Dear Friends,
We hope this will encourage you in your spiritual walk.
We give thanks to Rev. Satish Manmothe, Church of the Nazarene Field Strategy Coordinator for Australia and New Zealand, for writing this devotional.
You are welcome to share this and include it in your church newsletters if you wish; we simply ask that you please give credit to NTC and the author. Thank you!
Luke 24:13–35 (NIV)
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?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
19 “What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
Devotion
Disappointment is part of being human. At some point, we are all let down by strangers, or by those we trust most. When that happens, we feel hurt, angry, disappointed, or even hopeless.
That is exactly where two disciples found themselves on the road to Emmaus. From the story, it appears that they were committed followers of Jesus. They had placed their trust and their hope in Him. In v. 21 they declared, “we had hoped that Jesus was our Messiah who would redeem Israel.” They had hoped their lives would make sense.
But that did not happen; instead, Jesus had been crucified. What is more, His body was missing, and thus their hopes were shattered.
So, they walked home. Their faces downcast and their hearts heavy. As they were walking, a stranger suddenly came alongside them. They did not recognise Him, but we know it was Jesus. And Jesus shows up exactly where disappointment lives.
He listens to their sad story. He lets them talk about their grief. He meets them before he explains anything. Then, step by step, He opens the Scriptures and brings clarity to their confusion. Later, when they invite Him into their home and share a meal, their eyes are opened. The one who seemed to disappoint them is revealed as the risen Lord.
Suddenly, everything changes for these two dejected friends. The same road that carried them away in despair from Jerusalem now sends them running back in joy to Jerusalem.
One of the main points of this story is that God makes appointments in our disappointments. We may not recognise Him at first. He often comes quietly, walking beside us, waiting to be invited into our homes, our hearts, our hurt and our pain.
If today you feel let down, confused, or hopeless, take heart. Open the door. Invite Jesus in. The risen Christ still meets ordinary people, like you and I, on ordinary roads, and he still turns our disappointment into hope.
Prayer:
We need your presence on the long road, Lord.
The road between fear and hope,
the road between the place where all is lost
and the place of resurrection.
Like the disciples walking the road to Emmaus,
we are in need of your company!
Jesus, stand among us, in your risen power,
let this time of worship, be a hallowed hour. Amen
(Anonymous)