When You Walk By the Way

In Luke 24, the Risen Lord Jesus walks the road to Emmaus with two of His followers, one is named Cleopas. There had been the discussion of the things that had just happened in Jerusalem (vss. 18-19). It is an educational context, He’s teaching. Note three aspects of His teaching method.

First, in helping these men to understand matters at hand and to be revived from their discouragement, He opens the Scriptures to them, “O foolish ones, and slow to believe in all that the prophets have spoken” (vs. 25). He does the same thing in vs. 44 with others, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was with you…” Here is the teaching point: we're to give ourselves to the Word of God revealed, the written texts of the Scriptures. This means giving attention to words, phrases, paragraphs and chapters of the Bible with their plain, on-the-surface, facts. We must learn to be observant readers. The men to whom Jesus speaks were being instructed to be well-versed in what had been written. Teachers, are you spelling out the plain facts of the Word?

Then next, another teaching method was employed by our Lord. He “explained or expounded...all the Scriptures” (vs. 27). Notice that His expounding moved through the pages of the Old Testament. With explanation linked with page-turning, we have to assume that Jesus was using the teaching technique of comparing one story with another, one part of law with another and one part of character plot with another. Verse 44 confirms that He moved in and out of the “Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms.” What's the teaching principle here? It's reading the Bible thematically, with a trained eye to see repetition, rehearsal and duplication. I suggest that reading the Scriptures this way shows us the acts of God, and here we begin to construct themes like: creation, law, fall into sin, renewal with promise, renewal with oaths, signs and seals, judgment, representative deliverer, and hope, blessing, advance and peace. This aspect of Bible reading and teaching emphasizes the area of interpretation; it's seeing rightly systematic and biblical threads of God's work with His people. In seeing such biblical threads, the Holy Spirit escorts us into the New Testament to see Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior as the New Creation, New Law-Giver, Righteous Servant, Judge, Deliverer and more.

Therefore, last, His aim was to persuade them to draw righteous conclusions for a faithful, correct response to know who He is, in order to follow Him, and this is especially in spite of the surrounding circumstances (vss. 17-24). The two disciples knew that “Jesus of Nazareth...was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,” but their thoughts about His life and purpose, and the circumstances relative to things at hand brought about doubt, discouragement and loss of hope. He helped them with understanding the “things concerning Himself” (vs. 27, 44 at the end of these verses). Since the Lord Jesus Christ is the end goal of God’s revelation, the final revelation (Heb 1); and since He is the fulfillment of God’s promises, man is to respond to Him in faith and repentance. The things concerning Jesus Christ persuade us to put the spotlight where God wants it. It's a focus on Christ's Person and Work in salvation. Here is the teaching principle and practice that urges students to trust Christ, give Him devotion, and show repentance and newness of obedience.

Man has his own words, subjects of discussion and conclusions by which he lives, as pictured in miniature with these two men talking together on the road to Emmaus. Our Lord catches up to them on the seven-mile walk to teach them, and thus, to make them His disciples. He's the Master Teacher who states the facts of the written Word, rehearses the Scriptures going over the acts of God, and last, summons His students to repent, to turn to Him in faith and follow Him.

G. Mark Sumpter