Close Encounters with Christ

John P. Wilkinson, April 6, 2008

Some of you have had close encounters with Jesus Christ right here in church. It may have happened during communion. As the music played, and as the bread was passed, you sensed that something spiritual and something holy was going on. You felt the presence of the Lord. It was a very special moment. It was a close encounter with Christ. Or it may have happened during a sermon. The message was so practical that it felt like God was speaking directly to you. It was a special time in God’s Word you will always treasure. It was a close encounter with Christ.

This morning, we will see how a close encounter with Jesus Christ changed the lives of two men on the road to Emmaus. And then we will talk about what God wants us to do once we’ve had our own close encounter with the risen Christ.

We begin with the events of Easter Sunday. In Luke 24:1-12, Mary Magdalene and Joanna head for the tomb of Christ to anoint him with spices. But the tomb is empty. They meet two angels who say, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here. He is risen! He’s alive!” Remember, He told you this was going to happen!” Then they remember His words. They say, “Yes! He’s alive!!!!” But when they tell the apostles, the apostles say, “That doesn’t sound right! That sounds like nonsense!” And when Peter sees the empty tomb, he walks away wondering what in the world is going on.

The point of the story is that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead and He is Lord, but if it’s going to do you any good, you gotta believe it for yourself! It doesn’t matter if your mom believes in Christ. It doesn’t matter if your dad believes in Christ. YOU’VE gotta believe in Christ! The only way to experience resurrection power is have faith in the resurrected Lord.

That brings us to verse 13. It says “That same day two of the disciples were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.” About Jesus being crucified on the cross. About the women going to the empty tomb. And while they are discussing these things, Jesus himself shows up and walks along with them.

I like that. I like knowing that when we’re struggling and trying to make sense out of our lives, that Jesus Christ is walking beside us. I like knowing that as we wrestle with our disappointments and our frustrated expectations, that Jesus Christ is right there with us!

Isaiah 57:15 says “I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.” Even though God lives way up there in heaven, He is willing to show up down here and walk alongside ordinary people like us.

But the irony of this story is that even though WE realize that Jesus is right there with the disciples, THEY don’t realize that Jesus is right there! They think they’re talking with some ordinary Jewish guy! They have no idea what’s going on! Verse 16 says that “they were kept from recognizing Him.” God was not allowing them to see the risen Christ.

Now maybe you’re thinking, “Why would God deliberately keep these people in the dark? Doesn’t the Bible say in 1 Timothy 2:4 that God wants ALL men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth? Doesn’t God want everyone to see who Jesus is for themselves?”

The answer is that Jesus plans on revealing His identity to the disciples through the preaching of the Scriptures and the breaking of the bread. In verses 25-27, Jesus breaks open the WORD of God so that the disciples can see who He is. And in verses 28-32, he breaks open the BREAD of God so that the disciples can see who he is.

My friends, God does not want our religion to be based solely on an emotional experience with the Savior. God wants our faith to be rooted in a proper understanding of the word of God. And a proper understanding of what it means to have communion with God. And so in His divine providence, God keeps the two disciples from recognizing who Jesus is until they are ready to receive the Word and the Bread. He’s trying to say that “In My own way and in My own time, I will reveal the glory of Jesus Christ to the people I love.”

And as Jesus is walking alongside the two men on the road to Emmaus, He asks them in verse 17, “What are you guys talking about?” And they say “You mean to tell us that you were in Jerusalem? And you don’t know the things that have been going on?” And Jesus tries to draw more information out of them. He says “What things?” “About Jesus of Nazareth. He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests handed him over to be crucified. But we had hoped that He was the One who was going to redeem Israel.”

Notice all the past tenses in this paragraph: ‘He WAS a prophet, powerful in word and deed.’ ‘We HAD hoped that He was the One to redeem Israel.” These men were going home disappointed and discouraged. Because Jesus didn’t do what they expected Him to do. They wanted Jesus to redeem Israel from the clutches of the Roman empire. They wanted Jesus to conquer the enemy and set up a kingdom of righteousness that would last forever and ever. But their faith died with Christ on the cross. Because they could not see how God could accomplish His purposes through a crucified Messiah.

Some of you can relate to how these men were feeling. You had high hopes that God was going to come through in your life. You were expecting God to answer your prayer in the exact way you wanted Him to answer it! You were expecting a miracle! But God didn’t do what you expected Him to do. Now you’re walking down the path of life feeling disappointed and discouraged. You’re wondering if God loves you. You’re questioning whether or not God cares about you. Sometimes you get so frustrated, you wonder if there IS a God!”

But even though God doesn’t always do what you want, that doesn’t mean that He stopped caring. It just means that His plan for your life might be different than what you thought it was going to be. For example, even if you didn’t get the job you were hoping to get, it doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love you. It probably means that God has something way better for you than what YOU were thinking! God is preventing you from getting what you want so that He can give you what you need!

These disciples were all upset because Jesus wasn’t the warrior Messiah they were hoping for. Instead, they were getting a BETTER Messiah than what they were hoping for! Instead of getting a Messiah that would redeem them from their slavery to the Romans, they were getting a Messiah that would redeem them from their slavery to sin! They were getting a Messiah who would be with them always, even to the end of the age.

And in verses 25-27, Jesus is saying that ‘if you guys really paid attention to the Old Testament, you wouldn’t have lost faith in Me to begun with!’ He says “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?” And beginning with Moses and the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning Himself.”

I’m thinking that Jesus took them through the book of Leviticus. And he explained how the Old Testament sacrifices pointed ahead to the day when the Ultimate Sacrifice would appear on the scene and give His life on the cross as a ransom for many. And I’m guessing that Jesus took them to the ancient prophecy of Psalm 22:16, where it says ‘a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.”

And I believe that Jesus also took them to Isaiah 53:5, which says that the servant of the Lord would be wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds, we are healed.”

And I am convinced that Jesus would have taken them to the great prophecy of the resurrection in Psalm 16:10 which says “You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.”

The point is that if you want to have a close encounter with Jesus Christ, you have to have a close encounter with the WORD of Christ. This is where we experience the power of God! This is where we encounter the grace of God! And this is where we first learn about the love of God.

Now I have to be honest. There are days when I don’t feel like reading the Bible. I have papers to do, people to see, and other things in my life that make it easy for me to push the Bible aside. But God always blesses me when I make time for this Book. I feel like He’s opening up a whole new world that I would never get to see otherwise. I feel closer to God on the days I read from the Bible than on the days I don’t read from the Bible.

I think that’s how the two men on the road to Emmaus are feeling. For the last few hours, they’ve been listening to one of the greatest explanations of Holy Scripture that has ever been given. They’re so excited by what they’ve been learning that when it’s time for Jesus to leave, they say, “No! Don’t leave! We want more! You’ve been feeding us the word of God for the last few hours. Now let us have the privilege of feeding you. Come over to our place.”

So Jesus goes with them. When they sit down at the table, Jesus took bread. He gave thanks, he broke the bread, and he gave it to the disciples. And that’s when the lights go on! And they say “Ohhhhhhh!!!!” Maybe they remembered how in Mark chapter six, Jesus broke the bread and fed the 5000. Or maybe they heard about how on the night He was betrayed, he took bread and blessed and broke it. And said, “This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” So when Jesus gives them the bread, their eyes are opened. They recognize the risen Christ in the breaking of the bread. They’re about to praise the Lord…..!!!!

And then He disappears. You know why? Because Luke is trying to tell us that is more important to see Christ in the scripture and in the sacrament than it is to see Him in the flesh. It is more important to see Christ with the eyes of your faith than it is to see Him with the eyes of your head. And then the disciples say, “Wow! No wonder our hearts were burning within us. We were having Bible study with Jesus!”

And even though it’s the middle of the night, the disciples are so pumped up, that they get up from the table, and they head right back for Jerusalem. And they say to their friends, “Guess what??? We just finished having a three hour Bible study with Jesus!!!! He’s alive!!! He’s risen from the dead, and He is Lord!!!”

Dearly beloved, when we have a close encounter with Jesus Christ, we need to tell someone about it. We need to share the Christ we’ve experienced! I’m not talking about slamming people over the head with the Bible. I’m not talking about being a pain in the neck. I’m talking about sharing in the context of friendship how much God has done in your life.

We all know people who are going through life wondering, “Why is my life so hard? Why do things have to be difficult? Where is Almighty God when I need Him?” And we need to tell them that life is hard, but God is good. We need to tell them that because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future. That life is worth the living just because He lives. Share the Christ you’ve experienced.

I was reading about an antique collector who owned a beautiful Stradivarius violin. One day, the famous violinist Fritz Kreisler came to see him. He said, “I’ve been wanting a violin like that for years. Would you sell it to me?” The guy said, “No. It’s my prized possession. I want it for myself.” Kreisler was very disappointed. But then he had an idea. He said, “Can I play the instrument just once? And I’ll never bother you again.”

The owner said, “All right.” And Fritz Kreisler picked up that violin. And he played such heart moving music that the collector began to cry. He said, “I have no right to keep this to myself. Mr. Kreisler, the violin is yours. Take it into the world and let people hear it.”

My friends, Jesus Christ has created beautiful music in our lives. We have no right to keep it to ourselves. We need to take it into the world and let people hear it. We need to share the Christ we’ve experienced. Acts 5:20 says “Go, stand in the temple courts and tell the people the full message of this new life.”

Or maybe you’re here today, and you’ve never had a close encounter with the Christ. You believe in God. But sometimes you feel like He’s a million miles away.

The truth is that Jesus is among us right now. Jesus loves you this I know. For the Bible tells me so. Invite Him into your life. Make this the best Easter ever. Let’s pray.