Luke 24, Emmaus road

Now tonight we're going to read in Luke's Gospel please, Luke's Gospel and I want you to turn to the very last chapter in the Gospel, Luke chapter 24. Luke's Gospel chapter 24. Now I suppose as I've had the privilege to take various meetings over the past week in this part of the US, I've just been seeking to direct the attention of the saints to the person of the Lord Jesus and we've been looking at a good few types in the Old Testament but tonight the Lord just laid it upon my heart to share something with you about this road to Emmaus and of course in this account here in Luke 24 we're going to see something of the person of the Lord Jesus.

So let's read the account together, very very well-known words, I understand that but Luke 24 and verse number 13. Now if you're dividing up the section, the story, you might just write over verses 13 to 20, the highway and behold says Luke, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus which was from Jerusalem about three score furlongs and they talked together of all these things which had happened. Now of course this is resurrection day so they are talking about all that happened to the one that they supposed had been the Messiah, had been the Christ, he's been crucified at Jerusalem and this pair are talking together of all these things.

And it came to pass that while they communed together and reasoned Jesus himself drew near and went with them but their eyes were holden that they should not know him and he said unto them what manner of communications are these that you have one to another as you walk and are sad and the one of them whose name was Cleopas answering said unto him art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days and he said unto them what things and they said unto him concerning Jesus of Nazareth which was a prophet mighty indeed and word before God and all the people and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and have crucified him but we trusted we hoped. Now that brings you on to the next section so if verses 13 to 20 is the highway I know verse 21 you're still on the highway but look we trusted we hoped so in verses 21 to 27 not so much the highway but the great hope that this pair these people had in Christ. We trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel and beside all this today is the third day since these things were done yea and certain women also of our company made us astonished which were early at the sepulchre and when they found not his body they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels which said that he was alive and certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre and found it even so as the women had said but him they saw not then he said unto them oh fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken ought not must not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory and beginning at Moses and all the prophets he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself the highway and the hope now this is 28 to 31 the home and they drew nigh unto the village whither they went and he made as though he would have gone further but they constrained him saying abide with us for it is toward evening and the day is far spent and he went in to tarry with them and it came to pass as he sat at meat with them he took bread and blessed it and break and gave to them and their eyes were opened and they knew him and he vanished out of their sight and they said one to another did not our heart burn within us now that's the final section and you know what that is not the highway the hope the home it's the heart and we won't make it just to these verses tonight but they said one to another did not our heart now that's singular burn within us while he talked with us by the way and while he opened to us the scriptures you know that luke chapter 24 is a section is a chapter that's full of open things and they rose up the same hour and returned to jerusalem and found the eleven gathered together and them that were with them saying now this is what the eleven and them that were with them were saying the lord is risen indeed and hath appeared to simon and they that's the two on the road to emmaus they told what things were done in the way and how he was known of them in the breaking of bread now that's all i want to read and god of course he adds a blessing to the reading of his word now just before i speak to you on those three sections the opening sections that we read i want to speak about the highway the hope the home just before i do that i want to say a word of introduction really to this account of the two on the road to emmaus i was asked recently good question i was asked recently why is it that luke closes his gospel with a reference to these two on the road to emmaus there is of course one of the other gospel records that makes a very very short reference to this but luke expands it for us so why is luke so interested in these two that are on the road to emmaus well let me suggest this to you that in fact the whole of this account it really summarizes a huge number of the themes that have been running through luke's gospel now if you are taking notes i'm not chiding you if you're not taking notes if you are taking notes pen at ready here comes some gospel gold well i enjoy this sort of thing anyway you see luke has a huge amount of themes that are running through his gospel and one of the themes that luke has is the theme of pairs very often when luke brings individuals before you it's actually a pair of individuals and very often because luke has the peace offering in view you'll have to follow all these things for yourself i'm sorry i just don't have the time but very often these pairs are male and female so that luke will present right at the outset zacharias and elizabeth and he'll present to you mary and joseph and he'll present to you simeon and anna and he'll present to you other pairs like the rich man and lazarus like the publican and the pharisee and then you come to the end of luke's gospel and lo and behold verse 13 two of them so that's one of luke's themes it's pairs of individuals another of luke's themes seems to be contrasts have you noticed so luke speaks about rich and poor he speaks in chapter 15 about lost and found you say where's the contrast in this story oh that's easy look at the end of verse 17 what manner of communications are these that you have one to another as you walk and are sad you say where's the contrast but by the end of the story their heart is burning within them they're rejoicing aren't they as they're making their way back to jerusalem so you have pairs you have contrasts luke is a gospel of houses it's a gospel of hospitality what are some of the houses you read about levi's house you read about simon the house you read about the house of zacchaeus you read about the house of martha and in many of these houses the lord jesus was the guest and you come to the end of luke's gospel and there's another house and this time it's cleopas and dare i suggest this his wife well maybe his wife i like to think his wife cleopas and his wife inviting the lord jesus into their home and there to share hospitality with him so you have pairs you have contrasts you have houses and hospitality just two more luke's gospel is a gospel of priesthood isn't it it begins with a priest that priest is zacharias and there he is in the holiest and he's offering up incense when you come to the end of the gospel the very end of the gospel you'll find that the disciples are worshiping him they're continually in the temple praising and blessing god so it begins with priesthood it ends with priesthood and the road to emmaus is about priesthood you say i didn't notice that yes you did what is the lord jesus doing with these two he's teaching them that was the responsibility of the priest it was to teach and he teaches them from the scriptures or but not just that did you notice that when he came into the house he was the one that took bread isn't that strange that's the responsibility of the head of the house but wherever christ is he is head and he takes the bread and he breaks the bread and that again is an action really of priesthood why well do you remember melchizedek priest of the most high god he brought forth didn't he bread to strengthen wine to cheer the heart of abraham so there's just a little hint in this story i would suggest of priesthood and of course the last thing to say is this luke's gospel is full of journeys it is full of journeys you say what about that good samaritan do you remember the good samaritan a certain samaritan as he journeyed came to where he was that reminds us of the journey of the lord jesus doesn't it from heaven to earth in fact luke says this in chapter 13 he says of he went through the cities and villages teaching and journeying towards jerusalem and if the lord jesus spent his life journeying towards jerusalem now you have two individuals who are journeying away from jerusalem from jerusalem to emmaus now luke i suppose wouldn't like that because jerusalem and luke mentions jerusalem more than any of the other gospels almost put together jerusalem was where things happened they spake of his decease which he would accomplish at jerusalem and now you've got two individuals that are walking away from jerusalem thank god after a meeting with the lord i'll soon be heading back to rejoice with the disciples so that's why luke has this account at the end of his gospel something else now listen carefully please because all of the practical teaching that will come forth from this tonight stems from the statement i'm about to make think about these two they were initially they were full of doubt they were full of disappointment they were full of despondency they were full of despair they were full of disillusionment they were full of distraction because they did not have a proper appreciation of the person of christ now we can make that very practical tonight do you know it just might be possible that we are in fact emmaus christian and if you take this journey from jerusalem to emmaus as an image as a picture of the christian life and here we are making our journey through the wilderness towards that place called emmaus while we're on our way home to heaven do you know it's just possible that as we walk the christian life we can become disappointed i might be speaking to some disappointed christians here tonight you might be saying to me dan it's not so much disappointment maybe it's despondency something's happened i'm experiencing this it's caused me some kind of despair or maybe it is that i'm distracted i'm affected as i'm seeking to live my christian life listen i want to say this very lovingly and compassionately if that is the way that we are as christians tonight it is because we have a deficient appreciation of the person of christ you understand what i'm saying these two said we hoped we thought it was him we thought this was the christ we thought he was going to deliver and yes he is and he's all of those things but they hadn't quite latched onto his words they hadn't quite understood all that the prophets had to teach they were interested in the glory but they'd missed the suffering so they didn't have a full appreciation of christ and as a result they were despondent and they were disappointed thank god he changed all of that didn't he but if you say to me tonight you know dan christian life isn't just what i expected and it's just not going as swimmingly and this is happening and that's happening and i just really want to direct you back to him because when we have a full appreciation of him then everything else i'm not saying it's easy oh no no everything else just takes its proper and right place because we see him for who he is satisfaction in life is christ isn't it that's really what i'm trying to say you know even as christians sometimes we think that satisfaction in life is getting a really good job and we think that satisfaction in life is being well having lots of money in the bank and we think that satisfaction in life is about having lots of children or well no actually it's christ that's what satisfies the believer now i was reading psalm 17 recently what does it say it says i shall be satisfied when i awake with thy likeness you can read it like this i shall be satisfied with thy presence that's it just to be in the presence of the lord it brings satisfaction in life now let me just summarize the Emmaus road like this right from the outset i take it that christ was the subject of their conversation that was what they were talking about even before he appeared and he talked with them and that's a good thing i wonder if christ is the subject of our conversation it seems to me now it won't be the case here i know that but it seems to me that saints are only too happy to talk to you about anything except for christ i know some believers back home you know they will keep you at the hall at the door of the gospel hall for two hours talking about formula i don't know anything about formula but if you turn the conversation to the scriptures they're away with you as fast as you can nothing to say now listen i'm summarizing christ was here's the answer to christ being the absolute satisfaction in life christ was the subject of their conversation one he became the substance of their bible study didn't he because he showed them in all of the scriptures the things concerning himself so the subject of their conversation the substance of the bible study the center of their home he became the center of their home and he was the song of their witness i tell you that's the answer to satisfaction in christian life to make christ the subject of our conversation to make christ the substance of our bible study to make christ the center of our homes we say oh we'll have him in the gospel hall but we don't want him at home oh no he's to be the center of our homes and when all of those things are in place do you know he'll be the song of our lips he'll be the song of our witness well that's enough by way of introduction let me lead you through some of the statements here this is 13 to 20 i want to speak to you about the highway now i can't tell you whether this is the third or the fourth resurrection appearance i think probably it is the fourth but it's the first resurrection appearance you have in luke's gospel you remember that the lord jesus appeared first to mary magdalene we could spend the rest of the meeting talking about that remarkable that he should appear first on resurrection ground to a woman to mary magdalene that was the first resurrection appearance the second resurrection appearance you read about that in john 20 the second resurrection appearance to the other women you read about that in matthew 28 and then as this pair get back to jerusalem they say he's appeared to simon so i take it that lord appeared thirdly to simon peter and that means that this appearance on resurrection day to this these two on the road to emmaus was the fourth resurrection appearance of the lord jesus now they're traveling to a village called emmaus we don't know today where emmaus was but there are two or three locations likely locations and all of them are out to the west of jerusalem but we do know because the scriptures tell us verse 13 it was about three score furlongs distance now i don't understand furlongs but as i understand it that is about seven miles in distance how long would it take you to walk seven miles well apparently about two hours 15 minutes at a decent pace so two hours 15 minutes to walk from jerusalem to emmaus and i know they might have paused in fact they did pause but isn't it amazing in two hours 15 minutes and maybe just a little longer the lord expounds to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself now verse 13 says and behold two of them now you say two of who two of them well if you look back at verse number nine it says that they returned from the sepulcher and told now this is the women and told all these things unto the eleven and to all the rest and then luke says verse 13 behold two of them so you say who are the them either two of the eleven or two of the rest well this is the way you have to do your bible study because of course when you get to the latter verses once they come back to jerusalem they told the eleven what they'd seen so what's the point i'm trying to make two of them are not two of the eleven they're two of the rest make it practical christ appeared on the emmaus road you're listening to two of the rest i like that now he did appear to the apostles and he did appear to peter but you say now on this emmaus road he's just drawing near to ordinary people just ordinary people they're just two of the rest and he's going to meet them in their need here's a pair who have long faces they're very sad but christ cares for them and he draws near to them you say dan i'm not a somebody i'm a nobody so am i you say i'm not like the great apostles i'm just two of the rest or one of the rest so am i but thank god christ is interested in us isn't he whatever the difficulty whatever the trouble remember this he draws near to us in our need we might think we're insignificant we are but christ thinks we're significant we are important to him love the fact that he drew near to two of them now i want you to notice something about their conversation it's very important luke makes a great deal of it you'll notice that in verse 14 it says and they talked together now i'm going to paint you a picture so you get the idea these two who are walking the road first of all they are talking together now that's in the imperfect tense which means they were talking and talking and talking over and over and over again you see why i think it was husband and wife okay i don't want to offend anybody but they're talking over and that's the thought now something else not just that they were talking together but look at verse 15 they communed together and reasoned now that word reason means to try and search out an explanation it really is the thought of debating so they're talking talking talking talking they're reasoning they're trying to search out an explanation they are debating and there's something else because when you come to verse 17 the lord says what manner of communications are these that you have one to another and that little phrase there have one to another is a very special word in the greek anti ballo which means to throw back and forth it's almost as if they were having a verbal game of volleyball they were throwing words one to another they were batting it back and forth so these individuals they are full of words there's a very practical point to be made here and it's this they were so full of words they failed to recognize that the answer to all their problems had just drawn alongside verse 15 says jesus himself drew near and went with them so absorbed in their despair they were unconscious of the presence of the lord i can prove that to you verse 17 just the end of the statement the lord jesus appears doesn't he he's walking with them he speaks to them he says what manner of communications are these that you have one to another look at the last phrase as you walk and are sad the revised version puts it like this and they stood still looking sad it's almost as if they were so absorbed in their conversation that the lord jesus appears alongside and he goes with them and they haven't even realized he's walking along in their presence they don't know he's there until all of a sudden he speaks and then they stop somebody's here and they're looking sad interesting you know sometimes we are so full of self-pity we can be so full of despair that we fail to see the divine answer has been with us all along you say what's the divine answer he is peter says casting all your care upon him for he careth for you that does not mean you cast it upon him just before you go to bed and in the morning grab it back off him again peter doesn't mean that doesn't mean to say you don't care doesn't mean to say we don't aren't affected by these things and experience sorrow but he says cast that care upon him the divine answer is with us all along just so that he might bear something of that burden and do you know what i think is just beautiful they say isn't it ironic in verse 18 they say are you a stranger in jerusalem don't you know what's come to pass in these days don't you know does he know does he know about it he was the very center of it all and they're saying to him don't you know you know the lord jesus in a sense he could have stopped and he could have said well what do you want me to tell you about i'll tell you what you don't know i'll tell you everything from beginning to end i'll tell you what was my experience he doesn't say that he said look at the beauty of this he says what things essentially he's saying to this pair tell me tell me he knows it all from beginning to end far better than them but isn't this just the ministry of the great high priest he says what thing so he desires his people to unburden themselves upon him he knows the problem he knows it better than they do but he loves he loves for his people to unburden upon him it's no different with us please that's our responsibility that's his privilege for us to unburden ourselves upon him he knows it anyway but he desires us just to let it all out in his presence that he might bear the burden and i tell you did they let it all out you just see the verses that follow you can't stop them off they go they're telling everything that there is to be told listen to psalm 62 trust in him at all times ye people pour out your heart before him god is a refuge for us isn't it beautiful and didn't they just pour out their heart now one more thing and we'll move to the hope verse 16 says this what do you make of this but their eyes were holden that they should not know him why is that you see if this pair were so distressed and they were they were so distressed because the one they thought that was the christ has been crucified and slain why did he not just appear in all his resurrection glory and say here i am it's me show them the nail prints make it clear they would have been turned from sorrow to rejoicing in an instant but the word of god says their eyes were holy that's actually in the passive so that i suggest to you it is god who is controlling who is restraining their eyes that they might not recognize who he is why now this is fundamental it is critical please all of the resurrection appearances of the lord jesus depend really upon the statement i'm about to make christ is going away isn't he he's going to glory they have been dependent upon him for three and a half years he's been crucified he's been raised from the dead now in a matter of days he is ascending to the father and with the father he will remain until he comes again so in all of these resurrection appearances he is seeking to wean them off his personal physical presence with them he's preparing them for the time of his absence now if he had appeared in some kind of sensationalist appearance then they would have put their faith and place their faith in an experience but he doesn't do that what he does is he roots their faith in what he roots their faith in the word of god did you notice that he opens the scriptures to them and he says now listen must not christ this was written and this was written so he's rooting their faith in the word of god faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god faith must be anchored firmly rooted in scripture you see come two years down the line and they were going through some sort of persecution for the name of christ they would have remembered back and had it just been an appearance they might have said to themselves well was it really him did we really see him was it just a ghost was it our imagination but now two years down the line when they're suffering persecution they can pick up the word of god and they can say there it is it was to be expected this is what christ said all along we're on our way to glory but first comes suffering so he roots their faith in the word of god not in sight and not in sensation it's sad to say there are many christians today who have their faith rooted in experience in some kind of ecstatic sensation my brother my sister not us to know our faith must be it is firmly rooted in the word of god that's where we place all of our confidence and thank god for it so you have the highway now let's explain a little more of the hope verses 21 to 27 these sections are not evenly balanced in my notes okay don't fear do not fret the latter two sections are very brief because i've got 16 minutes so the hope 21 to 27 these pair of course they're pouring out their heart they say we verse 21 trusted we hoped that it had been he they were looking for a redeemer of the nation of israel let me explain their hope quite frankly was self-centered you say self-centered they hoped that christ had been the one who would redeem the nation of israel meaning he would deliver israel from roman oppression he would deliver them from the roman yoke of political bondage and that's what they wanted that's what they expected and quite frankly that was a self-centered hope so they were looking for some sort of national redemption by power and they failed to recognize that first there needed to be a personal redemption and that would come through the precious shed blood of the lamb you say does the lord jesus take it easy with them well verse 25 he says you're fools you say that sounds a little harsh well really the word fool there is the thought of lacking in understanding he says you just don't understand what god has revealed look again at what he says in verse 25 oh unwise ones and slow of heart this is important to believe all that the prophets have spoken so they were lacking in understanding why because they did not believe all that the prophets had spoken did you know that the jews were the same today they're just the same today you see the old testament scriptures speak of a glorious messiah a victorious messiah but they also speak of a suffering messiah you say how could you miss psalm 22 how could you miss isaiah 53 and what these individuals had done was this they had a selective hearing problem now all males have a selective hearing problem but this pair they had chosen the scriptures that they desired and wanted to believe and they left the others concerning a suffering messiah and chosen not to heal so they did not have a full understanding of all of god's purposes in relation to the lord jesus now that's what the jews do today you say how can they miss isaiah 53 well they don't miss it but they don't apply it to the messiah they apply isaiah 53 to a suffering servant a righteous servant sure but not the messiah he's glorious he will not suffer they've missed the whole counsel of the word of god so you see the lord jesus is going to have to teach them isn't it gracious he is going to have to teach them the whole picture he's going to teach them the full picture so verse 26 ought not must not christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory here's the full picture god's great plan god's great purpose it involves suffering before the glory let's not forget it and beginning at the prophecy of malachi oh no and beginning at psalm 22 because that's the obvious place to start isn't it to teach them about the suffering and then you remember what the lord said in psalm 22 my god why has self forsaken me i am a worm and no man psalm 22 take them there teach them about the suffering psalm 24 do you know the one who is a worm and no man in psalm 22 in psalm 24 he's the lord of glory he's the king of glory that would be the way to teach them wouldn't it suffering glory where does he begin well it's not rocket science he starts at the beginning he starts at the beginning of the bible beginning at moses from moses and all of the prophets he expounded unto them in all of the scriptures the things concerning himself why did he begin at the beginning because revelation in the word of god is progressive and it builds statement upon statement and precept upon precept so he starts at the beginning and he engages them in a systematic bible study from beginning to end that they might just see the truth by the way there's a great deal to be said for systematic bible study you understand that oh it's nice to dib and dab but there is absolutely nothing that can take the place of systematic bible readings in the local assembly systematic bible teaching in the local assembly and your own personal systematic bible study that's what the lord did that's his example and he expounded now here's one for the teachers he's expounding what does it mean to explain clearly and thoroughly that's what a bible teacher does he explains clearly okay and thoroughly it takes time it takes effort it takes diligence it requires gift and the word expound is actually a word that's used in the original native greek to translate something into one's native language so it's almost as if he's taking all of the old testament and translating it into a language that they can understand and assimilate he's expounding unto them now i want to move on to the home and i'm going to finish with the home but don't just miss this bit he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning the church not the church just checking if you're still with me but that would have made sense wouldn't it the church well the church the church is about to be established acts chapter 2 is 50 days down the road lord i know the church isn't in the old testament but pictures are expound unto them the things concerning the church they'll need that doesn't say that he expounded unto them all the things concerning israel it doesn't say that either now israel is precious to god he's not forgotten about them he's going to take them up again the church is very very precious to the lord jesus very precious to him he loves her but the center of all of god's purposes from eternity to eternity is not israel not the church it's christ and so he expounds unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself please the center of god's purposes is christ that is god's master plan and he has ordered every detail for the glory of christ and for the honor of his name do you remember what paul says in colossians 1 he prays that the saints at colossi might be filled with the knowledge of the will of god and that does not mean god's will for my life today what should i be doing should i go shopping or not what kind of scriptures should i be teaching the saints this evening doesn't mean that it has to do with god's great purpose and plan in christ and colossians 1 will tell you that christ will have the preeminence that's god's will says paul i want you saints to come into a full understanding and knowledge of what god is doing in christ and when you recognize that christ is to have the preeminence everything in my little life and yours will fall right into place when we understand the place that god has given him so i really wanted to say this tonight i'm going to say it now so when something comes into our lives and we say i didn't plan for that when something happens and you say well lord i don't understand this and i wouldn't have planned it this way and why is it happening just remember this god has ordered and planned from eternity to eternity not necessarily for our comfort he's planned for the preeminence and exaltation of his son and on the way through we may well have to experience things which we'd rather not experience which are tough which are painful but at the end of the day christ will be glorified i don't forget that finally what about the home verses 28 to 31 you've noticed of course that the lord jesus is a true gentleman isn't he so that in verse 28 they drew nigh to the village whither they went he made as though he would have gone further you see he wasn't just going to impose himself on the hospitality of this pair he is to a certain extent putting them to the test but just hold on for a moment he would have gone on the gentleman what did they do they constrained him verse 29 that's a very strong word they urged him to come and abide with them in a sense he was putting them to the test wasn't he he was testing their desire for him you say they didn't know who he was yet no they didn't but remember he had just expounded to them on the highway all the things concerning himself he spent two hours in conversation with them about christ now he would go on would they desire more would they want more of him or they did you know they urged him he urged him to come in that's an interesting test isn't it i'll close the meeting in a few minutes time i wonder if you'll be sitting there urging me just to carry on carry on brother dan we want more we want more well they did i've said this before but i love it we can have as much of christ as we desire to have true sake they wanted more of him they urged him to come in to the home what did they get they got a further revelation of christ didn't they if they hadn't urged him to come in would the scales have fallen from their eyes would they have recognized him they wouldn't have had that additional revelation that they received in the home because they sought more of him i wonder what our appetite for christ is i want to close by saying this what caused their scales to fall from their eyes well verse 30 it says that he sat at meet with them now please note this he took bread that's aorist which means he did it once and for he blessed the bread aorist he did it once he break the bread aorist he did it once he gave the bread present continuous he kept doing i think that's significant how was it verse 31 that their were open again it's passive so god now is removing that blindness he's opening their eyes that they might see and fully know him what caused the scales to fall well can i suggest to you some say that when he was breaking the bread they saw the nail prints in his hands could have been but scripture doesn't say that in fact this pair say when they go back to jerusalem he was made known to us in the breaking of the bread i think luke's given us the answer now this is just conjecture you throw it out with the with the dishwater if you want to i don't mind but did you notice those four verbs that he took and he break and he blessed and he gave do you know luke has used those four verbs before in his gospel in fact he's used them before in one single place luke chapter nine and that was the feeding of the five thousand and you know what the lord jesus did at the feeding of the five thousand he took he blessed he break and he did all of those things once but what was the miracle in the feeding of the five thousand it was the fact with five loaves and two fishes he gave and he gave and he gave and he kept on giving until all the people were satisfied now he's doing the same again he's giving and he's giving and he's giving do you know i wonder if this pair were at the feeding of the five thousand they said we've seen this before it must be here and so the lord jesus is revealed to them but he's not revealed to them as he was before says the scripture they fully knew him but how do they know him now now they know him as one that was dead and now is alive forevermore they now know him on the other side of calvary they now know him on resurrection ground and this is what i love a lot of things i love in this passage isn't that really it says he opened the door and disappeared off down the road no it says he vanished out of their sight mr newbery has in the margin he became unseen unseen by them do you know i like to think i like to think he was still there he was still there he was still with them but he was unseen my brother my sister that's how we know him tonight we know christ on the other side of calvary we know a resurrected man in the glory and please he's with us he's still with us he's just unseen and thank god he could say lo i am with you always he is he's still with us he's holding our hand to see us through the wilderness why praise god for such a glorious savior as him now god will bless his word let's pray