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Luke 24 brings two discouraged men down the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus, sad because Jesus had been crucified and because his body was missing. Jesus joins them, but their eyes are holden, and they do not know it is Jesus. Their faith had died along with the death of Jesus, but their faith is about to be resurrected through the resurrection of Christ.

The Lord listens to their sad story, and then the Scriptures begin to open. The Bible had not failed them. The suffering of the Savior and the glory of the Savior had been there all along, from Genesis to Malachi. Jesus shows them that things were turning out exactly according to the plan of God.

Emmaus becomes a decision point. Jesus makes as though he would have gone farther, because Jesus is a gentleman and will not push himself on people who do not want him. The men constrain him, not with a half hearted invitation, but with a real desire: “Abide with us.” When Jesus is invited, he comes in.

The invitation is more than hospitality. John’s word names salvation as receiving him: “Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.” Revelation 3 pictures Jesus standing at the door and knocking, even outside a church that is having church without Jesus. When even one person opens the door, Jesus comes in, and a whole family can be changed.

The table then shows what kind of guest Jesus is. The stranger reaches for the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them, acting as the master of the house. The Lord Jesus will not be put in a corner. The risen Savior comes in as Lord, because after the resurrection he is “the Lord Jesus Christ.”

The breaking of bread opens their eyes. The prayer may have sounded like no one else’s prayer, and the nail prints in his hands told the truth: the crucified one is alive. The Scriptures also open, and their hearts burn within them, not with bad heartburn, but with the good kind that comes when the Bible is no longer a closed book.

The same road changes. The sad walk becomes a glad walk, and the danger of the night cannot keep them from Jerusalem. The Lord Jesus becomes their message: “The Lord is risen indeed.” Jesus is not finished with them, and the living Christ still has more to come.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Jesus comes when truly invited The Emmaus road shows a Christ who does not force his way into the house. He keeps walking until the men constrain him, because a reluctant courtesy is not the same as a real welcome. The soul that receives him is not trusting an event or a prayer as a token, but receiving a living Savior who comes in to stay. [09:41]
• 2. Christ will not sit in corners The breaking of bread shows Jesus taking the place of the master of the house. The risen Christ does not enter a life as a silent ornament, waiting to be consulted at death. His rightful name is “Lord Jesus,” and that lordship reaches the table, the plans, the business, the relationships, and the ordinary meals of life. [20:23]
• 3. Opened Scripture makes hearts burn The men knew the stories, but Jesus made the whole Bible come alive as one connected witness to sin, suffering, glory, and the Savior. The burning heart was not mere emotion, but the inward awakening that comes when Christ opens what had been closed. Scripture becomes more than information when the living Lord makes himself known through it. [25:20]
• 4. The risen Lord changes the road The same miles that carried sadness toward Emmaus carried urgency back to Jerusalem. Darkness and danger did not disappear, but resurrection joy made them smaller. The road changes when Jesus becomes not only the companion on the way, but the message that must be carried to somebody else. [30:01]
• 5. Jesus is not finished yet The Lord appears again while the disciples are still talking, because resurrection life keeps bringing more. The living Christ does not merely restore yesterday’s hope; he gives divine purpose for the present breath still in the body. A person still here, still alive, and still breathing is not an accident, because the best is yet to come.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [05:16] - Luke 24 and Emmaus Continued
• [06:46] - “Abide With Us”
• [09:41] - When Jesus Is Invited In
• [11:16] - Receiving Christ Personally
• [12:16] - Inviting Jesus Into Every Area
• [15:13] - Jesus Knocking at the Door
• [18:58] - Jesus Takes Control
• [22:15] - Eyes Opened to the Risen Lord
• [25:20] - Hearts Burning in the Scriptures
• [29:30] - Jesus Becomes Their Message
• [33:17] - Jesus Is Not Finished Yet

Bible Reading

Luke 24:28-35
“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. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.” [05:16] [05:28] [06:46] [09:41] [19:11] [22:15] [25:20] [29:30] [30:01]

Revelation 3:20
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” [15:13]

John 1:12
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” [11:22]

Acts 8:35
“Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.” [31:43]

Observation questions

1. In Luke 24:28-29, what details show that the two men truly wanted Jesus to stay with them, and not merely out of polite custom? [09:41]
2. In Luke 24:30, what actions does Jesus take at the table, and how do those actions stand out in that setting? [20:23]
3. According to Luke 24:31-32, what two things were opened for these men, and what effect did that have on them? [25:20]
4. In Luke 24:33-35, what changed about the two men once they recognized Jesus, and what did they do immediately afterward? [30:01]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus made as though he would have gone farther until he was asked to stay. What does that suggest about the way Christ deals with people who do or do not want him? [10:08]
2. John 1:12 speaks of receiving Christ, and Luke 24 shows Jesus entering a home when invited. How does receiving Christ go beyond merely knowing facts about him or being around religious things? [11:22]
3. Jesus took the bread, blessed it, and gave it to them like the master of the house. What does that scene teach about the kind of place Jesus takes in a person’s life when he is welcomed in? [29:30]
4. The two men said their hearts burned within them while the Scriptures were opened. What is the difference between passing religious feelings and the deep inner stirring that comes when Christ makes the Bible plain? [26:17]

Application questions

1. “Abide with us” was a sincere invitation. Where in life might that same kind of invitation need to be spoken to Christ right now—at home, in a relationship, in plans for the future, or in some place that has been kept partly closed to him? [12:16]
2. Jesus does not come into a life to sit quietly in a corner. In what area would it be hardest to let him be Lord in a practical way—habits, schedule, money, decisions, family life, or something else? [21:13]
3. These men discovered that the Bible was not a closed book when Christ opened the Scriptures to them. When has Scripture felt alive and personal, and when has it felt closed? What helps a person move from merely reading words to truly seeing Christ in them? [27:27]
4. The same road that had been full of sadness became a road of urgency and joy. Has there been a season when Christ changed the way a hard road felt, even if the road itself did not change? [31:00]
5. Once the two men knew Jesus was risen, they could not keep quiet about him. Who is one person that could be told about Jesus this week in a simple and natural way? [31:43]
6. Revelation 3:20 pictures Jesus standing at the door and knocking. What does it look like, in real life, to hear his voice and open the door instead of leaving him outside? [15:13]
7. Jesus was not finished with those disciples, and he is not finished yet. Where might there still be unfinished work, fresh obedience, or new hope needed in the life of someone who has grown discouraged? [33:17]