Jesus Walks With Us

April 19, 2026 homily on Luke 24:13-35 by Pastor Galen for the Third Sunday of Easter

“While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” – Luke 24:15-16

Meeting Someone Famous

What if you met someone famous but didn’t know who they were?

Several years ago, I was working backstage at an international missions conference. My role was operating one of the cameras that projected the speaker’s image onto the jumbotron. This role gave me a backstage pass, and the special privilege of eating for free at the buffet where the speakers, musicians, and special guests ate their meals.

One evening, as I was getting food at the buffet, a guy about my age walked up and began serving himself. I thought I’d be friendly and strike up a conversation. I told him my name was Galen and asked his name and what he was doing at the conference.

He said, “Oh, my name is David, and I’m one of the speakers here at the conference.” Well, it turned out he wasn’t just one of the speakers: he was the headliner!

Less than 30 minutes after we met at the buffet table, he walked out on stage in front of 20,000 college students and delivered one of the most passionate and memorable speeches of the conference. His name was David Platt, and at the time he was newly famous, at least in certain circles, for his best-selling book Radical. Not long after that, he became president of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention — the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., with over 12 million members.

The Entourage

Looking back, I realize one of the reasons I didn’t know he was famous was because he wasn’t surrounded by an entourage.

Typically, really famous people have security guards or assistants who follow them everywhere, who we call an “entourage,” who keep other people at a distance, and attend to the famous person’s needs.

Some of you might remember when Mayor Brandon Scott came to our church in 2023 for the 100th anniversary of the dedication of our building and our 155th church anniversary. About an hour before he even entered the sanctuary, his security team came to scope out the area. And when the mayor arrived, he had a whole row of staff and security professionals with him. He even had a professional photographer with him documenting the whole experience. This is typically how famous people operate.

And in a way, it’s also how Jesus often operated during his ministry on earth. Whether intentionally or not, he was always surrounded by people—not only the twelve disciples, but crowds who flocked to him. 

Often, his disciples tried to function like security guards, trying to keep people away from Jesus. There’s even a story just a few chapters earlier in Luke where the disciples tried to stop parents from bringing their children to be blessed by Jesus! Of course, Jesus told the disciples to let the children come to him, because, he said, “it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs” (Luke 18:16).

The point is that Jesus was often surrounded by crowds of people, and he had an entourage of sorts, just like many famous people. And so when Jesus rose from the grave, we might expect that he would show up with an entourage. At the very least, we might expect a whole security team of angels surrounding him, protecting him or announcing his presence.

But on the road to Emmaus, Jesus didn’t show up with an entourage or even a personal assistant.

Jesus Showed Up in Humility

And that may be one of the reasons the two disciples walking down the road don’t recognize him.

He just simply shows up, and he walks with them. And he listens to them, and he asks good questions. Humbly, without fanfare. 

It’s similar to the way he appeared to Mary Magdalene, who even mistook him for a gardener (see John 20:11–18).

If Jesus had shown up with an army of angels, these two disciples probably would have recognized him immediately. But instead, he comes in humility and meekness.

These two disciples are worn out and tired. Their feet hurt from the long journey. And they were sad. But it wasn’t just because the journey was long. They were also sad, because they were walking away from their hopes and dreams.

Nothing has turned out the way they expected. Like the other disciples, they had left everything to follow Jesus. They had certain expectations of him, and had expected that he would do things in a certain way. But now all their hopes seem to have come crashing down.

It feels like they’ve reached the end of the road.

And to add to their confusion, Jesus’ body is missing, and some are saying he has risen, but they don’t know what to make of it.

So as they walk, they share all of this with Jesus. And Jesus listens. He hears their sadness, grief and their confusion.

Interestingly enough, he doesn’t rush to offer shallow answers, or try to distract them, or simply make them feel better.

He simply listens, and then begins to help them see the bigger story, opening the Scriptures to them along the way.

And when they reach their destination, they invite him in for dinner.

The Moment of Recognition

And it is there when they are at the table preparing to eat, when Jesus takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them, that it dawns on them who Jesus really was.

Imagine their shock! All along, they had been walking and talking with Jesus.

Their surprise must have been even greater than mine when I met David Platt, because they actually knew Jesus. And in that moment, it confirms for them that he is truly alive.

Takeaways for Us

This story should encourage us in several ways.

1. First, to the youth in the room: no matter what you are going through, Jesus is with you. Even when your life isn’t turning out the way you expected, Jesus walks with you. He doesn’t offer empty platitudes. He listens, and he stays with you on the journey.

And the same promise is true for all of us. Jesus is with us on the journey. The challenge is to look for him, and to learn to recognize him.

Because so often, Jesus shows up in ways that seem ordinary.

He shows up in a hot meal a neighbor brings to us when we’re struggling.
He shows up in a warm hug when we return to church after being away for a long time.
He shows up in a note of encouragement that we receive from a friend.

Jesus meets us in everyday moments that appear ordinary on the surface, yet hold something far deeper.

2. Secondly, for those of us who are older, especially on this Youth Sunday, there is an inherent invitation here for us to walk alongside the youth in our lives.

Not to impose all the answers we think we’ve learned, or to overwhelm them with all of our wisdom and life experience, unless it’s invited.

Rather, the invitation to us is to walk with the young people in our lives. To listen to them, and to ask good questions as Jesus did. And when the time is right, perhaps, we can gently point out where we see God at work in their lives.

Guides on the Journey

As many of you know, our church building is now home to a one-room Montessori micro-school. And I love that in the Montessori model of education, teachers are called “guides.” It suggests that we are all on a journey, teachers and students alike. Even those of us with more life experience still have something to learn.

Education, in the Montessori model, isn’t a one-way transfer of information. It’s a shared journey of discovery, where curiosity leads the way and guidance comes alongside.

And I think that’s our role in guiding the next generation.

Often, being a guide simply involves being present. Listening. Asking good questions. Trusting that they will make their own choices just as we did.

And it’s remembering that we, too, no matter how young or old we are, are still on a journey.

So this morning, may we be encouraged, young and old alike, that Jesus is with us on the journey.

Even when our feet are tired. 

Even when we are grieving.
Even when nothing has turned out the way we hoped.

Jesus is with us, walking beside us, listening to us. Holding our story, even when we don’t understand it ourselves.

And one day, perhaps in a quiet moment, in the breaking of bread, or in a simple act of grace, our eyes will be opened. And we will realize that the one we thought was absent has been present all along.

Amen!

Questions for Personal Reflection in Response to today’s message:

1. When have you experienced a season where life didn’t turn out as you expected?
2. When have you felt truly heard by someone? How can you practice that same kind of listening with others this week?
3. Who has walked alongside you during an important time in your life? Is there someone you are being called to walk alongside right now?
4. How can you encourage or support someone younger (or older) in their faith journey?
5. The disciples recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread. What practices help “open your eyes” to God?