Today’s passage is another story of seeing but not seeing! It also happens to be one of my favorite passages of Scripture. I find the whole scene humorous as Jesus interacts with a couple of disciples on the road to Emmaus. He SEEMS unaware of the recent events and they ARE unaware of who they are talking to! Let’s read through Luke 24:13-35.
How long does it take to walk 7 miles? Over the weekend Keith and I went for a “little walk” at Peace Valley Park that turned out to be 6 miles! It took nearly 2 hours! So this conversation between Jesus and his disciples is not a brief encounter. It was an in-depth conversation over a long period of time. In fact, Jesus had time during this walk to unfold the entire Scriptures - from Genesis to Malachi - interpreting to them “all the things concerning Himself.”
And yet they did not know Him. They did not recognize Him. Their hearts burned in them as they listened to Him teach from the Scriptures, but they did not yet understand the source of their spiritual “heartburn.” Until dinner.
They convince Jesus to stay with them for the night and it is at the table that their eyes are opened and they see - truly see Jesus. “And He took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them and their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him.” Familiarity rushes upon them...how many times had they seen Him do this very simple act...He had fed 5,000 in the same way, He had fed 4,000 on another occasion...And in the exact same way, He had taken the bread at the Passover meal just days before. He took the bread and broke it and said, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” As the Bread of Life blessed & broke the bread, these two disciples remembered Him...remembered Jesus...and saw. They saw Him for the first time. They saw Him in the breaking of the bread. And then they knew and understood why their hearts burned within them as He opened up the Scriptures to them!
“Do this in remembrance of Me” Jesus has said through His Word to us today. We too have the opportunity to experience Jesus through the breaking of the bread and the drinking of the “wine” each time we take communion. This is not just a “thing we do” - Communion is an opportunity to sit at the table as Jesus breaks the bread and makes Himself known to us. As we take the bread and eat it - we are remembering that Jesus is the bread of life broken for us. As we drink the “wine” we remember that it was Jesus’ blood that was shed for the forgiveness of sins. May our eyes be opened, and may we recognize Him each and every time we break the bread and drink the wine of communion!
He is also made known to us through the breaking of the spiritual bread - the food of the Word of God. “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Our Bibles are bread sent from heaven to give us life. When we break open the bread of the Word of God - Jesus is made known to us! Oh, may our hearts burn within us as the Scriptures are opened to us and Christ is made known to us through the breaking of the bread of the Word!
Post a Comment