In this three-part series, we walk with two of Jesus’ followers who had such strong preconceived notions about the Messiah that they failed to recognize the resurrected Christ when he was staring them in the face. In parts 1 and 2 of our series, Jesus approached two disciples of his who thought he was dead and had expected their Messiah to be a political leader. In part 3, we will encounter Jesus’ invitation to spend the rest of our lives learning from him.

In Luke 24, Jesus approached his own two traveling disciples and struck up a conversation, asking why they seemed sad.

Luke 24:19-24. And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up 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 happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in
the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even 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 him they did not see.

It all tumbles out: how they thought Jesus was the Messiah, the deep betrayal by the Jewish chief priests and rulers that led to the terrible things that happened to him, their confusion when some of the women disciples claimed Jesus had been raised from the dead. Jesus responds:

Luke 24:25-27. And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Jesus’ first words, after these two tell him their tale of disappointment, anguish, and confusion, are to call them foolish and slow to believe. Then he explains to them “all” the Scriptures about the Messiah. Wow!

Now, if a random stranger heard my tale of discouragement and sadness and then called me “foolish,” I would struggle to hear anything he said after that. But when Jesus reproves these disciples, they have the humility to take it. May I be willing to learn from a stranger who says something like that to me, too!

But let’s think about this from Jesus’ perspective. Just a few days ago, he was tortured to death. Humiliated. Beaten. His ministry culminated in the most traumatizing events of his life. And immediately after he is raised from the dead, he is back at it: ministering, teaching. And not even with the fun, easy disciples! No, instead of celebrating his resurrection with his followers who are back in Jerusalem, he’s on a long walk with the depressed disciples, the ones who are leaving because they don’t believe in him anymore.

What generosity!

I think of Jesus’ patient arrival on the scene as a mental health miracle. It seems reasonable to me that someone would need years of therapy to process his horrifying ordeal, that anyone would need at least a week off to get some rest and confide in a trusted friend before going back to work. But Jesus doesn’t even take a mental health day. God healed his mind from the terrifying trauma he endured and gave him what he needed to keep going.

Therapy, counseling, and rest are important tools to help us recover from awful situations and mental health problems. But I pray that we would all have the courage to begin by asking God to give us what He gave to Jesus when we have been traumatized and need to keep going.

In verse 27, Luke summarizes what Jesus did next: he began with Moses and the prophets, and he “interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself ”.

What did he say? Did he compare himself to images in the Old Testament? Did he recite for them Isaiah 53 or Daniel 7? Did he talk about the Branch or the Ancient of Days? What did he say?

I would give my arm for a transcript of this conversation, but Luke doesn’t give me one. We can consider the book’s silence as an invitation to a lifetime of studying the Scripture. Jesus taught those disciples. Won’t he teach us, too?

Luke 24:28-35. So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.

What an astounding conclusion to this encounter! After the disciples invite this enigmatic stranger to stay the night with them, they recognize him as Jesus during dinner. He vanishes.

Isn’t this just the same step we all must take? Few of us have met Jesus on the road; instead, he has appeared to us through the words and actions of his followers. But after encountering him for the first time, whether he appears interesting, affronting, confusing, or clear, we all must choose to continue the conversation. We must notice when others point to him, and we must be willing to say what the disciples did. “Please don’t leave; stay a while.”

Will you devote the time to discover him for who he really is, the risen Lord and Christ? Or will you languish in your circumstances of sadness and despair, having lost hope? Will you be offended if he calls you foolish, or will you keep on listening while he explains to you the Scriptures about himself?

This invitation to Jesus to tell us more has both a lifetime and an eternity of implications. Let us listen to the man on the road with us, explaining the Scriptures, and may we say to him, “Stay with me tonight. I’d like to hear more.”

Question for reflection: could you take someone’s advice or reproof after they called you foolish? What do you need to get the humility to take that kind of rebuke and continue to listen?