The Emmaus Syndrome

By John A. Wilson

This sermon is based on one of the events that took place between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. Its context is Luke 24:13–35, the event of Jesus’ meeting with two men on the road to Emmaus.

The Emmaus story, recorded only in Luke, has great universal appeal. Luke, the physician, seems to be concerned with Jesus’ healing and restoration ministry. In this story Jesus gave hope to two sad men.

The steps I follow in developing a sermon include these:

1. After reading the selected passage a number of times and working to understand the context and any textual problems, I try to develop the proposition which is a short sentence expressing the main point I believe God wants communicated to the people. The proposition should be a complete sentence, including a subject and object. The sermon should be a logical proof of the proposition. I like to think of myself as a trial lawyer working to convince a jury of the truth of the proposition.

The proposition I developed for the Emmaus Syndrome is: “Jesus Christ is the Healer of broken hearts.”


2. The most persuasive argument is a three-part message with each succeeding part building on the preceding part. In a sermon, the three parts become the three main points. Each main point should be a spiritual truth taken from the text expressed as a complete sentence in universal language.

Each main point should have three subpoints. The first subpoint is the exposition—tell the people what the text says. The second subpoint is illustrative—shed light on the text by means of appropriate illustrations. The third subpoint is application—apply main point to the people.

3. The conclusion of the sermon should include a brief review of the three main points and a clear directive to the congregation.

4. The introduction of the sermon should explain in an interest-catching way what the sermon is about. Because the Gospel of Luke was written by a physician, I used a medical model of a 
syndrome for the introduction.(A syndrome is a group of symptoms that describe a condition.) I defined the Emmaus Syndrome as a condition in which a person is so buried in his own problems he is unable to experience the presence of Jesus Christ in his life.

The sermon develops as follows:

Symptoms of the Emmaus Syndrome are: 
    gloom and sadness (verse 17), 
    disorientation of reality (verse 24), 
    lack of hope (verse 24), 
    upset feeling (verse 32), and 
    feeling alone (verse 17). 

I described a number of situations in which these symptoms could be manifested (e.g., loss of job, family problems, loss of health). Then I said, “If you suffer any of these symptoms, Jesus is the Healer of broken hearts” (the proposition which the sermon will prove).

Main point number one: People suffer sadness. The exposition of the Scripture shows that the two men on the road to Emmaus felt sad and alone (verse 17). In the illustration I showed that feelings are the result of a stimulus. No one can will to feel sad or happy. We feel sad or happy because of another condition. These two men felt sad because they could not believe Jesus Christ had to suffer and die (verse 26). They were disappointed. In the application I told the congregation that they will feel sadness because it is part of life.

The second main point: Jesus Christ meets people in their sadness. In the exposition of the text. I showed how Jesus sympathetically spent one complete afternoon out of 40 days with two sad men. The meeting with Jesus was instructive. He explained to them from the Scripture how He would suffer (verse 27). Jesus also gave them an experience in which they could identify Him (verse 31).

I illustrated this point by telling a personal story of how Jesus met me in a very private way. I applied this point to the congregation by telling them Jesus knows their sadness and that He would give them a way to recognize Him in their circumstances.

The third main point: Jesus gives hope. In the exposition I showed how the men had been changed as a result of meeting Jesus. They reported to their friends that Jesus was alive (verse 34). Their previous hope had been that Jesus would redeem Israel (verse 21). Jesus did not meet that expectation, but the hope He gave them eclipsed their previous hope.

I illustrated the point by showing that hope is the expectation of future good. Every person lives on hope, the belief that tomorrow will be better than today.

I applied the third point to the congregation by telling them Jesus gives hope for whatever condition they are in.

In the conclusion I retold the story of two sad men who were given hope by Jesus Christ. I directed the congregation to look for Jesus Christ in their problems. We all sang, “Standing
somewhere in the shadows you’ll find Jesus.”


John A. Wilson is a retired pastor who lives in Ballwin, Missouri.




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