Luke 24:27 “And beginning with Moses and all the prophets he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”

This is Luke’s summary of the sermon Jesus preached on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus the first Easter afternoon. I have often wished that Luke preserved this for us.

But then, he didn’t have to, because Jesus was simply walking these men through words that actually are preserved for us in the pages of the Old Testament. He began with Moses. No doubt that means he began with the very first gospel promise in Genesis 3:15. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Jesus is the offspring of the woman. He would suffer when Satan struck him. It would be painful–heel pain can be crippling. But Jesus is the one who would do the crushing.

From there he likely went on to the promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; Moses’ promise of a future prophet like himself (Deuteronomy 18); the many Psalms of David that describe Jesus’ person and work; the suffering servant in Isaiah 53; the many descriptions of Holy Week in the Prophet Zechariah.

So Jesus opened the eyes of these men. He turned their lives upside down. All their old hopes and dreams were crushed. But in their place they found a God and Savior who loved them almost beyond belief or imagination. Every sin was forgiven. Every demand and requirement of God was fulfilled. Their relationship with God was fully reconciled. The journey back to God’s good graces was complete. Life would never end. Heaven was guaranteed. No wonder they asked each other after they recognized Jesus at the end of the evening and he disappeared, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

Do you know what happens when God opens our eyes and we see our risen Lord in his word? We trade the garbage we have created with our lives, and the garbage we have planned for our lives, for real treasure. We see that an impressive education, perfect family, successful career, healthy life, and happy retirement aren’t all that important. Whether I travel the world, or develop a stellar reputation, or build great wealth doesn’t really matter.

To borrow a phrase from Paul, “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in him.” To borrow a picture from C.S. Lewis, we stop acting like the little children at the beach playing in the trash fascinated by the broken pieces of glass, when God has placed before us the golden sands and magnificent ocean of his grace in the kingdom of the Son he loves.

This is worth seeing. This is worth having. Jesus still makes it possible for us to see it, and own it, in his word.