DALE RATZLAFF | Pastor and Founder, Life Assurance Ministries (1936–2024)
Originally published in the March/April 2002 print edition of Proclamation!
The literal bodily resurrection of Christ is the non-negotiable foundation upon which true Christianity is built. As we celebrate this greatest event in world history, we can expect the Risen Lord to meet us through the ministry of the Holy Spirit on our road in life just as he did those two sorrowing disciples on the road to Emmaus some 2,000 years ago. This passage of Scripture is rich with insights that can turn our sorrows and disappointments into joy—joy that must be shared!
“Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them…”
These two disciples were in the pit of depression. Their hopes were dashed. Just days earlier Jesus had ridden into Jerusalem amid the acclaim of hundreds; excitement had run high. But now as the shadows lengthened along the dusty road their spirits were dark indeed. Jesus had been betrayed, tried, mocked, flogged, and crucified. They were confused by reports that some of the women had claimed to have seen a vision of angels and an empty tomb. Their whole lives were so entwined with His that the horror of these events shook them to the very core of their being. Unrecognized, Jesus joins these sorrowing, confused and discouraged disciples and began walking with them.
God meets us at the point of our deepest need.
This is not an isolated teaching. Jacob was forced to leave home after deceiving his brother, Esau. Alone, without resources, he laid on the ground with a stone for his pillow—and God met him there. So real was the encounter that the next morning Jacob declared, “Surely, this is the house of God.” Returning years later to his homeland he heard that his brother was coming with a small army to avenge him. Unarmed, with just his two wives, a few servants, and children, he again was in a most desperate situation—and God again met him there.
Perhaps some of us are at the point of a deep need. Some of us have lost loved ones. Some have had severe financial setbacks. Others, perhaps, are looking serious illness in the face. Still others have become estranged from family and friends; you, too, may be at the point of your deepest need. The good news is that the Risen Christ—now through the Holy Spirit—will meet you there.
“But,” you say, “why does He not come to my side when I am in need?”
“… but they were kept from recognizing him.”
God’s presence in our lives often goes unrecognized.
The fact that we sometimes feel alone and helpless does not mean that God is not at our side. It may frequently be the case that at the time we feel most alone, is the very time God is close at our side. We live by faith not by sight, and must rest on the naked promise:
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you,” Jn. 14:18.
He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?” “What things?” he asked.
God wants us to share our deepest disappointments, hopes, doubts and joys.
Let us, too, stand still for a moment and consider yet another discovery “What things?” He asks of us today. He is interested in what concerns us. As a friend, he wants to share our thoughts and concerns. Yes, it is O.K. to be honest with God, even with our doubts, even when we are discouraged. When we talk with God, we can tell it like it is!
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”
Partial belief is not enough
Here is another discovery that will help us come to a place where we recognize God in our lives. Many believe Jesus was a good man, an ethical teacher with good values. Some even believe he is Michael the archangel. But in fact, Christ is the God/man who died for all sin, rose from the dead for our justification, and who is without beginning or end, Almighty God in human flesh. We must receive Him as He actually is, Savior, Lord, and God, truly trusting Him alone to save us from our sin. Otherwise, we, too, will be foolish and slow of heart, and will not enjoy true fellowship with God.
“Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
Our disappointment, our discouragement, and our doubts may be caused by a lack of understanding Bible truth.
Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, our lack of insight may be because we have neglected to study the Scriptures for ourselves.
Christ is the central truth of the Bible and the key to unlocking its treasures.
Like them we need divine help to see Christ in all the Scriptures because here we have the promise of the Holy Spirit.
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you” Jn. 14:26. “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come” Jn. 16:13.
God wants our faith to be grounded in the Word
Bible study serves a much greater purpose than just building a theological structure—as important as good theology is. In its purest form, Bible study is to lead us to the living Christ. Even the Risen Christ directed the minds of these disciples to the Scriptures for needed insight.
These have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. John 20:31.
And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther. But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.”
Jesus waits for a personal invitation!
Do you feel alone? Have you invited Him in?
Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. Rev. 3:20
Perhaps some of us have trusted our lives to Christ for salvation and somehow through the years that close fellowship has grown lukewarm or cold. Take courage, it was to the lukewarm church of the Laodiceans that Jesus gave this invitation. Invite Him in. Whether it is for the first time for salvation or now for renewed fellowship, just give the invitation. Do you feel lukewarm and out of fellowship? This is the answer, the remedy. He is waiting for a personal invitation to bring salvation or to renew fellowship. Why not invite Him in?
So He went in to stay with them.
If you invite Christ into your life, he will come in.
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” Jn. 1:12. “He who believes has eternal life” Jn. 6:47. “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God” 1 Jn. 4:15.
The Christian life is meant to be a life of assurance, a life of abiding, and a life of fellowship with the Risen Christ!
When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.” They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.” They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.
Yes, in the breaking of the bread at the Lord’s Supper is where Jesus communes with us in a special way. By faith we recognize that He is present as we gather at the Lord’s Table. This is the service that new covenant Christians are to “remember” until he comes (Lk. 21:19; 1 Cor. 11:24, 25).
The presence of Jesus may warm our heart!
Today as we study the Scriptures with the presence of the Holy Spirit to guide us, we too, may often recognize that our heart burns within us as we commune with God in prayer and the study of his Word. This emotional experience is not the basis of our relationship; rather, it is the result of it.
The resurrection of Christ is good news that must be shared!
In Bible times, traveling at night was dangerous. However, these previously discouraged disciples, now enlightened by the Risen Christ, had good news that had to be shared. They quickly retraced their steps back to the other disciples in Jerusalem and shared with them the exciting message that Christ Arose! A realization of the significance of the death and resurrection of Christ is the motor that drives Christian service. It is the fuel that ignites missionaries to go to the dark, dangerous recesses of the earth. It is good news that must be shared!
As we celebrate the Resurrection of Christ, God wants to meet us on our road in life. He will come to us at the point of our deepest need. Even now, he may be at our side unrecognized. Share with him your deepest concerns. Accept him for who he is—the Almighty God. Go to the Scriptures yourself seeking Him and you will find him there. Ground your faith in the Bible and the Bible alone, and your heart will burn as you sense his presence. Invite him in and he will commune with you. Yes, you too, will find the fire that has burned in the hearts of true Christians and you, too, will find that you must share the good news—Christ arose! †
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