You’ve undoubtedly heard the story. Maybe you’ve even seen the famous painting. Two disciples were walking to Emmaus soon after Jesus was crucified — talking a mile a minute about the strange events of recent days. To most youth ministry students, the focal point of this scene is Jesus’ preferred mode of transportation: He just vanished! And that’s about all I noticed in my early days as a believer — the fact that this magical movement proved beyond doubt that Jesus was the Messiah.
Jesus, unrecognizable to the two disciples, sidled up and inquired about their conversation, at which point they asked, “How do you not know about this? What rock did you just crawl out from under?” (to which Jesus would have had a great response had He been a sarcastic Messiah).
Rather than blowing them away with inside information, He, instead, did something that was so Jesus: He taught them. And His teaching, which brought profound heart-change, gives us a model to imitate — that is: Let Jesus do the teaching.
Scripture Text
Pick up the action with Jesus’ remarks after the disciples recounted the events of the past three days (see
25He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. 28As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. 29But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” —
25Then he said to them, “So thickheaded! So slow-hearted! Why can’t you simply believe all that the prophets said? 26Don’t you see that these things had to happen, that the Messiah had to suffer and only then enter into his glory?” 27Then he started at the beginning, with the Books of Moses, and went on through all the Prophets, pointing out everything in the Scriptures that referred to him. 28They came to the edge of the village where they were headed. He acted as if he were going on 29but they pressed him: “Stay and have supper with us. It’s nearly evening; the day is done.” So he went in with them. 30And here is what happened: He sat down at the table with them. Taking the bread, he blessed and broke and gave it to them. 31At that moment, open-eyed, wide-eyed, they recognized him. And then he disappeared. 32Back and forth they talked. “Didn’t we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us?” — Luke 24:25-32, The Message
Think About It
To most youth ministry students, the focal point of this scene is Jesus’ preferred mode of transportation: He just vanished! And that’s about all I noticed in my early days as a believer — the fact that this magical movement proved beyond doubt that Jesus was the Messiah.
What of the miracle that took place after Jesus left — when the disciples turned to one another and said, essentially in unison, “Weren’t our hearts burning inside us when He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” This was more than a made-for-painting miracle moment. It was a biblical precedent that shows what can happen when Jesus Himself opens up Scripture to us — and it’s a miracle we can consistently experience in student ministry.
So how do we get there? The three main players in this scene — the disciples, Scripture, and Jesus Himself — can show us how.
Curious Disciples
These guys expected Jesus to be a great Redeemer in the style of Moses. You can almost hear their disappointment as they explained how this “Redeemer” was handed over to the chief priests and crucified. What they’d missed in Scripture was the suffering their Redeemer would have to endure — and, thus, they missed Jesus entirely.
This is what Jesus went back and highlighted for them in their pocket Old Testaments — that the Christ had to “suffer these things.” Their expectant hearts kept them listening as Jesus put the pieces of the puzzle together; and as the picture of a suffering Redeemer emerged, their hopes were rekindled and their hearts began to warm.
Scripture
Jesus spent the entire journey using Scripture to help the disciples understand recent events and, more importantly, to soften their hearts toward Himself. His dependence on the written Word is underscored by the fact that Jesus had real nail marks He could have shown them at any time to get a “Wow!”
But He let Scripture get the “Wow!”; and in doing so, He illustrated to us the role of God’s Word in leading people to Himself. Paul told Timothy that the Scriptures can make a person wise for salvation (2 Timothy 3:15), and Philip used a single passage in Isaiah to unfold the Good News of Jesus to the Ethiopian (Acts 8:35).
Never underestimate the power and potential of Scripture in student outreach. It explains Jesus much better than we can.
Jesus
This scene is Jesus’ longest post-Resurrection revelation to His followers. And it illustrates one of the most overlooked and underrated traits of Jesus today: He loved to teach. And His teaching was driven by compassion. Jesus’ rebuke in verse 25 shows that He might have had good reason to dismiss the disciples
for their lack of faith. But His all-day, intensive teaching reveals His great patience in helping them “get it.”
Apply It
Most of us know what a Luke 24 “heart burn” experience feels like — when something clicks into place and the Spirit graces us with a personal “Oh, wow!”
moment. What’s more, there’s not a better moment in youth ministry than when this happens with a student. Our challenge is to provide opportunities for
students’ hearts to be warmed by Jesus. And this requires that we trust several things — none of which are ourselves.
Trust students’ curiosity
Take heart in knowing that students in your ministry are up for more of a challenge than you may think. Anecdotal and empirical data show that adolescents are
curious about spiritual things; and like the two disciples, they’re ready to engage. Don’t let your fear of the teenage attention span “dumb down” your quest to
teach them.
The tangible consequences of a heartburning moment with Jesus are too good to pass up: wisdom to make good decisions, strength to beat temptations,
resolve to withstand peer pressure, and, best of all, an insatiable hunger for more of Jesus.
Trust Scripture
It’s no secret that the church in general and youth ministry in particular are in a state of rampant biblical illiteracy. Some say that Bible literacy doesn’t matter in
today’s experiential, postmodern world. But knowing Bible facts and events isn’t the point. Knowing Jesus is. And the more we know Jesus, the more we tune
in to the things that are important to Him. One of those is His Word.
Luke 24 bears out that if we want to stay fresh in our pursuit of Christ…if we want to avoid adopting stereotypical and often inaccurate pictures of Jesus…if we
don’t want to miss out on seeing His activity in today’s world, then we need to be Scripture-centric in our lives and ministries. God promises great reward
when we let Scripture get the “Wow!”
Trust Jesus
Revisit Luke 24 and notice again that Jesus did the teaching. Frankly, we can’t come close to explaining Scripture the way Jesus can. So let’s not beat our heads against the wall trying. Let Jesus do it. He promised to be here with us. He promised to show up when we have faith and obey His commands. Jesus will open the Scriptures to us and our students. The question is: When, in the course of our busy days, will we give Him time to do it?
Perhaps your teaching ministry or personal quiet times with Jesus need to be refreshed. Carve out time soon when you can give Him the chance to open up the Scriptures to you — and then to your students. Luke 24 gives the model for what you need: curiosity, Scripture, and lingering time with Jesus. And when hearts start to burn, just keep feeding the fire.
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A 20-year youth ministry veteran, Barry Shafer is the founder and director of InWord Resources (www.inword.org), a ministry that encourages depth in youth ministry by enabling students and youth workers to become better equipped with God’s Word. Shafer is the author of numerous student devotionals and small-group studies, including ‘James: 12 Inductive Sessions on Practical Christianity‘ (YS).
