Along the road to Emmaus

In Luke 24:13-35, the Bible describes a fascinating encounter between Jesus and two of his disciples (Cleopas and another disciple). The fascinating bit is that they walked and talked for quite a while without the disciples recognizing Jesus. As disciples they must have known Jesus by sight, but something was in the way (v16).

The encounter occurred after what must have been a "big deal" event for these disciples...their leader/teacher had been arrested and executed. It's unimaginable that they would have been ignorant of the events. They would have heard everything that was to be heard about what had happened and discussed it with others (v14). Somehow they missed, or more likely, refused to believe (v23-24) the news of the resurrection! (Perhaps that's what they were arguing about in v15?) They acted as if Jesus were dead, even in the way they retold the story. There is a sense of discouragement and disappointment in the words, "We were hoping he was the One..."

"Then their eyes were opened..." Notice that they did not open their eyes. They recognized Jesus because he opened their eyes. What a great picture of how we come to belief. Jesus is right there in front of us but we don't recognize him until he opens our eyes. Nothing has really changed except us, but everything is different.

I think what happens next in the story is what's at the very core of what it is to live the Christian life. The two disciples "that very hour" got up and went back to be with other believers and to tell people of their experience. It was late in the day and travel after dark was dangerous, but they didn't care. Their lives were changed and they had to act.

That's what the resurrection means. It's the most important event in history and the most important thing for us to really understand as Christians. It changes everything for us, and it changes us. Once we grasp the truth of this one event we can't remain the same people. It compels us to personal evangelism, joyful worship, fellowship with other believers, Bible study, and prayer.

Easter -- "The Passion"

This week's lesson is, of course, the Easter lesson and the first comment I encounter is that by now most people will have seen Mel Gibson's The Passion of The Christ. Except me. I'm not sure why, but the movie has never really appealed to me enough to make me either go to the theater or even rent the DVD. Maybe it's just because I tend to not be a fan of the brutally honest historical documentary style that I think Gibson has used.

I don't go to the movies to be scared, grossed out, or lectured. There's lots of that available for free in the real world. I go to the movies to see happy stories. Maybe that's why Seth and I disagree on The Ultimate Gift.

Anyway, on to the lesson... What if there had never been a resurrection?

Wow! What a question. It's at the core of who we should be as believers. The resurrection is the very thing that motivates and demands we BE different people.

I'll be back after some surfing...