Get the setting in mind now. After recognizing Jesus, when he broke bread with them down in Emmaus, Cleopas and his companion returned at once to Jerusalem. They hurried to the room where the eleven and those with them had assembled. They discovered that those assembled there were saying to each other, "It's true — the Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." So these two could verify the fact. They told what had happened to them on the way — and how they recognized Jesus when He broke the bread. That's where we pick up the story.
While they were talking about this, Jesus Himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." They were startled and frightened, thinking that they saw a ghost.
Advertisement
Isn't that just like us? Here they were talking about the risen Christ — assuring each other that it had indeed happened — Jesus was no longer dead but alive. But now Jesus appears to them as they've gathered there — and they couldn't believe it. They were frightened — and they thought it was a ghost. How many times does Jesus come to us and we don't recognize Him?
Did you recognize Him last week when your spouse made a fumbling attempt to apologize and ask forgiveness, but you were still fuming and nursing your self-pity? . . .
. . . that friend who stayed up with you until two o'clock in the morning as you poured out your pain and hopelessness because your battle with pornography is still raging — or maybe it was another addition — or your sexual brokenness. . .
. . . did you see Jesus in that worker in the nursing home — the one who changed the diaper of your now-helpless parent?
. . . did you recognize Jesus in that nagging tightening in your stomach in chapel last week when you were convicted of sin and the need for repentance — or when the vision of Kingdom ministry was laid out and you knew you were called to make some response?
. . . have you been recognizing Jesus in the faces of the Iraqi children who are the innocent victims in that hopeless land?
How many times does Jesus come to us and we don't recognize him?
Jesus did with this small group gathered there in that upper room what he had done with Cleopas and his companion on the road — he illuminated Scripture. Remember — on that walk to Emmaus, He talked to them about how the prophets had spoken and how they had revealed that Christ would have to suffer before he entered His glory.
Now in this upper room — the same scenario repeats itself. Listen to verses 45 and 46: "Then he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures. He told them, 'This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day.'" We don't like it, and most of us disregard it, but here is the central message of Christianity — the Cross. Jesus revealed it on the walk to Emmaus and the walk from Emmaus. At the center of the Christian faith is the cross of Jesus Christ.