Original Entry Date 1/22/2017: After the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ Jesus we read about two of His followers leaving Jerusalem on foot to a destination seven miles away.
They are talking amongst themselves, trying to come to an understanding of the events that had just occurred. They are then approached:
Luke 24:13-16 NKJV:
13 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.
These men were unaware and blinded in a sense to the fact that this was Jesus who approached them. Jesus then speaks:
Luke 24:17-27 NKJV
17 And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”
18 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?”
19 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, 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. 21 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. 22 Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. 23 When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. 24 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.”
25 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
The two men are shocked by Jesus’s response to their conversation, thinking He was unaware of what had just happened in Jerusalem. Jesus asks “What Things?” I don’t believe He asked this as to hide who He was by playing “dumb” but rather He wanted to see what was in these two men’s hearts; did they believe He had risen, did they understand that this was what the prophets wrote about?
We find that they did not truly understand that this was what was to happen to the Christ. Jesus firmly corrects them and then explains what is written about Himself in the Scriptures.
Let me point out how this scene is a representation of what we experience today. Jesus is a depiction of the Holy Spirit and how the Spirit REVEALS spiritual truths to us. For example, when reading the Bible I will have these moments where the light bulb goes on, I gasp with widened eyes as a spiritual truth is downloaded into my mind and heart. That is the Holy Spirit at work uncovering the mysteries hidden within the Holy Word.
Luke 24:28-32 NKJV:
28 When they came to the town where they were going, Jesus acted as if He were going farther. 29 But they said to Him, “Stay with us. It will soon be evening. The day is about over.” He went in to stay with them. 30 As He sat at the table with them, He took the bread and gave thanks and broke it. Then He gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened and they knew Him. Then He left them and could not be seen. 32 They said to each other, “Were not our hearts filled with joy when He talked to us on the road about what the Holy Writings said?”
Jesus BREAKS the BREAD (a symbol of fellowship with God by feasting on the Bread of Life, which is the Word) and their eyes are opened and He vanishes. Now what I love about this is how they now are able to see that it was Jesus. This too is relative to what we experience today. Before we are saved or even in situations after we are saved we can experience the Great Revealing! What I mean by that is all along Jesus and the Holy Spirit were at work within our hearts or in our environments but we did not recognize it until He REVEALS Himself to us. It is at those times that we can look back and can see how God put everything in place to lead us to His Will.
