The story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus is very special to me. It is very deep in meaning, I could spend hours contemplating its layers. “The Road of Faith” is by name and spirit connected to this story and in many ways comes out of this story and my walk to Emmaus. find the story of the Road to Emmaus in the Gospel of Luke 24:13-35. We will focus on this story over the next few weeks’ ‘Bible of the Road’ series.
“Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” Luke 24:18-24
Jesus acting ignorant to events of which He is the central figure? Odd. Until you realize Jesus is trying to draw out the stress and frustration they feel. In effect, Jesus is letting them vent at Him. He had to hide His face from them in the earlier part to get them to a place they could be honest and vent their worries and fears and even doubts. He had to allow them their dark night to open their eyes to the truth.
How many times have I been angry at God because He didn’t do what I thought He should do. The disciples thought He was “was the one to redeem Israel” (v 21). I thought He should heal my daughter or not let my dad die. Like the disciples, I vented my anger when I thought He wasn’t listening. Of course, if we had known He was right in front of us, all three of us would have been on better behavior. That isn’t what God wanted of Cleopas, the other disciple or me. He wanted honesty, even if that honesty was anger and frustration. He wants us to feel comfortable enough to approach God with our biggest fears and greatest stresses.
Fear is a dirty four letter word that we often hide from God behind. God knows our fears, stresses and worries. He even knows at times we may be angry at Him. He doesn’t want any of these, but, the only way to move past these blocks is through honesty. Besides, not like God’s not big enough to handle a bit of venting, even angry pounding on His chest. At the end of our venting, we will find Jesus looking lovingly at us, most likely with His arms wrapped around us.
The disciples were so fearful, they didn’t even recognize the immensity of the events or their recounting of them. They heard of the resurrection, but in their self-centered fear, they completely missed the events. Jesus, in this moment became the Way and the Truth, by drawing out of these disciples their fears and stresses so He could then re-fire their faith and hope.
God will often let us walk into the dark valley so we can realize how alone we feel. With one single purpose, to turn our eyes back to recognizing Him. He let me stroll through the “dark night” for months after that night in the ICU when my faith collapsed. He didn’t do this because He was angry and looking to put me in the corner alone. He did it so I could vent my fears and anxieties until I looked up and saw Jesus was standing there, arms around me.
Like the disciples, I was in a very dark place, but Jesus never failed to walk beside me. Even on the biggest day of His life and eternity – Easter.
Read about my dark night in my book, “I knew His Voice” available through the links below:
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