“And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.” Luke 24:28
After His resurrection, Jesus met two disciples on the road Emmaus. They did not recognize Him at first, but as He walked with them He spoke and it affected them. When they turned to go in to the village, Jesus “made as though He would have gone further.” But they asked Him to stay. One of those disciples’ names was Cleopas.
There are a few things we should take note of in the story. Who it was that Jesus addressed. Where it was they were going? Whey Jesus would have made as though He would continue.
First, whenever there is a named mentioned in the Bible take note of it. Names have meaning. And when the Spirit moved the writer to include the name, it is for a purpose. Cleopas means “of a renowned father.” Cleopas was well known. He came from an influential family. His father was well respected. And yet Cleopas was one who “trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel” (v.21)
Do you know anyone like that? Someone who is faced with deep family roots that would hinder them from coming to Christ? Someone who was brought up Jewish, or maybe Muslim? Atheists can come to know Christ and still have their family. But Jews and Muslims… they risk losing them.
So Christ made sure that we see He went after all the Cleopases in the world.
Next, they were going to Emmaus. Emmaus means “warm baths.” It was like going to the spa, or resort. These guys were getting out of Jerusalem and all of the expectations and saying “we need a break.” Let’s go forget this whole thing and have a nice relaxing weekend at an expense hotel. I would like to do that too. But Jesus “made as though he would have gone further.” Why?
Because we are not called to relax. Rest? Yes. But that is something different. We see that Jesus would have kept moving forward. That is trust. When all of the events of our lives seem to be like a turbulent storm… don’t look for an Emmaus. Keep moving forward with Christ.
But there is a second reason that Jesus acted as though He would go on further. Because He wants us to continually invite Him to join us. When we gave our hearts to Christ, when we accepted Jesus as our Savior, we invited Him into our hearts. But He wants us to continue to do that.
He communes with us, just as He did with the disciples on the road… through the scripture. We need to get into it. And then… wherever we go… invite Him to join us.
And just as He did with Cleopas and company… He will.
Don’t ever think He is leaving you… He is just making sure that you still want Him.
SDG
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