Luke told us about Jesus’ visit with two disciples soon after His resurrection. This daily devotional looks at how Jesus connected the dots for them when they did not understand.
Nuggets
- Disciples may sometimes not understand everything God reveals to them.
- Jesus takes time to teach each of us about His sacrifice.
- Jesus won’t force us to worship Him.
That is the bad thing about doing the Sunday Morning Bible Study series. It covers passages that we’ve already covered.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
Back when I did that one, though, I hadn’t found the wonderful resources I use now. That one was just me responding to the verses.
Let’s take a look now to see what others thought about the passage.
Looking for Something in Plain Sight
“The one named Cleopas answered him, ‘Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that happened there in these days?’ ‘What things?’ he asked them. So they said to him, ‘The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet powerful in action and speech before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him. But we were hoping that he was the one who was about to redeem Israel. Besides all this, it’s the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women from our group astounded us. They arrived early at the tomb, and when they didn’t find his body, they came and reported that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they didn’t see him’” (Lk. 24: 18-24 CSB)
Disciples may sometimes not understand everything God reveals to them.
You know, most of us would probably be a little self-conscious asking the question, “What things?” I mean, the two travelers would be telling Jesus the story of Him dying.
Been there, done that.
Thomas contended that Jesus did not feel that the disciples had forgotten important parts. They did say, “… Besides all this, it’s the third day since these things happened” (Lk. 24: 21 CSB). What the two men were saying was what Jesus said would fulfill the prophecy.
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It would have been great to travel along with them for the seven-mile journey. I am sure they were trying to process everything. They wanted to make sense of the occurrences.
Still, Jesus noted their confusion. They didn’t fully understand, so they were processing disjointed fragments.
This guy that died didn’t fill their expectations.
We must never forget that the Jews were expecting a different Messiah to show up. They were expecting a victorious military Messiah.
I know. I get on modern versions a lot because I feel they wash some things down to make it more palatable. Verse 21 is an example.
- “But we were hoping that he was the one who was about to redeem Israel …” (Lk. 24: 21 CSB emphasis added).
- “But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel …” (Lk. 24: 21 KJV emphasis added).
Hoping makes it sound more wishy-washy. “Well, there is a chance He may redeem Israel, but you never know for sure.”
Trusted is more definite. “We put everything we had into believing that this was the truth.”
The thing is, they had gotten part of it wrong. They didn’t really understand that we needed atonement. Atonement is about repayment for a wrong. The repayment was the shedding of Jesus’ blood.
To me, this is what distinguishes a nominal disciple from a true disciple. Nominal disciples have doubts or are not totally committed to believing in Jesus.
A true disciple knows without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is God’s Son, came to earth and did not sin, died so that His blood could pay the penalty for our sins, and rose again to conquer death and Satan.
But this also showcases a very important concept we have to grasp. We see how events transpire, and we figure we know exactly why they happened and the intended outcome.
A lot of times we don’t have a clue.
God has His own plan — and it is so much better than ours.
Well, we shouldn’t shake our heads at the two on their way to Emmaus and say, “What were they thinking?” We might have said the same thing.
We have a tendency to limit God by what we know. Lewis wrote, “It is not easy for us to realize that the world of God is larger than our world.”
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We build our hopes and dreams on a shell of what is potential. Then, when reality bursts that bubble, we are devastated because our utopia was a pipe dream.
All the while, God wants to offer us so much more.
The problem is, we break down like the two disciples did. “Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they didn’t see him’” (Lk. 24: 24 CSB).
In their minds, there was some verification. The tomb was empty.
But the big, defining evidence wasn’t there. There was no body.
That had to put doubt in their minds. Look what Scott said. He wrote, “An anxious, honest doubt will not shut out visions of God from the soul.”
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We say we shouldn’t doubt God — and we shouldn’t. That doesn’t mean doubts don’t have their benefits.
In having their doubts, the two disciples were seeking the truth. They were seeking what God really wanted them to know. They wanted to know His truth.
Connecting the Dots
“He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Wasn’t it necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted for them the things concerning himself in all the Scriptures” (Lk. 24: 25-27 CSB)
Jesus takes time to teach each of us about His sacrifice.
I bet Jesus does just shake His head at us sometimes. As Thomas said, “The facts were all accessible, but, though within reach, they were not grasped, and would soon have been swallowed up in forgetfulness.”
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But we can’t connect the dots on our own. We need the Holy Spirit to instruct us.
Oh, yeah. Worldview people want to do away with God. Their goal, Thomas wrote, is “… to construct a God out of human consciousness.” They want to figure it out on their own so they can say that they don’t need God.
It doesn’t work that way.
Doing that is not believing in the One true Sovereign God. That brings consequences.
Spurgeon contended that unbelief is foolishness. He felt the disciples just didn’t think it through. If they would have check Isaiah, they would have figured it out.
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They had just spent a seven-mile trip in gloom and doom. Just think how they would have spent it if they would have checked the Scriptures before heading out!
Spuregon brought up another good point. Disciples says we believe, but then our actions call that profession into question.
We can take “… Besides all this, it’s the third day since these things happened” (Lk. 24: 21 CSB) a different way. If we put a little whine into it, we can see their impatience.
Spurgeon said the disciples had interpreted “I will rise on the third day” as “I will see you again on the third day.” Not exactly the same thing.
But don’t we do that? We hear what we want to hear. They missed the “go to Galilee” part.
But Jesus didn’t stop at the “you fools” part. “Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted for them the things concerning himself in all the Scriptures” (Lk. 24: 27 CSB).
Jesus did connect the dots for them. He laid it all out. He pulled in “… all the Scriptures” (Lk. 24: 27 CSB).
He didn’t leave anything out.
It was obvious to Jesus that the two Emmaus guys had believed He was the Messiah. It was also obvious to Him that they didn’t want to not believe that.
They still wanted Jesus to be the Messiah.
So, yeah. They had their doubts, but they were not doubting Him.
But Jesus didn’t say, “That’s okay.” He said, “… how slow to believe …” (Lk. 24: 25 CSB).
Unfortunately, we do sometimes have trouble believing. Spurgeon felt that
- We believe man over God.
- We pick and choose what we believe.
- We believe to a certain point.
- Our heart doesn’t catch up with our mind in believing.
- We don’t believe all of the evidence.
A big sticking point was that Jesus had to suffer and die. This did not mesh with their victorious military Messiah.
What did Jesus tell the disciples to do? Study the Scriptures. See what God really tells us.
Bringing It Home
“They came near the village where they were going, and he gave the impression that he was going farther. But they urged him, ‘Stay with us, because it’s almost evening, and now the day is almost over.’ So he went in to stay with them. It was as he reclined at the table with them that he took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, but he disappeared from their sight” (Lk. 24: 28-32 CSB)
Jesus won’t force us to worship Him.
Hospitality was really important in Jesus’ day. The two disciples were inviting Jesus into their home as a Guest.
They probably wanted to hear more of what Jesus had it say.
But notice, “… he gave the impression that he was going farther” (Lk. 24: 28 CSB). Jesus does not invite Himself in. We have to extend the invitation.
Beddome listed three ways we can get Jesus to stay with us.
- Show faith.
- Pray.
- Our actions.
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Notice how the roles change. Jesus went from Guest to Host. Normally, He would not have been the one breaking the bread.
But that is what Jesus did at the Lord’s Supper. “And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me’” (Lk. 22: 19 CSB).
Maclaren reminded us that we are a member of God’s family. He said that Jesus was taking “… His place at the head of the table; He is the Lord of the household, though it be but the household of two men, and they belong to the family and the society which He founds.”
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Where they had not recognized Him before, the disciples’ eyes were opened. They were opened because of a small thing like breaking the bread.
Vaughan called it the eye of the soul. He wrote, “This eye of the soul is a part of man’s original constitution. Familiarly we have known it under the name of faith. Faith is that eye of the soul. This eye is born blind.”
The Spiritual eye is opened by choice. Vaughan said it was an action of the brain.
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Have you ever wondered about a Jesus’ disappearing act? Yes, He came physically for five minutes, but He never meant to stay forever in physical form. He was preparing them for when access was only in spiritual form.
Making the Connections
Dickinson made an excellent point. He wrote, “We are led to mourn how exceedingly limited are the views of those who think that the only object of Christ’s coming into our world was ‘to publish a good system of morality, and to set us a good example!’”
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Yes, we’ve talked a lot about morality this year. We want to follow Christ’s example and be moral people.
But that isn’t why Jesus came to earth. He doesn’t want us to be just good people.
We have to admit that mankind was separated from God after the original sin, making us sinners; believe Jesus paid the penalty for those sins to become our Savior and Redeemer; confess God as Sovereign God; and demonstrate that commitment by submitting to living our lives following His laws and commandments.
But, you know, it isn’t about Jesus just saving us, either.
It is about God being glorified. “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2: 9-12 NIV).
Christ’s first sermon after resurrection was not on how we are supposed to live and act. It was on what He accomplished to pay the penalty for our sins.
How Do We Apply This?
- Don’t hope too little.
- Focus on God’s promises.
- Follow Jesus’ instructions.
- Abide in Jesus.
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Father God. You meet us on the roads we travel. You show us how Scriptures prophesied Your life and death. But You do not force us to worship You. Lord, we choose to worship You. Amen.
What do you think?
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