Retrieving His Lost Sheep, Retrieving His Lost Sheep, Walking on the Road to Emmaus, retrieving His lost sheep. Luke 24:13-35

Luke 24:13-35 Lexham English Bible

Jesus Encountered on the Road to Emmaus

¹³ And behold, on that same day, two of them were traveling to a village named^[a]  Emmaus that was sixty stadia^[b] distant from Jerusalem, ¹⁴ and they were conversing with one another about all these things that had happened. ¹⁵ And it happened that while they were conversing, and discussing, Jesus himself also approached and^[c] began to go along with^[d] them, ¹⁶ but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. ¹⁷ And he said to them, “What are these matters that you are discussing with one another as you^[e] are walking along?” And they stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸ And one of them, named^[f] Cleopas, answered and^[g] said to him, “Are you the only one living near Jerusalem and not knowing the things that have happened in it in these days?” ¹⁹ And he said to them, “What things?” So they said to him, “The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene, a man who was a prophet, powerful in deed and word before God and all the people, ²⁰ and how our chief priests and rulers handed him over to a sentence of death, and crucified him. ²¹ But we were hoping that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. But in addition to all these things, this is the third day since^[h] these things took place. ²² But also some women from among us astonished us, who were at the tomb early in the morning, ²³ and when they^[i] did not find his body, they came back saying they had seen even a vision of angels, who said that he was alive! ²⁴ And some of those with us went out to the tomb and found it^[j] like this, just as the women had also said, but him they did not see.” ²⁵ And he said to them, “O foolish and slow in heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Was it not necessary that the Christ suffer these things and enter into his glory?” ²⁷ And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things concerning himself in all the scriptures. ²⁸ And they drew near to the village where they were going, and he acted as though he was going farther. ²⁹ And they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is getting toward evening, and by this time the day is far spent.” And he went in to stay with them. ³⁰ And it happened that when he reclined at the table with them, he took the bread and^[k] gave thanks, and after^[l] breaking it,^[m] he gave it^[n] to them. ³¹ And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he became invisible to them. ³² And they said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was speaking with us on the road, while he was explaining the scriptures to us?” ³³ And they got up that same hour and^[o] returned to Jerusalem and found the eleven and those with them assembled, ³⁴ saying, “The Lord has really been raised, and has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵ And they began describing^[p] what happened^[q] on the road, and how he was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.

Word of God for the Children of God

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.  Luke 24:13–16

One of the more poignant places where Jesus shows up as the good shepherd is when he goes after two despondent, lost sheep on the road to Emmaus.

Jesus meets these two followers in their grief, invites them to tell their story, processing their disappointment.

Jesus’ very presence with them reminds them that they still belong to him and are 100% a valued part of his sheepfold, in spite of their doubts and confusion.

He literally walks alongside them in the valley of the shadow of his own death.

The good shepherd is a pursuer.

These sheep are on their own, vulnerable, lost, and in need of their shepherd’s care. They are not abandoned to their misconceptions of current events.

Jesus seeks them out and tends to them as only he can.

This story serves as a comforting reminder to any of us who may be, are facing, growing doubts or disappointment with God. Maybe we have had to adjust our understanding of how God is working in our lives, or maybe we feel unworthy of the shepherd’s care because we have somehow continuously wandered away.

This picture of Jesus underscores the immensity of the love He for us and our incalculable value and worth to him as his beloved sheep.

This appearance of Jesus to two of His disciples is intriguing and fascinating.

They were quite distraught, and didn’t seem to know what to think about Jesus’ death.  They had hoped that He was the true Messiah but then He was killed. 

And then there were some who claimed His tomb was empty. 

What should they make of all this?

What should we make of all this?

As the story goes on, Jesus “interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures.”  Disciples realized this man with whom they were speaking had incredible wisdom and understanding, so they invited Him to stay with them.

Jesus stayed and sat down with them in their home. 

While there, Scripture says

“he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight.”

Again, this is intriguing and fascinating. 

Why did Jesus appear to them, conceal who He was, sit down and break bread with them, allow them to suddenly recognize Him and then simply vanish into thin air?  Well, He did it for a reason and we should be very attentive to this.

Jesus wanted those disciples, as well as all of us, to know that He who rose from the dead was very much alive and that we would recognize Him in the breaking of the bread.  We would recognize Him in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist!

This appearance of the resurrection Jesus to these disciples was, in fact, an appearance to teach all of us the simple truth of His presence in the Eucharist. 

It was at that moment, as they “took bread, said the blessing, broke it,” that Jesus was suddenly made manifest to their minds and souls. 

Jesus is alive in the Eucharist! 

But it also tells us that He is veiled in the Eucharist. 

This combination of being veiled and truly present gives us wonderful guidance in our faith.

Jesus is here, right now, in our presence, but we most likely do not see Him. 

But He is truly here! 

These disciples were in the presence of Jesus and they did not realize it. 

The same is true for us. 

We are constantly in His presence do not realize it.  This is especially true when we are worshipping but it is also true in countless other ways throughout our day.  We must commit ourselves to seeing Him, to recognizing Him and to adoring Him.  We must discover the resurrected presence of Jesus all around us.

Too often we think our Lord is present only in extraordinary ways.  But that is not true!  He is constantly present to us in very ordinary ways. He is here with us right now, loving us, speaking to us, and calling us to love Him. 

Do you see Him? 

Do you recognize His presence?

Reflect, today, upon the experience of these disciples. 

If you were them, you’d be blessed to be in the presence of the Savior of the world.  What an honor!  The truth is that God is with you now and always. 

He is constantly with you and is constantly speaking with you.  Look for Him and listen to His voice.  You may be surprised at how so very near He really is.

I arise today 
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.

I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.

I arise today, through
God’s strength to pilot me,
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.

I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

[Note that people sometimes pray a shorter version of this prayer just with these 15 lines about Christ above. The conclusion follows below.]

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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