Scripture
Reference: Luke 24:13-27
Earlier
today, I was reading through Luke 24 and found myself fascinated by the wording
of the passage about the Road to Emmaus. There are so many great things to
learn from this piece of history.
Right
before two of Jesus’s disciples were traveling by foot to a village named
Emmaus, they had learned that Jesus was not in the tomb he’d been buried in
three days prior, but was said by an angel to be risen. As they journeyed, “they
talked together of all these things which had happened” (Luke 24:14 NKJ).
“While
they conversed and reasoned, … Jesus Himself drew near and went with them”
(Luke 24:15).
Okay,
so how amazing would it be to have the Risen Lord just come up and start
walking with you as you traveled down the road? I think I’d be shocked and
fascinated that He’d choose to walk with me,
of all people, but I’d be honored too, definitely.
If
I knew Who He was.
The
thing is, these two disciples didn’t know.
Why
not?
Take
a look at verse 16:
The
wording of this is fascinating to me (sorry to overuse that term right now, but
that’s the one that keeps coming back to mind through this entire passage every
time I read it today).
Why
would Jesus purposely restrain their eyes? Why would He keep them from easily
recognizing Him? Why would He hold back the joy of His presence like that?
I
might not understand all the mysterious ways of God (and trust me, I don’t!),
but I have to wonder if Jesus chose to restrain their vision and understanding
because of the message He needed to deliver. Perhaps their minds would be so
overwhelmed by the thought that their Leader, their beloved Teacher and Friend,
had returned that they then wouldn’t have comprehended the words He next
shared. Maybe they would have, because of their shock and joy, become blinded
to the message that was crucial for them to understand at this point in their
personal journeys. Not only for their own lives but also for those lives they
would go on to impact in their upcoming ministries of sharing about the Way.
Makes
you wonder, doesn’t it?
After
joining these disciples for their journey, Jesus asked what sort of
conversation they were having while they “walk[ed] and [were] sad” (Luke
24:17). Ooh, the compassion! I just love that, everywhere you look in the
Gospels, our wonderful Lord is displaying such deep compassion for His
children. He loves us and cares and wants to be in relationship with us. It’s
always amazing to me that His heart so swiftly goes to that soul-deep level of
compassion. Two verses ago, He had just joined this pair of travelers, and now
He’s inquiring as to why they’re sad? That’s so like our God, to cut out the
chitchat and get straight to the heart of the matter. How can I help you the most? Let Me get right on that! But you’ve got
to share your testimony with Me first. I just love that mindset, which is
displayed throughout the accounts of His miracles in each of the four Gospels.
These
disciples (one named Cleopas) were taken aback that this mystery Man hadn’t
heard what had taken place in Jerusalem over the weekend. When Jesus further
inquired as to what events they spoke about, they proceeded to tell Him about “the
things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, [W]ho was a Prophet mighty in deed and
word before God and all the people” (Luke 24:19). They went further and
explained how Jesus had been crucified and that they had been hopeful, prior to
that, that He would “redeem Israel” (Luke 24:20-21). They also shared what the
women had discovered about Jesus’s having disappeared from the tomb and that
angels had said He’d risen from the dead.
That
might have been their first case of witnessing… had it not been directly to
Jesus! Maybe that’s one reason He restrained their vision as to Who He was.
There was something else they needed to know about the events they had just
told Him about. Only, they couldn’t see it for their grief.
“Then
He said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the
prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to
enter into His glory?’” (Luke 24:25-26)
There
was a bigger reason for the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection than the
disciples had known. There was a much more monumental reason behind His coming
to earth in the first place. He didn’t come only to “redeem Israel,” or save it
from its earthly enemies. He came to set the world (those who chose [and still
choose today] to accept Him as their personal Savior) free for eternity. He
came to break the chains of sin, those bonds that the devil has over us. Jesus
came to conquer death.
The
only way to conquer death was to die, be buried, and (through the power of God)
rise again. Once Jesus did that, the devil lost the war.
Only,
the disciples had not understood this.
Why
not?
Because Jesus had restrained their eyes. Also, because they were human.
The human mind is no match for that of God. God’s mind is so complex that we
humans cannot comprehend it. We cannot understand His plans unless He spells it
out as if He were teaching toddlers their ABCs or something.
But
when He removes the scales from our eyes… that’s when we comprehend. That’s
when we understand that God’s plans are so much vaster than our own measly
little ideas are or could possibly ever be.
“For
My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For
as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah
55:8-9 NKJ
Not
only did Jesus explain that He came to save all of mankind (those that choose
to walk in the Way) rather than only Israel, but He also went a huge step
further.
“And
beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the
Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”
Luke
24:27 NKJ
So
instead of making them reread all the scrolls of the Old Testament (they didn’t
yet have the New Testament) and interpreting it on their own—that had obviously
failed a bit, since they thought the Messiah was coming to liberate Israel from
its earthly enemies—Jesus took the time on the rest of this journey the men
were taking to explain to them exactly Who He was and why He came.
They
got to hear the explanation from Jesus’s lips.
Only,
they didn’t know it was Him!
This,
to me, is so amazing on many different levels. I would love to have been
walking on that road with them to have heard all that… but I probably would
have asked WAY too many questions. (I can be a bit of a chatterbox at times.)
To have heard directly from Jesus why He came and how He had fulfilled every
Scripture of the Old Testament would have been so eye-opening and awe-inspiring, I think.
Another
aspect of this that blows me away is that Jesus was just walking right there
with them, talking to them not as the “stranger” He’d shown up as but as a
mentor would. You know, what you just
told Me, yeah, that’s not why I came. Listen to this, fellows. You’re going to
be so amazed at the depth, magnitude, and future-considering truth I’m about to
share with you. Can you just imagine having your belief system rocked in
such a shocking yet very humble fashion? Like I said, it blows me away just
thinking about it.
Shortly
after this section of verses, Jesus opens the disciples’ eyes to the fact that
He’s Jesus and that the Scriptures had just been opened to them (see Luke
24:28-35). Can you imagine how amazed they then would have been, at the truth
they’d received and that their
Teacher and Friend was indeed risen from the dead? It’s no wonder that “they
told about the things that had happened on the road” (Luke 24:33).
Our
great commission is to share the Good News of salvation with the world around
us. However, we must first understand it ourselves.
No,
I’m not saying you have to become a Bible superhero and memorize every line
and discover every truth there is to know about what’s in the Bible. That would
probably take more than ten lifetimes anyway.
What
I’m saying is this: take the time in prayer (a two-way conversation, by the
way) and Bible reading time to hear from God what the Scriptures mean for you
directly as well as for the community, state, nation, and world around you. Let
Him open the Scriptures to you as you journey through life with Him. When you
gain a bit of truth that you feel He wants you to share with someone, then is
the time to share the Good News.
It’s
a process, one that shifts and grows as we mature in the faith. Jesus works
with each of us in our own pace, our own unique ways of understanding, but we
have to do our part too. Study, pray, explore the Word. Those are all things we
can do to grow spiritually and increase our knowledge of the Way so that, when
we’re called upon to share what we know, we’ll be prepared.
Lessons
Learned
*
Sometimes the things we think we know are only a small or partial piece to the
big blueprint of life. Let’s take a step back, pause for a breath or two,
and dig a little bit deeper. Ask questions and listen for the answers God will give to you. If you
struggle to find those answers on your own, please seek out advice and help
from a trusted Christian whose faith is stronger than yours. This could be a
pastor, parent, mentor, friend, or your next-door neighbor.
*
Have compassion. When other people are sad or grieving, don’t just pass them by
on the road of life. Take time to walk a ways with them (figuratively is meant
here, but sometimes a literal walk together might be helpful during these
moments). Listen to their heart as they share with you why they’re grieving.
Offer hope for brighter days. Jesus did this by revealing to the two disciples
that He’d come for salvation into eternal life, but you might share hope with a
grieving friend by reminding them that Jesus understands their sorrow and will
help it ease with time, or you might offer to be a listening ear in a weekly,
bi-weekly, or monthly meet-up (coffee/tea, lunch/dinner, or more walks). If you’re
struggling to find ways to offer hope, it might be helpful to ask the
person in what ways they’d appreciate some assistance through the difficult
time.
*
Be open to a shift in perspective. This one’s tough for me and something I
constantly work on. (Yes, I’ve been called stubborn and hardheaded before.) Listen,
sometimes our way is not the best
way. Sometimes our way will bring us the toughest trials or the biggest
mistakes of our lives. Do we want either of those? No way! I’m not saying a
shift in perspective will help us avoid all heartache and pain and hard things.
Life is hard and we Christians will be a tried and tested people. So hard times
are meant to be faced and gone through. Sorry to spoil that surprise! What I am
saying is this: If we submit to God’s change in our perspective, we might miss that forty years of
punishment in the wilderness (see Numbers 14; the whole chapter for context,
verses 33-34 for the direct reference to the wilderness punishment). So listen
to God’s voice in your life and dive into His Word (the Bible) on a regular
basis. Be open and adjust when He offers a nudge (or shove, to those hardheaded
like me!) to see in a brand-new way something you thought you already knew. He knows
the plans He has for you! (See Jeremiah 29:11-13.)
How
may you apply these lessons to your daily life this week?
The
next #LessonsLearned will be on Writing to Inspire on Monday, May 20.
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