love to do it.  However, if you folks don’t take charge of some of these things, they may disappear.  You don’t want that to happen.  I really want you people in charge of all these programs not because I don’t want to do it or it might go away when we do.  But rather I want you in charge so that you feel good about doing good things for others.  The church is the place to do many of these things.  Before there were any government social programs, the church ran all of the social and welfare programs in this country.  And do you know what?  We did a far better job than the government has ever done.  And the reason that it was done better is because you people did the work and felt good about it because your focus was on others.

You see, Jesus didn’t just come along side these two guys to make them feel better even though this might have been a secondary motive.  He came alongside them without them recognizing him so that their focus would be on other things and that they would go out and minister to the world.  The bottom line is that we are to go to the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Here Jesus is showing them and us that this happens much easier if we are not focused on ourselves.

Then the three of them go into the house for the evening and have a meal.  Jesus breaks the bread for the meal and they finally recognize Him.  When they know who He is, Jesus disappears.  I think He did this because they didn’t need His physical presence any more.  They could go forward on their own with the assurance that Jesus is still alive.  That is what they did.  Notice that the time of day is evening.  They are preparing the evening meal.  Jesus leaves and so do they.  They get up and return to Jerusalem.  One thing we know about these times is that travel by night was extremely dangerous.  They took no never mind of this and just headed out to rejoin their friends, 7 miles away.  Now the focus was on Jesus and not their own safety.

That is what Jesus does to our lives.  At first, we think that He is far away.  He died and He isn’t relevant anymore.  Therefore, we focus on ourselves.  Now you are walking your own road to Emmaus.  Young people, it might be leading to college or a new career.  It might lead to marriage or to a different part of the country.  You are on this road and you don’t notice that Jesus is everywhere.  He is all around you.

Then He talks to you.  He tells you about himself and all the things He has done.  He may show you a miracle that you don’t know is from Jesus.  Many young people in this area are fortunate to have been raised in the church so they see these things sooner than people like me before I knew Jesus.  But Jesus is very patient with you.  He loves you and wants you to succeed.  He will gently talk to you and you will hear Him as your subconscious or as that little voice in the back of your mind.  Everybody hears Him but many if not most dismiss Him.

Then it finally dawns on you that Jesus is there.  He has been there all the time.  You accept Him as your Lord and Savior.  Then He disappears but the Holy Spirit is in His place and He will be with you until the end of time.  He will be there to help you celebrate things like graduation, marriage and the birth of babies.  He will be there when you get that dream job.  He will be there when you lose your first job.  He will be there when things fall apart in your life.  These things happen to all of us.  We have ups and downs, good times and bad times.  The promise Jesus makes is that He will be with you.  He will help you to get through.

Graduates, young people, all people, Jesus won’t make you rich or give you all you want in life.  But He is the key to joy and happiness.  He is the key to all good things in life.  I can’t emphasize these things too much.  I lived without Jesus for over half of my life and it was an empty, hopeless life.  Then about 34 years ago, I discovered who Jesus was and I haven’t been the same since.  I have come to love the Lord and I try to work for Him in all that I do.  The good part of this is that you don’t have to be a preacher or a missionary for this to happen.  It happens to teachers, farmers and carpenters.  It can happen to anyone and I pray that it has or will happen to all of you today.

The walk to Emmaus was a joyful event as 2 people had their eyes opened.  This happens because Jesus loves us.  He is love.  Therefore, no matter where you go, no matter what you do, learn to recognize Jesus in everything.  He will be there to hold you and help you because He has a love just for you that will last throughout eternity.  And thank you, Jesus, for first loving us.  Let’s pray.