Easter 2
Beloved. Last Sunday’s Gospel brought us back to Easter Sunday evening where the disciples were behind locked doors for fear of the Jews—and Jesus appears in the midst of them and by that in a good and salutary way mocks their fear. It is much like when He came to them walking on the water, He told them [John 8.20]: It is I: do not be afraid. There, that evening, Jesus came and was in their midst—their fear could not keep Him away for He came to comfort their fear and announce to them the greatest blessing of the forgiveness of sin: Peace to you!; the locked doors could not keep Jesus from physically being with them—He showed them His hands and His side that had the scars of the crucifixion. And now, today’s Gospel takes us back to Easter Sunday late afternoon/ early evening as we have the account of Jesus meeting the two disciples on the road to Emmaus who were talking about the recent events and were so sad because of them—they thought that Jesus was still dead. These two disciples were not of that group of the 11, but were part of a wider group of disciples of Jesus. The name of one was Cleopas.
There is quite possibly a very close connection between last week’s Gospel and today’s. It is possible that Jesus met these disciples on that road to Emmaus, and after Jesus made Himself known to them we read: And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the 11 and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed…!” And it is then that Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you!”
Like we saw last week, Jesus would appear and vanish/ appear and disappear. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him. And He vanished from their sight. Things were not like they were before Jesus’ death and resurrection. Before, Jesus was at one place and at one time; He would have to walk or take a boat to get from point A to point B. But now Jesus didn’t have to. With His resurrection Jesus entered into HIs glorified state. That means that also as true man, He is making full use of His divine glory, majesty and characteristics. As God, Jesus is everywhere—and where Jesus is as God, there He is also as man; that’s because there is the one Person of Jesus, who is both God and man. So when He reveals Himself physically/ bodily to the disciples cowering in fear behind the locked doors, He was already there—for God is everywhere and Jesus is God; when we read that Jesus vanished from their sight, He was still there with them but it’s just that they couldn’t see Him. During His earthly ministry, normally if Jesus was with the disciples or in the temple, etc. they could see Him. If He wasn’t there, they would not see Him.
But now with His resurrection, it’s all different. Jesus can be at all places, but we don’t see Him. If we don’t see Him, it doesn’t mean that He’s not there—it just means that we can’t see Him even though He is there.
That’s how it is especially as we gather for church, the Divine Service. We are not worshipping an absent Jesus who is enthroned far away from us in distant heaven. No! Especially in church, we take great comfort from the words of last Sunday’s Gospel: Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you!” Jesus is in our midst in worship. If the Lord would open our eyes, we would see the same thing the OT prophet Isaiah saw as he was at worship in the temple [6.1-3]: I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him stood seraphim... That’s the reality of our worship, of what happens here on a Sunday. The Lord is with us; He is giving us His gifts and blessings; and we are joining our praise and worship with those of our fellow Christians and the saints and holy angels in heaven.
Today’s Gospel is also a magnificent picture of what happens in worship here in church—when it comes down to it, church/ the Divine Service is in a sense a continuation of Jesus’ post resurrection appearances. As we ponder our text for a few moments today, we will see what happened with the Emmaus disciples still happens with us today in church.
We read in the Gospel: So they drew near to the village to which they were going. [Jesus] acted as if He were going farther, but they urged Him strongly, saying, “Stay with us…” These disciples had been listening to Jesus expound the Old Testament prophecies about the coming Savior and especially that He would have to suffer first and then enter into His glory. So here it seems that there is a fork in the road. The disciples reached their destination but it seemed that Jesus had to go on. So what do they do? They ask Jesus to stay with them: “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” Here is a great grace of our Lord—by acting as if He had further to go, He gave them the opportunity to invite Him to stay.
Doesn’t the Lord do the same with us, too, dear Christian? After all, He teaches us about Himself in His word. And don’t we want to learn more? Don’t we want to receive His gifts? Don’t we say as the disciples did that day: “Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the Scriptures?” In the joy that is ours as we hear God’s word, the word of eternal life, the word that gives the blessings of forgiveness of sin and eternal life that it promises, don’t we want to hear more? Don’t we want to receive Jesus’ words and gifts? And so what do we do in the Spirit worked faith? We invite Jesus to stay with us—that is, we don’t let go of His word; we don’t let the outside distractions of the world keep us from Jesus and from church where we hear of Him and receive His gifts; we say with St. David in the psalm [122.1]: I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.” By giving us/ blessing us with our church, Jesus is giving us the opportunity to invite Him to stay with us.
What we have in our text is really a beautiful description of what happens here in church each week. First there is the proclamation of the word of God: They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the Scriptures?” Here are Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances to us—as He comes to us in His holy word and as He expounds/ explains that word. Jesus today does that through the faithful teachers of the word. When your pastor teaches you from God’s word and what he says is in accord with that word, then that is not the word of a mere person, but the very word of God that He speaks through that lowly instrument of your pastor. Jesus says of those who preach Him [Lk. 10.16]: He who hears you, hears Me. Through that word that the pastor faithfully teaches, Jesus is preaching; Jesus is revealing Himself; there is a post resurrection appearance of Jesus, for where His word is, there He is and where two or three have been gathered together in His name there He is in the midst of them [Mt 18.20].
Again notice our text: And [Jesus] vanished from their sight. What happened next? They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the Scriptures?” What did they talk about? Not about Jesus disappearing but about the word He had taught. They were not sad because they couldn’t see Him any more—they were so wrapped up in the word He spoke; they realized that because He had now entered into His glory that He was still with them even though He had vanished from their sight.
This is what happens as Jesus still comes to us today in church. He is still with us, in our midst, and through the word He has proclaimed He is working mightily on our hearts just as He did the Emmaus disciples that day. Earlier when Jesus first meets them they were sad [vs.17] but at the end of the account they are joyful and excited. Why? Jesus and His word: Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road. As they heard the word, the word of eternal life, the word that proclaimed Jesus, they were filled with wonder and awe. Through the word, Jesus breathes His life-giving breath, gives us His Holy Spirit, and fills us with life! Jesus does the same each Sunday and holy day we are in church. We are gathered around the Word, His Word!, and He reveals Himself to us—who He is, what He has done for us and our salvation. He opens His heart to us and there we see His love for us, His divine mercy, His desire to save us from our sin.
Let us hear and ponder and treasure this word. Let us invite our Lord and gladly gather together around Him. He’s not absent but with us as He was those disciples. When we think lightly of church, when we think there are better things to do, or if there are many things to do and we bump church—that’s the work of the devil; that’s sin; that’s to our spiritual detriment. Cutting ourselves off from church is cutting ourselves off from the resurrected Christ and the gifts and blessings He gives us here in the word and sacrament.
Precisely when we think and feel ourselves weak in faith, cold in love and faint in hope—that’s when we need the word most! That’s when we need to be where the risen Christ makes His post-resurrection appearances—in church, in the word and Sacrament. Jesus comes and by His word and sacrament strengthens faith, warms the cold heart, and comforts us in hope.
Not only in the word does our risen Lord show Himself alive to us but so also, and in a most wonderful and miraculous way in Holy Communion. Our text: So [Jesus] went in to stay with them. When He was at table with them, He took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him. And He vanished from their sight. Just like at the institution of the Lord’s Supper on that first Maundy Thursday Jesus was at table with them, He took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. Here these disciples saw that the Stranger they invited to stay was not acting as a guest but as the Host. It was precisely here that they recognized Jesus as Jesus; and as we read at the end of our text: Then they told [the disciples] what had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread. It is precisely in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar that we know Jesus most perfectly—because what happened in our text as Jesus began distributing to them the bread? And their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him. It was the Lord, through the visible word of the Sacrament who opened their eyes so that they knew Him rightly; it was the Lord through the invisible word that they heard that opened their eyes to recognize Him. This is precisely what we have in the Divine Service/ liturgy. We have the word that proclaims Jesus to us—the very word that reveals Jesus to us so that we know who He is and what He has done for us; we have the Sacrament of Holy Communion in which Jesus comes to us and gives us Himself, gives us His body and blood, gives us the forgiveness of sins, unites with us as we eat His body and drink His blood and at the same time unites us with our fellow Christian in Him. Here is not just simple bread and wine—but from the word we know and in faith believe that this is Jesus’ very body that hung on the cross and His very blood that was poured out for our forgiveness. Here Jesus is most clearly revealing Himself as our Savior. Here Jesus is most clearly revealing Himself as our risen Lord and Savior. Here Jesus is mostly clearly revealing Himself to be with us, even though we do not see Him. In church as we gather around our Lord’s holy word and Sacrament we are like the disciples that day: Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances continue in His church. He [is] known to [us] in the breaking of bread. INJ Amen.