We have a great lesson in discipleship demonstrated by the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24. There are several striking verses that we often associate with that walk along the road. The first well-known verse is Luke 24: 27 “And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” What a sermon that must have been! We are so thankful that we have the full revelation of God’s Word so that we have today what the disciples received that day.
The other verse occurs in Luke 24:32, And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” I am sure we have all had similar experiences as we spend time in God’s Word and in the Lord’s presence.
In Luke 24:15 we get a small and often overlooked verse that provides a wonderful example of how the Lord interacts with His people. The verse reads, “So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.” This is an amazing description of how the Lord works in the lives of those He loves. In this short verse we find four powerful calls to action in our own discipleship.
- It was personal. We read in this text that “Jesus Himself” approached the disciples as they walked. The Lord had prepared the disciples beforehand by telling them repeatedly that He was going to have to suffer and die, but that He would be raised again after the third day, (Matthew 16:21; Matthew 17: 22-23; Matthew 20: 17-19; Matthew 26: 32). They should have remembered all these things that they had been taught while the Lord was with them but here they were discouraged and depressed. This was a situation that required personal interaction. The first thing the Lord noticed was their sad faces and asked them why. Later in the day, the Lord sat down and fellowship with these disciples in their own home.
- It was intentional. The second thing we notice is that there was a purpose to this meeting. It says the Lord “drew near”. The disciples were already walking on the Emmaus road when the Lord caught up with them. He intentionally chose to have this interaction. Jesus enquired about their conversation in order to prepare their hearts for what He was about to teach them. Our discipling efforts need to have a high degree of intentionality as well. We need to know enough about those we disciple to decide, with the help of the Holy Spirit, where we need to start. The Lord never has random, unplanned moments. The phrase ‘drew near’ suggest an active decision on His part. The same would be true for the Great Commission in Matthew 28: 19-20 where the focus is on intentional, active going, making, baptizing, and teaching.
- It was continual – Vincent Word Studies makes an interesting comment about the phrase “went with them”. He remarks, “the use of the imperfect here is very beautiful. Jesus drew near while they were absorbed in their talk, and was already walking with them when they observed him”. Discipleship is not a time-limited relationship. It may change over time, but the expectation is that we would stay with the disciple for as long as they needed us. The Lord stayed with the disciples on the road until they reached the village of Emmaus. At that point the Lord acted as if He would continue on, until the disciples invited Him to stay longer. The Lord’s desire was to stay with the disciples but wanted them to also want the same thing. Discipleship is an investment of time and relationship, based on the Word of God. Disciple-making is the Word of God shaping men and women within life-on-life relationships – Godwin Sathianathan
- It was repeatable – We lastly learn in this story that what began on the road to Emmaus was continued on the road to Jerusalem. Once they recognized that the One who had spent time with them was the Savior, they ran back to Jerusalem to tell the others. In Luke 24:29, they say to the Lord “abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent”, but now even the darkness of the night could not stop them from sharing what they knew. This is what we look for in disciples; that they might walk by faith, share their faith and multiply their faith. It is because the Lord drew near that everything changed that day. In the story of the Emmaus Road, we read on am Open Home (vs 29), Open Eyes (vs 31), Open Scripture (vs 32) and Open Lips (vs 35)
Let’s consider how we might pattern our discipleship of others based on the example provided by the Lord in this short verse.
Pattern Of Sound Words 