Their Eyes Were Opened
Luke 24:13-24:35
Not long ago I was down in Cartersville at a covered dish supper and worship service. Right before meal time, I was talking with a group of people and this young lady walks up and says hello Tom.
I am a face person; I often have trouble with names. I can see a person and often remember where I now them from. But, it takes me a while to connect a name to a face. People come up to me all the time and I can’t remember their names. When this lady came up, I even had trouble recognizing her face.
I played along for a few minutes to see if she would give me a hint. It never came and I started feeling foolish and embarrassed.
Our scripture today describes an incident where a couple of people were walking home to the village of Emmaus. The Crucifixion was a few days ago. We don’t know if it was two men or a man and a son or perhaps a man and wife. We do know one was named Cleopas, a man’s name. It tells us they were discussing all that happened, when Jesus joins them. It adds that they were kept from recognizing Jesus.
Have you ever wondered why they were kept from recognizing him? Why would Jesus want to keep his identity from these believers? Perhaps we guess that it was to be a teaching experience. He wanted to teach the scriptures and not have them distracted by that amazing fact that he was alive.
I have a fear that Jesus or an angel or some other divine messenger will come to me and I will fail to recognize them. If I miss it, I hope that the identity was hidden from me and it is not just my lack of vision or closed minded nature that keeps me from noticing.
Jesus asked, what are you discussing? And they stop and look depressed and ask Jesus if he is just passing through and not heard all the news…
What news?
They tell him about Jesus of Nazareth, how great a prophet he was, and how the authorities had arranged his death. They also express that they had thought he was to be the one who redeemed Israel. Then they shared how the women found an empty tomb and others verified it.
Jesus calls them foolish because they don’t understand or expect the descriptions of the messiah to come true in their hearts. And then over the next few miles he explains from moss through the prophets and how they relate to Jesus the Christ.
Jesus reminds them about the scripture related to the prophecies of the messiah. If Jesus was recognized or revealed who he was he would have been explaining scriptures with his personal authority. He would have been speaking as the son of God, which would be pretty powerful.
However, he did not let them know who he was. When he reminds them of the scriptures…. He is allowing the scriptures to speak with their own authority. His identity does not influence the hearers; in fact it may even be negative influence since he seems to be a person that is out of touch with what has happened.
This scripture is an important illustration of the relevance and authority of scripture and how we should weight it’s use in our relationship with God. Scripture contains the information we all need to understand God and his purposes. If we have trouble reading and understanding the bible we need to continue to read and pray that the Holy Spirit will aid our understanding like Jesus did for the travelers that day.
Please hear me on this point. A feeling of inadequacy or lack of understanding is no excuse for not reading the Bible. If you have trouble get a Bible translated into a modern language with a commentary. This can help but, you still must allow the Holy Spirit to help you truly understand.
Let me just say that as a Christian, there is actually not valid excuse for not reading your Bible. The Bible is the primary way that God will speak to you as an individual. When you take the time to read the Holy Spirit will give you wisdom and understanding that will make you laugh and/or cry because you will know that you have been in the presence of the Divine.
Our scripture mentions the body language of the travelers that day. They were looking down when they talked to Jesus But, the situation tells us even more. The message the women brought to the group was to go to Galilee. But these people were headed to the village of Emmaus. Most likely home. That looks to me like they had given up. They did not expect Jesus, they were headed back to their old lives. They did not even stay in Jerusalem long enough to solve the mystery of the missing body. Perhaps the Jewish officials would produce it. The did not even stay to hear what the apostles would be doing. They were destroyed and gave up.
I guess it would look pretty bad to me too. The week had started with the triumphant entry into Jerusalem and it seemed like almost everyone was excited. The toward the end of the week, Jesus is arrested, trials, there are crowds shouting crucify him, and then he was dead.
Now all their hopes & dreams were as dead as their leader and teacher. The story the women brought raised a little question in their minds but dead people don’t come back. Everybody knows that! It was pretty clear that the apostles didn’t believe what the women said, Peter and John did check and found the tomb empty.
So confused and grief stricken, the travelers left Jerusalem. Reminiscing over the good times and the hard times of the past few days.
These two believers were probably not too different from any of us. They were in a time when God did not make sense. They probably wanted to scream questions at the top of their lungs. Why did this happen God? How could you do this to such a good Man? What are we going to do now?
I would say that these people were at one of the lowest points in their lives. Just days ago they were on a mountaintop and now they are in the darkest of valleys. I thinks it is safe to think that most of us have had questions for God, that we wondered why me, or us? Wondered why this good person suffered so much or died so young. I imagine there have been times when we gave up and headed the wrong way until something, or someone came alongside to redirect us.
We all are all traveling down life’s road. Depending on where we are sometimes our hopes and dreams are broken and prayers are unanswered. When it seems the worst Jesus comes along and joins us where we are. We walks beside us and encourages us and he never laves us alone. I don’t know about you, but I often don’t recognize him and his actions until I have reached the end of my trip.
Our travelers reach their destination and Jesus keeps heading down the road. They invite him to come and stay with them.
Jesus never presumes that he is invited into your life. He does not act as if he expects an invitation; he never hints or asks to be invited. He only enters your life if you freely invite him.
The travelers basically insist that Jesus Join them. And he readily agrees. You never have to ask Jesus to enter your life twice for him to respond.
The light meal is quickly prepared and they sit down for dinner.
Vs. 30 says, " 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."
All this time they had been with Jesus, looking at Him, but never seeing Him. Now suddenly, as they eat together, their eyes were opened & they actually saw Him for who He was.
I finally had to ask the young lady where I knew her from. I am sure she could tell I was lost. Instead f telling me her name she started singing. And about that time her husband walked up and I knew that she came and played for us one Sunday about 6 months ago. Heather Petero, she finally said.
After He left, it says that they asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road & opened the Scriptures to us?"
I hope that all of us experience a burning deep with us. Unfortunately, it seems that we have lost the emotion of the day. The celebration of the resurrection had changed into just another day.
The greatest plague of the church today is our contentment with mediocrity. We are content to look & never see, to listen & never hear, to be motivated & never respond. So we sit like bumps on the log, walking on the road, complaining because we hurt now & then, & never responding to His touch.
The Lent and Easter seasons are connected together. We can not truly understand the new life and Light without the darkness and suffering of Lent. The two extremes must go together if we are to relive the emotion that moves us from living just another day, week month or year.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the Good News from God because it is the proof of our faith.
We no longer need to have a fear of Death, because we have accepted the promises of God, fulfilled through Jesus Christ.
While we were yet sinners, Christ died for Us.. For you … and for Me.
Celebrate the good news, live a live that shouts HALLELUJAH, without saying a word.
All glory be to God!
