Before we dig into the word, I'll set it up...
Jesus has been crucified and has risen. His disciples are distraught and deeply grieved for they had seen the man they knew to be the Messiah crucified and buried. In the days after His resurrection, Jesus begins appearing to His disciples. Two of the disciples were walking a road to a village 7 miles outside of Jerusalem called Emmaus. Jesus, with His identity concealed, joined them as they walked.
Luke 24:17-19
Luke 24:28-29
28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. 29 But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.
I don't believe Jesus was really intending to walk farther, but wanted to maybe have a little more fun out of this. Why did He hide His identity from them? Why did He act as if He didn't know about the crucifixion that took place? Why did He act as if He was going to walk further?
Why didn't He just say, "Hey guys.. it's Me, Jesus!"
Jesus is God, but on earth He was a man too. Besides, most of us have a sense of humor and we were created in God's image. Is it so hard to believe that Jesus must have a sense of humor too? I sincerely believe that Jesus has a sense of humor, which only makes Him that much more lovable.
The rest of the story goes...
Luke 24:30-32
30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.
32 And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”
Talk about a dramatic exit! Jesus totally blows their minds here and as He is vanishing from their sight I can almost imagine a smile on His face.
What motive would He have had to do these things? I believe because of His love for these men who had walked beside Him for the past 3 years, that He wanted them to experience the same joy He was feeling. This would explain why He didn't play it down, but totally stepped it up as He revealed Himself to them. Besides, to play it down would not even be thinkable, for He had just defeated the devil and paid the price for man's debt of sin, that had kept man apart from God!
Jesus' sense of humor can be found elsewhere in His earthly ministry too. I remember reading once while as they were walking, a few of the disciples arguing about who would sit on Jesus' left side and right side. Jesus obviously heard them, but asked them what they were talking about. I can only imagine the uh....uh... um... that must have been their reply.
In Matthew 19:14 Jesus say's, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." What is the likelihood that children, known so much for their carefree joy and laughter, would be coming to some serious, stoic, Man?
The Gospels are full of examples, but I'll share one more.
In John 21, also after the death and resurrection of Jesus, we see that Peter decided to go fishing and some of the other men decided to join him.
John 21:3-10
Often when we think of Jesus, we get this hyper-spiritual, humorless, stoic, image of a God-Man that hovered all over Galilee blessing people. In reality, as we see in the bible, Jesus walked, He hungered, He got tired, thirsty, was angry, He cried, He felt compassion, and He felt pain. (More pain than we will ever know). Jesus was in fact a human on the earth. He became this, making Himself this vulnerable, so that He could fulfill His purpose - to redeem us. As a human He did in fact "walk a mile in our shoes" and He therefore knows what it means to be human, and to suffer, but also He knows how to smile, laugh, and I believe even be a prankster!
The men that walked with Him for just 3 years would later be tortured and killed as they carried the message of His Gospel to the world. I believe it wasn't just what Jesus said to them that developed such a love and devotion. It was also about the relationship Jesus had with them.
Jesus has been crucified and has risen. His disciples are distraught and deeply grieved for they had seen the man they knew to be the Messiah crucified and buried. In the days after His resurrection, Jesus begins appearing to His disciples. Two of the disciples were walking a road to a village 7 miles outside of Jerusalem called Emmaus. Jesus, with His identity concealed, joined them as they walked.
Luke 24:17-19
17 And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”18 Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?” 19 And He said to them, “What things?”
For Jesus to say, "What things?" must have totally dumbfounded these guys in light of all the events that had just occurred. One easily can both see and sense how much fun this must have been for Jesus, for He certainly knew more than anyone else "what things" had happened recently, as He was in the center of the tragedy.
Now victoriously risen from the grave Jesus is full of unspeakable joy for He has fulfilled His Father's will. He has redeemed mankind by creating a bridge back to God with His sacrifice for our sins upon the cross. I believe our Lord and Savior had a little bit of fun as He shared this victory. Can you imagine the joy He felt?
Back to the story, they share with this stranger (Jesus) what had happened.
Luke 24:28-29
28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. 29 But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.
I don't believe Jesus was really intending to walk farther, but wanted to maybe have a little more fun out of this. Why did He hide His identity from them? Why did He act as if He didn't know about the crucifixion that took place? Why did He act as if He was going to walk further?
Why didn't He just say, "Hey guys.. it's Me, Jesus!"
Jesus is God, but on earth He was a man too. Besides, most of us have a sense of humor and we were created in God's image. Is it so hard to believe that Jesus must have a sense of humor too? I sincerely believe that Jesus has a sense of humor, which only makes Him that much more lovable.
The rest of the story goes...
Luke 24:30-32
30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.
32 And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”
Talk about a dramatic exit! Jesus totally blows their minds here and as He is vanishing from their sight I can almost imagine a smile on His face.
What motive would He have had to do these things? I believe because of His love for these men who had walked beside Him for the past 3 years, that He wanted them to experience the same joy He was feeling. This would explain why He didn't play it down, but totally stepped it up as He revealed Himself to them. Besides, to play it down would not even be thinkable, for He had just defeated the devil and paid the price for man's debt of sin, that had kept man apart from God!
Jesus' sense of humor can be found elsewhere in His earthly ministry too. I remember reading once while as they were walking, a few of the disciples arguing about who would sit on Jesus' left side and right side. Jesus obviously heard them, but asked them what they were talking about. I can only imagine the uh....uh... um... that must have been their reply.
In Matthew 19:14 Jesus say's, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." What is the likelihood that children, known so much for their carefree joy and laughter, would be coming to some serious, stoic, Man?
The Gospels are full of examples, but I'll share one more.
In John 21, also after the death and resurrection of Jesus, we see that Peter decided to go fishing and some of the other men decided to join him.
John 21:3-10
3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. 4 But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.5 Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?” They answered Him, “No.” 6 And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.
7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea. 8 But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish. 9 Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.”
Often when we think of Jesus, we get this hyper-spiritual, humorless, stoic, image of a God-Man that hovered all over Galilee blessing people. In reality, as we see in the bible, Jesus walked, He hungered, He got tired, thirsty, was angry, He cried, He felt compassion, and He felt pain. (More pain than we will ever know). Jesus was in fact a human on the earth. He became this, making Himself this vulnerable, so that He could fulfill His purpose - to redeem us. As a human He did in fact "walk a mile in our shoes" and He therefore knows what it means to be human, and to suffer, but also He knows how to smile, laugh, and I believe even be a prankster!
The men that walked with Him for just 3 years would later be tortured and killed as they carried the message of His Gospel to the world. I believe it wasn't just what Jesus said to them that developed such a love and devotion. It was also about the relationship Jesus had with them.
