Walking With Jesus

This Easter season we have been examining the response that several key figures in the New Testament had to Jesus’ resurrection. Today we finish up this series and celebrate how Jesus died and rose again to defeat sin, hell, and the grave! In today’s message, we will look at two people who met Jesus while walking along a road of discouragement. 

On the Road to Emmaus

Today’s passage is found in Luke 24:13-35. In this passage, we see that on the very first Easter there were two disciples who were walking together. They were headed away from Jerusalem, to a village called Emmaus. They were walking away from everything they had hoped for, thinking the story was over. 

As they were walking, we learn that “Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing Him” (verses 15-16). They thought all hope was lost - but they didn’t know that Jesus was right there with them. Jesus didn’t show up with a spotlight or fanfare. He met them in their confusion, walked beside them in their pain, and eventually opened their eyes in the most ordinary of moments. 

We don’t find ourselves walking away from Jerusalem on a confusing Easter morning - but we all have moments in our lives where we feel like our journey is filled with confusion, hopelessness, and fear. In those moments - Jesus is walking with us.

Disappointment Doesn’t Mean Departure

The disciples were disappointed and hopeless as they walked away from Jerusalem. Verse 17 describes them as downcast and in verse 21, they admit to Jesus (not knowing it was Him) that “we had hoped” that Christ was the one “who was going to redeem Israel.” Their journey was not casual or cavalier - it was a walk marked by grief. The greek word for downcast used in verse 17 is used to describe a facial expression that is sullen, gloomy, or downcast. It conveys a sense of sadness, displeasure, or dejection. In other words - the disciples looked miserable.

These two disciples drew a conclusion that everything was over. They looked at the events of the week with sadness and grief, not knowing that they were walking with the very one they were mourning. Jesus meets them on the road in their confusion - but they don’t recognize Him. Jesus had another purpose that they weren't expecting! It wasn’t the tomb that held power - it was the truth they couldn’t see yet.

Jesus had not come to establish an earthly kingdom like these two men might have thought. He came to win victory over the real enemy - sin. The disciples came to the wrong conclusion when they couldn’t see the full picture. They concluded that the best was behind them, and all hope was lost. But their disappointment didn’t define the end game. Jesus was alive, walking with them, and victorious. Throughout their encounter with Christ, He reveals the full story to them and gives them hope - but only after He meets them in their messy middle.

The two disciples saw the cross and concluded the story was over. But Jesus was just getting started. In your life, too, what you believe about your circumstances often matters more than the circumstances themselves. Jesus can be doing a work that you can’t see yet!

Jesus because you can’t see Jesus doesn’t mean that He isn’t walking beside you. These disciples were disillusioned - but Jesus was closer than they knew. Your discouragement isn’t a sign of God’s absence; it may just be the beginning of a deeper encounter. 

God’s Word Makes the Truth Visible

As Jesus walked with the disciples, He began to use the word of God to reveal to them what the Messiah had to go through. In verses 25-27, we see that Jesus begins with the Torah and the Old Testament to unpack the prophecies about the Messiah and help them understand why He had to die and rise again.

The fact is that they missed it. Not just the disciples - but most of the Jewish people missed it. They all wanted a king who would conquer the Roman empire…they wanted a crowned king but without the cross, the blessing of victory without the need for removal of sin. Jesus came to change their perspective - not their political situation. The ministry of Christ is all about Jesus and His work - not our wants. Jesus didn’t come to make your life better; He came to save your soul.

Jesus knew that these disciples didn’t understand this yet. So He begins to explain the Scriptures to them - station with Moses and the Prophets - pointing out how it all pointed to Him. He takes them through the Scriptures, not just quoting the verses, but giving them a narrative framework that shows them who He really is. They still didn’t recognize Jesus physically, but we’re told that their hearts were burning with them (verse 32) because God’s word is alive and His word makes truth visible!

When Scripture is revealed, you start to see more clearly, piece by piece. Jesus takes the time to walk them through the work of the Messiah - and while their circumstances hadn’t changed, something was stirring in them. We must learn to look to the same place to understand the circumstances we face and the God we serve when we face confusion - the word of God. It is the tool that God uses to make truth visible!

Jesus is Often Found in the Breaking

They continue to walk with Jesus, and insist on Jesus staying with them for dinner. Then, “when he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight” (verses 30-31). Jesus quietly joins two discouraged disciples on their journey — though they don’t recognize Him at first. He walks with them, listens to their disappointment, and gently reveals the bigger picture through Scripture. As He speaks, their hearts begin to burn with renewed hope. When they reach their destination, they beg Him to stay. Then, at the table, in the simple act of breaking bread, their eyes are opened — they realize it’s Jesus!

Jesus - the One who couldn’t be contained by the grave, stopped by the stone, silenced by the soldiers, or held back by death - waits for an invitation to enter. God’s love is so deep that He gives us the freedom to choose Him. He offers His presence, but never imposes it. He never forces Himself; He waits for your invitation. At this moment, the disciples invite Him to eat with them. It is the moment when Jesus breaks the bread that their eyes are opened! It’s not a miracle or a sermon - it’s the simple act of sharing a meal. It’s this intimate moment of breaking bread together - something they had shared with Christ before - where they finally recognize Him. 

The moment of breaking becomes the moment of revelation! Sometimes Jesus reveals Himself most clearly in the breaking — of bread, in the breaking of expectations, in the breaking of pride, or even in the breaking of our hearts. Something incredible is happening here — Jesus breaks the bread, and in that moment, they recognize Him.

In the hands of God, blessing and brokenness are never far apart. Don’t assume that pain means God is absent. In fact, some of the deepest revelations of His presence come through seasons of suffering. In God’s hands, suffering and glory walk side by side. The greater the breaking, the greater the potential for His glory to shine through your life. So, suffer well — not because the pain is good, but because God is good, and He never wastes a wound. He will use it to shape you, strengthen you, and reveal Himself through you.

A Changed Heart Will Always Change Your Direction

Once the disciples encountered the risen Christ - everything changed. Not just what they believed, but where they were going. We learn that “they got up and returned at once to Jerusalem” (verse 33). There, they tell the rest of the disciples what happened! Their encounter with Christ and the revelation of His resurrection compels them to stop running away and start running back toward Jerusalem. The journey that took them all day is reversed in an instant. 

When Jesus changes our heart, He also changes our direction. This Easter season, may your heart be changed by His grace and may your life’s direction reflect His work in your life - just like the disciples on the road to Emmaus!

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Death Defeated: Week 4. April 20th, 2025. Preached by Ben Dieterly

Article Edited by Julia Castro