13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him. 17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
-Luke 24:13
This is Easter week. The events of this coming weekend come fast and furious and the emotional range is massive—from despair and crushing disappointment to unbelievable joy.
This week we’ll be looking (mostly) at the resurrection appearance of Jesus as he meets two men on the road to Emmaus.
In the story just before this, the angels declare to the women that Jesus is not there, he is risen. They go back and tell the disciples. They don’t believe them. Peter goes himself to look at the tomb and the body is gone. He walks away, wondering what’s happening.
Sometime after the report of the first eyewitnesses, these two men leave Jerusalem. We’re not exactly sure why they were headed to Emmaus. Jerusalem might not have been a safe place for the disciples of Jesus—look at what they’d just done to him! Or maybe they lived in Emmaus and were headed back there after spending the day in Jerusalem.
Regardless, these two men are taking a nice stroll, processing the events of Good Friday. The crucifixion. The shock. The horror. The loss. The heartbreak. And they’ve heard the reports of the body missing, but what exactly are they to make of that?
As they’re on their way, Jesus came alongside them, incognito. He engages them by asking them what they’re talking about. He wants to get to hear their hearts. This is classic Jesus. He loved to ask questions that surfaced people’s real concerns, real issues, real situations.
Today, as we enter into Easter week, you’ve got stuff in your heart: concerns, worries, fears, hurts, disappointments, hopes, dreams, ambitions, agendas, desires. Maybe you’ve got someone that you’re talking to about them. Maybe it’s just the stuff of your internal dialogue.
Regardless of how or if the weightiest issues of your heart are being processed, Jesus wants to know about the voices in your head. Today, Jesus asks you: “what are you thinking about as you walk along? What are you saying or not saying to your closest friends or your spouse as you go about your days? What are the burdens you’re carrying, the hopes you have, the baggage you’ve got, the worries that are eating you up?”
As these two men on the road to Emmaus share their hearts honestly with Jesus, he’s going to do something with them in this interaction that is more than they could have ever asked or imagined. He’s asking them a question in order to open up a conversation where the deep disappointments and hopes of their heart might meet the wonder of the resurrection
Jesus wants to know: “what is it you’re thinking about as you walk along?” What will you say? |
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