Man of Emmaus

by John Comer

He knocked upon my door, introduced himself as Luke the physician, and without wasting a breath let me know he was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. This caught me off guard because I could see immediately that he was a Gentile. I knew that in some distant places Gentiles had been accepted into the fellowship, but this was not a thing I was accustomed to, not in my little village of Emmaus.

But be he Gentile or not, I sensed the Spirit of the Lord in his gentle demeanor, and I welcomed him into my home.

“Cleophas, dear brother,” he said, “I need your help.”

He wanted to interview me since I was an eyewitness to the risen Jesus. He was systematically gathering first-hand information.

I felt so privileged to be a disciple of Jesus of Nazareth whom I believed would redeem Israel. Then came the cross. On the third day it was reported that the tomb was empty and that angels said Jesus was alive. But nobody had seen him. My friend and I started walking toward home.

As we talked about these things we were joined by a stranger who entered our conversation and rather pointedly told us we had behaved foolishly and were slow to believe what the prophets had spoken, that it was necessary for Jesus to suffer and then enter into glory. He went through all our Scriptures, showing us what they taught about the Messiah.

When we reached home, at our urging he finally agreed to stay the night with us. Then as host at supper I would normally have said the blessing and broken the bread. But for some reason it seemed proper for him to do this. As he gave the bread to us, our eyes were opened. We recognized him! Jesus of Nazareth! Then he vanished from our sight.

Needless to say, my friend and I returned to Jerusalem as quickly as tired feet could carry us. We found the eleven and those who were with them saying that Jesus had appeared to Simon. Then we told our news and how we finally recognized him in the breaking of the bread. And even as we spoke, Jesus himself stood there among us. The apostles can finish their part of the story for Luke, but all these things I know, and I gladly told him.

I am humbled by the Lord’s appearance to me and honored now to have been interviewed by Luke and to be included in his records as one who was taught by the risen Jesus as we walked along the Emmaus Road.