Forty Days to the Ascension - Pt. 2

 

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. (Luke 24:13-15 ESV).

 

So many of the appearances of Jesus after the resurrection are personally meaningful to me. Today we come to one of those: the appearance to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus (cf. Luke 24:13-35). The United Methodist Church sponsors a retreat called “The Walk to Emmaus.” I have been both a participant and leader at these three day conferences. They are designed as an intensely personal experience of spiritual renewal. It is an opportunity to meet Jesus in a way that clearly reveals God’s grace and love to individuals much as it did to these two disciples Jesus chose to visit hours after His experience with Mary Magdalene.

 

I hope you spend a bit of time reading the full report of this appearance in Luke’s account. It is so like Jesus to meet us as we walk our own “Emmaus road” and ask us why we are sad. In this account the two disciples did not realize it was Jesus, and they respond to His question by complaining, “He should have redeemed us.” I imagine Jesus staring blankly at them thinking, “Let me break this down for you. That precisely was what I was doing on the cross, redeeming you, freeing you.”

 

Their perspective was wrong; the freedom that the disciples wanted was from persecution, for their own will, not God’s will. So, as they walk to Emmaus, Jesus points them to scripture, and they ignite in its truths. It says that their hearts were burning within! Only scripture, God’s Holy Word, has that power. Once they get to town, Jesus takes the bread, gives thanks and passes it out and the disciples recognize Him. Scripture says that their eyes were opened (v. 45). When we open scripture, God will open our eyes, and we will recognize Him.

 

Only when we open scripture can our eyes truly be open, and only then can God fully open our minds so we may understand our purpose and God’s will for our life. God brought them to that moment, somewhere on the Emmaus road, as He often does for us. His purpose was to show them the real goal of redemption. It is altogether too easy to forget that God is preparing us for something so much better than anything this life has to offer. This was a clear reminder to stay focused on that secure future Jesus has already won, rather than the pain of failure or regret of the past. Whatever your road looks like today, remember that Jesus is walking it with you!