HAVE YOU EVER desired something so strongly you believed without a doubt it would happen, or that you’d most certainly get it? Have you ever been so convinced of something that you just knew it had to be true without question?
Have you ever placed so much trust in someone that you had unshakeable faith that they were who they claimed to be?
And how did you feel when your hopes, dreams and trust were shattered?
The Pain of Shattered Belief and Trust—
Having your trust and belief destroyed often causes the greatest emotional, spiritual and physical pain you could ever suffer. Living life sold out on a belief takes energy and time. When that belief is shattered, you’re shattered physically, emotionally and spiritually right along with it.
It sends you spiraling into grief and disorientation. It leaves you wondering if anything you ever did believe is true.
You don’t know where to go from here. You might be afraid to go anywhere from here, to take the next step forward. To keep on living.
That’s kind of how I imagine those two pilgrim disciples that had a visitor join them on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus three days after Jesus’ crucifixion.
Tired. Deeply grieved. Disoriented.
Afraid.
Until they have their eyes open by the very One they’re grieving over.
And everything in their world changes.
Re-directing your thinking—
Let’s take a brief look at this Road to Emmaus story, which you can find in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 24.
The two poor, dejected guys are headed to the town of Emmaus, located about seven miles from Jerusalem. We aren’t told why they were in Jerusalem, but if they’re Jewish, I’m going to guess they had been there for Passover and perhaps were on their way home.
Based on what the text says they’re talking about—“talking about everything that had happened” about the crucifixion—it seems clear they were followers of Jesus, or were, at the very least, convinced that Jesus was The One, the Jews’ promised Messiah.
They knew about Him, believed in Him. Rejoiced that the Christ had finally come to break the Roman chains of bondage and set them free. To set up God’s kingdom on earth.
And now that hoped-for, arrived, believed-in Messiah is dead. And all those dreams and beliefs have been shattered.
But they’ve heard the story the women have started spreading around, that they’ve seen Jesus alive again. That He’s been resurrected. Clearly these men are confused.
Either way, they’re not sticking around to get the facts. (Probably their first big error—dejection, resignation and impatience.) They’re leaving Jerusalem, lamenting together on their pilgrim journey. No doubt commiserating and making their frustration and grief worse.
Then some stranger shows up on the road to sort of eavesdrop on their conversation. And then join them in the discussion. They don’t recognize Jesus because, as the text says, …”they are kept from recognizing him.”
They don’t see because—by God’s design—their eyes aren’t open to the truth. (That’s something to note as we continue.)
Jesus asks them what they’re discussing. The text then says that the two “stood still, their faces downcast.”
Look up the word “downcast,” and you’ll find a slew of depressing-sounding synonyms, like:
- despondent
- disheartened
- discouraged
- dispirited
- hopeless
- crestfallen
- despairing
- morose
- wretched
- sad
- pessimistic
These two guys are in bad shape emotionally and spiritually. Sick at heart and in body.
And knowing the Savior, I can imagine He feels tenderhearted and compassionate toward them. But before He reveals Himself, He needs to give them a classroom and life lesson.
Just like He sometimes has to do with us. We need to have our ears open to listen well, to connect the dots, before our eyes can be opened to see.
But let’s do some eavesdropping ourselves by reading the text, right after one of the men, named Cleopas responds to Jesus’ question “What things?” with kind of a knee jerk response, giving the reader the impression that he thinks Jesus must be kind of dense if He doesn’t know or hasn’t at least heard about what’s transpired the last week.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. (Notice they both reply to Jesus’ question. I can almost hear them saying it vehemently in unison, maybe waving their arms around for drama. Like, what’s wrong with you?) “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 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. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. Thy came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”
Jesus listens. And then he chastises them for their ignorance; for their misinterpretation of why Messiah came and what He was to accomplish; their disregard for the prophets who foretold his coming and suffering. They’ve misread, misinterpreted, misjudged, dismissed or willfully altered the truth to fit their own, hoped-for narrative. Their conjured up Messiah was not the Messiah the prophets foretold. At least not on His first coming. The conquering Jesus will show up. But that comes later. After all of the world is told about Him.
Even with the stern lesson, Jesus still doesn’t allow them to recognize Him—until they convince Him to stay the night at the house they arrive at, and sit down to eat. It’s when Jesus breaks bread that their eyes are open, and they realize who He is.
But as soon as they do recognize Him, he disappears from their sight.
At that point they’re ecstatic.
Have you ever been so excited and pumped up at a revelation about something or someone that you can’t contain your joy? Well, that’s how excited they are—that the Scriptures suddenly make perfect sense, and with their own eyes they have seen the risen Lord! Their beliefs, hopes and dreams have been restored!
I can only imagine what seeing a dead body come to life and walking around must do to your brain and emotions.
Cleopas and his buddy didn’t eat. They hopped up from the table and sprinted the 7 miles back to Jerusalem, to meet with the Eleven remaining disciples and tell them all they’d experienced. And to confirm what the women had seen. Since Simon Peter has already been face-to-face with Jesus, I’m sure he’s told the others about it. But this is just another eyewitness validation that it’s true.
The fact that Jesus was dead, buried and resurrected.
And now they understand: Jesus is their hoped-for Christ.
He just didn’t meet their expectations the first time around.
That happens a lot with false and misguided expectations.
When false expectations are the reason for our shattered hope—
And isn’t that what often happens to us?
Maybe we misinterpret intentions and blame the fallout of those misinterpretations on another person.
Maybe we let our agenda get in the way of truth, or obstruct it entirely.
Maybe we’re the ones who willfully ignore the teachings and signs and set ourselves up for heartbreak and failure.
We can really do a lot of damage to our lives when we head down our own Emmaus paths, giving up. Downcast head and eyes. Doubting the facts. Losing faith in something or someone we should have given the benefit of the doubt to.
We need to be on the lookout for those times. Snuff out the doubts before they fester or take root.
This story is wonderful, because Jesus could have let Cleopas and his buddy wallow in turmoil, let them, somehow, figure it out on their own. Stumble along until they came to believe the “rumors.”
But He didn’t. Instead, in His great mercy and compassion, Jesus met them on the road and opened their eyes and hearts.
And He’ll do that for us too.
But even though He’ll come to us in our frailty and weakness, there is something to be learned and nurtured from this story.
As Christianity.com points out as to the question of why Jesus waited to reveal Himself to them,
“Many scholars believe this parallels the discernment process for many of us. Sometimes, when we cannot understand something, we gather information. Then it must settle within our hearts. Only when we have fully ‘digested’ what we’ve learned, allowed it to sink in, does the truth come out.”
And why Jesus waited until the meal to open their eyes may have something to do with who He is, and the setting. He often didn’t preach until after he fed people; and often a relaxed setting, like a meal, can warm and open people’s hearts to hearing and understanding.
And Jesus does call them “foolish” and “slow” to understand Scripture. It sounds harsh, but it’s true and needed to be said. know I’ve been foolish and slow on many occasions.
Jesus wants them to have discernment. And He wants them to have faith.
Having faith in the right Person and having the right hope is like a precious jewel we need to hang onto, even when life’s circumstances and events tempt us to throw it away.
It’s a gift we must never take for granted.
And we need to exercise it in every area of life. We need to earnestly seek Him.
Invitation—
Is there an Emmaus road you’ve been walking down—forlorn, questioning and dejected? Maybe it’s time that you ask Jesus to open your eyes to truth and run back where you came from. So you don’t miss the reunion and celebration!
Has Jesus been knocking at your heart’s door? There is no better time than the present to open up that door and invite Him in, to sit and stay with you—and open your eyes!
Until next week, pursue truth and keep your eyes up and on the final prize!
Blessings,
Andrea
“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”
Andrea Arthur Owan, M.S., A.T., R., is a health and fitness pro, speaker, award-winning inspirational writer, memoirist, and senior-ordained chaplain (IFOC). She helps people thrive physically, emotionally and spiritually and recover from grief, loss and trauma.