The Emmaus Road

Luke 24:13-32

The two disciplines on the Emmaus Road are followers of Jesus, that if we are honest with ourselves, we can easily identify with. They are dejected and disappointed which has led them almost to a point of despair. They felt that all of their hopes and dreams in Jesus Christ had come crashing down and, in many ways, Jesus had let them down.

Have you ever felt this way? Have you ever experienced spiritual dejection or disappointment? Have you ever felt that Jesus had let you down, forgotten you, or promised you something that He never come through with? Have you prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and still not received a result or an answer? Probably so! You see we do identify with these two disciples in many ways. The problem is no one likes to admit it.

Every time I read this account I try to put myself in their shoes. Walking in another shoes helps us to not only identify with he or she, but also helps us to identify our own selves. These two were dejected and disappointed because Jesus was supposed to redeem Israel and yet He died instead. The problem was not that Jesus lied to them and let them down, they just didn’t understand what redemption was all about. Sometimes we experience dejection and disappointment just simply out of ignorance or misunderstanding. We think things should be one way and forget that Gods ways are higher than ours and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. He is spiritual and we are carnal.

But even in all of their dejection, disappointment, and despair Jesus is still walking with them. This is the true moral of the story. Jesus will indeed be with us through all of our emotional ups and downs, and nothing can separate us from His love. He is, as Francis Schaffer once said, “The God who is there and He is not silent.” On the cross Jesus bore our sorrows and was acquainted with our griefs. Jesus simply understands our feelings because He too dealt with many of the same emotions.

The remedy to the problem here is that Jesus opened up unto them the scriptures. By doing this He did three things for them. First, He opened their understanding of a misunderstood event. Second, He opened up their eyes so that they could see him clearly. Third, He revived their hearts into a burning flame again. He did all of this in the moment when their faith was weak and small. This demonstrates the faith of a mustard seed!

Fear not beloved! Christ is with us! The Emmaus Road typifies the Christian journey and regardless of how you or I feel at times, Christ is walking with us, and we can take comfort in the fact that “a bruised reed He will not break or a smoking fire He will not quench!” When Jesus disappeared, He went from the table in their home to the table of their hearts. “Did not our hearts burn within us?” Is your heart burning today?

Pastor Robby