The Traveler - The Gospels

In this Bible Story, we see Jesus revealing himself to two men on the road to Emmaus. They would pave the way for Jesus to come and reveal himself to the disciples. This story is inspired by Luke 24:13-45. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is Luke 24:31 from the King James Version.

Episode 214: As two of the disciples of Jesus were walking to their home in Emmaus talking about the recent events in Jerusalem, a Traveler joined them. The Traveler asked them what was going on and they explained their astonishment and sense of tragedy at what happened to this man named Jesus that they thought might be the Messiah. Then the Traveler explained to them that this is what the scriptures said must happen. As they reached their destination, the three of them sat down for a meal. And as the Traveler blessed the meal and broke the bread, the men realized He was Jesus.

Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world’s greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.

Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.

Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.

Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.

Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max Bard

Producer: Ben Gammon

Hosted by: Pastor Jack Graham

Music by: Andrew Morgan Smith

Bible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray, and their eyes were opened and they
knew him Luke twenty four thirty one. As I am
traveling through life, and when I experience moments of sadness
because it seems like you are not with me any longer,
I will be reminded of Luke twenty four thirteen forty five.

(00:22):
I will remember that your word declares that you will
never leave me or forsake me. When I am sitting
in silence, in solitude, Reveal yourself to me, when I
am fellowshipping with others. Reveal yourself to me when I
am walking throughout my day. Attune my heart and spirit

(00:46):
so that I can tell when you are in my midst.
Unlike the disciples who remain fearful from the attack of
the religious, I will live loud and unashamed in front
of those who desire to judge me, because I know
who is with me and in me. Walk with me. Jesus,

(01:09):
Speak to the areas of my life that need your
calming presence. I am open and available. I am ready
for your revelation in Jesus' name. Amen, Thank you for
praying with me today. Continue listening for an incredible Bible

(01:31):
story brought to you by Bible in a Year dot
com the Traveler.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
In our last story, the tomb that contained the beaten
body of Jesus was rolled open by the power of God. Jesus,
the Savior of the world, rose from the tomb to
prove that death had no power over him. Death was
to feed as Jesus walked in the resurrection, Jesus appeared
to the two Marys and told them to give word

(02:06):
to the disciples that he had returned. Now we see
Jesus revealing himself to two men on the road to Emmaeus.
They would pave the way for Jesus to come and
reveal himself to the disciples inspired by the Gospel.

Speaker 3 (02:23):
Thank you for joining us today for the Bible in
a Year podcast. You are joining millions of people across
the world who are walking with us through the Bible
day by day. God bless you. In our previous episode,
we heard about the glorious resurrection of Jesus and how
he appeared to the women who went to his tomb
on the third day. With his resurrection, Jesus conquered sin, death,

(02:47):
and hell once and for all. It was the completion
of God's plan of redemption that began the moment that
He created the world, the moment Adam and Eve fell
into sin and God's plan of salvation was promised. Today
we'll hear how Jesus appears to two travelers on the
road to Emmaeas. The men will not recognize Jesus even

(03:07):
as he explains the whole arc of God's redemptive plan
for them and the world. But finally, as they break
bread together, their world would change in a moment, and
their hearts would burn with fire. Let's listen now to
the reading of the gospel.

Speaker 2 (03:25):
It was late morning and two disciples were walking to
a village called Emmaeus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. The
two friends spoke in great length about the events of
the past week, Jesus turning over tables and the temple,
the trail in from Poontius Pilot, and the brutal slaughter
of Jesus on the cross. All these things were quite

(03:47):
disturbing and challenged their views on who the Messiah was.
They had thought it was Jesus, but his death had
proven to them otherwise. As they were walking and talking
with one another, a traveler joined them on the road.
What were you discussing. Just now, the traveler asked. The
two men paused for a moment, astonished that the traveler

(04:08):
had not heard the news. Are you new here, sir?

Speaker 3 (04:11):
They scoffed.

Speaker 2 (04:12):
All of Jerusalem is in chaos because of what happened
this past week. You must have just arrived here today
if you have not heard about it yet. Tell me
what has happened, the traveler asked, with a smile. It's
Jesus of Nazareth, still astonished that he did not know
these things. He was a man who was mighty. He
performed many miracles and spoke with words so powerful that

(04:35):
they seemed to be from God himself. One of the
men sighed and scratched his head. But I guess he
was too good to be true. He was killed by
the Romans, given up by our very own priests and elders.
They crucified him only three days ago. The three men
walked together, enjoying the fresh air and good conversation. One
of the men wore a sorrowful face as he spoke, saying,

(04:58):
we hoped he was the one to redeem it Israel,
the son of David, But he is dead now. The
other men interjected and said, but there were a few
women who claimed he was removed from the tomb. No
one knows where his body is. The two men bickered
over whether the rumors of his resurrection were true or
just a made up sham. The traveler listened to the

(05:19):
two men argue. He shook his head and chuckled. Wasn't
it prophesied that the Messiah would suffer these things before
rising again in glory?

Speaker 1 (05:28):
He asked.

Speaker 2 (05:29):
The two men looked at the traveler, confused and curious.
The traveler then began to recount the entire story of God,
from Adam and Eve to Abraham, from Moses and the
captives to Joshua and the judges, from David and Goliath
to Solomon and the Temple, from the Babylonian captivity to
the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. The traveler retold

(05:52):
every story, showing how the Messiah was interviewed in all
of it. The two men listened to the traveler in
complete silence. They listened as he explained prophecy and allegory.
They learned about how the Messiah was foretold since the
beginning of Genesis. Every word spoken from the traveler's mouth
entered into their hearts. As they reached the end of

(06:13):
their journey to Ammaeus, they ate together and spoke more
of Jesus, the prophets, and the story of God. May
I bless the food, the traveler said. The two men nodded,
and the traveler prayed to God and broke the bread
in front of the table. As the bread tore in half,
the men's eyes were opened. They saw the traveler for
who he really was, Jesus, the Risen King, the Shepherd

(06:37):
of Israel, the one whom the whole story of God
centered around. Then, just as they were about to worship him,
he vanished. The two men ran into town, screaming and
proclaiming the risen Lord. They shouted into the city streets
that Jesus was alive. He was alive and walking among them.
Death could not hold the Son of God captive. He

(06:59):
had over but come death, just as it was foretold
since the beginning of time. The disciples were entrenched in
their homes with the doors locked, afraid that the High
Priest would come for them next. So much sorrow, so
much grief, so much loss welled up within them. Their king,
their teacher, and their friend had died. All hope seemed

(07:20):
lost as they rotted in their home waiting to be taken.
Then a still and quiet voice spoke from the corner
of the room, Peace be with you. The disciples turned
their heads to see Jesus standing among them. His smile
was radiant, and his presence was refreshing, like a cool
spring in a desolate desert. The disciples were frightened at first,

(07:43):
thinking that they were witnessing a ghost.

Speaker 1 (07:45):
Do not be scared, Jesus said.

Speaker 2 (07:48):
Why do your hearts rise with trouble, as if in
the storm. The disciples grew closer to see Jesus in
his glory. Look upon my hands and feet, see the
scars for yourselves. Fell at his feet and worshiped him.
Jesus ate with them and spoke of the fulfillment of prophecy,
that the Messiah must suffer and rise again for humanity

(08:09):
to be redeemed. Then Jesus embraced them and breathed on them, saying,
receive the Holy Spirit. The same breath that breathed life
into mankind in the garden of Eden breathed new life
into the disciples that day.

Speaker 3 (08:28):
In our Bible reading today, we find two disciples on
a road outside of Jerusalem. They are headed to a
small town called Amaeis. This wasn't an all day trek,
but it wasn't a short walk either, so there was
plenty of time for a long conversation, and there was
so much to talk about. This was the same day
that Jesus rose from the grave, and though these two

(08:51):
disciples had heard rumors of what the women at the
tomb had said, they still thought Jesus was dead. As
they walked, they were joined by another traveler, someone they
did not recognize or know, and this one did not
seem to know what had been going on the last
several days with Jesus and the disciples. This man, of course,

(09:11):
was Jesus himself, but they were kept from recognizing him.
Why were they prevented from seeing Jesus for who he was, Well,
we really don't know the answer to this question. But
as the reading continues, we will see that their failure
to recognize Jesus allowed the Lord to guide them through
scripture and to help them have a life of faith

(09:33):
based not just on sight but exactly what the Word
of God said from the very beginning. What a privilege
these men had to walk with the Word of God
step by step, and to understand who Jesus is and
why he came. When Jesus asked them what things had
been happening in order to draw them out, they begin

(09:54):
to tell him everything about Jesus of Nazareth, how he'd
healed many people, great authority, and built a large following
of people who believed that he was the promised Messiah.
They told him how the chief priest and rulers had
handed Jesus over to be crucified, and now their hope
seemed gone gone forever, as it had already been three

(10:15):
days that Jesus was in the tomb. They continued saying
that they had heard about the empty tomb and what
others had seen, but despite what they had heard from
trusted friends, these men were still skeptical. Jesus then spoke up,
saying in Luke twenty four, verses twenty five to twenty seven,
old foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all

(10:37):
that the prophets have spoken? Was it not necessary that
the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?
And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted
to them in all the scriptures, the things concerning himself.
So on that road Jesus gave these men a master
class in biblical interpretation. He was revealing to them that

(11:02):
everything in God's Word had pointed to Jesus, that Jesus
is the focus of the Bible, that our faith and
trust in him helps us know what the Bible is
all about. Despite what they had experienced and seeing Jesus
do before his death, they were still blind to the
truth of God and really blind to who Jesus was
until he walked with them in the Word. Now this

(11:24):
is an important lesson for us today as well. Too
often we lose hope because we don't see things the
way we want to see them, when in reality, what
we should be doing is increasing our faith by getting
into God's word and hearing what God has said. That's
why I hope that you have connected with the Bible
in a year to find out more about what the

(11:45):
Bible is about and who Jesus is. The Scripture says
in the Book of Romans, faith comes by hearing and
hearing by the word of God. We believe in trust
in God's word and experience the presence of God. Because
the life of God is in his word, his breath
has inspired it. If these men had seen Jesus and

(12:06):
recognized him immediately, perhaps they would have missed their opportunity
to learn the word of God and how to put
their faith and trust in Christ and find the answers
that they were seeking. In most of all, the hope
they so desperately needed. These men must have hung on
to every word their traveling companion spoke, And when they

(12:26):
arrived at Amaeus, they urged the Lord to come and
eat with them. And as they dined, Jesus blessed the
meal and he broke the bread, just as he had
done just days before the Passover meal. And that's when
these men's eyes were open and they saw their Savior.
Before they could say or do anything, Jesus disappeared without hesitation.

(12:48):
They immediately made the eight mile trip back to Jerusalem
to tell the other disciples that they indeed had seen Jesus,
that Jesus is alive. He then heard how Jesus appeared
to his disciples who had just heard the news from Amaas.
This time, he was immediately recognizable, but they thought he

(13:09):
was there in spirit. So Jesus let them touch him
and see the scars on his hands and his feet,
because they were now in the presence of Christ himself,
not a fatom, not a ghost, not a spirit, but
the body of Jesus. Jesus rose from the grave, victoriously
and bodily. He would not be with them long. But

(13:32):
Jesus had a lot of work to do with these
disciples to prepare them for the mission that he would
give them to take this good news to the world.
We'll hear more about that in our next episode. Let's
pray together. Dear God, we thank you for the resurrection
for the Living Lord, and we, along with those disciples
who walked with him that day on the road to Amaus,

(13:55):
asked that you would revive our hearts, that you would
set us on fire with your word, and that we
could say with these travelers with Jesus, did not our
hearts burn within us when we walk with him in
the way? Oh God, let our hearts burn with fire
for you in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you for listening

(14:17):
to today's Bible in a Year podcast. This is Jack
Graham from Dallas, Texas. I want to encourage you to
download thepray dot Com app and make prayer and Bible
study discipleship a priority in your life. Put Jesus first
in your life and watch what He can do when
you give your life to him. If you enjoyed this podcast,

(14:38):
share it with someone you love, because by inviting others
to join us on this journey through the Bible, many
will meet the Lord and experience his power in their lives.
God bless you.