Luke 21-24

One thing I think we can learn from Luke’s account of the resurrection is that Jesus makes sense of things. In Luke 24, we read the story of these two lonely followers of Jesus on the road to Emmaus. They had hoped that Jesus was going to redeem Israel. But all their hopes were dashed when Jesus was crucified. That was the end. They probably thought they might as well return to normal life and try to forget about Jesus.

But then a stranger meets them on the road. They do not recognize him as Jesus, perhaps because they were not expecting to see Jesus. This stranger invites them to pour out their hearts’ discontent in his presence. Once all their feelings are out on the table, this stranger begins to turn that table on them. He begins to show them how they have viewed the events of the last few days from the wrong angle. He shows them from the Hebrew Scriptures why the Messiah had to suffer these things before entering his glory.

Suddenly, things begin to make sense to these two dejected followers. Life was a puzzle before this stranger came along. Now, this stranger has provided the missing piece that makes sense of all the other disconnected pieces of their lives.

Often in movies and in romance novels, one character will say to another something like, “I never knew what life meant until I found it in your eyes.” It is in the eyes of the risen Jesus that, in the midst of bewildering times, we can gain a sense of ultimate meaning and purpose.

C. S. Lewis once wrote, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

Jesus makes sense out of life. In him, we find satisfying answers to the deepest questions: Where have I come from? Why am I here? What has gone wrong with the world? Where am I going?

You can listen to a message about this Scripture passage here:

Emmaus Road

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Will Vaus

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