Think Like a Follower
They were talking to Him, about Him, they just did not know it was Him. Weird, I know. Well, kind of. In their defense, you do not really go looking for someone the day after they are crucified. Then again, these were supposed to be disciples of Jesus, not to mention He told them this would happen. Still, they were dragging along on the road to Emmaus, all hope lost because they thought Jesus was dead.
“What's wrong?” Jesus asked. “Dude, you're kidding, right? You must be the only person on earth who doesn't know what happened.” “What do you mean?” “Jesus. Ever heard of Him?” the disciple said with a tinge of sarcasm in his voice. “Well, He was crucified.” “Oh, that's interesting, who was He to you?” “He was a powerful prophet and our teacher who we had hoped would redeem Israel” (Lk. 24:13–32). There it was, what they really thought of Jesus, a prophet, not the Savior of the world. They had hoped in Him but that hope was lost when He was killed. Ironically, what they thought made Jesus a failure is what had actually redeemed them.
I grew up in Virginia so our school field trips were usually to places where famous battles were fought like Gettysburg, Williamsburg, especially Yorktown where America gained its independence. Despite the recent trend of destroying monuments, people like to remember their victories. Ever wonder why the disciples were on the road to Emmaus? After what they perceived to be a great defeat at the Cross, they needed a field trip to remind themselves that victory over the enemy was indeed possible, even if it had not quite happened for them. Judas Maccabees had led the Jewish people in a victorious battle against the Syrians at the Battle of Emmaus 150 years before Jesus (1 Maccabees 4). While Jesus was talking to the disciples about redemption, they were picturing a Maccabean-style defeat of the Romans. To their dismay, Jesus’ idea of defeating the enemy was not to kill them but, to die for them (Lk. 6:27-35).
The disciples followed Jesus but they did not think like Him. Sadly, many modern-day believers also refuse to adopt the mind of Christ. Christianity is more of a label to people than an identity. We get saved, we believe the story but we do not live like Christ. We do not live like Christ because we do not think like Christ. We do not think like Christ because we do not read God's Word. We do not read His Word because we do not care about His way and His will, we have our own agenda. The disciples were praying for their own will to be done. They had their own agenda, defeating the Romans. They wanted liberation, and victory over their enemy. The last thing on their mind was salvation for all mankind.
The disciples did not know who Jesus was on the road to Emmaus because they did not yet think like followers. The fight was against the enemy, but not the Romans, the fight was spiritual. Jesus could have wiped out the Romans with His pinky finger but the plan was greater, much greater. God has shared His plans with us through His Word so that we can begin to think with eternity in mind. We are living Bible prophecy. There are all types of plot twists and interesting characters involved but no need to fret, we know how the story ends and we are victorious! “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor. 15:55-57).
Think like a follower of Jesus Christ. Let everything you do in life be informed by His Holy Word. Do not drag along on the road to Emmaus reminiscing of old victories when the best is yet to come. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:3).
