“The Road to Emmaus”
Church this morning was really good. I went to Blairsville, GA with a couple of my friends for the day… just to see a new church, have a good home-cooked meal, and see a friend I don’t usually get to see. It was a beautiful day.
We went to a church called Grace Community Presbyterian. It’s a small church with a congregation of maybe… 200 people? That’s just a guess from sitting in the church and observing. :) It sits on the side of a mountain and is a beautifully constructed wood church, with big windows that overlook the mountains and trees.
I walked in with my friends, sat down on the back pew (which was only about seven pews from the front of the church), and just contemplated on how hard it was going to be for me to stay awake. It was the weekend …the time I usually use to catch up on missed sleep the week before. But not this weekend - I got 5 hours of sleep Friday night and a mere 6 1/2 on Saturday night. I was tired, at a church I had never been to, and I didn’t feel like concentrating on the Bible.
As the service began, I quietly asked God to keep me awake, attentive, and able to learn something from the message. I didn’t want this to be another one of those Sundays where I was present in body but not in mind.
The pastor started reading from Luke 24:13-35, “On the Road to Emmaus.” After he read it, he began to walk through it… word by word, verse by verse.
“Jesus himself came up and walked along with them… He asked them, ‘What are you discussing together as you walk along?’ ‘About Jesus of Nazareth,’ they replied. ‘He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.’ “
I had heard this story before - plenty of times. What was new? I continued to listen as the pastor spoke of how Jesus met these two men on the road to Emmaus. It was after Jesus’ death, and the two men were downcast as they spoke about Him. They didn’t recognize Jesus as he walked alongside them and conversed with them. They asked Jesus if he had heard the news being spoken about in Jerusalem. Jesus then questioned their faith… particularly in terms of believing the prophecies of His resurrection from the dead.
“He 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?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”
Jesus could have revealed himself right there and then. He could have shown the two men all his glory and power and majesty. There would have been no doubt in their minds that this was truly Christ risen from the dead. But no… He questions their faith in the Scripture and the prophecies. Verse 27 says that Jesus began with Moses and continued on through the Prophets, explaining to them from Scripture who He was and what had happened.
How do you explain that? How do you explain the fact that Jesus looked to the inerrant and infallible Scripture to show the two men who He was, rather than merely showing them His glory?
My eyes were opened once again this morning to the truth and the life that is found in the Bible. This one story of Jesus and the two men on the road to Emmaus demonstrates that. It was a call encouraging us to examine what the world says with what Scripture has to teach us… with what God HIMSELF has shared with us… about Him, His Son, the world, the future, and ourselves.
What a beautiful reminder …that God’s Word is infallible, inerrant, and important. Christ himself used it to show the world who He was. How much more should we use it to examine our thoughts, our words, and our actions against Scripture.
Published on 15 Apr 2007 at 8:51 pm.
4 Comments.
Filed under Real Life Issues, Thoughts.
Thanks again for coming, Philip. My parents really enjoyed everyone coming over.
Jeremy Smith on 16 Apr 2007 at 2:32 pm.
hm… good stuff. Glad you were fed this Sunday and were able to spend some time with friends :)
Jess G. on 16 Apr 2007 at 3:54 pm.
Your words bring a very familiar verse to mind. “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
God used your words to encourage greater insight into multifaceted significance of the matchless treasure of the Word!
(John 5:39, 6:68) Thank You
Mrs.F. on 17 Apr 2007 at 10:07 am.
Whats really interesting about this story is how Jesus was right there amidst the two men and they did not even realize it was him. It brings to mind how often a person goes through their day not realizing the presence of God who is right next to us at all times.
joey on 17 Apr 2007 at 3:05 pm.