Opening
Prayer: Open our eyes Lord, I want to see Jesus to reach out and touch
you and say that “I love you.” Amen. ~Bob Cull
Reading: Luke
24:13-35 (NIV)
Now that same day two of them were going to a village called
Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other
about everything that had happened. 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. He asked them, “What are you discussing
together as you walk along?” They stood still their faces downcast. One of
them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who
does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” “What
things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet,
powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and
our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but
we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is
more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our
women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his
body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he
was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as
the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.” He said to them, “How foolish
you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the
Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning
with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the
Scriptures concerning himself. As they approached the village to which they
were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 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. When he was at the table with them, he took
bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were
opened, and they recognized him, and he 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?”
They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they
found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is
true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told what had
happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the
bread.
Message: The men were walking along the Emmaus road,
focused on the events of the prior week. They perceive the events of Jesus’
last week from only the context of human understanding. "Just the facts,
Ma’am" as the character Joe Friday from the movie Dragnet was fond of
saying. Throughout Jesus' resurrection appearances, he urges his disciples to
perceive and to interpret by faith, not by sight. This situation is no
different. The first response from Jesus to the facts and interpretation given
by the two disciples is “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that
the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and
then enter his glory?” (verses 25-26) It is clear that Jesus wants the disciples
to put two and two together. It is also clear, in this case, that the answer of
four is to be enhanced by all of the scriptures “beginning with Moses and all
the Prophets."
It is easy to draw a straight line using only what can be
experienced with human sight, intellect, and reason. The problem is the
straight line you may be drawing may be missing some key elements. If you are
not an architect or a sketch artist, you may miss the myriad of hues they see
when they draw a straight line. The sum of four that is acquired by adding two
and two together may not include any of the nuance and the beauty that
mathematicians see when they do math. Our understanding of what God has done
through Jesus’ life and resurrection cannot be understood outside of the context
of God’s abiding and covenanted love. We cannot walk by sight alone [1], and we
cannot live on bread alone [2] because when we walk and live in these ways, we
lose the depth and breadth of what is ours through Christ Jesus. Close your
eyes for a moment and believe.
Closing
Prayer: “Draw me nearer, nearer precious Lord to the cross where thou
hast died. Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord to thy precious bleeding
side.” ~Doane and Crosby
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