The Promises of Jesus

They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was speaking to

us along the road and while he was explaining the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32

Perhaps more than any group of disciples, the two disciples enroute to Emmaus display the

emptiness and disillusionment that followers of Jesus felt in the days before the resurrection had

been revealed. Their minds were stuck in a fixed mindset that could not easily be shattered.

They had placed their hopes in the great prophet from Nazareth. But the chief priests had

handed their Jesus over to Pilate to be condemned and crucified. He had died, and with His

death, their hope of a Messiah had also died. Jesus had been mighty in raising Lazarus, but

how could a dead man raise himself to life? The time had come to flee to the countryside, to

leave Jerusalem before they, too, would be arrested.

What a blessing it was that Christ came to them on that lonely road. How easy it would have

been for Christ to reveal Himself to the two men by having them do as the apostles would do,

place their fingers into the nail marks on His hands or stick their hands into His side. But Christ

did so much more for the Emmaus disicples. Instead of saying, “Come and see my wounded

flesh,” Christ invited them to come and see Him in the pages of Scripture, to see Him in the

prophecies and in the writings of Moses. Christ came to educate them with the deep truths of

the Word.

Notice the reaction of the Emmaus disciples. Their hearts were burning within them as Jesus

revealed Himself as Christ. The Holy Spirit worked powerfully through the testimony of the

Word. All emptiness and disillusionment vanished. Fear was replaced with faith. Despair was

replaced with hope. Despondency was replaced with joy. The law proclamation of how slow

they were to believe had paved the way for the gospel proclamation of new life and new hope

on the risen Christ. The Word of God was, and is, active and living and powerful to restore and

save.

How blessed we are that the Word will endure no matter what happens in our lives and in our

world! As with the Emmaus disciples, the Gospel calls to us to hear the promises of Jesus. He

is the resurrection and the life. He is the way and the truth. He is our Good Shepherd and our

strong tower. In the pages of the Old and New Testaments, we find our hope. And this hope

never disappoints us. It drives away all despair, doubt, fear, and hopelessness.

Blessings as you pursue knowing Jesus by studying HIs Word,

Frank Van Brocklin

Principal/Staff Minister