On the Road to Emmaus

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
Luke 24 (click the link)


KEY VERSES:
He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. (Luke 23:25-27, NIV)


REFLECTIONS:
Based upon my pattern of speech and my writing skills, it probably shocks you to learn that I was an English major in college. The reason I chose to pursue that degree is that I have always loved reading good stories. (That's probably a dumb reason to choose a degree plan, but I chalk my choice up to youthful exuberance.) From my earliest childhood memories, I have been captivated by expertly written tales.

For my money, the tale of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus is the finest scene Luke ever sketched. At the level of drama it has everything—sorrow, suspense, puzzlement, gradual enlightenment, unexpected twists and turns, astonished recognition, and a flurry of excitement and activity. It is a wonderful, unique, spellbinding tale.

It's also a model for a great deal of what being a Christian is all about. We all experience the slow, sad dismay at the failure of human hopes. We all eventually turn to someone in the hopes that they might help us on our journey. We all experience the discovery that Scripture holds unexpected keys that unlock the mysteries of life and enable us to find the truth. And at one point or another, we all experience the sudden realization that Jesus himself is present with us, warming our hearts with his truth. Luke's tale of the Emmaus Road describes the experience of countless Christians, and goes quite a long way to explaining how Christianity grasps us and holds us in the face of so much that is broken and damaged in the world, in the church, and in ourselves.

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Though I've never taken part in a Walk to Emmaus, I understand that this story has often been used as a focus for meditation, especially when believers find themselves in difficult or confusing situations. If you currently find yourself in such a tough spot or feel that your world is crumbling around you, I encourage you to bring your problems—your agonies and disappointments—on the Road to Emmaus with Cleopas and his companion. Be prepared to share your heartbreak with the Stranger who approaches. And learn to listen for his voice, explaining, leading forwards, warming your heart by applying Scripture to what's going on in your life. Meditating on Scripture is a beautiful thing. Learn to live inside this story, and you will find it an inexhaustible well of encouragement and strength.

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Another interesting detail caught my eye: The couple on this road may very well have been husband and wife, Cleopas and Mary. In John's crucifixion scene he mentions that there is a woman at the cross named Mary who is the wife of “Clopas” (John 19:25). “Clopas” there may very well have been the same person as "Cleopas" here. Though we cannot be sure of this, many couples have found the story of the Emmaus Road to be a wonderful focus for bringing their lives, their problems, and their questions before Jesus. I know that Kate and I have meditated and prayed this scriptural story on a number of occasions throughout our short marriage.

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The story Cleopas relays to the Stranger is simple, profound, and poignant. He and all his fellow disciples had regarded Jesus as a prophet—in fact, someone more than a prophet. God's power had been present with him in his miracles and his teaching, and they held out great hope that this man was God's Messiah. They believed that he was the One who would redeem Israel. This hope that he would "redeem Israel" hearkened back to the Exodus story. Just as Israel had been "redeemed" from slavery in Egypt at the first Passover (Exodus 6:6), so they had hoped that Israel would be "redeemed" afresh and new through the work of Jesus. They had hoped that God would purchase Israel's freedom. They had hoped that Israel would be liberated once and for all from pagan dominion and would be set free to serve God in peace and holiness.

That's why the crucifixion was so devastating. It wasn't just that Jesus had been the One in whom they had placed their hopes and he was now dead and gone. It was sharper than that, more painful than that—if Jesus had been the One to redeem Israel, he should have been defeating the pagans. Instead, it appeared that he had been defeated by Israel's oppressors. He died a humiliating death at their pagan hands. 

Cleopas and all of his fellow disciples were devastated by the crucifixion of Jesus. They, like everybody else in Israel, had totally misinterpreted the manner in which God's Messiah would bring deliverance. They had believed that God would redeem Israel from suffering. But the true story was that God would redeem Israel through suffering. In particular, God would deliver Israel through the suffering of Israel's representative, the Messiah.

When Luke says that Jesus interpreted to them all the things that were said in the Scriptures "concerning himself," he doesn't mean that Jesus collected a few, or even a few dozen, isolated texts, verses chosen at random. He means that Jesus explained the whole story of Israel's deliverance, from Genesis through the Prophets. He pointed them forwards to a fulfillment which could only be found when God's Messiah took Israel's sufferings—and hence the world's sufferings—onto himself, died under its crushing weight, and rose again as the beginning of God's new creation, God's new people. This is what had to happen. And now, in Jesus, it just had.

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The detail in the story that intrigues me the most is that Cleopas and Mary couldn't recognize Jesus. This strange feature is in Matthew (28:17) and John (20:14; 21:4, 12), as well. I assume that this is because Jesus' body had emerged from the tomb in a new transformed state. It was the same, yet different—a mystery which we shall perhaps never understand until we share in the same resurrected life. 

But perhaps Cleopas and Mary couldn't recognize Jesus at first because of the fact that they couldn't recognize the death and resurrection of Jesus as the story of God's redemption. Perhaps Luke is saying that we can only know Jesus—can only fully recognize him—when we learn to see him within the true story of God, Israel, and the world.

For that, we need to learn how to read the Scriptures in a fresh new manner. We need to read the Scriptures with Jesus, the risen Lord, as our teacher and our guide. This story serves as one of the clearest, most powerful encouragements to pray for Jesus' presence and his guidance whenever we study the Bible—whether individually or in a group. We need to be prepared for him to lovingly rebuke our foolish and faithless readings. And we need to listen for his fresh interpretation of God's redemptive story. Only with Jesus at our side will we read the Scriptures in such a way that our hearts burn within us (verse 32).


PRAYER:
Oh God, thank you for the story of Jesus' resurrection and ascension. We serve a living Savior, One enthroned at your right hand with all power and authority. Help us today to discern the presence of Jesus in our daily lives. Help us to listen for his voice, to seek after his guidance, and to yield to his leading. "Show us your ways, Lord, teach us your paths. Guide us in your truth and teach us, for you are God our Savior, and our hope is in you all day long" (Psalm 25:4-5).


WHO AM I?
I am Tres Sansom, and over the last few years I have become a huge fan of NT Wright. I recently finished reading his newest book How God Became King, and it was fantastic. He is a historian as well as a theologian. He believes that Western Christianity has misinterpreted much of the biblical story because we have forgotten that Scripture is a primarily Jewish story. He believes that we have misunderstood the gospel because we have failed to see things from the Jewish perspective. His writings are very challenging—not because they are hard to understand, but because they question and challenge much of what we've been taught. I like to read his writings because they stretch me and lead me to a fuller understanding of God's redemptive story.