We’ve all recently celebrated the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ, the savior who is alive, and present and active in our lives. Yet as we have reflected on the empty tomb, and our King Jesus, alive and well, let us now reflect on some very mysterious moments after these events.
The disciples had fled, they had hidden away, behind locked doors, aside from John, who stayed with Jesus during his crucifixion. But now, amid rumors that Christ was alive, and had even appeared to Peter, two of the disciples are walking on the Emmaus Road, 7 miles from Jerusalem.
They’re talking about everything that has happened, in amazement. And a 3rd person, a mysterious figure appears and joins them on the road.
For the two disciples, Cleopas and his friend, this is a dark road. This is a rocky, miserable road, the word says their faces were downcast, they were sorrowful.
And they were reflecting on everything that had happened. It had been the craziest three years of their lives. They had walked day and night with Jesus, God in human form, what must’ve that been like? To even spend a few minutes with Jesus would be a dream beyond anything I could imagine. But they spent three years with him.
Have you ever had a time in your life where you felt like you were swept up into something bigger than yourself, something special? That is an incredible feeling, to know you were and are part of something special, important, bigger than yourself. And yet, at the same time, for the disciples, it had been a hard time, it had been a constant battle, it had been a struggle.
I think many of us can relate to this. We’ve been through the COVID-19 pandemic, and so much more, in the past few years. And we were not passive participants, no, we were engaged in the battle, day and night, serving as part of God’s army, the Salvation army.
In the wake of all that, we’ve been left with wounds, and battle scars, we’ve been left with unresolved traumatic stress, and I bet some of you can relate to how I’ve felt at times, just a bit downcast, a bit melancholy, a bit reflective, sitting back, wondering at everything that happened.
Can anyone relate today?
So one might say, we are all together, walking on this road, the Emmaus Road, wondering at everything that has happened. Very often we are left wondering as Christians. When a question pops into our heads, Jesus doesn’t suddenly pop up and answer the question does he? No, we’re often left wondering. What was all this about? What did it mean? Why did it happen like this?
The disciples are walking along, and a third person joins them. They don’t know who it is. But this person speaks to them about Jesus. And points to all these different scriptures from the Torah, from the prophets, which remind the disciples of what it’s really all about.
Sometimes we forget. Sometimes we don’t understand. Sometimes we get a bit fuzzy, and we lose touch with what really matters.
This man tells the two disciples, “Remember, this is what was supposed to happen.” God planned it out this way. It had to happen this way. If Jesus hadn’t died, there would be no forgiveness for sin. And death wasn’t the end. “This isn’t the end guys,” as they walked that rocky, hard road.
It says their hearts, were burning within them. Their hearts began to blaze with the truth. This 3rd figure is igniting something inside them.
No matter how close we are to God, no matter how effective our prayer life, how deep our study of scripture, we often forget, and drift, and lose heart. We end up a little depressed, a little cynical, walking that long road, thinking to ourselves: Well, I guess it’s just too late. Well, it didn’t go my way. Well, the Lord is missing, where is He?
Jesus might say to us today: “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”
So they listen to him, on the road, and at the end of the road, they invite this stranger to eat dinner with them. The man breaks bread for them, and they eat, and their eyes are opened, and they realize, it’s Jesus.
He is with us, in the battles we face. As we patiently follow the savior, he inevitably comes to us on the road, and encourages us, and gives us new hope. Our sorrow is turned to joy, and excitement. Our timidity turns to boldness.
This is the mystery I believe of divine personality, the mystery of how God communicates with us. The mystery of who He is. He is the God who turns sorrow to joy.
In this life we will face trouble, battles, dark times, difficulties, but we must continue to believe that God will come to us, in the most unexpected ways, to help us, heal us, encourage us, and bring us through. He has not abandoned us. He is still with us. Even when it seems like everything is out of control, God is in control.
After this encounter on the Emmaus road, the two disciples gathered with the others and told them about meeting Jesus, and suddenly Jesus appeared in their midst, and he encouraged them to believe that He was really alive.
Then it says at the conclusion of Luke’s gospel, “When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.”
Reflect right now on the fact that you can trust God with your life. You can trust God to come to you. You can trust God to be with you always on the rough road. He has not left you alone. And you will find new hope, new encouragement, and strength to carry on through the ups and downs of life.
He will turn your confusion and even your sorrow, into rejoicing. Great joy.
Pray now. Talk to God right now. Reaffirm complete trust in His will and plan, even when it’s hard. Invite him to heal you right now. Talk to God, and let Him speak to you.
