Tracing God's Story: Have You Missed Him?
"And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." — Luke 24:27 (ESV)
As we anticipate Easter this weekend, my mind has been thinking about those days after that very first resurrection Sunday.
In those days, instead of joy, there is fear. Grief. Disappointment. The Jesus that they loved, that they believed was the promised delivered they were waiting for, had died. Many had just heard that he had died, but not that he had resurrected. There were strange rumors floating around about an empty tomb, but they could not believe it.
Perhaps this is where the two followers were as they walked away from Jerusalem the afternoon of the first Easter. They clearly were faithful. They knew their Scriptures. They saw the miracles. But they witnessed the crucifixion too—and thought they knew the whole story.
But they were wrong.
The Emmaus Road Today
Perhaps that might be where you are today. We know the story of Easter. We may have known it for years. But that may also be the problem.
In her Bible study, The Promised One: Seeing Jesus in Genesis, Nancy Guthrie makes this observation on the disciples on their way to Emmaus:
“They thought they had understood who Jesus was and what he came to do. But because they actually misunderstood who he was and what he came to do, they completely missed him!
"Do you think you have Jesus figured out? Have you, at times, found yourself profoundly disappointed because Jesus has not done what you expected him to do?
"Sometimes, when we think we've got Jesus all figured out, we simply can't hear or can't see that our understanding is distorted or diminished. And sometimes we think we have Jesus figured out when really all we've done is create in our own minds the Jesus we want, the Jesus we can be comfortable with. We read the Bible and take what we want, shaping for ourselves a Jesus who is passionate about what we are passionate about, and skeptical about what we are skeptical about, condemning what we want to condemn....Isn't it interesting that we feel free to take so much liberty with defining who Jesus is and what he came to accomplish?"
As I shared in my last post, I am starting a new season of schooling, and this blog may reflect some of the things I’m learning. This season, I’m taking a Bible survey class. Basically, it’s a study in biblical theology.
After my first week of class, I realized that in order to keep myself from getting mired in the facts, I need to take some time to reflect on what I’m learning and how it is important to my own growth and walk with Christ. The first lectures made it clear that there are so many things about Jesus I have misunderstood because I thought I had Jesus figured out. I have read my Bible many times and it is easy to get caught in the weeds of historical context and word study. Not that it isn’t important. But it is only part of the story.
I have always loved thinking about how the Bible is God’s one amazing story. So over the next few months, we’ll be digging deeper into the Bible again, not just on how to study it. Not just on what God’s story is. But how different books in the Bible all pointed to Christ.
We want to do this not for more information but to see Jesus more clearly—not in the way we want to see Him but letting the Word speak for itself. Who is this Jesus that is the center of my faith? Why should I trust Him? And what does that look like to follow this Jesus? These are the questions in my own heart, and I hope they will resonate with yours.
Have you missed Jesus? If so, I hope you’ll join me as we take a sneak peek at what Jesus might have taught these two bewildered followers that day on the road to Emmaus. And Easter is a good time to start, don’t you think?
In the coming weeks we’ll trace selected sections of the Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi, not just for information. I want Him to open my eyes. I invite the Spirit to help me to understand. I desire that this will help me to share His Word with others with confidence. But ultimately, I want to grow in my worship.
