This sermon was written for Sharon Community Presbyterian Church on April 26th it can be viewed along with their other past services on their website. (longer version)
It is based on the sermon, Emmaus Misconceptions written for the Coraopolis Presbyterian Church Saturday Night Service on April 18th. You can listen to it on their YouTube channel. (shorter version)
Two unknown disciples take a long walk. We only know one of their names. The other could be Cleopas’ wife, or friend, or someone else who knew Jesus. We know that they are leaving Jerusalem heading to Emmaus. We know very little else about them.
I love this story because it follows the outline of an easy-to-watch movie where the audience knows what’s going to happen, but the characters are clueless. We just get to watch the plot unfold.
These disciples know the resurrection accounts and that Jesus had appeared to other people, but they cannot recognize Jesus right in front of them. We don’t know why they don’t recognize Jesus. Maybe because they didn’t expect to see someone they knew to be dead. Maybe God has made it so they can’t recognize Jesus. Or maybe, even knowing about the resurrection, they didn’t expect a miracle to happen again—especially not to them. We all know these are not the well-known disciples in Jesus’ story. It could be any or all of these reasons, but we as readers know the truth: it is Jesus.
Which makes the misconception a little comical. They are talking to Jesus about Jesus… while he’s pretending not to be Jesus.
Like all great comedies, the audience is set up to know things the characters do not know, but we do not know everything. And if we read this text carefully, we may discover that the story is not told exactly the way we would tell it either.
For example, they do not call Jesus the Messiah or son of God, they call him Jesus of Nazareth, of prophet powerful in both actions and words with God and people. In other places in Luke’s gospel, when the writer mentions Jesus of Nazareth, there is also a revealing that Jesus is something more than that.
The first is when Jesus calls out a legion of demons and the demons say they know he is the Holy One of God (4:34). The other is when a blind man hears that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by, he shouts at Jesus, son of David, to have mercy on him and Jesus heals him (18:38). Interestingly, both stories also happen on a road, when Jesus is supposedly just passing through.
So when Cleopas describes Jesus, he is setting up a familiar pattern—a story where Jesus appears ordinary but is revealed as something more. In a sense, Cleopas is setting up the very story he is currently living. We know what’s coming: Jesus will soon reveal himself. It’s almost hard to imagine how Jesus keeps from giggling.
Cleopas then goes on to say that our chief priests and leaders handed Jesus over to be crucified. He is identifying that the religious authorities who aligned with political authorities to be the culprits. Cleopas doesn’t mention where he was or what he did or didn’t do. He then says that we had hoped Jesus would be the one to redeem Israel.
Hoping that Jesus would be the Messiah carried many meanings. “Some Jews were looking for the end of Roman rule; others were looking for the return of the exiles to the homeland, a general resurrection of the dead along with final judgment, and end to war” (Levine/Witherington New Cabridge Bible Commentary p.660). Their expectations were varied—but all now seem dashed.
Then Cleopas says that it’s been three days since Jesus has died. He gives some vague and confusing description about what happened that morning when the women said the tomb was empty and they knew Jesus was alive. It doesn’t really align with what Luke reported about that, which is especially puzzling because that is literally the story just before this one in the gospel. As readers we are supposed to notice that he doesn’t have all the details we do.
This raises a big question: if they knew the tomb was found empty and Jesus possibly resurrected, why would they leave Jerusalem now? Why didn’t he even stay long enough to get the entire story?
This isn’t funny anymore. Jesus responds with frustration. He scolds them and then begins teaching them about the scriptures, basically starting at the beginning and working his way through all the prophets. The gospel of Luke is making the point that all of scripture points to Jesus being the Messiah and having a good understanding of scripture is the way someone will come to belief in Jesus. But we know that’s not entirely true, because Cleopas and his companion do not recognize Jesus even after this extended bible study.
While we don’t have all the details of this very long bible study, we do know that Jesus isn’t following exactly what Jewish people would have believed. Jesus talks about the necessity of the Messiah to suffer and die but that concept is not found outside of Christian scriptures (Luke 17:25 for example). We don’t have a list of the scriptures Jesus used in this bible study, but what we do know is what scriptures the gospel of Luke quotes (Luke 20:17 cites Psalm 118:22; Luke 20: 42-43 quotes Psalm 110:1; Luke 22:37 cites Isaiah 53:12; Luke 23: 34b-35 suggests Psalm 22:7, 18). Yet in their original contexts, these texts are not explicitly messianic predictions.
I got this list from the Cambridge Bible Commentary, one of the authors is Amy-Jill Levine, a Jewish woman who taught New Testament at Vanderbilt University, who spent most of her career explaining historic Jewish scripture and culture to Christians trying to understand Jesus.
As the Cambridge commentary notes, these connections are often seen only in hindsight. Through Christian interpretation, the Hebrew Scriptures reflect Jesus; through non-Christian interpretation, they do not. It’s not that others are missing something obvious—it’s that Christians, in light of Christ, read an additional meaning into the text.
In other words, only someone who already believes Jesus is the Messiah is likely to see these passages pointing directly to him.
Let’s take a look at the Old Testament texts Luke cites:
Luke 20:17 cites Psalm 118:22; The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. (Psalms 113-118 are the Hallel Psalms sung on pilgrimage festivals and were later adapted by Jesus’ followers) This group of psalms frequently references the escape from Egypt. Today they are used as part of Passover by our Jewish neighbors.
Luke 20: 42-43 quotes Psalm 110:1; The Lord says to my lord, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” (This psalm is about David – early Christian texts cite this in reference to the Messiah) The psalm implies that the king being enthroned is a king and priest. He will serve God and change the political landscape so that the poor and oppressed would have their needs met.
Luke 22:37 cites Isaiah 53:12; Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out himself to death and was numbered with the transgressors, yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah is speaking about one counted among the lawless who suffered a cruel death) Jesus wasn’t the first person to be lynched and certainly isn’t the last.
Luke 23: 34b-35 suggests Psalm 22:7, 18 All who see me mock me; they sneer at me; they shake their heads; they divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots. (This Psalm is a plea for deliverance from suffering and also praises God for God’s help).
I see Jesus in these texts, but it’s good for me to remember that my Jewish neighbors do not. They aren’t missing something; I’m adding additional meaning because of my belief in Jesus.
Back to the Emmaus Road:
Still, after all this teaching, the disciples do not recognize him. It seems Jesus is about to leave.
This is the “dip” in our “comedy,” where the audience wants to shout, “Wait—don’t go! They still don’t get it!”
And luckily, Cleopas and his companion practice hospitality and invite the stranger to stay with them. He accepts.
Relief.
The audience breathes a sigh of relief. Okay, they are going to get another chance. And we hope that they figure it out.
They settle in for a meal. Jesus takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them—and in that moment, they recognize him.
Not in the teaching. Not in the explanations. But in the act of sharing a meal.
They see Jesus in their hospitality. In their generosity. In doing what Jesus himself did.
And then—he vanishes.
His mission is accomplished. Cleopas and his companion have seen and now they believe. They think back on what he said to them on the road, how he spoke with them, and how they felt in his presence. They finally understand what we as the audience have known the whole time.
They leave immediately, returning to the other disciples to tell them that Jesus had made himself known to them in the breaking of bread.
At the end of a comedy, the characters learn something that the audience already knew, and the audience learns something by following the adventure.
My hope is that we learned:
1. Reading the same scripture does not mean we all learn the same lesson. The lens we read through matters. I hope that we read through a lens of love.
2. Reading and understanding are important but so is living a life informed by our beliefs. We will see God when we live lives of generosity, caring for our neighbors.
Amen.
Charge
Go now as people who have walked the road with Christ.
Do not assume you already know where or how you will meet him—
for he often comes as a stranger,
in unexpected places,
in ordinary moments.
So go with open eyes and open hearts.
Practice hospitality.
Live what you believe.
Look for Christ not only in what you understand,
but in how you love,
how you welcome,
and how you share.
And as you go, remember:
it is often in the breaking of bread,
in simple acts of grace,
that Jesus is made known.
Blessing
And now, may the God who walks beside you
open your eyes to recognize his presence.
May Christ, made known in word and in bread,
be revealed to you in every act of love and generosity.
And may the Holy Spirit set your hearts on fire within you,
giving you courage to live what you believe
and to share the good news with joy.
Go in peace, to love and serve the Lord.
Amen.
Gracious and loving God,
We come before you as travelers on the road—
sometimes certain of where we are going,
and other times unsure, confused, or weary.
Like those disciples long ago,
we confess that we do not always recognize you.
You walk beside us in ordinary moments,
in conversations, in strangers, in simple acts of care—
and still, we miss you.
Open our eyes, O God.
When we are caught in our own expectations,
when we are limited by what we think is possible,
when we are too distracted or too discouraged to see—
come near to us again.
Open our minds to understand your truth,
but more than that,
open our hearts to receive you.
Teach us that knowing is not enough.
Shape us into people who live what we believe—
people of hospitality,
people of generosity,
people who make room for others at the table.
Help us to recognize you not only in scripture,
but in the breaking of bread,
in shared meals,
in acts of kindness,
in love given freely.
And when we do see you—
even if only for a moment—
set our hearts on fire within us.
Give us the courage to rise,
to go,
to share the good news with others:
that you are alive,
that you are present,
that you are still walking with us.
Be with those who feel lost today.
Be near to those who are grieving,
those who are questioning,
those who are longing for hope.
Walk with them, O Christ,
even if they do not yet recognize you.
We trust that you are always closer than we think,
always at work in ways we do not yet understand.
And so we pray all this in the name of Jesus,
who is made known to us in word and in bread.
Amen.
Period Pastor Pad 