I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
John 14:18 (NIV)
Walking Beside You
The story of the two disciples encountering Jesus as they walked along the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus in Luke 24 is not only a beautiful picture of the gospel of hope triumphing over the darkness and despair in humanity but more deeply it reveals the heart of our saviour Jesus, to walk in person alongside and awaken living hope within those who are downcast, broken hearted and lost.
The two disciples one of whom was named Cleopas were walking along the road attempting to make sense of the last couple of days in Jerusalem and the horrific crucifixion of the one they had put their hope in, Jesus.
When Jesus whom they do not recognise starts walking alongside them and asks what they are discussing, the passage highlights the heaviness of their discouragement by indicating that they actually stopped walking when asked this question by him, the dismay evident in their faces:
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.
Luke 24:15-17 (NIV)
Who could blame them for feeling this way, their messiah had been crucified along with it seems their hopes and with grief at the loss etched on their faces there was not only a sense of loss but also perhaps a feeling of being now lost. What were they to do now?
Like these two disciples, sometimes amid our own discouragements and disappointments it can be harder to see the face of our Lord Jesus walking alongside us in the face of stormy or painful circumstances that we are going through. Dear reader, do you feel you are currently walking on your own road to Emmaus right now? Has this journey left you downcast and trying to make sense of where God is amidst it all?
Your deepest discouragement as you walk along this road is met with the intimate company of Jesus coming alongside you as he does with the disciples along their road to Emmaus.
Unloading Cares
Jesus asked the two disciples what they are discussing (v17 & v 19) and in the same way, Jesus invites you to share what cares are on your heart. Its not that he doesn’t know what they are but He offers a safe listening space for you to share them honestly with him.
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.
Luke 24:18-21 (NIV)
Jesus’ questions were not just to hear the subject of the disciples troubled discussion but was bringing to the fore the root of their discouragement and doubting hearts. In verse 21 they share that they “had hoped that he [Jesus] was the one who was going to redeem Israel.” Yet, they reveal that in spite of sharing with Jesus all that had happened with the empty tomb earlier that day they were still in doubt that Jesus lived because neither the women nor the disciples who went to the tomb saw Jesus (Luke 24:22-24)
Joyful Recognition
Jesus then proceeds to address their doubt by sharing with them all that scripture had revealed and prophesied about His coming as the Messiah and his death and resurrection. What refreshment, revelation or comfort do you need in the company of Jesus today? Will you make space not only to share with Jesus but to receive what he knows you need to release you from the imprisonment of your discouragement and set your gaze on him, the one who will never leave, nor forsake you, the one whose love you can never be separated from.
Here the Holy Spirit has opportunity to operate on your heart and mind and intimacy cannot help but be rekindled as you take time to listen and receive from Christ. In so doing, we see again clearly the face of the altogether lovely one; our saviour who has loved us with a perfect love that took him to a cross in our place. Psalm 36:9 describes this in beautifully simple terms:
For with you [God] is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.
Psalm 36:9 (NIV)
This is what the two disciples encountered during the intimate fellowship of eating together at their journey’s end with Christ. In the light of Christ, we recognise Christ in all His fulness as the healer, saviour, restorer, perfecter, lover, brother, alpha and omega of our hearts and lives. That is a worthy destination to arrive at on our own Emmaus Road journeys.
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?”
Luke 24:30-32 (NIV)
I pray Jesus meets you on our own road to Emmaus today and you encounter again the face of the altogether lovely one: Jesus Christ who loved you and gave himself for you.
© 2022, Benjamin Trowbridge
Abba's Dearly Beloved 