Day 24 Luke Chapter 24
We made it through all twenty-four chapters! Thank you for walking
through Luke’s wonderful Gospel with me. I pray that these little devotions
blessed you and helped to make your Advent season one of reflection and
dedication to the Lord Jesus Christ.
“They said to one another, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?’” (v. 32 NASB).
This account is the first of three post-resurrection
appearances Christ made in the New Testament. Two men are walking to Emmaus
just a few days after the crucifixion of the Lord. Jesus came upon them, though
they did not recognize Him through their sorrow. He came to comfort them in
their grief. I love the rendering of the KJV and the NKJV and the ESV which says that Jesus
drew near to them.
Together these three men walked and they listened as He
encouraged them that what the women reported was true. Yet another glimmer of
hope that the injustice from just a few short days before could be made right.
Jesus opened their spiritual eyes so they could understand all that the
Scripture spoke about Christ—His sufferings, death, and resurrection. He began
with the Old Testament—Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. He was exactly who
He claimed to be—the Christ, the Son of God, the promised Redeemer. There was
no one more worthy or qualified to explain the Scripture to them but the Prince
of Peace—the very Word Himself. His words were so full of power and life
that their hearts burned within them; they were like a burning fire in
them like many others who came before them who heard with joy the Words of the
Lord:
My heart was hot within me, While I was musing the fire burned {Ps. 39:3 NASB}.
“But if I say, ‘I will not remember Him Or speak
anymore in His name,’ Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut
up in my bones; And I am weary of holding it in, And I cannot
endure it’” {Jer.
20:9 NASB}.
They had a taste of what John the Baptist declared about Jesus, that He would baptize with fire.
I cannot escape the language of drawing near. For
that is just what God did in sending His Son, He drew near to us because we
could not draw near to Him. He came to do for us what we could not do for
ourselves. There was no way for us to draw close to Him because of our sin. But
the Lord of Glory, not only drew near, but He also communed so that He could
have a relationship with His fallen, human creation. Jesus walked the road to
Emmaus and at their bidding, He broke bread with them. As soon as He blessed
the bread and ate with them, their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him!
He then vanished before them, but they were witnesses to the Eleven that what
the women proclaimed—that Jesus was indeed resurrected—and their hope was
revived! I must make note as well that these two disciples were not numbered
with the Eleven. Our Savior found them to be just as important as the Apostles.
We are equally important to Him and He desires to reveal Himself to all who
will receive Him.
In the quiet, still, cold night, Christ crept into the world unnoticed, except for a few lowly shepherds. While the world slept, the Chronos was broken with the Kairos—the long-awaited promise—the Redeemer, Deliverer, and King of Glory drew near to the world that He loved so much, in a humble stable that holy night.
He did for us what we could not do for ourselves; we now
have the privilege of drawing near to Him:
“Let us draw near with a sincere heart
in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from
an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” {Heb.
10:22 NASB}.
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” {Jam.
4:8 NASB}
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