Focus Passage: Luke 24:13-34 (NASB)
13 And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was *Lit 60 stadia; one stadion was about 600 ftabout seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. 16 But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. 17 And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?” 19 And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. 21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. 22 But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.” 25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
28 And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther. 29 But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them. 30 When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. 32 They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” 33 And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, 34 saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.”
Read Luke 24:13-34 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Sometimes, when I read the gospels, I wonder what would have happened differently if one little detail changed. In our passage for this post, we have a clear case where if one little detail changed, then things would have gone way differently.
The passage describes Jesus meeting the disciples on the road to Emmaus, which is about 7 miles away from Jerusalem. However, one little detail the passage shares is that the disciples eyes “were prevented from recognizing Him.” (v. 16)
If we would change this one little detail, the whole trip to Emmaus would have gone much differently, and these disciples would have not hesitated to invite Jesus to their home to stay the night.
However, because Jesus hid His identity, there is also another detail that is worth paying attention to: “And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther. But they urged Him, saying, ‘Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.’ So He went in to stay with them.” (v. 28-29)
If the disciples had not invited Jesus to stay with them, they would have missed realizing who He was.
While they had developed a short friendship on the road traveling together, these disciples could have simply let their mysterious companion continue on His way, but then they would have had no idea this was Jesus walking with them.
Instead, as the verses describe, these disciples urged Jesus to stay with them, and they then discover who their new Friend was.
This leads me to believe that I am fully capable of choosing things that cause me to miss out on discovering Jesus. The places I go and the things I do have a direct connection to whether I see Jesus in the world today – though I might add that this is not literally as much as it is figuratively and symbolically.
The disciples had to make the clear choice to invite Jesus to stay, and that means that we must clearly make the choice to look for Jesus, and be ready to recognize Him when He chooses to reveal Himself.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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