He Put the Key in Their Pocket

Welcome to the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church. Kungsvinger is a beacon for the gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of northwestern Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone.

And now, here's a message from Pastor Chris Roseberg.

The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the 24th chapter. That very day, two of them were going to a village named Emmaus about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened.

While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus Himself drew near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing Him. And He said to them, What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?

And they stood still, looking sad. One of them, named Cleopas, answered Him, Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days? And He said to them, What things?

And they said to Him, Well, concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet, mighty indeed in word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered Him up to be condemned to death, and they crucified Him.

But we had hoped that He was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find His body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive.

And some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but Him they did not see. And He said to them, O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.

Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His kingdom? And then, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself.

So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if He were going farther. But they urged Him strongly, saying, Stay with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is now far spent.

So He went in to stay with them. And when He was at table with them, He took the bread and blessed it and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him, and then He vanished from their sight.

They said to each other, Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the scriptures? And they rose that very same hour and returned to Jerusalem, and they found the eleven, and those who were with them gathered together, saying, The Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon.

And then they told what had happened on the road and how He was known to them in the breaking of the bread. This is the gospel of the Lord. Alleluia, Christ is risen, in the name of Jesus. So when I was in Nazarene, I couldn't make any sense of the Bible.

It literally made no sense to me. You guys remember when they used to have Christian bookstores? Those were a big thing when I was growing up. They seem to have fallen by the wayside. Amazon .com seems to have solved that problem.

But you walk into a Christian bookstore back in the day, and they had all kinds of resources to help you learn the Bible, like Beth Moore Bible studies and stuff. And that's the thing, is that you'll note that the church is really prone to whatever the fad of the moment is, whoever the hot teacher is of the moment, we all want to be a part of it.

You guys remember doing purpose-driven life Bible studies and learning the 40 days of purpose? It's like an evangelical version of Lent, but without Easter at the end. It's kind of a mess. And so I remember as a Nazarene, I was going to slay my Goliaths.

I knew that I just needed those five smooth stones and my Goliaths would fall. And I was daring to be a Daniel. In fact, there was a song that went with that, with that whole daring to be a Daniel and the themes of Shadrach, Meshach, and Bendigo.

Remember the I'm not going to bow to your idols song? I'm really dating myself here. It's really a mess. But all of that being said, I couldn't make any sense of it. In fact, if I were still a Nazarene, or back when I was a Nazarene, I would look at our epistle text today, and I would have certain things highlighted.

Conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile. Moving forward, purify your souls by your obedience to the truth. And stuff like this.

La, la, la, la, la.

And here's the issue. I really didn't know my Bible. I was a product of Christian schools, at least from seventh grade on to high school. And I really didn't understand my Bible. In fact, I kind of got annoyed when I would go to church, and the sermon would be kind of on the same things I've always heard.

All right, I get it, I get it. I've got to avoid alcohol.

Gotcha.

And don't smoke.

Gotcha.

Yeah, I get it. And don't hang out with loose women. I'm there with you. You don't have to keep reminding me about that. And all of this stuff. And make sure that you only go to movies that are rated a particular thing.

And there was a big theme, and that was don't ever do anything that would compromise your witness. You ever heard concepts like this? Like if you were seen in a liquor store, then your neighbors would never, ever be willing to hear the gospel from you.

And as a Lutheran, I sit there and go, well, just buy them a case of beer, invite them over, and preach the gospel to them. But back then, I was terrified of destroying my witness by being seen anywhere where alcohol was being poured and stuff like this.

And it was just complete drudgery. And then I just keep thinking as I would read the Bible, this legitimately doesn't make sense. I couldn't figure out how to get the puzzle pieces together. And so as a result of it, I just kind of thought that God was always in a constant state of pretty much being grumpy and angry at me, and I just need to tiptoe around him and not make eye contact so I wouldn't be killed by his laser beams.

My wife has taken his place since then, but that's a whole other story. But all of that being said, when we look at our gospel text today, right in the middle of it, you have these fellows explaining to Jesus, who they don't even recognize, that they can't figure out what's going on.

There was miraculous stuff going on. The tomb was empty. These are disciples of Jesus who would have seen him perform miracles, and they can't make heads or tails of what's going on. And the most bizarre statement in all of this is in verse 21, we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.

It's kind of like when you go to your mechanic, your car is making a sound or doing something weird, and your mechanic opens up the front of the vehicle and starts poking around, and he says, well, there's your problem right there.

Your caliper's turned in a clockwise position, and it should be in a negative, too, because of all the bearings and stuff, and I'm just going to get my scatsofrats and turn it a few things, and I'll just fix things right up.

And, of course, you're sitting there going, I don't know what he just said, right? By the way, that's my interpretation of how mechanics talk, but you'll note that it's like speaking in tongues. But all of that being said, there they are relaying all the bits of the gospel, all the important parts, and they can't put it together.

They don't know what to do. They've got this jigsaw puzzle, and they don't know how it all fits. That's kind of the point. And so you'll note here, I'm going to make a point right here at this point in the sermon, that if the NAR were true, that signs and wonders and miracles were necessary for people to believe, don't you think that everybody in Judea at this time would be believers in Jesus because Jesus would perform the miracles left, right, and center, right?

I mean, the whole nation should be just praising God because the tomb is empty, just like Jesus said it would be, and everybody in Judea is believing in Jesus because Jesus was a miracle worker like none other.

But you'll note there's something missing, and that's this. Miracles do not, they do not tell you how to interpret them. The scriptures do. And my problem when I was a Nazarene was that despite the fact I had read the Bible through a few times, I was annoyed and saw it as a to-do item list to read the scriptures, and on top of it I had far more important things to do.

I was trying to figure out how to be the next jukebox hero, and as a result of that it was important to play guitar, I was interested in Duran Duran, and all the important things that go along with dating and stuff like this.

And so I was a little bit conflicted. But as a result of it, I didn't know what to do with the scriptures either, and none of the people I went to church with, including my pastors, ever said anything like Jesus in this text.

It's as if Jesus has miraculously put the key to the scriptures to understand and unlock all of the Bible right in these fellows' pockets. And it all takes place in a long walk, a seven-mile walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus.

Christ Opens the Scriptures on the Road to Emmaus

In fact, let's read out our text. So that very day, it's the day of the resurrection. You notice Jesus is busy on the day he's resurrected. He's a busy fellow. He's got a lot of appointments in his calendar.

So two of them, two of Jesus' disciples, were going to a village named Emmaus. So they're starting off in Jerusalem. This is a seven-mile walk from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about all the things that had happened.

And while they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and then went with them. But their eyes were kept. The Greek actually says their eyes were held from recognizing him. It's here where I think I should point this out.

If you have ever talked with a Jehovah's Witness, Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe that Jesus rose bodily from the grave. As a result of that, here's one of their big arguments. Well, don't you think that Cleopas and this other disciple, who were very familiar with Jesus, who traipsed about the Judean wilderness with him, that they would have recognized Jesus?

Obviously, the reason why they didn't recognize Jesus is because he was in a spiritual form and not a physical one. And you sit there and you go, do you guys really know how to read, let alone read Greek?

It says their eyes were held. Their eyes were literally held. And so the same Jesus who can walk on the water and raise the dead and give sight to the blind, he can hold your eyes so that you don't recognize him because he has something that he's about to do here.

And it's important that they not get distracted by something. You'll note that Jesus isn't saying, hey guys, it's me, I'm back just like I said. No, he's got something important to do. So Jesus comes up and says, what's this conversation that you're holding with each other?

As you walk, and they stood still, looking sad. Now I know what this looks like. I've raised kids, okay? When you tell the kids, guess what kids? Today we're going to go shopping for school clothes. We're going to go to J .C. Penney's.

All right, here's the look, okay? That's what these guys are doing, right? Because I still remember that commercial. It was a Staples commercial. It would come around like late August as you're getting ready to go to school.

And it had the song. It's the most wonderful time of the year. And it shows this father like skating through Staples buying school supplies for his kids because they're going to have to go back to school.

It was just great. Anyway, and the kids are all. So that's Cleopas and this fellow.

They're sad.

They're standing there going. So one of them named Cleopas answered. And here's kind of the thing. They're a little bit taken aback by the fact that Jesus doesn't know what's going on here. And he says, are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who doesn't know the things that have happened there in these days?

And Jesus said to them, what things?

What do you mean what things?

Okay, they answered, well, concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty indeed and word before God and all the people and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death.

And they crucified him. Now, it's at this point we would note that here is where the Pharisees and the chief priests and the elders would all have this great argument against Christianity. And I love it because Paul just puts that thing to a bitter end.

And that is this. The Scriptures say, cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree. That's in the Bible. That's in the Old Testament. And so they would point to the crucified Jesus and they would say, Jesus is cursed.

Jesus is cursed, right? And that's kind of part of what's rattling around in their brain because they don't know how to sort all this out. We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. And, of course, we, looking back with New Testament 2020 vision, sit there and go, well, of course, that's exactly what he was doing on the cross.

He was redeeming Israel, bleeding and dying for your sins, setting us free from slavery to sin, death, and the devil. That's what he was accomplishing on the cross. But here's the thing. Each and every one of us comes into this life dead in trespasses and sins.

And part of the discipleship process is getting a proper understanding of Scripture because these guys, by saying, because he's crucified, we thought he was going to redeem Israel. Those two sentences going together, I mean, it's like something hiding in plain sight.

And all they have to do is open their eyes, and Jesus is going to open their eyes for them. You'll note their eyes are held so that they cannot recognize Jesus, not physically at the moment, so that they can recognize him in the Bible.

They should already have a proper understanding of the Scripture to the point where they should see that the crucifixion of Christ is the very thing that did redeem Israel, yet they do not see it yet.

And so they say, yes, besides all of this, it's now the third day since these things have happened, and moreover, some women in our company, they amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive.

And some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see. It's like having a jigsaw puzzle, a really big multi-piece jigsaw puzzle without the box top, right?

My wife does jigsaw puzzles, and boy, she's really good at it. And sometimes I like to annoy her, just come along and go, oh, look, I found a piece and plop it in a place, and how'd you do that so fast?

I just saw it.

But she's the one who puts these things together, and the thing is is that when she's working on a puzzle, where's the box top? Right in front of her, right? Because she's got blobs over here, and she's got a frame around there, and another blob here, and things organized by color and pattern and stuff.

You know how it all works, okay? But that's not a bad metaphor for how each and every one of us, when we don't understand the scriptures, we don't know how to put it all together. We have no box top. So we're sitting there with like 1 ,000 pieces going, what am I supposed to do with all this?

You know, just start sorting it all out. Okay, I get the whole fact that God created Adam and Eve, then he got Noah and the ark. I think I got that sorted out, but then why did Abraham not be able to have a kid until he was 100 years old?

And what's this with Jacob wrestling with God in the middle of the wilderness, and then you got the whole Exodus thing, and then we've got a bunch of stories about judges, and the thing is you can't sort it all out.

It's like all of these things seem so independent from each other, and you're looking for a way to kind of get them all to kind of work together, and you've got nothing to go on, right? And the worst thing you can do in that situation is put yourself into the middle of it and seem to think that you're the glue that holds all the bits and pieces of the Bible together, right, because you're not.

Have you noticed that the Bible was finished long before you were conceived? I'm pretty sure it's not about you, but in our narcissistic, satanic way of thinking, we think it's all about us, so we try to make ourselves the center so that we can make sense of all of these bits, but it doesn't work that way, and these fellows are suffering from the same problem, which, by the way, gives me hope because you'll note I'm a slow learner, you're a slow learner, and these guys were clearly slow on the uptake.

They spent how much time with Jesus, and they still don't got this worked out? So Jesus, still with their eyes held, now begins to open their eyes. So he says, oh foolish ones, slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.

Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? And then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

Jesus is the key that unlocks the scripture. It's about him. In fact, he is the box top. He's the one who helps us to make sense of all of these disparate pieces and to put them in a way where we can then understand them.

And you'll note here, seven miles. When I'm trying to get my heart rate up and I'm not recovering from an ankle injury, I like to walk, especially when it's warm outside. I'm thinking we might be able to get there by August at this rate.

But when I'm out walking, I can do a mile in about 18 minutes if I'm really kind of focused in doing it. But that means I'm really trying to get my heart rate up. And when I'm sauntering and procrastinating and taking photos and stuff like that, well, miles get to be about 25-ish minutes.

And they've got seven miles to go. We're talking like two-and-a-half, three-hour walk. This is like the best Bible study ever. And that's the point. Jesus here has held their eyes so he can open their eyes to the scripture because that's where we need to be looking for Jesus.

We need to stop looking for the miraculous in our lives right now. Wow, the most amazing thing happened. I woke up at 3 .33 this morning. What do you think the Lord's trying to tell me? Go back to bed and read your Bible when you wake up in the morning.

That's what he's trying to tell you. You get the point. Stop looking for the miraculous. Get your eyes into the book and know that it's all about him. So beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted them in all the scriptures, the things concerning himself.

So they drew near to the village that they were going, and he acted as if he were going farther. And I would note something here. I kind of take issue with the way ESV translates this because it makes it sound like Jesus is putting on a pretense.

He's not.

And the reason why is because Jesus is looking at his Apple Watch going, I've got an appointment in just like 20 minutes. I've got to appear in the upper room to the disciples. He's got things on his calendar he still has to accomplish that day.

So he's got some things to do. So he's trying to figure out, do I have enough time for this? And so they say, stay with us. It's toward the evening. The day is now far spent. So he went in to stay with them.

And when he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed it and broke it and gave it to them. And all of a sudden, hey, wait a second, you're Jesus. And you can see him going, right, and then whoosh.

I'm sure he did it just like that. But I like to think of him vanishing with a big old smile on his face. The satisfaction of knowing that they now get it. But they begin to recognize then the blessing of what they just received from Christ.

A great Bible study that has now given them the very keys necessary to understanding the scripture so that they can go back through their minds and recognize, no, wait a second. The fact that he was crucified for our sins.

Wasn't it the prophet Isaiah who said he was pierced for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement that brought us peace was upon him and by his stripes we're healed. Yeah, that was Isaiah who said that.

So of course, Jesus being crucified, that means he is the redeemer of Israel. You can see all the jigsaw puzzle pieces coming together and the picture coming back to them and the satisfaction that goes with it.

How many of you in the course of your walk as a Christian have had that satisfaction of going, oh, that's what that text means, right?

That's.

Still working.

Sorry, I didn't mean to invoke the S word. So, sorry, can't say it out loud. But you get the idea. We've got that satisfaction of over and again of hearing the biblical text that we didn't understand and then seeing these pieces come together and it just taking our breath away, right?

And not only does that happen, we have the peace that comes from the comforting assurance that Christ is the one who's come to save us. I don't have to slay my Goliaths. I'm bad at slaying Goliaths anyways.

When I grab my five smooth stones, I don't practice a lot with those things and you know what I do with them? I miss. And so do you. But Christ didn't miss. He's the one who slayed the Goliath, the Satan, for you and for me.

And he was the one who never once bowed the knee to Satan even when tempted by Satan in the wilderness. Bowed down and worshiped me and Jesus said, get behind me, Satan. It is written, worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve, right?

Jesus never once failed and by his death on the cross, he has conquered Satan, he's conquered the world, our own sinful desires, and he has redeemed you and I and we're grafted into Israel. So you can see these guys now, all of a sudden, the light goes on.

They recognize that it was Jesus instructing him that entire time and they said, did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road and while he opened to us the scriptures? And here's the thing, Christ is still in the business.

Of doing that.

Every single faithful church where the pastor does his duty of preaching the word in season and out of season we are being instructed by Christ and he himself is opening up the scriptures and showing us all the things concerning himself so that he can comfort and assure us of our forgiveness, the mercy that we have in Christ, the love of God for us, the tenacity with which he came to save us and by the firm, strong hand he continues to hold us in the faith and protect us from the wiles and the schemes and the attacks of the devil.

So with this now understanding of the scriptures, they rose that same hour and they returned to Jerusalem. 14 miles in one day? I shake to think about it, but they were too excited to stay in Emmaus. They had to go back.

They had to let the fellows and the disciples and the apostles know. And so they found the 11 and those who were with them gathered together and they said, the Lord has risen indeed. And of course we all said, alleluia, right?

He has risen indeed and he has appeared to Simon and note the clarity, the confidence that they have with a right understanding of scripture. And then they told what had happened on the road and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

And I am pretty sure based upon how the apostles handled the biblical text from this point on that they wanted to know what did Jesus teach you? And so they were then instructed by Cleopas and this other disciple in a proper understanding of God's word, which gave them even more confidence, but gave them a proper understanding of all the things that had been accomplished in their days.

Sanctification, the Precious Blood of Christ, and the Key of Scripture

So all of that being said, let me point something out here. When I was in Nazarene, I would have highlighted the text, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile. And I would have done everything possible to make sure I was conducting myself with fear.

But here's the thing, when we recognize that all of scripture points to Christ, then we can note something important about sanctification. By the way, scripture is unapologetically clear on this point.

God wills for you to be sanctified. Did you know that? And absolutely that's the case. But note here, sanctification doesn't take place apart from Christ and him crucified. Listen to our epistle text.

If you call on him as father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, well then conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

Isn't it interesting that every one of the apostles always speak of sanctification, only by understanding and keeping at the center of it the fact that Christ was crucified for all of our sins and that we were ransomed, we were redeemed from the futile ways inherited from our forefathers, which they got from Satan in the garden, and not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but you and I were ransomed by the very precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

It is only through the gospel and Christ and him crucified for our sins and the key that unlocks all of the scriptures, which is Christ himself. If you were to kind of think of it in terms of this way, you know, a cross looks kind of like a key if you were to think about it, right?

So think of it that way. That is the key that unlocks all of the Bible and only then will you understand how good works work so that you recognize that we are saved by grace through faith apart from works, therefore we are set free to do good works.

And only the cross makes sense of those two statements because that's how the Bible is laid out. Without Christ, we cannot understand this. Christ is the glue that holds all the disparate pieces together.

He is the box top that gives us the ability to put the pieces together in a way that makes sense. He is everything for you and for I, and it is absolutely true that he has redeemed us through his precious blood.

He took your sins upon himself on the cross, mine as well, bled and died for them, and then cast our sins behind his back, and he will remember them no more. So brothers and sisters, we have been purified then through the obedience to the truth.

And the truth is that Christ has died for our sins, and obedience to that means trusting in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. Therefore, having been set free from sin, death, and the devil, and ransomed and redeemed, we are now by the power of the Holy Spirit able to sincerely love each other with a brotherly love, earnestly from a pure heart because Christ is the one who has made our hearts pure.

And we have now been born again, not of perishable seed. You do not need to fear that. We have been born of imperishable seed through the living and abiding word of God. And you'll note that although your body wear out like a garment because all flesh is like grass and its glory is like the flower of grass, my body doesn't have much glory left in it, the grass withers, the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.

And this word is the good news that has been preached to you. So take solace in this, brothers and sisters. You are not those who are left in the dark. You have been given the key. It's sitting in your pocket right now.

And Christ today has opened up the Scriptures to you to give you comfort and assurance and understanding of what he has done for you. So we can, with these apostles, with these disciples of Jesus, Cleopas and the rest, say, Alleluia, Christ is risen.

He is risen indeed. Alleluia.

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