Missing the Message

“And He (Jesus) said to them, “Oh, foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken.” Luke 24:25.

 

Picture this: two men spend Passover weekend in Jerusalem. Then, on their way to Emmaus on the fourth day, a man approaches to walk with them. On their walk, they explain their version of the weekend’s events. They tell the man about Jesus, “who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him.” v. 24:20.

 

So these two men on the road to Emmaus either witnessed the events themselves, or heard directly from those who did, the message and meaning of the Cross. But they missed every aspect of the message. The whole deal. Even when they heard women were there at the tomb and found it empty. They didn’t get it. They felt defeated. They went home sad. To these two the story was over. They put their faith in the wrong message. “We were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel,” they told Jesus on the road. v.24:21.

 

We can not put our faith in other things or distortions of the real message. That’s what religion does. It takes us away from the real story. Religion is all about rules. The message of the Cross is all about relationship. These two thought the message was about the man who would redeem Israel. Then he got crucified. End of story.

But at the end of the road, Jesus introduced them to the real message. A message of hope. A message of love. A message of True redemption. They were looking for a conclusion. Jesus offered them an introduction. He opened their eyes to the message of the Cross.

 

What did these two do with the message? They hurried back to Jerusalem proclaiming what they witnessed, that Jesus is risen, and they saw Him and talked with Him. Broke bread with Him.

 

Do you get the real meaning of the Cross? And the resurrection this Easter?

 

We all walk that Emmaus road at some time in our lives. Are you proclaiming THE message of redemption and love and hope and eternal life to others?