The Road To Emmaus
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself…They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” Luke 24:27,32 ESV
The journey to Emmaus by two disciples of Christ did not end the way that it began. What started as a somber and sad time from Jerusalem to Emmaus became a time of Biblical and prophetic revelation of Jesus Christ who had been crucified, buried and was now resurrected and glorified. In Luke 24, we find that as these two men walked and discussed what had taken place, Jesus drew near to them and walked with them. Their eyes were kept from recognizing Him, and yet so was their understanding as they had anticipated Him naturally redeeming Israel and its rule. Their journey took a turn in understanding when Jesus Christ interpreted the Old Testament to them on their walk to Emmaus, pointing to Himself in the Scriptures as the Messiah who had indeed brought redemption for all who would believe in Him. What a conversation to be had with the resurrected Christ as the Word made flesh testified of Himself through the Scriptures to these disciples!
This account of the road to Emmaus is probably one of my personal favorites to read. I resist the urge to read myself into the passage while very much relating to the two disciples and their statement about their hearts burning while the Scriptures were opened to them. We can certainly be encouraged as believers in Christ from passages and accounts like this, and we can most certainly apply areas of the Word to our lives as followers of Christ while not making experiences in the Bible prescriptive for our lives . I am not looking for an experience with Jesus like these disciples. Yet when I open the Word of God and read it, I understand that God is speaking through the Bible, and my heart burns when reading the Scriptures and seeing Christ in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. It is not uncommon for me these days to simply hear the reading of the Word of God in corporate services while tears stream down my face. I say that not to sound super spiritual, but to express gratitude and thanks to God. I wonder how we can think for one moment that His Word is not sufficient or that it is boring and in need of human intervention with flair and cultural relevance.
The eyes of the two disciples were opened upon Jesus breaking the bread. Immediately after this, Jesus vanished from their sight, and they talk of Him, He who is the Bread of life, and they ask one another, “Did our hearts not burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” Their eyes were opened at the breaking of the bread, but it was the Word of God revealed to them by Christ which caused their hearts to burn within them. We who are believers have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us to help us in our understanding of the ways of God revealed in His Word. The Spirit searches the deep things of God, and the Spirit is the only One who knows the thoughts of God (1 Corinthians 2:10), and His thoughts and ways have been revealed through the gospel, the holy Word of God, by the Holy Spirit. There is nothing mystical about this. The deep things of God are gospel centered, Christ centered.
As we the church desire to see revival in the hearts of people, one thing that is desperately needed is the revival of a love for the Word of God once again in the lives and hearts of believers. There can be a tendency to focus on the encounter, wanting to have our own road to Emmaus experience, and as exciting as that may sound, we are not those disciples. We are not on the road to Emmaus. But we are disciples of Christ, and as disciples of Jesus Christ, our hearts cannot burn so to speak without the revealing of the Word of God, this Word which testifies of our glorious Savior. His Word is to be written upon our hearts. We do not worship the Word. We understand its place in our lives as followers of Jesus Christ, and it is vital. Thank God for the Holy Spirit who carried men along to write the Scriptures, proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
