Transcript
I heard a man in a Northern Baptist church a couple of years ago get up and give a testimony about salvation. And he said it this way. He says, “I’ve always heard you can’t do anything to earn it and you can’t do anything to lose it.” That’s pretty good. I think it’s absolutely free.
In your Bibles will you turn with me to the Gospel of Luke chapter 24 and verse 12. Luke chapter 24 and verse 12. Luke chapter 24, beginning to read at verse 12.
Luke 24 verse 12. But Peter arose and went, ran to the tomb. And stooping down, he saw the linen clothes lying by themselves. And he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.
Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all those things which had happened. So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained so that they did not know Him.
And He said to them, ‘What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?’ Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, ‘Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem and have you not known the things which happened there in these days?’ And He said to them, ‘What things?’
And they said to Him, ‘The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death and crucified Him. And we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. Yes, and certain women of our company who arrived at the tomb early astonished us. When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive.
And certain 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.’ Then He said to them, ‘O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?’
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.’ Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. And they constrained Him, saying, ‘Abide with us, for it is toward evening and the day is far spent.’ And He went in to stay with them.
Here is a cold-weather story that will warm your heart. It happened last year on Tuesday the 19th of December, just six days before Christmas. You see, on that Tuesday morning eighty-eight-year-old David Lee went out on his partially enclosed back porch at his rural home outside of Portland, Indiana. He had only a light sweater over his clothing. Suddenly he tripped on the porch. He fell and was knocked unconscious. And he lay there for hours.
Fortunately he had a twenty-five-pound dog named Benji who laid down beside him and snuggled up to him for the entire time that he lay there. When he was finally discovered on Tuesday afternoon his body temperature had fallen to a dangerously low eighty degrees. But by Friday he was recovering very nicely from hypothermia and from frostbite. He had seven stitches above his left eye because of the cut that he had suffered when he fell. But his son Clarence said this. He attributed his father’s survival to his dad’s good condition and to his dad’s dog Benji.
And Clarence said, “I’m sure that that dog helped. It’s fuzzy and it stayed with him.” I kind of like that, don’t you? It’s fuzzy and it stayed with him. And I think you will agree with me that down through the years dogs have often been praised for their faithfulness, for their loyalty, for staying with their masters in times of trouble. And there are times, wouldn’t you admit it, that in this wretchedly sinful world in which we live we are tempted to think that the most reliable and faithful thing that we’ve got is a pet. Because you see oftentimes people disappoint us. People leave us in the lurch. People walk away from us.
But if you are a born-again Christian this morning, and by that I mean if you have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for the free gift of everlasting life and you know that you will be with Him in His kingdom, if you are a born-again Christian, then you have something greater than a faithful pet or even a faithful human being. What you have is this, el compañero del camino de vida. I could have said that in English, couldn’t I? And it would have meant something like the companion on the road to life. But folks, give me a break. After preaching to you for forty years it seems to me that I’m entitled to present at least one of my titles for one of my messages in Spanish. And so that’s what I’ve done. And that happens to be the title of my message this morning, El Compañero del Camino de Vida.
Now when I was a little boy growing up in Catonsville, Maryland, one very wintry night my entire family went to a movie in the movie theater in downtown Catonsville. And we just happened to see one of the popular series of road films that always starred Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour. Some of you are not old enough to remember that. But these movies had titles like The Road to Rio and The Road to Mandalay and The Road to Here and The Road to There. And after we had seen this road movie my family and I hit the road. And the reason was it was snowing too hard for us to drive. And so we walked all the way from downtown Catonsville back to our house.
And I can still vividly remember that walk. We were walking in the middle of the street. I believe the snow was still falling. The street was packed with snow underneath our feet. My brother and I were walking in front and my parents were walking behind. And I think we probably sang some songs as we walked home like “Dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh,” that sort of thing. And even though it was a long, long walk for little boys like David and myself we really had a good time. Not only because we were walking through the snow but because we had the company and the companionship of our parents.
And if I can remember a walk like that that took place so many years ago I have to believe that Cleopas and Cleopas’s traveling companion never, never, never forgot the walk that they took in the passage of Scripture that we read just a few moments ago. Now let me assure you that this walk was no simple five-minute or ten-minute hike. They were traveling all the way from the city of Jerusalem to the tiny little village of Emmaus, which was a distance of seven miles. And of course in those days they didn’t have any vehicles. They couldn’t get into a taxi or into a bus. Which meant that the entire walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus had to be on foot.
But what an amazing walk it was. What a wonderful, astounding walk it was. I don’t think it’s going too far to say that in all of the history of the world there has never been a seven-mile walk any more wonderful, any more amazing than this one that we read about this morning in our passage of Scripture. And you know what made it great? You know what really made that walk great? I’ll tell you what made it great. It was their traveling companion. It was their traveling companion.
You see, as they were walking along this road engaged in very earnest conversation someone that they thought was a stranger caught up to them and began to walk beside them. Became their companion on this walk. And the Bible gives us a very lovely statement when it says, “So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.” Isn’t that beautiful? Along this walkway Jesus Himself draws near and He goes with them.
Now my friends, this morning if you are a born-again Christian, and once again I mean by that if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you know that you have eternal life as His free gift, you not only know that you will be in the kingdom of God with Him but there’s something else you can know for sure. And that is that as you walk down the pathway of life Jesus Himself draws near and He goes with you. The Bible reminds us that He Himself had said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” And whether we are like these two disciples and we do not realize that He is there or whether we realize His presence, one fact remains the same. He never leaves us. He never forsakes us. He goes with us to the end of life’s journey.
Quite a few years ago a London newspaper offered a substantial cash prize for the best answer to the following question. The question was this: Which is the shortest way to London? Which is the shortest way to London? Would you like to know what the prize-winning answer was to that question? The prize-winning answer was this: The shortest way to London is good company. Good company.
And my Christian friends, this morning the shortest way to the kingdom of God, the shortest way to the borders of eternity itself, is the company, the companionship, the friendship, the fellowship of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. And if you are a Christian He is beside you. And therefore the question is this: Are you enjoying His company? Are you enjoying His company?
Now let’s admit, shall we, that Cleopas and his traveling companion, that might have been his wife, might have been a friend or a relative, we’re not told, but let’s admit that Cleopas and his traveling companion were not at this moment enjoying the company of the Lord Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact they were very gloomy. You see they had recently suffered a very grave and seriously disappointing event. And the one who is traveling beside them rapidly picks up on their sadness. He knows that they are sad. And so He says to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another while you walk and are sad?”
And Cleopas turns to Him and he says something like, “Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem and you don’t know the things that have happened there in these days?” The traveling companion says, “What things?” Of course He knew what things they were but He wanted them to express themselves. And then they go on to say that these are the things concerning Jesus of Nazareth. And notice they don’t call Him the Son of God. They don’t call Him the Christ or the Savior of men. They call Him now a prophet mighty in word and deed.
And they go on to explain to their new traveling companion that the chief priests and their rulers had condemned Him to death and they said they crucified Him. And we had hoped that this was the one who was going to rescue Israel from her oppression. And in fact it’s the third day since these things have happened. Yes, it’s true that we got a surprise today because some of our women went to the tomb very early and they found the tomb empty. And they came to us and they told us that they had seen a vision of angels and that the angels had said that He was alive. But some of our men ran to check it out and they found that the tomb was empty. But Him they did not see.
Can’t you just hear the frustration and disappointment in those last words? They figured the women had got it wrong. They figured they were making it up or they imagined that they saw angels because when the men checked it out they did not see Jesus Christ. And Cleopas and his traveling partner are sad. Now it is just at this moment, my friends, that their new traveling companion does something that is very surprising. He begins by sternly rebuking them for their unbelief. And He says to them, “O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and then to have entered into His glory?”
And then to their growing wonder and amazement He started with the books of Moses, with Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. And He proceeded to the books of the prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah and Daniel. And from all of these books in the Scriptures He explained to them the things concerning God’s Savior, how He must die, how He must rise. He explained to them in other words the things concerning Himself.
And don’t you see it? Don’t you see it? That the traveling companion has taken on a new role. The traveling companion has become something else as well, el compañero, el maestro. The traveling companion has become the teacher. The teacher. And dear Christian friends, this morning if you know that you’re saved, if you know that Jesus is your traveling companion from the moment you are saved to the end of life, then if you want it, if you are willing to receive it, He will be your teacher. He will teach you how to confront the hard things and the good things, the up days and the down days, by faith in the word of God.
There was a young man who worked once as an office boy in a New York bank. And one day the president of the bank pulled him aside. And the president said to him, “I want you to come into my office and be with me every day.” Well the young man said, “But sir, what could I do to help you? I don’t really understand finances.” “Never mind that,” said the president. “You will learn. What I want you to do, I want to teach you a lot faster if you are beside me and you keep your ears open and your eyes open.” And that’s what the young man did. And years later this is what he said. He said, “Being with that wise man made me just like him. I did things the way he did them. And that accounts for what I am today.” And what was he now? He was now a famous banker in his own right. And he was a senior executive at one of the largest banks in New York City.
And Christian brother and sister, as you walk through life if you will stay close to Jesus Christ, if you will keep your eyes open on His word and your ears open to His voice that speaks to you through His word, you can become like Him. And He can lift you up and make you what you could never be by yourself. He will become your teacher.
Branch Cole of Henderson, Nevada, attended the fiftieth reunion of her high school graduating class. But she was very uncomfortable. And she said later they were all very successful. Some were doctors. Some were lawyers. They were all very nice. But I felt really poorly educated next to them. You know what she did? At the age of seventy-two Branch Cole enrolled as a freshman in Nevada Southern University. And university officials said she was undoubtedly the oldest student that had ever enrolled in any branch of the University of Nevada.
Now I have no up-to-date information on the completion of her education. But I suspect she did complete it. And if she did she had a built-in rooting section for her graduation ceremonies. You see Branch Cole at the time of her enrollment had seven living children, twenty-six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Obviously she believed it was never too late to resume one’s education.
Now I’m going to stop preaching and start meditating, as the saying goes. Let me be frank with you. This is a privilege you get when you’ve been with the same group for forty years. There are Christians at Victor Street whose Christian education has been interrupted sometimes for years. The reason is they have not been close to the Lord Jesus Christ. The reason is their eyes and ears have not been opened to Him. But no matter how long the interruption has been, when we are confronted with our need as we often are by problems in our own family and in our own household, no matter how long we have been off the path of education we can resume our education again by simply opening our heart to the voice of our traveling companion.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re twenty-four or forty-four or sixty-four like I am or even older as our dear friend Eunice Price is. No matter how long the education has been interrupted you can enroll again by opening your heart to the instruction of Jesus Christ your companion and teacher.
So guess what? Guess what? I suspect it was almost before they realized it. I suspect it was almost a surprise that they were at the end of their journey already. They were at the little village of Emmaus. And their traveling companion gave indications that He was going to go on down the road. But they were going to have none of that. They wouldn’t let Him go on. They had enjoyed His company. They had enjoyed His instruction. And they urged Him to come into the place where they stayed.
And in one of the truly lovely verses of this passage we hear their invitation to Jesus Christ where they said, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening and the day is far spent.” Don’t go on. Don’t leave us. Stay right here with us. And the Bible says, “And He went in to stay with them.” Do you see it? The companion who had become a teacher now becomes something else. He becomes something else, a guest. He becomes their guest. He becomes a lodger in their home.
Remember the words of the Lord Jesus which He spoke to His disciples. He says, “If anyone loves Me he will keep My word. And My Father will love him. And We will come to him and We will make our home, We will make our abode with him.” Is the Lord Jesus Christ a guest in your life? Has He become so much a part of your daily experience that He’s the center of it? That He shares it? That He shares your life? He shares your experience? He shares your activity? Or do you keep Him outside the door?
The songwriter has put it so beautifully. And I’m sure he was thinking of this very passage when he wrote these words: “Abide with me. Fast falls the eventide. The darkness deepens. Lord, with me abide. When other helpers fail and comforts flee, help of the helpless, O abide with me.”
Some time ago two friends landed at the airport in New York City. They had a nine-hour layover. And so they decided to hire a taxi cab and to drive around the city and see the sights of New York. Well they got into a cab. And like most New York cabbies the cab driver was very talkative. And so he drove them all around the city. He pointed out the sights of interest and he talked about their significance. But one of the men noticed that his friend who was riding with him hardly looked out the window at all but kept his eyes on the cab driver. And finally this other friend of his leaned over to him and he said, “Look, he’s got his sweater on inside out. Can you believe that?” While they were going on a tour of New York City he was preoccupied with a sweater that was inside out.
And yet, my friends, there are plenty of Christians who are focused on trivial and insignificant and unimportant things. And they miss the joy and privilege of real fellowship with Jesus Christ along the road. Yes He’s there. Yes He’s with them. But He doesn’t have their ear. He doesn’t have their heart. Don’t be like that. Be the kind of person who can actually say sincerely from the heart what the songwriter has said so well: “I need Thy presence every passing hour. What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power? Who like Thyself my guide and stay shall be? Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me. Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes. Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies. Heaven’s morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows flee. In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.”
Shall we pray? Father, let there be no child of God in this room who misses the enormous privilege of walking through life in fellowship with Your Son. We ask this in Christ’s name. Amen.