Journey to Truth

In Luke 24, we are told of an amazing interaction between the resurrected Jesus and two very sad followers who were leaving Jerusalem and heading to their home city.

Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

“What things?” he asked.

“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.

And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”

He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

Can you imagine walking along that road and listening as Jesus unfolded the entire story of Scripture, showing how all of the Old Testament pointed to Him? These two disciples had spent time with Jesus and His followers and seemed to be among the wider circle who closely observed His ministry, as they were aware of everything that had happened that morning. They had witnessed His miracles and had likely listened to His teaching many times. They believed in Him and had embraced Him as the one they hoped would redeem Israel. Yet, despite all they had seen and heard, it appears they still had not fully grasped the meaning of it all.

Sadly, this is the road that many followers of Christ are still on today. They profess to believe in God. They go to church, attend Bible studies and fellowship events, listen to Christian music, and even read daily devotionals—yet their knowledge of God remains shallow. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, many know the story of Jesus and believe in Him, yet have never fully grasped how the whole of Scripture points to Him. The two disciples walking that road were in this very place—followers of Jesus who had seen much and heard much, yet still did not understand the fullness of what God had revealed.

I am not simply calling out others; I am speaking from personal experience. For many years in my walk with God, I was that person. My heart belonged to Jesus as my Lord and Savior, yet my mind carried many misunderstandings about God’s character and His true plan and purpose for humanity. In subtle but real ways, my past and the voices of the world around me shaped a version of God that I followed more than the God revealed in Scripture.

Psychologists have a term called expectation bias, a cognitive phenomenon in which individuals perceive, interpret, or remember information based on what they expect to happen rather than on reality. In other words, it is very easy for us to see and hear only what fits the narrative we have already created.

The people in Jesus’ day interpreted Scripture in a way that led them to believe the Messiah would be a strong and mighty warrior. They expected that when He came, He would defeat the Romans and restore the nation of Israel as it had been under King David. On Palm Sunday, they cried out “Hosanna” as they saw Jesus riding in to save them.

So when they saw Jesus’ body beaten, bloody, and dying on the cross, their hopes were crushed. Perhaps they wondered if Jesus was just another in a long line of false messiahs who spoke a good message but ultimately failed. Nothing in their downcast expressions or in their words suggested that they still believed Jesus was the promised Messiah. Their understanding of who the Messiah would be had so shaped their expectations that it distorted their perception of events, causing even the words of Jesus to be lost on them.

Multiple times, the gospel writers record Jesus saying exactly what would happen to Him. He never once confirmed their misbelief that He was there to conquer Rome and restore the nation of Israel. Here are two of the passages you will find in the gospels where we see Jesus foretelling His death and subsequent resurrection.

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Matthew 16:21

… He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it. Mark 9:31-32

On this seven-mile journey to Emmaus, Jesus, the resurrected Messiah, meets the two disciples right where they are, both physically and spiritually. He doesn’t offer encouraging words to bolster them in their grief; instead, he rebukes them in order to get their attention so that He can correct their misconceptions. He opens their spiritual ears so they can truly hear God’s own words, which had been recorded in the Scriptures.

Many years ago, I too came to a point in my life where I was walking away from God. My shallow understanding of the character of God was no longer enough to carry me. I was tired of being the “good Christian girl.” My life was spent constantly striving to do the right thing and be the right person in every situation so that God and others would love me.

It just so happened that around that same time, a good friend encouraged me to join her in reading through the Bible in a year. She gave me a printed page with all the Scriptures for each day, which very much fit into the “checklist Christianity” I was already living. I could please her and please God while daily checking items off a to-do list.

But God had a much bigger plan for me. That year, my understanding of God was completely transformed. As I read the Bible cover to cover, the eyes of my heart were opened. I saw a God who loved me, who fought for me, and who never stops pursuing my heart and calling me to Himself. He was not a capricious God who demanded performance in order to love me. He had loved me from the beginning of creation. He knew me—flaws and all—before I was even born. He sent His Son to die on the cross so that I could have entrance into His eternal kingdom. It was never about my performance, my goodness, or my works. The love and salvation God offers each of us is solely a result of His character and His works.

As the disciples neared their village, they encouraged the stranger to come in and share a meal with them. Jesus, the guest, yet He takes on the role of host. He takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them. It is at that point that they recognize Jesus.

For the last few hours, they had been with Him and had listened to how He connected all of the dots of Scripture so that mentally they were now able to understand why the events of the past week were necessary to fulfill God’s plan. Yet, it wasn’t until the Bread of Life (John 6:35) gave them a piece of the broken and blessed bread that their eyes were opened. Perhaps when He held the bread out to them, they saw the scars on His wrists, and all the teaching became more than mere words.

“I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.” Job 42:5

One of Jesus’ sharpest rebukes of the Pharisees was that they had accumulated great knowledge of the Scriptures while missing the very One to whom the Scriptures pointed (John 5:39–40). Jesus was not condemning their dedication to studying the scrolls and manuscripts; He was confronting the posture of their hearts. They searched the Scriptures to gain knowledge and secure favor, rather than to know God more deeply and grow in their love for Him.

That year of reading the entire Bible completely changed my life. As I read through the Old Testament histories, prophecies, and poetry—many of which I had never explored before—I not only gained knowledge, but I encountered and fell in love with the true God of all creation. The preconceived ideas I once held about God slowly gave way to the way He reveals His own character in Scripture. I began to see that the Bible is not ultimately about us, but about our benevolent, loving, and gracious Creator—God—whose own creation rejected Him. And like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, I began to see that from beginning to end, all of Scripture points to Jesus. And only through the death and resurrection of Jesus are we able to have the hope of one day living in the eternal Kingdom with God.

He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. Rev 21:6-7

He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen. Rev 22:20-21