Reflections for Lent

Luke 24:13-27 NRSV

Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see him.” Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

The Walk to Emmaus

In Luke 24, Jesus reveals to his disciples how he himself is the central theme throughout all of scripture. Like many of the first century believers, our understanding of God can be clouded by our own misperceptions. We need to use the Bible as a lens through which we can see and know God intimately. In this passage, two disciples are walking down the road discussing what everyone was talking about – the things that had happened and the horror of the cross and what took place there. Jesus stepped into the ordinary life of the disciples walking to Emmaus.

When we live by our own perceptions in life, we may miss what God is doing right in front of us. What appeared to be failure at the cross was actually the fulfillment of His ultimate triumph. The cross teaches us that things aren’t always as they appear. The women in this scripture saw something the other disciples had not – for they were slow to believe all that the prophets had spoken. The problem for the disciples and us today is we neglect all that the scripture is saying. We can be guilty of reading the bible and selectively seeing only what we want to see. 

Sometimes what we need when we find ourselves in despair is someone who will lovingly also speak what is right and true in our lives. Jesus does that here. He directs us to the place where hope is found. The scriptures were written that we might have hope and come to know God in a personal way. The disciples knew the bible, yet they missed the true Messiah in that moment. It was necessary that Christ first suffer and then enter his glory. The cross was a part of God’s plan from the beginning. He is the spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the whole world, and hope is always found in His word. 

The disciples saw only through the events they could perceive, but Jesus saw through the scriptures. Are you living your life by your own interpretations and perceptions, or are you looking to the place where lasting hope is found? 

~Linda Cullum~  

Help us to keep our eyes fixed on Christ and to see that our hope is not in what we perceive in life but in what Your word reveals. Amen