Luke 24:28-35 English Standard Version

28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” 33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Hidden quietly in these passages is an all important concept. No one can give you His body and His blood except Jesus Christ. “Here, this is my body, take and eat.” Communion is not a ceremony it is an experience. Perform a ritual and you have acted out a play that is nothing more than yesterday’s memory and yesterday is dead and gone.

This relationship we have with Jesus is too important to treat Him like a habit.

It is no mystery that Jesus disappeared as soon as their eyes were opened and they came to know Jesus for who He truly is, seated on the throne of heaven and with us by faith.

The miracle of life is found here, not in our expectations for today or tomorrow. These two even with the late hour that they urged in verse 29, left that same hour to change direction.

Jesus changed everything. They went back to Jerusalem and sought out the eleven. They heard the testimony of others and shared their experience. They joined the family of God.

It is up to each of us to do the same by faith.

Where are you going today?

Luke 24:21

But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.

Yesterday’s title was day 3 and today’s title is third day. That is not a mistake. It is a concept which is not easily recognized from a worldly point of view. Every day we wake up is a third day.

Lamentations 3:22-24 English Standard Version

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

What we hope for in this life says more about us and our expectations than it does about what is true. Their hope was for all Israel, God’s hope was for all mankind. Yesterday is dead and gone, we don’t live in the past. His mercies are found simply in the fact we get a new day to experience. What we can hope for in truth is found in Him, not our expectations.

John 14:31

but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.

Wake up, get up and receive new marching orders. Maybe the command will be “carry on”, maybe not, we will never know if we do not ask. I try to wake up every morning with this one question, “Where are we going today Lord?” That is my hope for myself. I don’t get to tell you what to do. He is your Lord, is He not?

Rather than being tedious with this exercise in experience, I will draw this to one final conclusion tomorrow. You can thank me later.