March 28, 2016
Surprised!
Read:
Luke
24:13-35
Then
their eyes were opened and they recognized him.
— Luke 24:31
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610), an Italian
artist, was known for his fiery temperament and unconventional technique. He
used ordinary working people as models for his saints and was able to make
viewers of his paintings feel they were a part of the scene. The Supper at
Emmaus shows an innkeeper standing while Jesus and two of His followers are
seated at a table when they recognize Him as the risen Lord (Luke 24:31). One
disciple is pushing himself to a standing position while the other’s arms are
outstretched and his hands open in astonishment.
Luke, who records these events in his gospel, tells us that the
two men immediately returned to Jerusalem where they found the eleven disciples
and others 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” (vv. 33-35).
Oswald Chambers said, “Jesus rarely comes where we expect Him;
He appears where we least expect Him, and always in the most illogical
connections. The only way a worker can keep true to God is by being ready for
the Lord’s surprise visits.”
Whatever
road we are on today, may we be ready for Jesus to make Himself known to us in
new and surprising ways.
Lord Jesus, open our eyes to see You, the risen
Christ, alongside us and at work in the circumstances of our lives today.
To find the Lord Jesus
Christ we must be willing to seek Him.
INSIGHT:
Jesus’s actions in today’s reading opened
eyes to the truth of who He is. The road-to-Emmaus encounter in Luke 24 points
back to the Last Supper and forward to the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians
11:24–26. “ ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me. .
. . This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it,
in remembrance of me.’ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you
proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
Source: Our Daily Bread 2016
