“He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. 28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” 33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.” Luke 24. 25-35
The story of the two disciples walking with Jesus on the Emmaus Road is one they will never forget. They will be telling their grandchildren about the time they walked with the Risen Christ. What an amazing story to tell.
I was at a dinner yesterday with a group of scholars, pastors, teachers and laity at an amazing library in Houston. During the dinner the host asked everyone to stand up and introduce themselves and say something interesting. As time went on, it began to sound like a one-up-manship where people were completing for having the most interesting stories and experiences. It was an insightful experiment into human dynamics and behavior.
Yet had these two disciples been at the dinner, they would have defiantly won with the more unique experience. ”We walked with Jesus after he was raised from the dead,” they would say. Bingo. Score. You win. How amazing that would have been?! Their story would conclude with them returning ”at once” to Jerusalem and telling the eleven disciples about what had happened to them upon the Emmaus Road. Seven miles each way, but not once would they have regretted the trip. But the telling of the story would have be awe-inspiring.
As I’ve mentioned before, Jesus often reveals himself to us at unexpected moments and times. And although the Risen Christ may not be walking physically in our midst, his Holy Spirit certainly surrounds us and lives inside us. He’s transforming us from the inside out so that we might be like him. And once we discover his presence in our lives, which comes through a heart surrendered to God, we can not help but tell about what we have seen and heard. We go the extra mile, make the extra trip, work the extra day, have the extra conversation because Christ is among us. He is the reason we sing and spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
Have you encountered the Risen Christ? Have you walked daily with Jesus? Have you allowed him to unlock your heart of stone and given you a heart of faith and flesh? Turn to Jesus, call out to him, repent and believe the Gospel.
“O Lord God, I pray for an awakening in all people, at all places and at all times. I pray for your power to move in us, inspire us, and ignite a new found passion to take the Gospel to the world. Come now, Holy Spirit, fill us with your grace and peace. Redeem our world, rescue the hurting and hunted, save the lost, eradicate the evil. For you are good and your love endures forever.” Amen