On the road to Emmaus — the road of uncertainty, disappointment and hopelessness, to which Jesus came to restore hope and faith in Him:
“As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.” — Luke 24:15-16
“Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?
“What things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.” — Luke 24:18-19
Imagine walking alongside Jesus and not recognizing Him! Imagine being so blinded by grief of losing Him, that you don’t see Him right beside you.
What a conversation to have with Jesus… about Jesus.
He appears before the grief stricken, disappointed and hopeless disciples as they are heading out of Jerusalem, and their hopelessness keeps them from recognizing Jesus walking by their side. They are amazed that there is someone who hasn’t heard about the incredible works of Yeshua, this “stranger” who is walking alongside them.
As they were walking on the road to Emmaus, Yeshua joined them as a stranger, and asked them: “tell me about this man.” So they shared with him about betrayal, trial and death of Yeshua, as well as all the events that took place during those dramatic days.
They went on to share with Him their despair: “but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.” — Luke 24:21
We’ve all been through those desperate moments in our lives when we felt hopeless; like all hope is gone.
Maybe you’ve been hoping for a miracle, for a breakthrough, for God to do something… anything. And nothing happened.
I’ve experienced those crushing moments of disappointment and hopelessness.
What is so amazing about this story, is that Yeshua comes to restore hope in moments of grief and despair for the disciples, to rebuild their faith.
His encounter with the disciples on the road to Emmaus symbolizes the restoring of hope and rebuilding of faith. Jesus met them on their path and that encounter shifted their direction and changed their way. Instead of heading to Jaffa, they turned around and went to Jerusalem.
What happened next changed the course of disciples’ life and history.
Watch Pastor Israel’s riveting teaching from the biblical path on the road to Emmaus.
