June 30

“As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them, but they were kept from recognizing him.” —LUKE 24:15-16

Shortly after the resurrection of Jesus, two disciples were walking the seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus greatly disappointed and saddened. Their hope, which had risen and grown for the past three years, now lay shattered. They said of Jesus, “We had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel” (Luke 24:21). That hope was now in the past tense.

Only days before, they had listened to words of wisdom that came from Jesus. They had witnessed His power in miraculous acts. To the neglected and outcasts, they had seen His compassion, His kindness, His generosity. They had sat at His feet, amazed at the authority with which He spoke, and they had concluded Jesus to be the long-awaited Messiah. With all Israel, they shared the confident expectation that the Messiah would throw off the shackles of the Roman Empire and restore both the kingdom and dignity of the Jewish people. Those expectations lay dashed in ruins. Jesus was dead. They had not bargained for this. Their dream evaporated, the curtain had fallen, the show was over, and there was nothing left but to grieve.

Then Jesus, risen from the dead, joins them on their walk, but Scripture tells us “they were kept from recognizing him”. Having listened patiently to their grief, Jesus said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?” (Luke 24:25-26). Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, Jesus then explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself.  

What a magnificent Bible study that must have been! This was Jesus exposing Jesus in the Scriptures. He then accompanied them to their home, sat at their table, and when He took the bread, gave thanks, broke it and handed it to them, their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him. After he had disappeared from their sight, 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?” (Luke 24:32) They now had a Bible that made sense. For the first time, “Moses and the prophets” came to life with meaning and significance. They had found the key that unlocks the treasures of the Bible… Jesus Christ, alive and active…just as Scripture had foretold.

Imagine walking along that road to Emmaus over 2000 years ago, and hear Jesus tell it. Would not our hearts be burning within us?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I am grateful, Lord, for the Old and New Testaments, which give the entire story, and is so vital in coming to know You. Thank You.

TO REFLECT UPON: Do I see Christ revealed in my reading of the Old Testament?