On the Road with Jesus

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?" Luke 24: 32
Charles B. Fleming

The two travelers on a dusty road to Emmaus represent for me the central issue of our Christian journey through life. Getting to know Jesus is a life-long process – that becomes our passion and joy.

Consider. They had spent time with Jesus. They knew him well enough to have put their hopes in him – "we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel" (Luke 24: 21). Now in a moment of crisis, they are confused; filled with doubts.

And Jesus did what he does – he met them where they were and ministered to them, "Jesus himself came up and walked along with them" (v15). And as so often happens to us, their mental image of who Jesus is did not allow them to recognize him as he offered them new insights into Who He is. A redeemer would never die at the hands of the occupying, colonizing Romans! And a crucified man will never again walk the dusty road to Emmaus!

But the ever-persistent Jesus did what he always does. He communed with them and gave them new insights into the written Word. And as he talked – even though the logic of their brains did not allow their eyes to recognize him – their hearts burned within them. The Presence of this Fellow-Traveler was strangely familiar. His words somehow made sense.

More...