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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.
Mark 16:12-13
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.
Luke 24:13-35
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
After His resurrection, Jesus made several appearances to show He was truly alive and we are looking at those appearances in this devotion series. Over the past two messages, we have primarily been looking at the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John, so it seems to be a logical progression to find ourselves looking at Luke’s Gospel today as we join two men encountering Jesus while on the road to Emmaus which was about seven and a half miles from Jerusalem.
The men were fresh from what was an amazingly dramatic three days in Jerusalem where they saw a very prominent Jew named Jesus crucified and then learned from some women before they left town that Jesus had come back to life from death. It was all incredible and there was an obvious buzz going through not only Jerusalem but surrounding communities as word of mouth spead.
Well, as these men traveled, talking about everything that had happened, they were joined by another man, Jesus, but at that time the scriptures tell us that they were kept from recognizing who He was.
Curious about their conversation, Jesus asked the men, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
We read where the men stood still with their faces downcast before one of them, Cleopas, addressed Jesus question, seemingly talking from a place of disbelief. Cleopas asked Jesus:
“Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
Acting as if He was unaware of what Cleopas was talking about, Jesus asks, “What things?”
Well, the men both had a lot to say to Jesus about the events they had witnessed and so they go into a long explanation, answering Jesus’ question by saying:
“About Jesus of Nazareth. 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 hope 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.”
The men seemed completely surprised about everything that had happened to Jesus, a man they viewed as no more than a prophet who was “powerful in word and deed before God”. But as we see, Jesus offers a stern rebuke after hearing their testimonies before they departed Jerusalem for home. 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 then Jesus proceeded to educate the two men, explaining all that the scriptures said about Himself , starting with Moses and proceeding through all the prophets. It had to be quite a lengthy exposition and one the men must have been impressed by. Maybe they were even asking themselves, “Who is this guy because he certainly knows the scriptures.
Well, after listening to all that Jesus had to say, we read where the trip approached the village where the men lived but it was obvious to the men that Jesus was going elsewhere because He continue on as if He was going further. It was approaching night fall and the scriptures show us that the men were concerned about Jesus traveling on alone and so they urged Him strongly to stay with them since the day was almost over.
It was a great gesture of care and hospitality for Jesus who was a complete stranger to the two men and we see where He accepted their invitation, ending up at their table to share some dinner after a long day of travel. And it was at dinner that we find a remarkable revelation occurs.
For Jesus, His identity still unknown to the men, takes the bread in hand, gives thanks for it, and then breaks it before starting to give it to His hosts. And just like that, the men’s eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus for who He really was. The risen Christ, the One who the scriptures had talked about well before His coming, was alive and well. The testimony of the women was true and now the two men had their testimony. They had seen Jesus for themselves, but only briefly because we read where Jesus disappeared as quickly as the men had a chance to see who He truly was. It seemed to be a classic case of “now you see me, now you don’t”.
Immediately, the men looked at one another, saturated with awe and amazement as they recalled the journey with Jesus that had led them to this time and place. They asked one another:
“Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
Indeed, they had been walking with no ordinary man, that’s for sure. This they now realized and they didn’t hesitate to hurry back to Jerusalem and make a report to the Eleven and those with them saying:
“It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”
And with this, the two men told them about what had happened on the road to Emmaus as the Lord Jesus walked along with them and then shared their home, even if it was short lived.
It was an incredible
experience and story, that’s for sure, but as we see in the two verses from
Mark, the disciples refused to believe the men, just as they had refused to
believe the women when they reported about their own personal run-ins with
Jesus. Before the disciples would believe, they would need their own personal
encounters with the risen Lord Jesus and as we move to the final three devotions
in this series, we’ll see that this indeed happens.
I hope you’ll come back and join me as we look at those post-resurrection appearances.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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