Walk With Jesus

“Their eyes were opened.” (Luke 24:31)

Meditation: Luke 24:13-35

It is clear that this passage constitutes a continuation of Jesus' discipleship training. There are several points he seeks to get across to his disciples, those in the First Century and today:

1. The Messiah must suffer
2. Then the Messiah will enter into his glory
3. Our unbelief should be our shame, not our pride
. This is not some convenient rationalization by disciples after the fact. Jesus makes it abundantly clear that the Old Testament teaches it. True, Jewish scholars had not seen it, but it is there nevertheless. Read thoughtfully the Suffering Servant passage in Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12. When you connect the Messiah with the Servant of Yahweh, it is pretty clear that we are reading a prophecy and interpretation of Jesus' death and resurrection. The meaning of his death becomes obvious as a substitutionary sacrifice for sin. This passage is so compelling that for centuries it was banned from public reading in the synagogues lest any more Jews see the Messiah in it and convert to Christianity. . Isaiah 53:11-12 talks about the Servant's glory: "After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied... Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong." The Roman Catholic wing of the Church has portrayed most effectively in the crucifix the agony and suffering of Christ. The Protestant wing of the Church has understood the glory of the resurrection, depicted by the empty cross. Together these truths must both be understood and treasured by the Church. . I am impressed that Jesus isn't very tolerant of his disciples' unbelief in the face of the Scriptures and the events of the day. "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!" he says. To our shame, there are corners of the Christian movement where unbelief and doubt are points of pride for the "unbiased" scholar and academic. We demythologize and explain away, and are left with little to show for our efforts except a shell of Christian relativism without a core of faith in the Jesus of history, God in the flesh. Jesus expects his disciples to believe what he says.

Though perhaps these are not part of Jesus direct discipleship teaching to his disciples, I see two additional lessons in this passage:

• Jesus is revealed in the breaking of bread.
• Jesus may walk beside us unrecognized
Of course, the evening meal that Jesus presides over in Emmaus is not a celebration of the Last Supper. But it recalls vividly to these two disciples times when Jesus would break bread with them, and the intimacy of their table fellowship with him. Rather early in the Church's life, the term "the breaking of bread" comes to mean "celebrate the Lord's Supper" (Acts 2:42, 46; 20:7; 1 Corinthians 10:16) and in that act reveals his presence in a special way. You don't need to believe in transubstantiation to understand the "special presence" of Jesus with his Church when we break bread together in his name. It is a holy time, a sacred experience of worship, a participation (Greek koinonia, " communion, sharing") in the body and blood of Jesus himself (1 Corinthians 10:16). It is literally "the Lord's table" (1 Corinthians 10:21). It is a "remembrance" as well as a "proclamation" (1 Corinthians 11:25-26). And yet it is more. In this faith-gathering of the Church, Jesus reveals himself, "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them" (Matthew 18:20). . Just as Jesus isn't recognized by the travelers to Emmaus, he can be with us and even encourage us in our struggles, even though we aren't aware that he is present. The risen Christ is not limited, as we are, by geography or time.

Lord Jesus, forgive me for my unbelief and spiritual dullness. Sometimes I have taken so long to grasp what you have explained so clearly in your teaching. Sometimes I have been prevented from believing by intellectual pride. Other times by my own unwillingness to follow and my subsequent rationalizations. And sometimes by my own lethargy and unwillingness to read and value the Bible. Forgive me -- and my brothers and sisters. We accept your admonishment, and desire to follow after you, chastened but forgiven -- and now obedient. In your holy name, we pray. Amen.

--thanks to the Jesus Walk Bible Study Series--

--that in all things God may be glorified--