10/29/2019
Have you been reading the Bible today, and not found Jesus as you did so? Perhaps you are reading in the Old Testament, and although you read those wonderful accounts of old, you don’t recognize so much as a glimpse of Him. Many times we miss seeing Him because we don’t expect to find Him there. Our reading has become our inadvertent road to Emmaus... we walk and talk to Jesus, and yet we don’t recognize Him.
“But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.”
Luke 24:16 ESV
I am taking a Wednesday evening class on “Having Gospel Conversations” at a church other than my familiar home church. It is a wonderful class, and I am making so many new friends there. Last Wednesday when I walked into this church I was greeted by many fellow believers, but as I turned a corner there were several people standing there, and in particular I saw one man who I just stared at... he looked so familiar, but I was struggling to determine where I knew him from. Was he one of my new friends? Why couldn’t I remember him, and his name?
“When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.”
Luke 24:30-31 ESV
I made eye contact with this man, and when he saw me he smiled. In that instant I recognized him; I had known him for years because at my home church I am part of a two man prayer team that meets every Monday night to pray for any who would like to come, and I had prayed weekly for him, and his family for many years. So why didn’t I immediately recognize him? It was because I wasn’t expecting to see him there. I was meeting so many new people, but had not anticipated running into a man with whom I was so well acquainted, here in this new place. This happens to each of us at some point in our lives, and it also happens as we read scripture...
“They 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?"”
Luke 24:32 ESV
So often we are reading scripture, and as we do, an odd feeling comes over us. It is like we know something about what we are reading that is just beyond our grasp. Sometimes it dawns on us “This is Jesus!”, but at other times we keep reading and just mumble to ourselves “There is something I should know about this scripture, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.” We get this feeling because we are walking a scriptural road to a spiritual Emmaus. We have met someone along the way, and we don’t immediately recognize them because we really aren’t expecting to meet them there. Yet, if we suddenly recall who this person is that has escaped us, it embarrasses us, and we embrace them warmly. At that point we can’t wait to tell others of our encounter.
“And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.”
Luke 24:33-35 ESV
Our minds are interesting in this way; we recognize many things, and people, by associating them with the surroundings in which we normally interact with them. God often uses this as a way of disguising himself, and talking with us without us being aware of who we are speaking or interacting with. Even angels whose images are so powerful that they must say “Fear not!”, when we meet them, can present themselves without our realizing who they are...
“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
Hebrews 13:2 ESV
So, have you been reading your Bible today, and haven’t felt as though you have met Jesus there? Well, don’t beat yourself up over it... more than likely He has presented Himself to you in a way you weren’t expecting, but if you look closely, you will find Him there in every book, story, and passage of scripture. Jesus speaks of this truth Himself when he says...
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,”
John 5:39 ESV
And again He speaks specifically of scripture pointing to Him when He says these words...
“For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.”
John 5:46 ESV
Thus, as we read, and study the Word of God, we should look for Jesus in every verse, and every word. In this way our Emmaus moments within scripture will be few, and our hearts will burn incessantly within us. In this way the faces of old friends will not escape us just because of the unexpected places we meet them.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for revealing your Son Jesus to us throughout your Holy Word. Thank you for opening our eyes to His presence as we travel our Emmaus road of scripture. Thank you Holy Father for the moments when our hearts burn while we study, and the excitement we feel when we recognize Him, our Savior, in unexpected places. Help us Merciful Father to look for Jesus in every single Word, and in every moment of our lives. Even Satan, to his great dismay, can’t help but speak and testify of Christ. Teach us by your Holy Spirit Father so that not a moment with your Son is lost to us, and we capture His every blessing. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you who speaks to us always of our salvation, and who pours out your grace upon us through Your Son Jesus. Praised be your name for the power of the gospel, and for shaking us awake when we slip into slumber while reading your Word. Great are you who reveals himself, and points to Jesus in every selfsame verse of scripture. All glory is your Holy Father, because your grace flows through our full awareness of your son Jesus in everything, and from everywhere.
“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”
Luke 24:27 ESV
Rich Forbes