The redeemer lives

Luke 24:13-35
13And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.
14And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
15And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.
16But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. 1
7And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?
18And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?
19And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:
20And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.
21But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.
22Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;
23And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.
24And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.
25Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
26Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
27And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
28And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.
29But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.
30And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
31And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
32And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
33And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,
34Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.
35And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.

I love this passage. It is full of pictures about Christ and ourselves. First I would like to point out that these 2 men where out walking, heading to a town called Emmaus. The rest of the disciples where gathered together hiding for fear of the Jews (John 20:19). I looked up the word furlong online. Here is what I found: wiki.answers.com- One furlong is equal to one-eighth of a mile, which is the same as 220 yards or 660 feet. Verse 13 states that this town was 60 Furlongs away. We can assume that they started in Jerusalem, because they heard the witness of the women when they told the disciples of Jesus' resurrection, and of the men who ran to the tomb to see if Jesus' body was really missing. If my math is correct 60 furlongs in equal to about 7.5 miles. I looked up the average walking speed of a human and found statistics varying from 3-4 miles per hour for the human male. So we can figure that if they walked the average speed for todays adult males they would reach their destination in approximately 2-2.5 hours. They had a long journey ahead of them and where already being brave to consider the journey at all considering the rest of the men where all hiding together back in Jerusalem so maybe they walked on the fats side, but I know that when I talk or am sad I walk a bit slower. If I have someone expounding on something very interesting I can easily come to a standstill.

These men where reasoning about Jesus and the things that happened to him. We see in verses 19-24 that they no longer thought of Jesus as the one who would redeem Israel. Not only had they lost a friend, they had lost the hope they felt in seeing the redeemer. Their faith had just taken a blow. I love how Jesus drew near and went with them. Isn't that what he does now. He draws near to us and feeds up what we need and slowly we begin to understand all it is that he fulfills and the purpose and need we have for him. In verse 28 we see that Jesus would have gone further. He met them where they where, on the road they chose to take to get where they wanted to go. He was not going to force himself on them. There came time for a decision on their part. Would they go their own way and allow Jesus to pass on through, or would they invite him in? Verse 29 says they constrained him and asked him to abide with them.

Revelation 3:20- 20Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Jesus was seeking them, wanting them to learn and believe, to invite him to stay with them. The choice was theirs. When they did invite him he went in and ate with them. He broke the bread and their eyes where opened. The word bread in the Bible is a type of the BIBLE. The bread, or the word, was opened and given to them and they saw Jesus once they chose to accept it.

These men who had just taken a 7.5 mile walk finally realized who they had been talking to. I love how they state that their hearts burnt within them. Deep down they knew, but they where not ready to accept it yet. They where allowing what logic was telling them to push away at the picks in their hearts and to push away faith. Logic said that Jesus died a death of crucifixion 3 days ago. Logic said that Jesus was the one who rose people from the dead, but Jesus was the one dead now. Logic said that because Jesus was dead they had trusted falsely in him to be the redeemer of Israel. Once they took the time to sup with the Savior, their flawed human logic went out the window and was replaced with faith, hope, and joy. That same hour they started back to Jerusalem. They had to tell the others! I can imagine them taking off in a sprint back down that road. The day had been far spent, but they where off! They had seen the Savior and everyone needed to know it. The Redeemer of Israel was alive!!!!!!