Learning the Way of Jesus: Following Him Together | Luke 24:13-35

Phillip Bates
Jan 22
3 min read

Sermon Guide for January 25, 2026

How to Use This Guide:

These guides are designed to help you engage more deeply with my weekly sermon. Use this guide to prepare your heart to receive God's Word before worship, or to reflect on God's Word the week following worship.

Parents, use the information in this guide (especially in the "Family Practice" section) to have meaningful conversations with your kids that nurture their faith and help them grow in God’s love.

Big Idea

Jesus forms his people not in isolation, but through shared life—as we walk with one another in discouragement, open the Scriptures together, and gather in ways where our eyes are opened to who he is.

Why This Matters

Many of us assume spiritual growth happens primarily in private moments—quiet time, personal prayer, individual study. While those practices matter deeply, Scripture shows us that some of the most important formation happens together.

When we try to follow Jesus alone:

Discouragement deepens
Confusion goes unchallenged
Faith becomes fragile and inward-focused

The way of Jesus is learned in shared presence and shared life.

The Text: Luke 24:13–35

This story takes place on the day of Jesus’ resurrection. Two disciples are leaving Jerusalem—confused, disappointed, and unsure what comes next. Everything they thought they understood about Jesus and their future feels unsettled.

As they walk:

Jesus joins them, though they do not recognize him
He listens to their discouragement
He opens the Scriptures
He is finally recognized in the breaking of the bread

This passage shows us:

How Jesus walks with discouraged people
How Scripture reshapes our understanding
How being together helps us see Jesus more clearly

Learning the Way of Jesus: Following Him Together

1. Walk Together in Discouragement

Jesus does not begin with correction or explanation. He begins with presence.

He walks alongside confused, grieving disciples and asks a simple question: “What are you talking about?”

Jesus models a way of being with others that:

Does not rush grief
Does not interrupt confusion
Does not demand quick clarity

Walking with the discouraged means:

Staying present even when nothing is resolved
Listening without immediately fixing
Honoring someone’s pace rather than forcing our own

2. Talk Through the Word Together

After listening, Jesus opens the Scriptures. Beginning with Moses and the Prophets, Jesus helps the disciples reinterpret their experience through God’s larger story. Their problem is not that they lack information—it’s that they are misreading what their suffering means.

Scripture helps us see:

That pain does not mean God is absent
That waiting does not mean nothing is happening
That disappointment does not mean the story is over

We often need others to help us see our lives clearly through the Word. Spiritual growth accelerates when Scripture is read, discussed, and lived together.

3. Linger at the Table

When the disciples invite Jesus to stay, everything changes. Luke tells us that their eyes are opened not on the road and not during teaching, but at the table. Jesus is recognized as he takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them. This moment echoes Jesus’ earlier table practices and points forward to how he continues to make himself known.

God often forms us most deeply through unhurried, shared moments.

A Call to Action

Fellowship is not accidental—it is a practiced discipline.

This week:

Walk with someone who is discouraged instead of avoiding their pain
Open Scripture with someone and let God’s story reshape how you see your own
Stay longer than feels efficient—at a table, in a conversation, in shared life

When we practice these things, Jesus is at work among his people.

The Gospel in Luke 24

Before the disciples recognize Jesus, he is already walking with them. Before they understand, he is already present. The risen Jesus meets people in their confusion, opens their eyes through Scripture, and makes himself known in shared life.

Every week, when we come to the Lord’s Table, we step into the Emmaus story:

We come confused
We come tired
We come unsure

And Jesus meets us in the breaking of the bread.

Living This Out This Week

Personal Practice

Choose one conversation this week to stay in longer than usual
Read Scripture with the question: How does this passage help me see my life differently?

Family Practice

Read Luke 24:13–35 together
Talk about a time when you felt confused or discouraged
Share a meal this week without rushing, distractions, or screens