Context No. 3764 of 4322 · Luke

Luke 24:13-17: in context

13Behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was sixty stadia from Jerusalem. 14They talked with each other about all of these things which had happened. 15While they talked and questioned together, Jesus himself came near, and went with them. 16But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17He said to them, “What are you talking about as you walk, and are sad?”

Two disciples walk the road to Emmaus, talking over the crushing events of the past days, their hopes in Jesus apparently buried with him. And as they talk, Jesus himself draws near and walks with them, but their eyes are kept from recognizing him.

Here is a truth to hold onto in our own dark hours. The risen Christ drew near to these grieving disciples precisely in their sadness and confusion, walking beside them on the road even before they knew it was him. He did not wait for them to have their theology sorted or their hope restored; he came alongside them in their grief. And his first words are tender, an invitation to pour out their trouble: what are you discussing as you walk, and why are you sad? He meets them where they are and gently draws out their sorrow. There is deep comfort here. When we walk our own roads of grief and disappointment, Christ may be nearer than we know, walking beside us before we recognize him, ready to hear all that weighs on our hearts.

In my hours of grief and disappointment, do I trust that the risen Christ may be walking beside me before I recognize him, drawing near to hear all that weighs on my heart?

Sources

Luke 24:15: "While they talked and questioned together, Jesus himself came near, and went with them."
Luke 24:16: "But their eyes were kept from recognizing him."
Luke 24:17: "He said to them, What are you talking about as you walk, and are sad?"