Tuesday Prayer Room – 9am
13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
19 “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. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. – Luke 24:13-35
PRAYER GUIDE:
Though many of us often think of Easter as a one-day event, replete with eggs, bunnies, and family get-togethers. Easter is actually an entire season, both in the liturgical calendar of the Church and in the original experience of the disciples. After Jesus rose from the dead, he didn’t ascend immediately to heaven, but hung around with his disciples, appearing to them a number of times in a number of different ways over the next forty days, until finally, he did ascend into Heaven.
Why did Jesus hang around? Why did he keep showing up, surprising his disciples in the upper room, on the beach with a fish breakfast, or in this passage, on the road to Emmaus. There are probably many reasons, but one simple one is that it took time for the resurrection to sink in. the resurrection is the central truth of the Christian faith, and indeed, of human history. But it is not a truth we can actually grasp on one morning surrounded by bunnies and candy eggs and brunches. We need more time. We need to linger in it. The human mind requires time to process major surprises and shocks to the system – and the resurrection of Jesus certainly is one of those shocks to the system.
Over the season of Easter – the next seven weeks until Pentecost – let’s join the disciples in lingering with Jesus, as these two do on the road to Emmaus. Let’s allow the reality of the resurrection to slowly crack open our minds and hearts. Let’s ask God to open the scriptures to us, and to help us understand that we are living in a post-resurrection world. A world in which death has been defeated and new creation has sprouted. A world in which Jesus’ glorified body is the first crocus through the snow – the sign that spring is coming and the whole world will be made new.
PRAYER PROMPTS:
- Let’s ask God to open our minds and hearts to believe that Jesus has risen from the dead. And to reshape our view of the world and what is possible in it.
- Let’s pray for those who have lost all hope to be interrupted by the Risen Jesus, as these two on the road were.
- Let’s pray for God to help his people understand the Law, the Prophets, and the Scriptures – how they were pointing to Jesus…to his death and resurrection.
- Let’s pray for those who do not know Jesus to be drawn to him this season. Pray for seekers and skeptics who visited church on Sunday to continue to be drawn to Jesus and engage with him with their fears, doubts, and disappointments.
- Let’s pray that we, like these two on the road, having encountered the Risen Jesus, will boldly tell our friends about Him.
- Let’s pray for resurrected hope in our hearts.
In Our Time 