Emmaus - Day 10

"That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread." - Luke 24:13-35

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Let’s recount this scene again. Two disciples of Jesus were walking home after visiting Jerusalem for the Passover when they were met by the risen Christ himself. But, as was the case with Mary Magdalene, “their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” When he joined their conversation on the dusty road home they began to pour out their sorrows to this unknown Stranger, speaking of their grief over the death of the “one to redeem Israel.” He began to comfort them with the Scriptures, such that their hearts burned within them at the hope given by this holy Acquaintance. Seven miles they walked alongside Jesus, strengthened and comforted by him, without ever a clue as to his identity. And then, finally, after inviting him into their home for a hot loaf of bread, their eyes were opened, and he vanished. 

Their immediate reaction was to look back over the past few hours, and find them suddenly filled with new meaning: that was the risen Christ they walked, talked, and ate with; that was the risen Christ who comforted, taught, and listened. Now it all made sense to them, and like Jacob after his dream in Genesis, they thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it!”

These two men are not so different from you and me, you know. We are sadly too often blinded by our circumstances to recognize the living Jesus among us! As we are comforted and encouraged through trial and suffering, there he is! As we wrestle with our own depravity, there he is! As we go through an ordinary day of work and play and dinner and sleep, there he is!

Even if we have a hard time seeing him with us now (as the two disciples in this story), make no mistake, we will one day look back at the story of our own lives with clearer eyes, and interpret them with new meaning. We will say, “I didn’t know that was you!” Or, “You were there, too?” Or, “No wonder my heart burned within me!”

Do you see him with you now? In the midst of the complicated mess of your life, look for him! In the relational conflict and stress that attends your day, listen for him! When you sit with a friend for a cup of coffee and a slice of pie, acknowledge him! In the breaking of bread at the Lord’s Supper, dine with him! With the eyes and ears of faith, seek and ye shall find!

Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
(Psalm 139:7-10)

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1. What is ironic about the conversation between Jesus and these two men from Emmaus?
2. The text says, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, [Jesus] interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” What are some specific passages in the Old Testament that he might have interpreted?
3. If Christ is with his people in all times and places – the sensational and the mundane, in the holy and the earthly – where is he in your life that you might not have recognized? What season of your life was he in that you may not have recognized until now?
4. Why do you suppose Jesus revealed himself to the two disciples in the breaking of bread? What are the theological implications of that?

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