JESUS ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS
MEMORY VERSE
John 5:39, ESV
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me...
DAY 1
Luke 24:13-16, NIrV
13 That same day two of Jesus’ followers were going to a village called Emmaus. It was about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked about those things, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them. 16 But God kept them from recognizing him.
BIBLE STUDY
This week, we’ll read about something that took place on the Sunday Jesus rose from the dead. It happened after the morning excitement, when two women found Jesus’ tomb empty. And it happened before the evening excitement, when Jesus stood before all his disciples inside a locked room. Two of Jesus’ followers were walking from Jerusalem, the city where Jesus died, to Emmaus. It was about a two-hour journey. As they walked and talked about the day’s crazy news, a special guest joined them: the risen Jesus! We don’t know how, but God kept them from recognizing his real identity.
+ About how long would it take to walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus?
+ What did these two talk about as they walked? (vs. 14)
DAY 2
Luke 24:17-24, NIrV
17 Jesus asked them, “What are you talking about as you walk along?”
They stood still, and their faces were sad. 18 One of them was named Cleopas. He said to Jesus, “Are you the only person visiting Jerusalem who doesn’t know? Don’t you know about the things that have happened there in the last few days?”
19 “What things?” Jesus asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet. He was powerful in what he said and did in the sight of God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed Jesus over to be sentenced to death. They nailed him to a cross. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to set Israel free. Also, it is the third day since all this happened. 22 Some of our women amazed us too. Early this morning they went to the tomb. 23 But they didn’t find his body. So they came and told us what they had seen. They saw angels, who said Jesus was alive. 24 Then some of our friends went to the tomb. They saw it was empty, just as the women had said. They didn’t see Jesus’ body there.”
BIBLE STUDY
Cleopas was shocked: how could his mystery guest not know about the things that had happened? About Jesus being killed on a cross! Or about the women, the angels, the earthquake, and Jesus’ empty tomb! Had this guy been sleeping under a rock for the past few days? Like most of the disciples, Cleopas hoped Jesus would save his people by battling Israel’s enemies. That hope died the day Jesus died. But we know a secret that Cleopas didn’t. His mystery guest hadn’t been living under a rock; he’d been dead in a tomb! And soon, he was going to give Cleopas a reason to hope in him again!
+ How were Cleopas and his fellow traveler feeling? Why? (vs. 17 and 21)
+ Who was the “mystery guest” with Cleopas? (vs. 15)
DAY 3
Luke 24:25-27, NIrV
25 Jesus said to them, “How foolish you are! How long it takes you to believe all that the prophets said! 26 Didn’t the Messiah have to suffer these things and then receive his glory?” 27 Jesus explained to them what was said about himself in all the Scriptures. He began with Moses and all the Prophets.
BIBLE STUDY
The “Messiah” was a man God promised to send to rescue his people. Many people had believed Jesus was that God-sent savior. But Cleopas thought, “We must have been wrong – the Messiah isn’t supposed to suffer and die!" Jesus gently let Cleopas know he was totally wrong! Starting at the beginning of the Bible, written by Moses, and going straight to the end, the Prophets, Jesus spoke of all the places that taught about the Messiah. He explained that the Messiah didn’t come to battle the Roman army; he came to battle our sin by suffering in the place of his people.
+ What did Jesus use to teach the two travelers about the Messiah? (vs. 27)
+ Why did Jesus know so much about the Scriptures and the Messiah?
DAY 4
Luke 24:28-32, NIRV
28 They approached the village where they were going. Jesus kept walking as if he were going farther. 29 But they tried hard to keep him from leaving. They said, “Stay with us. It is nearly evening. The day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
30 He joined them at the table. Then he took bread and gave thanks. He broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. But then he disappeared from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “He explained to us what the Scriptures meant. Weren’t we excited as he talked with us on the road?”
BIBLE STUDY
During the seven-mile journey to Emmaus, Cleopas and his fellow traveler listened to a stranger teach them about the promised Messiah. All through this walking Bible lesson, their hearts burned with excitement. Maybe Jesus had been the Messiah after all, sent to suffer and die to save his people! As they reached Emmaus, they were sad to see this stranger go. So they offered, “Stay and have a bite to eat!” At that moment, God revealed the big secret. He opened their eyes to finally “see” the stranger – he was Jesus, risen from the dead! Sadly, as soon as they saw him, poof! He was gone!
+ At what moment did Cleopas and the other traveler recognize Jesus? (vs. 30-31)
+ Why was Jesus able to disappear before the two travelers’ eyes?
DAY 5
Luke 24:33-35, NIRV
33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the 11 disciples and those with them. They were all gathered together. 34 They were saying, “It’s true! The Lord has risen! He has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then the two of them told what had happened to them on the way. They told how they had recognized Jesus when he broke the bread.
BIBLE STUDY
Many people who study the Bible believe that Cleopas’ traveling companion was his wife, Mary. If so, Cleopas and Mary had experienced something wonderful. They’d just been taught from the Bible about the Messiah. And their teacher was the Messiah himself – Jesus! This was the same guy who was supposed to still be lying dead in a tomb. They were excited to share this good news with Jesus’ disciples, but there was a problem: the disciples were back in Jerusalem, and Cleopas and Mary were now in Emmaus! So they packed their bags and retraced their steps for two more hours!
+ We don’t know for sure the name of the other traveler. Who do we think it might be?
+ Who did Cleopas and (probably) Mary go find in Jerusalem? (vs. 33)
DAY 6
Genesis 22:1-14, NIRV
1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” Abraham replied.
2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son. He is the one you love. Take Isaac. Go to the place called Moriah. Give your son to me there as a burnt offering. Sacrifice him on the mountain I will show you.”
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took two of his servants and his son Isaac with him. He cut enough wood for the burnt offering. Then he started out for the place God had shown him. 4 On the third day Abraham saw the place a long way off. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey. I and the boy will go over there and worship. Then we’ll come back to you.”
6 Abraham had his son Isaac carry the wood for the burnt offering. He himself carried the fire and the knife. And the two of them walked on together. 7 Then Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said. “But where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them walked on together.
9 They reached the place God had shown Abraham. There Abraham built an altar. He arranged the wood on it. He tied up his son Isaac. Abraham placed him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand. He picked up the knife to kill his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven. He said, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” Abraham replied.
12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not harm him. Now I know that you would do anything for God. You have not held back from me your son, your only son.”
13 Abraham looked around. There in a bush he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram. He sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide. To this day people say, “It will be provided on the mountain of the Lord.”
BIBLE STUDY
On the road to Emmaus with Cleopas and Mary, Jesus taught them about the Messiah. He called them “foolish” because they believed some things about the Messiah that were just plain wrong. Since Jesus suffered and died, Cleopas thought, “That means he can’t possibly be the Messiah!” But Jesus corrected this wrong thinking using the Scriptures (the Bible). He began with the books of Moses and didn’t stop until he made his way through to the books of the Prophets.
We call the first part of the Bible the “Old Testament.” When Jesus lived, the Old Testament was the only part of the Bible that had actually been written. The Old Testament begins with the “books of Moses” and ends with the “Prophets.” So if Jesus started with the books of Moses and ended with the Prophets, that means he walked through the entire Old Testament to teach about the Messiah!
There are many, many things in the Old Testament Jesus could have talked about on that long afternoon walk with Cleopas and Mary. Perhaps the true story we read today, from the book of Genesis, is something Jesus used to teach about the Messiah.
Abraham was the father of the nation of Israel, the nation that Jesus, Cleopas, and Mary were a part of. God made a special promise to Abraham – his family was going to bless the entire world. To get Abraham’s family started, God did a miracle. When Abraham was 100 years old, he gave the old man his first (and only) child, a boy named Isaac.
Later on, God tested Abraham’s faith. He asked him to take Isaac and sacrifice him on a mountain. Amazingly, Abraham obeyed what God asked him to do! But right before Abraham brought down the knife on his son, an angel stopped him. In the end, God provided a ram to be killed in Isaac’s place.
Can you see how this story points forward to the Messiah, Jesus? Isaac was the only son of Abraham. And Jesus was the only Son of God. Isaac came to the mountain to die as a sacrifice. And Jesus was sent to the cross to die as a sacrifice.
But the story of God and his Son Jesus is way better than the story of Abraham and his son Isaac. When Abraham raised the knife to sacrifice his own son, God provided a ram to take Isaac’s place. But when the Roman soldier raised his hammer to pound a nail through Jesus’ hands, God didn’t stop him. God didn’t provide anything or anyone to take Jesus’ place. Why? Because Jesus had been sent to die in our place!
The story of Abraham and Isaac is just one of many Old Testament stories that point us forward to the Messiah. Like Jesus did with Mary and Cleopas, we can read through the Old Testament and look for all the clues that tell us about Jesus. He was the Messiah, the promised savior sent to suffer, die, and rise again to save us from sin!
+ What did God provide to take Isaac’s place for the sacrifice? (vs. 13)
+ What did Abraham call the mountain? (vs. 14)
© 2023 Andrew Doane. All rights reserved.