The Time Jesus Blessed the Food, But Didn’t Stay to Eat

The First Supper – Emmaus Sunday (Luke 24:13-33)

by Ruth Wilkinson

Of all the theories that seek to explain the identities of the two disciples on the Emmaus road, it makes the most sense to me that it was Cleopas and Mary, a married couple who apparently had kids old enough to have been finding their own way home after Passover. Mary and Cleopas were empty nesters, mature adults, who’ve lived their lives together for decades. They’ve raised their kids. They’ve discovered Jesus. They’ve been following Him closely enough to be present with Him in Jerusalem on that final Passover. They may have been present at the Last Supper. They may have been present in those days of waiting between Jesus’ death and resurrection. But now it’s over and it’s time for them to head back home.

These are just two ordinary people, among the crowds and clusters of pilgrims streaming out of Jerusalem in every direction after Passover. Cleopas and Mary would have been heading westward, towards their own 4 walls, towards their own lives, where things actually made sense, where they knew who they were, they knew which way was up, and they could start wrapping their heads around the fact that… It was over.

Right?

From Jerusalem to Emmaus isn’t a bad journey: about 3 hours on foot, mostly downhill. And they had the advantage of the Roman roads that had been built from Jerusalem out into the countryside. Roman roads were engineering accomplishments. They were level and straight, paved with interlocking flat stones. Maybe Cleopas and Mary, as they walked that road, thought that the Romans – they build good roads. But that’s about all you can say for them. Especially now. Especially after what they’d done to Jesus, because now… It was over.

Wasn’t it?

There was no reason to stay in Jerusalem, no reason to not return home to their regular everyday. They had no reason to not go back to their life of worshipping Yahweh God, and of waiting and praying for the Messiah.

So that Resurrection Sunday morning, with everything so confused and up in the air, they gave everybody one last hug and melted into that crowd of pilgrims heading away from the city and down that Roman road. They must have been surrounded by crowds of fellow travelers who had just celebrated Passover, and were feeling joy, and gratitude, and looking forward to next time.

But Mary and Cleopas… They were in the fog of feeling the void that He left behind. They knew what everyone had lost, because now… He was gone.

Right?

But as they walk, This Guy comes up from behind. He’s been eavesdropping, apparently, and they don’t notice Him until He interrupts them: “Hey, so what are you talking about there, guys? Sounds pretty intense.”

And they stopped walking and looked very sad. (Luke 24:17)

Cleopas answers: “Well… That whole thing with Jesus of Nazareth! You know? That whole thing? He was a prophet but He was crucified. We were all hoping that He was the Messiah and He would redeem Israel.”

(I can imagine Cleopas asking Him, “How do you not know this? What, have you been, like, living under a rock or something?” And This Guy kind of smiling and saying, “Well, yeah, kinda sorta.”)

Cleopas continues, “But then we went this morning to His tomb and His body was gone! It’s just not there! We don’t know where it is. We don’t know what happened. And there were some angels—like actual angels—that said that Jesus is alive. So some of the guys went and checked it out and it matched what the women said, but we don’t know what’s going on. He’s just gone.”

Cleopas pauses for a breath and This Guy says, “Oh, that! Oh, right. That. Yeah. Wasn’t that amazing? Wasn’t it amazing how all of the prophecies came true? Wasn’t it amazing how they pointed to exactly that? To the Messiah having to suffer and die?”

And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the scriptures about himself. (Luke 24:27)

This Guy starts walking and talking. Mary and Cleopas follow. Maybe they don’t even realize they’ve started walking again, but they have to hear what He is saying. He’s telling them:

• Genesis points to the Saviour’s ultimate victory over the enemy.
• In Exodus, the Passover lamb dies in the place of the eldest son in every Israelite family and the nation of Israel is saved.
• In Leviticus, the image of the Passover lamb is perpetuated for generations as a remembrance and as a substitute.

And This Guy is walking and talking and they’re just following Him and listening as He talks about:

• Isaiah, who prophesied that the Saviour would be born of a virgin; that He would be a stumbling stone, tripping up people who just didn’t want to get it.
• Jeremiah, who says that the Messiah is going to establish a new covenant between God and humanity.
• Ezekiel, who says that the Messiah will be a shepherd.
• Daniel, who says that the Saviour will govern an eternal Kingdom.
• Joel, who says the Spirit is going to be poured out on all people, (and then maybe He pauses for a second and says, ‘Oh, wait, that hasn’t happened yet. Just you wait, guys. You’re gonna love it.’)
• Then the prophet Amos, who said that Gentile believers from every nation will serve the eternal King.
• Jonah, who creates a picture for us of a prophet who will be entombed for three days.
• Micah, who says that the King will be born in Bethlehem.
• Zechariah, who says the King will arrive riding on a donkey.

And Mary and Cleopas are just soaking this up. Because This Guy… He is opening their minds. He is opening their eyes to things that they had not seen before, had not understood before. And they are starting, I think, to remember some things that Jesus had said about himself.

As they walk and talk and listen and remember, suddenly they discover they’re at their front door. They’re home.

Mary says to This Guy… ‘Listen, we just want to thank you for your time. This has been great! Come and stay with us for the night. Come and crash on our couch. We’re happy to have you for the evening. Just to say thank you.”

He steps back a pace or two and says, “Oh, I couldn’t impose. I’m just gonna keep going.”

But Mary and Cleopas aren’t having that. They’re thinking, “We don’t know what’s going on. We don’t know who He is. We haven’t even got His name yet. But whatever this is… We need to hear more. We are not done with This Guy yet.”

I can picture Mary grabbing Jesus by the elbow and saying, “No you don’t. I insist. It’s nearly 7:00. The sun is going down. You’re going to stay. Yes, you are. We brought some food with us from Jerusalem. It’s nothing fancy but stay. I insist!”

They all go in the house. Cleopas and Mary have been gone for over a week. So they’re picking up the mail from the front mat. They’re opening the windows to change the air. They’re getting out the food for supper. They’re setting the table. They’re chatting and catching up, and thinking of questions to ask This Guy. (Maybe a neighbour sticks their head in the door to say ‘Hi, you’re back. Good to see you guys. Who’s your company?’ Mary whispers, ‘We don’t know. Go away. I’ll explain later.’)

Then they sit down—to the First Supper. The one that Jesus chose to sit down to after His resurrection, with people he loved.

While He was reclining at the table with them, He took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus—and He disappeared from their sight. (Luke 24:30-31)

And they’re sitting there, with the bread in their hands, staring. “Ok… You saw that right? It wasn’t just me. He… He just disappeared. Poof!”

It takes a moment for them to gather their wits. They start comparing notes: “It was Him the whole time! It was Jesus the whole time! That makes so much sense, because our hearts were burning within us. We were hearing everything that He was saying, and it was just making so much sense and it was perfect and it was true and we didn’t want to let Him go and it was Jesus the whole time!”

After those first few moments of shock, what do they do? They get up. They leave the mail unopened on the kitchen counter. They close the windows. They lock the door. They ask the neighbours to feed the cat, and they head back up that Roman road to Jerusalem to find the others.

Question: why, after all that time together, did they finally recognize Him in that moment?

Because Jesus chose—in that moment—to remove whatever mask he’d been wearing, or whatever blinders had been on their eyes. He chose—in that moment—to reveal himself, to be recognized, and to say, “I am here. Here I am.”

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Jesus reveals himself to us as we share Communion, remembering that Last Supper, just as He did to Cleopas and Mary at that first supper.

Our response to Jesus can be one of any number of different kinds of response. Our response to recognizing Jesus, to realizing who He is, can be like the response of our sisters in the garden that resurrection morning: they literally fall to their knees in surprise and in confusion.

Our response to recognizing Jesus can be like Peter, out in that fishing boat: a moment of joy and recognition and friendship, as he jumps in the lake and swims to shore because he sees Jesus there. I can see Peter laughing as he gives Jesus a great big, wet hug.

Our response to recognizing Jesus can be like the apostle Thomas, the final one of the eleven apostles to recognize Jesus: he speaks those words of awe and humility, “My Lord and my God.”

Our response to recognizing Jesus can be like the apostle Paul; when he realizes who Jesus was, when he recognizes Him for who He is, Paul changes his mind. He changes his thinking, and he begins to live his life in a new way.

Our response to Jesus in that moment of recognition depends on who we are. It depends on where we are in our life journey. It depends on what happened yesterday, and what we think is going to happen tomorrow. It depends on our unique emotional landscape, our own brain wiring.

I go more in the intellectual direction. That’s just me. There are folks in my church whose response to Jesus is to raise their hands and to shout, “Hallelujah!”

Jesus meets us each uniquely and individually, but He calls us each to respond. When we recognize him, when we see Him for who He is, we are called to respond. To act, to react, to live forward, beyond that moment of recognition.

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Ruth Wilkinson is Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada and appears here most Fridays. Her sermon blog is Pastor Percipia. Click the title of this post for a link to the original article and a video sermon of which this is an excerpt. Ruth returns in two weeks.

 

What Does Greater Devotion to Jesus Get You?

Thinking Through John 21:15-19

by Clarke Dixon

If we are more devoted to Jesus than others, we should get more privileges, right? Or perhaps we don’t want to compare ourselves to others. If we are more devoted to Jesus than we were five or ten years ago, there should be advantages, right? The following conversation between Jesus and Peter will help us discover what a greater devotion to Jesus does, and does not, get us. So here we go:

After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”
“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.
Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”
“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.
A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.

John 21:15-17 (NLT)

We might wonder what “these” refer to when Jesus asked Peter “do you love me more than these.” One possibility, since Peter had just been fishing, is “do you love me more than these things?” that is, this fishing gear. It could be “do you love me more than you love these disciples?”. Or it could be “do you love me more than these other disciples love me?”. This last possibility is seen by many Bible scholars as the best given that Peter always seemed to be first among the disciples. He was the one who asked to walk on water with Jesus, he was the one who at first refused to have his feet washed by Jesus, he was the first to say he was willing to die for Jesus.

Let us consider what Jesus did, and did not, say to Peter:

Jesus did not say to Peter “if you love me more than these then why did you deny you knew me when I was arrested and put on trial?”

Jesus did not lecture Peter about he should have done, or what he could do better moving forward. There was no interrogation. Jesus did not even mention Peter’s sin against him. But the fact that Jesus asked three times by a fire “do you love me?” would have reminded Peter of the three times he denied Jesus by a fire.

The message was clear; Jesus had not forgotten, but he had forgiven.

Jesus did say “feed my lambs, take care of my sheep, feed my sheep.” Jesus forgave and was ready to move forward in their relationship.

Greater devotion to Jesus does not get us greater forgiveness. Greater devotion to Jesus does open up the opportunity to move forward in forgiveness already granted.

Jesus did not say “since you love me more than these, then I will love you more than these.”

Jesus said “feed my lambs, take care of my sheep, feed my sheep.” Jesus called Peter to this task, not out of greater love for Peter, but out of great love love for all the sheep.

Jesus also said, “follow me.” Follow where? In the path of the shepherd, in the path of the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. If you love me more than these, then love them just as I do!

Greater devotion to Jesus does not mean we will be loved more by Jesus. It does mean we will love more like Jesus.

Jesus did not say “since you love me more, you will get special treatment.”

It is natural to think that if we love Jesus more than others, or more than we used to, then we should be rewarded with greater privileges. If we pray more, read the Bible more, do more religious things, and become better followers, we should receive a more privileged place, right?

Jesus said “feed my lambs, take care of my sheep, feed my sheep.”

Greater devotion to Jesus does not lead to greater privilege, it leads to the privilege of greater service.

Jesus did not say “since you love me more, you will get more power and authority.”

Jesus said “feed my lambs, take care of my sheep, feed my sheep.”

Jesus used a verb meaning “shepherd” which some may jump on as a reason to claim power and authority. After all, sheep need the shepherd to guide them to better pastures. The shepherd knows best, right? But it is translated here as “take care of” and in some other translations as “tend” since it should be taken more as caring for the sheep and being responsible for them, rather than ruling over them.

In fact Jesus pointed out the kind of power and authority Peter would enjoy in the future:

“I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”

John 21:18-19 (NLT)

You might think that Jesus, in establishing the Kingdom of God, would have called together powerful people and instructed them to grab after more power for the sake of the Kingdom. That’s how empires work. That’s not how Jesus works.

Jesus told Peter to “follow me.” Yes, Peter was called to be a shepherd, but he was called to remain a sheep, following the path of the Good Shepherd in the way of the cross, in the way of putting the needs of others first.

Greater devotion to Jesus does not mean greater power and control over others, it means greater opportunity to care for others.

Jesus did not say, “since you love me more, everyone should be just like you.”

Jesus did not say “create a community of Jesus-loving-Jewish-fishermen,” but “feed my lambs, take care of my sheep, feed my sheep.”

Peter would go on to discover that the sheep were all quite different from each other, especially so once it became clear that non-Jews were invited into the Kingdom! The sheep were people from all different kinds of backgrounds and situations. Some were rich, some poor, some Jewish, some not, some were male, others female, some were Pharisees and some were Romans.

Peter’s role was not to make everyone just like him, but to help everyone live out the Kingdom pivot in their lives, in their context, just as he was doing in his own.

In my years of being a pastor, a shepherd, and we are all shepherds to someone, I’ve discovered that the sheep are all quite different. Some of the sheep vote conservative, some liberal, some are introverted, others are extroverted, some have easily trusted the medical professionals, some have not, some think the government should provide more care for people, others thing the government should play a lessor role in our lives, some think abortion is the taking of life, some think abortion can be a means of health care, some drink only tea, some enjoy Guinness, some like long sermons, some don’t like sermons at all, some love the Bible, some have great difficulty making any sense of it, some are straight, some are gay, some are well off, some are not far from poverty. Jesus did not say “make everyone be like you,” but “feed my lambs, take care of my sheep, feed my sheep.” That means all of them. Even if we are not called to vocational ministry, we have the opportunity to take care of people who are different, and think different, from us.

In my years of being a shepherd, I have been grateful for sheep that have been different, and who have helped me to see things from different perspectives. Sheep can shepherd shepherds! In fact the sheep depend on the shepherds being sheep and following Jesus.

Greater devotion to Jesus does not give us the right to strong-arm people into becoming just like us, it means serving people, all people, helping them become more like Jesus even if they are nothing like us.

Do we love Jesus more than ever?

I hope we do, but it does not give us greater forgiveness, love, privilege, power, or make us the shining example of what following Jesus looks like.

Greater devotion to Jesus does give us the opportunity to move forward in forgiveness, and a greater opportunity to love.

Jesus asks us as he did Peter, “do you love me.” If so, let us commit to loving and serving others.

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Clarke Dixon is a pastor in Ontario, Canada. You can read more at his blog, Thinking Through Scripture.

Dancing with the Wrong Partner

^{John 20:19} On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

²¹ Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” ²² And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” …

²⁶ A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

²⁸ Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

In the process of digging deeper here at Christianity 201, we usually eschew certain types of illustrations, but every once in awhile there is one that really makes you think. That was the case when I read this article by Canadian pastor and fiction author Matthew David Brough. Click the title below to read this at source.

May I Cut In?

Today  I came across an idea I had written about three years ago for a sermon on the same bit of Scripture as this coming Sunday’s. Here’s the thought – stick with it to the end.

John 20:19-31 describes a group of frightened men locked away in an upper room on the first Easter evening. They’re afraid that they will meet with the same fate as Jesus did three days earlier. Will the authorities start rounding up his followers? Will the authorities find out that they were indeed his disciples?

Suddenly, though the doors are locked, Jesus appears among them. He shows them his hands and feet and says “peace be with you” – their faith in him is renewed.

How did Jesus suddenly appear among them? I guess Jesus’ resurrected body must be able to just disappear and reappear and pass through walls. That’s pretty awesome, but it’s not the point (at least not the point today). The point is that Jesus wanted to be in that room with his fearful followers. He chose to come to them. I imagine that if Jesus wasn’t able pass through walls, he would have found some way into that room – he would have broke in if he’d had to.

I think Jesus is like that with us. Ever been afraid? Ever been discouraged? Ever been full of doubt? Beaten by life? Jesus wants to break in and say “peace” to you.

Another way of thinking about this…

You may have seen this scene in an old movie or something. A man and woman are dancing and there is this other man on the sideline, watching. The man on the side knows in his heart that he is supposed to be the one dancing with the woman. She is so beautiful to him – he just knows they are meant for each other. She is dancing with the wrong partner. He walks up to the couple and says “may I cut in?”

That’s what Jesus does. He sees you for who you truly are – you are beautiful to him. He doesn’t judge you – he just despairs that you are dancing with the wrong partner. You’re dancing with fear, with greed, with ambition, with doubt. But Jesus knows you are meant to dance with him. Fortunately, Jesus is even more persistent than the romantic lead in the old movie.

He interrupts your dance and says “may I cut in?”

Then, it’s your move.

Incidentally, the disciples were still hiding in the same room a week later. You know what Jesus did? He showed up again. “May I cut in?” “Peace be with you” were the first words out of his mouth.

Fishing, Failure and Reconciliation

Today we introduce a new writer, Dottie Parish who I discovered online and asked if she would submit some articles for us. You can read more of her writing at Faith Notes.

Often we spend the forty days before Easter focusing on Christ’s journey as he sets his face toward Jerusalem and crucifixion. What about the forty days after Easter? Scripture describes a number of Jesus’ resurrection appearances including the fact that he appeared to 500 people. (1 Cor. 15:6-7) His resurrection was no delusion by a few ardent disciples.

He talked with them, ate and drank with them, showed them his nail scarred hands and wounded side. And he taught them, loved them, and prepared them for his Ascension. And He prepared them to be His Church on earth.

One of the most compelling resurrection appearances (John 21:1-17 NIV) describes a fishing excursion of Peter and six other disciples. They caught nothing after hours of fishing. Early in the morning Jesus greeted them from the shore asking if they have any fish. They reply, “No” and he tells them “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they do, they are unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

John (recognizing Jesus) says, “It is the Lord.” Peter jumps into the water and swims to shore. (So eager!) The other disciples follow in the boat, towing the net full of fish.

They have breakfast with Jesus on the shore and Scripture says, “None of the disciples dared ask him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew it was the Lord.” I think they knew it was Jesus, but they were ashamed of their failure – their abandonment of him after his arrest. And Peter was ashamed of denying him three times.

The Scripture continues (John 21:15-16 NIV)

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

          Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”   

Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me.  

          He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

          The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

          Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” 

Jesus lovingly questions Peter’s commitment and he questions it three times to give Peter the opportunity to affirm his devotion three times – thus erasing the failure in Peter’s mind (already erased by the cross).

Peter is identified as the overseer of the church. Feed my lambs, feed my sheep, take care of my sheep – all refer to his being the shepherd entrusted to feed the Word to the sheep – to the Church.

Take time to read and study his Word today and teach it to those in your care.

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Here’s another article by Dottie Parish which deals with post-resurrection appearances of Jesus: Resurrection Doubt? No, He’s Alive!