“Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?
And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad.
The two men walking together are on their way to Emmaus talking about the events that had transpired in Jerusalem lately. A stranger comes along and asks about their conversation. He listened and rather than revealing Himself to be the Risen Christ He reminded them what the prophets had said about Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus changed the conversation.
These men perceived that this stranger was inclined to go further than Emmaus and they invited Him to come and sup with them. It was when they broke bread with Jesus that their eyes were opened and they knew the Risen Christ. At this point these two men changed their plans and returned to Jerusalem.
This is the simplicity of the Good News. The lost will be engaged in their understanding of events before they come to know the Risen Christ. That is our opportunity to come alongside and change the conversation just as Jesus did for those two men on the road to Emmaus.
Jesus began with the prophecies. Then once the invitation is made by the lost to hear more and ask us into their lives, we get to commune with them. At this point we should remind ourselves that Jesus is there and reveals Himself. We do not have to force the issue of salvation any longer, they are already interested.
There has been an uneasy urgency in the past to make disciples as we are told. What we should remember about those efforts is that a student is a voluntary position.
Students that come to learn should not be talked down too. If they are born again then they are new to the Kingdom and know nothing about how it works. Offering the truth without belittling the student takes wisdom and experience. Our conversations with the newborn are not the same as they were when they were lost and did not know it.
A friend of mine would ask new acquaintances, “Are you the one or one the ninety-nine?” That was his way to gauge how his conversation should proceed. Did the one know that he was lost? I do not know what the lost are thinking until they invite me into their lives. That is voluntary.
Avoid judgment and condemnation of the lost, that is not how Jesus made disciples.