The Appearance on the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24: 13-35).
Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?” Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?” And He said to them, “What things?” So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, “and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. “Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. “When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. “And certain 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.” 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?” And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them. Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread. (NKJV)
Why was it that the disciples couldn’t recognize the risen Christ? It would seem rather clear that the man walking with them was their friend. It was only 3 days prior that they’d seen Him, talked with Him and were guided by Him. Is it possible that we could not recognize our Lord if He were to stand with us? The disciples were feeling crushed. They’d hoped that Jesus was the one who was the redeemer. They’d spent years in service and following His teachings only to watch as Jesus was put to death. How could the true redeemer die? I’m sure they discussed this during their travel. They felt let down; betrayed even.
When Jesus revealed Himself to them at the breaking of the bread, they were filled with excitement and astonishment. They’d failed to recognize the truth that “Christ would die and rise again”. How often do we stray from the path and not see what is right in front of us? It’s very easy to allow life’s challenges to defeat us and leave us wondering if God cares.
For those who are parents, it is easy to use the parental analogies of how God could stand by and allow something to happen to us. He’s very protective of His children but as a parent, He recognizes that He gave us free will. That we need to make choices. If we make the wrong choices, we must face the consequences of those choices. As a parent, I can tell my young child not to put his finger into an electrical socket. He have a choice now. Some will follow the direction simply because their parent gave them that directive. Others will test the waters and are curious. They will put their finger into the socket and ultimately suffer the consequence of their decision.
God wants us to love Him. We can’t really grasp what that means. We get wrapped up in our materialistic and demanding world and we often fail to stop and recognize all of the love that God puts before us. We say we love God but our actions and words don’t demonstrate this. Our love for God needs to be all encompassing. It must take the front seat in everything we think, say and do. How easily do we get wrapped up in social media drama? How easily do we fall into the sin of gossip? How many of us are focused on becoming richer or acquiring more possessions? How many of us fall into the sin of pride?
It’s unfortunate that we lose sight of what’s really important. We don’t even notice that we’ve lost sight until we are faced with that adversity. A death of a loved one. An illness we acquire. Something that turns us upside down. We stop to reflect and often to ask the question “why?”. It’s interesting that at this moment we’re willing to turn to God. However, our turning to God isn’t to praise and glorify Him. It’s to place blame.
When will we stop to reflect and recognize that God give us the greatest gift we could ever imagine? He gave us His Son! He allowed His Own Child to be murdered in order to be the sacrificial lamb. This opened the path to salvation for each of us. All we need to do is recognize the Risen Jesus. Accept the love that God has so freely given us and love Him in the way that He wants to be loved!
The best way for me to describe in my own words how God desires to be loved it so say it like this. Imagine a child. A child that is completely dependent upon you. A child who sees you as his whole world. When you walk in the door, his eyes light up and he reaches out for you. His love is innocent; encompassing and complete. As God’s children, he asks us to help others. To be Servant Leaders. He asks us to help others to find their way back to His light.
During your travels today, will you recognize Christ?
