ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS

In our lesson today, I want to consider a portion of the Luke 24 account of the two men who were walking to the village of Emmaus and encountered the Savior on that first Resurrection Sunday. This is another historical parable relating to the nature of salvation. We read in verses 26-29:

“Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.”

Our three points are:

• The Mission of the Lord Jesus
• God Interprets (Reveals) the Truth of the Bible
• All the Scriptures Point to Christ

The Mission of the Lord Jesus

As I mentioned in an earlier study in this series, these men completely misunderstood the purpose of Christ’s mission. They were looking for a political Messiah whom they hoped would free them from Roman rule. Many in our day have fallen into the same trap by mistakenly seeking political freedom, financial prosperity, or physical well-being from the Bible – this is the kingdom they are looking for. The Lord Jesus plainly taught in John 18:36 that His Kingdom is altogether spiritual in character:

“Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.”

The mission of the Lord Jesus Christ is encapsulated in Mat 1:21,

“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

1 Pet 3:18 explains,

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:”

God Interprets (Reveals) the Truth of the Bible

Luke 24:27 asserts:

“And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.”

The Greek word translated as “expounded” (διηρμηνευεν diermeneuo) is used six times in the New Testament and it is rendered five times as “interpret” or “interpretation”. Four times it is utilized in connection with the command for an interpreter to be present when one was speaking in tongues at the church at Corinth in 1 Cor 12 and 14.

So, we see the Lord Jesus expounding, or interpreting, the meaning of the Old Testament Scriptures to these two men as they walked to the village of Emmaus. What a Bible study that must have been! Just as with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well in Sychar, we see the Lord Jesus deliberately following His eternal agenda with regard to these two men, as Luke 19:10 proclaims:

“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

All the Scriptures Point to Christ

The Lord insisted in John 5:39,

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”

I am reminded of a number or pertinent verses in this regard. Chiefly, 2 Pet 1:20-21:

“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

In 1 Cor 2:12-13 God laid down an exceedingly important principle to teach us how to understand the Bible:

“Now we [that is, the true believers] have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”

The Lord Jesus frequently employed this principle, as Mark 4:3-34 maintains:

“And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.”

Neh 8:5-8 further adds:

“And Ezra opened the book [the Old Testament] in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up: And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground. Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.”

May God enable us to understand His word and see His Son as the spiritual objective of all Bible study as Psa 119:18 teaches,

“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things (pala') out of thy law.”

The Hebrew word for “wondrous things” (pala') is the root word for “Wonderful” (pele') , which is another name for Jesus Christ found in Isa 9:6:

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful (pele'), Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”