Sharing Experiences (Luke 24:33-43)

The return journey from Emmaus would have take much less time that getting to the village from Jerusalem. When they reached the location, the couple found the disciples there. There is something sad and solemn about the description for here they are for the first time called ‘the eleven’. One of the number had not only betrayed Jesus but had taken his own life. Despite having spent years with Jesus, Judas had never discovered the graciousness of Jesus. They are called ‘the eleven’ although Thomas was not with them on this occasion, as John tells us in his account.

In this sermon, we can consider three questions: (1) what happened when Jesus met Peter? (2) What did Jesus say when he met the disciples? (3) What invitation did he give to the disciples when they met him?

The compassion of Jesus for Peter

The couple from Emmaus believed that they had great news for their friends in Jerusalem concerning the reality of the Saviour’s resurrection. But before they could explain what they had experienced while walking along the road and then in their home, their friends in Jerusalem had their own surprising news to share, which was that the Saviour had somehow appeared to Simon, thus revealing that he was alive in some way. Because we can see from their response when Jesus appeared that they were apprehensive about his coming to them.

This appearance of Jesus to Peter reveals his great concern for the disciple who had denied him so strongly. While we do not know anything about this meeting, we can easily make some suggestions about it because those details are obviously the case.

Peter was given a special privilege by Jesus in the sense that he enjoyed both a private and a public restoration from the Saviour. The public one is described in John 21 when Jesus asked him in front of the other disciples if he loved his Saviour more than they did, an allusion to his previous claim that he did. Peter by then was no longer wishing to say such a thing. Part of his preparation for the public restoration was what took place in the private one. We know that Peter had been to the empty tomb with John, but that sight had not caused his trust in Jesus to recover. No doubt, he would have been confused about what had taken place.

What would Peter have been like during that private encounter with Jesus? No doubt he would have been ashamed over his denial and sorrowful that he had fallen so badly despite having been warned about it beforehand by Jesus. We can suggest something else was part of the encounter, which we can describe as the felt presence of pardon as the Saviour would reveal to his fallen disciple that his sins had been forgiven. Peter discovered that the promises of Jesus were true, that he could be restored to his place of service. It is good to be sorrowful and ashamed of our sins, but it is better to be sorrowful and ashamed in the presence of Jesus.

Peter had gone through important experiences that day. He had heard the testimony of the women that they had seen an angel who had told them to tell him specifically about the resurrection (Mark 16:7), they had then met with Jesus as they went to tell the disciples (Matt. 28:9), and he had gone to the empty tomb for himself (John 20). Were those experiences not sufficient for him? Not really, because as far as he was  concerned, there could have been other explanations. Maybe the women had imagined it all, perhaps the government had moved the body. Even if their claims were correct about his resurrection, they in themselves would not bring comfort for Peter because he might think that the risen Saviour would punish him. Peter needed to have his own meeting with Jesus in order to have the comfort of forgiveness. And so do we, even if it cannot be as physical as what Peter enjoyed. But it can be as real as we meet with Jesus in his Word by the Spirit.

No doubt, the couple from Emmaus saw a very different Peter in the room. They would have been aware of his distress earlier, but now they would observe his delight. Their friend Peter would have been transformed by his experience. The night had been turned into day. Peter would display the happiness of the forgiven, the joy of the pardoned, the peace of the reconciled. And his experience would get better as he listened to the testimony of the couple from Emmaus.

The peace of Jesus

As Luke tells us, when Jesus appeared in the room he conveyed his peace to the disciples. Here we have the Prince of peace announcing what he has obtained for his people after being through the greatest battle on the invisible field of Calvary. What are we to understand about the peace he mentioned? Here are six aspects.

The first detail is that it is purchased peace, procured by himself when he paid the penalty for the sins that separated them from God. He drew attention to the evidences of his passion on the cross – the marks on his body. They had the blessed state of reconciliation although they had not fully realised it until he came to where they were to tell them that it was true. Of course, we cannot estimate the price that was paid in order for us to have this peace. But we can show an estimate by the amount of time we give to considering it.

The second detail is that it is pardoning peace. We are to remember who is speaking, the prophet, priest and king of his people. As prophet, he has an announcement to make, as priest he has a blessing to share, and as king he has a status to announce. This raises the question as to how we see ourselves. Do we see ourselves as he sees us, his pardoned people?

The third detail is that it is personal peace, capable of being enjoyed by each of them as disciples. Each of them had their own issues to deal with in regard to their relationship with Jesus. As individuals, they had sinned against him in unbelief and disobedience, having failed to take seriously his instructions, promises and warnings. It was not only Peter who had fallen, and it was not only Peter who could experience this amazing peace. Each of them had the responsibility of appropriating the benefits of this peace. We can even see that the disciples here found it difficult to enjoy the peace that Jesus had just mentioned.

The fourth detail is connected to the previous aspect, and it is that they enjoy what we can call parallel peace. There is not a separate peace for Peter and a different kind of peace for the other disciples. The fact is, there is only one peace that is available for sinners. It is the case that there may be degrees of the quantity of peace each person may have, but there is no difference regarding the kind of peace that they will receive. We can say that it is composed of the same ingredients such as pardon and acceptance with God through the death of Christ. There is no need to wish that we had someone else’s peace.

The fifth detail is that it is permanent peace that is available. It is certainly permanent with regard to the state of reconciliation we have with God because we have been justified by him and are regarded as accepted in his sight as the Judge of all. But the subjective aspect of peace can also be permanent even if it will fluctuate at times, often in connection to the degree of devotion we have towards making use of the various means of grace that have been provided for us by the Lord. Usually, the absence of such peace is our own fault because we have been remiss in some way in our discipleship, such as not feeding our souls on the Word of God. This failure can be caused by a variety of things, and we have to be on the watch for them because the enemy of our souls can make use of them in order to reduce our sense of divine peace in our hearts.

The last detail that we can mention is that it is precious peace. Every one of us has things that we highly value, but nothing can be more valuable than the peace that is given through salvation. Sometimes we only realise the value of something when we no longer have it. Surely thinking about what it cost Jesus to provide this peace will cause us to value it highly.

Horatius Bonar, in commentating on what Jesus’ instruction, ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace’ (John 16:3), explained this peace in these words: ‘Yet again, he tells us that it is through what he has spoken to us that we are to get this peace which is in him. His words are the words of peace. They lead us to himself. They make known the grace that is in him. They tell us what he is as well as what he has done. To listen to the words which Christ has spoken, is to drink in the peace of which he is the fountain. In hearing him, peace flows in upon us like a river. It is only by closing the ear against him, and against his words, that we can shut out the blessed peace.’

Jonathan Edwards noted that what Jesus meant ‘was the same kind of peace which he himself enjoyed. The same excellent and divine peace which he ever had in God, and which he was about to receive in his exalted state in a vastly greater perfection and fullness. For the happiness Christ gives to his people, is a participation of his own happiness.’

As we listen to Jesus here, we hear giving an announcement to the confused, describing an achievement by him on the cross, and offering an abundance of peace to those who do his will, as he goes on to describe.

The invitation

Despite being aware of the experience of Peter and the couple of Emmaus, the disciples were not ready for the sudden appearance of Jesus in the room with them. They thought that what they were seeing was a spirit. Jesus had to rebuke them for their response, so he encouraged them to look at his body and see that his hands and feet were real. He also ate some food, an action that showed he still had a physical body, but it was a body in which he could perform many actions that were new, such as being able to appear in a room without coming through the doors.

As we think about this, we should realise that the resurrection body will be different from the current body. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 15 of the differences between what it will be like and the body we have now: ‘What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body’ (vv. 42-44). The mortal will become immortal.

Even at a basic level, the resurrection body will be different. How old do we think Moses looked on the Mount of Transfiguration? How old do you think you will look on the resurrection day? What will it be like to have a body that does not decline in ability or in strength? There is no hint that we will need to sleep in the world to come. The life of the eternal ages is something far beyond what we can imagine.

It is good for us to contemplate the person of Christ. The fact that he is God and man is wonderful and astonishing. He was a divine person with a full human nature in which he experienced humiliation due to him having come to pay the penalty of sin when he suffered on the cross. He is now a divine person with a glorified human nature. As the God-man he has been highly exalted at the Father’s right hand. When he appeared to the disciples on the day of his resurrection he was waiting for the day when he would ascend to heaven, taking his humanity with him to the throne of God.

There are some obvious lessons that we can take from this incident. One is that the closer we are to Jesus the better our understanding of Jesus will be. That was true of the disciples in a literal sense on this occasion, and it is always the case in the spiritual sense as well. A person who remains at a distance from Jesus does not have an accurate grasp of his beauty.

Connected to the necessity of coming closer to Jesus is the reality that a good way of considering him is by reflecting on the wounds he received when he was on the cross. The cross is central when trying to understand who a Christian is, but it is also central in appreciating who Jesus is. Without the cross, he is a person without a mission; without the cross, he is a person without a future. Both his mission and his future were dependent on what he would accomplish at the cross when he completed the task of salvation given to him and what he would enter into through his resurrection from the dead – the world of endless glory.