Luke 24:28-32. 28So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. 30When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”
Today we finish the story of Jesus on the road to Emmaus. Yesterday, we saw two sad disciples leaving Jerusalem after the death of Jesus. Without knowing that they were talking to him, Jesus helps them to see how the Bible tells us that Jesus HAD to suffer and die so that we could be saved from our sins.
Now they have made it to Emmaus and they are in Cleopas’ house. Cleopas and his friend (or maybe his wife) have invited Jesus to stay and eat with them. Not only that, they have allowed Jesus to take control. Jesus will take the bread, bless it, break it, and give it to them.
And that’s when it happened!
Their eyes were opened and they could see that it was Jesus who was with them. The resurrected Jesus! Did they see the nail holes in his hands when he lifted up the bread? Or was it the act of blessing and breaking bread like Jesus did when he fed the 5,000 (do you remember that story?) that made them see that this was Jesus doing it again?
Whatever it was, now they knew that Jesus was alive.
Do you know that Jesus is alive? How do you know?
In this story Jesus is showing us some things that we can and should still do today in order to never forget that he is alive. These are things that we should do as a church. Does your church do these things?
Jesus gathered with these two disciples on Easter Sunday to show them that he was alive. Does your church gather together on Sundays?
Jesus taught them the stories of the Bible and showed how they were all pointing to him. Does your church teach the Bible? Do the Bible stories always lead to learning about Jesus?
Jesus broke bread with them just like he did with the Twelve Disciples at the Last Supper. In a very real way Jesus was feeding them. Not just bread that you eat, but the Bread of Life – his own eternal life and eternal love for them. Today we still imitate this when we take communion. Does your church take communion? When people eat the bread they are remembering how Jesus feeds us with his love and grace.
Jesus stayed with the two disciples. They said, stay with us, and Jesus did. We call this fellowship. Jesus wanted to be with them and they wanted to be with Jesus. They wanted to hang out with Jesus. But now Jesus is in Heaven. So does that mean that we don’t get to stay with Jesus, fellowship with him, hang out with him? Not at all! We get to experience Jesus by staying with, fellowshipping with, and hanging out with each other. You see, Christians are now called the Body of Christ. That means that to be around other Christians is to be around Jesus. To serve other Christians is to serve Jesus. To be kind to a Christian is to be kind to Christ. Does your church do these kinds of things? I’m sure they do.
When we do all these things together as a church our eyes are opened to see Jesus. In the Bible, in communion, and in each other. Together, these things cause our hearts to burn just like the two disciples had burning hearts. That means they really, really wanted to know Jesus more and more.
Do you?
You: Do you have a heart that burns to know Jesus?
You with Jesus: How does going to church help you to “see” Jesus better; how does it make you want to know him and love him more?
Prayer: Jesus, I want my heart to burn for you. Help me to love and serve you by loving and serving your Body (other Christians). Amen.
TLICfamily 