Seeing Jesus

“That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. But God kept them from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?” They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “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: 13-18.

I love the story about the Emmaus road found in Luke 24. It is such an impactful story because it is not about super-Christians; it is about Jesus traveling with normal people, meeting them where they were at, slowly showing Himself to them. It is a story that reveals to us not only something about who we are but how Jesus opens our eyes to see Him for who He is and about how we can come to know Him.

As Jesus walks with the two men, He does two things to reveal Himself to them. The first is that He takes them through the Scriptures. They basically have a Bible study on the road, a Bible study specifically about how the whole Old Testament pointed to Jesus. This brought them closer to knowing Jesus, they didn’t want Him to leave them after they reached their destination. Jesus joined them and then they participated in something important, the breaking of bread. Jesus took the bread, gave thanks, and broke it. It was at that point that the men recognized Jesus.`

 Unfortunately, we don’t yet get to see Jesus like they did so Luke wants us to go to the Scriptures to see Him. The more we understand God’s word the more our hearts will burn for God. You want to sense God’s presence? You want to know Jesus is alive? Dive into God’s word. When you can’t see Jesus, look to the Scriptures. Don’t forget to spend some time focusing on the resurrection—Jesus rising from the dead. The two men on the road to Emmaus did. 

Luke 24:33-35 says, “And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven disciples and the others who had gathered with them, who said, “The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter.” Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread.” Jesus is the one and final sacrificial lamb that takes away the sins of the world. Of course the resurrection happened because that was the plan all along. When you can’t see Jesus, look to the Scriptures and to His resurrection.

We all have to take the road to Emmaus. The journey is longer for some of us than others. What matters is that we don’t take the journey alone. Jesus walks with us and one day we will see Jesus as He really is. 

Discussion Questions:

1. How well do you know the attributes of God?
2. What can you do this week to increase your knowledge of the attributes of God?