The Journey To Emmaus

This article was originally published in the Franklin News-Post.

As I reflected upon what I might write for this week’s column, I was reminded of a story documented in one of the Gospels.  In the account documented by Luke, he tells of a situation involving two disciples who had an encounter with Jesus as they walked on the road to Emmaus.  This encounter took place after Jesus had emerged from the tomb following his crucifixion.  You can read and study about this in the 24th chapter of Luke.

Jesus appears before these two disciples who have left Jerusalem.  They are walking the roughly seven to eight miles to Emmaus.  I can only imagine the conversation that would have been unfolding between these two disciples.  They had been in Jerusalem for Passover and had borne witness to the events that had unfolded involving their teacher.  They were certain that Jesus was going to be the One to deliver them.  Possibly, they held a limited view of this deliverance.  Maybe they thought that it was to be one from their oppressors, the Romans.  With the crucifixion of Jesus and now His disappearance from the tomb, I am surmising that there were more than a few seeds of doubt.  Maybe they harbored thoughts of despair.

The account in Luke indicates that Jesus came alongside these two in a way that they would not immediately recognize Him.  Jesus asks them why they are speaking of such things in such a way.  They are almost incredulous.  They challenged this stranger, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.” Luke 24:18 (NLT).  After an exchange where Jesus asks them about what things, Jesus reveals Himself to the two of them.  Suddenly, they recognized who this stranger was.  Then Jesus disappeared.

How many of us have had an Emmaus Road experience?  How many of us have been in the presence of our Lord and been unaware that He has been in the midst.  Maybe we have harbored our own doubt about what we believe.  Maybe we have sat in despair over a situation.  Maybe during the current situation in which we find ourselves, we have wondered, where is Jesus?  Where is God in all of this?

I just wanted to remind each of us that people that walked alongside Jesus himself had questions and doubts.  The key for us, is not to live there.  Don’t live in our doubts and despair.  We must be like others in the bible who did whatever was necessary simply to take hold of the hem of the garment of Jesus.  As we find ourselves to be angry or confused, we need to remember that God is not an author of confusion.  We need to ground ourselves back in His Word.

If you are a mature Christian, you may find it incredulous that you fell into a such a state.  Your pride may be the very thing that keeps you from reaching out to someone that can help you get reconnected.  When you reach out to someone, they may not offer anything that you don’t already know.  But, sometimes hearing it spoken by someone else helps to get you plugged back into the source.

Have you ever used an electrical appliance and could not figure out why it was not working?  You troubleshoot to figure out what is wrong.  Maybe you turn the device on and off.  Maybe you hit the side of it against the palm of your hand trying to get it to work.  And then, you realize it simply came unplugged from the power source.  It just had to be plugged into the source again.  It can happen to us spiritually also.
Take a few minutes this weekend to read this account in Luke.  Read and study Luke 24:13-34.  Consider what the Holy Spirit might reveal to you about these verses.  Pray that you might be strengthened and encouraged in your current journey in today’s time.  Each of us as Christians and disciples of Christ need to be connected to the vine.  Maybe you are one that needs to be reconnected…maybe you are one that God will use to reconnect another.