Keeping Our Emotions From Blinding Us

Luke 24:13-35

This passage of Scripture tells of two despondent disciples returning to their home in the small town of Emmaus on the third day following Jesus’ crucifixion, should be familiar to many of us.  Let’s take a closer look at the passage and see what message we can glean from this story.  The two main people here were disciples of Jesus who had been present in Jerusalem when He was crucified.  They were saddened and distraught over what happened, and now, three days later, on Sunday, they decide to return to their home in Emmaus, a small town outside of Jerusalem.

In addition to Jesus’ twelve hand-picked apostles there were many other disciples who closely followed His ministry over three years.  These two were among that group.  Verse 21 seems to indicate that these two were expecting the Messiah to be one who would come with some military power, kick the Romans out, and return Israel to her political glory days.  At the very least, they expected him to free them from the foreign oppression they were under.  Now that hope was completely shattered.  Jesus was dead and buried, and all of their dreams were crushed.  So what did they decide to do?  The two of them decided to pack up and get out of town, leave Jerusalem and the other disciples and believers behind.  They wanted to forget the last week of their lives, and perhaps the last few years, as well.  Often when we are depressed and our dreams are smashed to bits we seek to isolate ourselves.  We want to be alone to wallow in our misery.  This isn’t always the best thing.  If these two hadn’t chosen to leave town early Sunday morning, and had remained with the others, they would have seen that it wasn’t just an idle rumor that they had heard.  The Savior had, indeed, risen from the dead, that Mary Magdalene had seen Him, along with Peter, and then the whole group.

As we read further in this passage we see that Jesus meets them along the road home.  Because of all they were going through, their disappointment and sorrows, though, they did not recognize that it was Jesus.  They think He was just another traveler along the road, and the started to share all of what was going on.  Jesus knew that they had doubts, but that they were caused by depression and sorrow, and He was there to meet them where they were and reveal Himself to them.

There have been so many times when I allowed my problems and concerns to blind me to the fact that Jesus was right there alongside of me.  Health concerns, concerns with family, and especially financial concerns have sometimes veiled my eyes to seeing that He is there.  How many times have we all been like these disciples, where we couldn’t see our Savior right there beside us through everything in our lives, and ready to help us and carry us through every trial?

When this happened with these disciples, Jesus took the time to go through the Scriptures with them, showing them verses and passages that showed that He was the Messiah (vs. 27).  That is where the Lord would direct us to go to as well.  When our problems and trials are making it difficult to see Him working in our life, we need to turn to God’s Word, the Bible.  Through reading and meditating on God’s Word, our eyes can be opened to see how many times, when our worries may cloud our vision, that Jesus is right there.  The more we are in the Scriptures, the more our faith and trust will grow.  Just as these two felt, our hearts will burn with the excitement of knowing that Jesus is, indeed, alive and active in our life (vs. 32).

As our passage today concludes, we see that these two disciples returned to Jerusalem and the disciples and apostles there.  Since they were with fellow believers, they all were able to share with each other the experiences they had with the risen Savior (vs. 33-35).  The Lord had risen, indeed, and they all were witnesses.  Let us keep the Word of God in our hearts, and our eyes open to seeing Him alive and active in our own lives.