The Road to Emmaus: When Jesus Walks Beside Us

The road to Emmaus is one of the most beautiful resurrection stories in the Bible — two heartbroken disciples walking home, joined by a stranger who turns out to be the risen Jesus himself. It's a story of despair turned to joy, and hope rekindled. Here's the account and its meaning.

Walking in despair

On the first Easter afternoon, two disciples were walking to the village of Emmaus, discussing the crucifixion with heavy hearts. They had hoped Jesus was the Messiah, but he had been killed, and their hopes seemed dead with him. As they walked, dejected, a stranger joined them and asked what they were discussing. They didn't recognise that it was Jesus himself.

Jesus explains the Scriptures

The stranger listened to their sorrow and confusion, then gently opened the Scriptures to them — showing how the Messiah's suffering and glory had been foretold all along. Beginning with Moses and the prophets, he explained how everything pointed to Christ. Their grief was met not first with a miracle, but with the Word, patiently unfolded.

'Did not our heart burn within us?'

As they neared the village, they urged the stranger to stay with them. At the table, when he took bread, blessed it, and broke it, their eyes were suddenly opened — they recognised Jesus, and he vanished from their sight. Astonished, they said to each other, 'Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?'

Jesus walks with the grieving

The story is a beautiful picture of how Jesus meets us in our discouragement. Even when we don't recognise him, he walks beside us in our confusion and grief. Often it's through the Scriptures, and in fellowship with him, that our eyes are opened and our hearts begin to burn again with hope. He draws near to the downcast.

The road to Emmaus reminds us that the risen Jesus draws near to the grieving and the disheartened, even when we don't recognise him — walking beside us, opening the Scriptures, and rekindling our hope. When you're discouraged and your hopes feel dead, take heart: Jesus is nearer than you think. Look for him in his Word, and your heart, too, may begin to burn within you.