Luke 24 is the last chapter in Luke’s meticulous but loving narrative of his Savior’s life. Several powerful verses draw us to the Emmaus Road story, but this chapter is really the story of three roads. Each road is important for us too as they reveal essential truths about the Lord Jesus Christ. The characters on each road walked along with their hearts and minds filled with thoughts of the Lord. In one case they were sorrowing, in another they were dejected and in the third they were confused.
The chapter begins with sorrowing mourners walking along the road to a tomb. They had watched the Lord’s burial from afar, had prepared spices and fragrant oils and now on the first day of the week, they came to anoint His body in worship. Their biggest concern was how to open the tomb, but found the stone already rolled away and the body of the Lord missing. After meeting an angel who reminds them of Christ’s words and declares that the Lord is risen. The revelation of His resurrection causes them to rush back to Jerusalem with great joy to tell the others! He is risen and we can believe in Him!
The middle passage of the chapter we see two dejected disciples walking away from Jerusalem on the road to Emmaus. They too were sad. Their Savior was dead and their hopes and dreams were crushed. Soon they were joined by the Lord who asked why they walked and were so sad. Then beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded to them, in all the scripture, the things concerning Himself. Their hearts burned within them as He talked! His revelation of Himself caused them to rush back to Jerusalem with great joy to tell the others. The Messiah had fulfilled all prophecy we can follow Him!
At the end of the chapter, the Lord leads them out on the road to Bethany. The Lord had spent a great deal of time with them since His resurrection, but they were still confused and some even doubted. In Luke 24:45, we read that the Lord ‘opened their understanding that they might comprehend the Scriptures.’ He had now equipped them with understanding and the Great Commission, had promised them the gift of the Holy Spirit and ascended up into heaven. After the ascension of the Lord, they were told that the Lord would return in the same manner as He had left and they worshiped, rejoiced and continually praised the Lord! The Lord is coming back and we can serve Him!
Three groups of people walked away from Jerusalem, until they received a revelation of the Lord. In each case they were filled with joy and ran back to Jerusalem to tell others the good news! It may be that today some of us are sorrowing, depressed or confused. Resting in the truth of the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ will fill us with joy and give us the motivation to do what we have been tasked to do: tell others about the Lord Jesus Christ!
Pattern Of Sound Words 