WHY CAN’T WE SEE JESUS?
Have you ever had a desire to see Jesus? A vision or a dream of Jesus speaking to you or walking with you would be a very encouraging phenomenon. But the average follower of Christ does not typically receive such a vision. One fellow I read recently shared how he envied those who had seen such a vision of Jesus and wished he could.
In the book Heaven is for Real, Todd Burpo writes about the experiences of his young son who, while on the operating table, visited heaven and saw Jesus. Colton, the young boy, described in vivid details what he saw to his parents. Colton attempted to recount the character and features of Jesus. His father showed him artist renderings of Jesus, but none matched what Colton had seen. Then, a young woman who had also had a vision of Jesus, shared a painting she done of Jesus, and Colton cried, “That’s him.”
The scriptures tell us that women and men will dream dreams and have visions, so I will not deny that they have them. It is strangely curious to me that the gospel writers NEVER describe Jesus’ physical features. I find it even more telling that Paul, who saw Jesus on the Road to Damascus and was taken up to the third heaven, dares not tell us what he saw. Paul even speaks of himself in the third person as if to distance himself from this vision. It strikes me most profoundly that Paul could have told us what Jesus looks like and refuses to do so, while a little boy’s vision tops the book sales charts. I wonder if any artist rendering of Jesus borders on idolatry.
Why can’t we see Jesus?
As we continue the narrative of the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus, we will come to understand why we don’t see Jesus. At the same time, we will learn how to see and recognize Jesus today.
Let’s continue the journey in Luke 24:28-35 and see where it takes us.
Inviting Jesus to Stay (28-30)
In these verses, the two disciples come to a crossroads. They have heard this stranger on the Road to Emmaus explain how the Christ had to suffer using the OT as proof. Now comes the test for their hunger and response to the Lord and his teaching.
Then we read, “He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.’ So, he went in to stay with them,” (28b-29). If the disciples want to continue to pursue relationship with this man, they must invite him to stay. Jesus is Lord, but he does not force himself upon them.
Jesus would have moved on if they had not invited him to stay. If they had not invited him, they would have remained unchanged by the words they heard. It is not enough to simply hear the Words of Jesus; one must pursue intimacy with Jesus himself.
Jesus wants to stay with them. He will not force himself upon them. In John’s vision in Revelation, he portrays Jesus as standing at the door and knocking, and if anyone hears his voice and opens the door, Jesus will come in and eat with him (Rev. 3:20).
These disciples chose intimacy. They “urged” him to stay. The word “urged” means “to use force to accomplish something” or “to prevail upon.” They were insistent that this stranger stay with them and share a meal. To engage in table fellowship implies hospitality, but also intimate trust. It is an act pregnant with possibilities too in that Luke portrays meals in his gospel account as the site of some sort of revelation of the kingdom of God.
Then a curious thing happens. The guest becomes the host. “When he was at table with them he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them,” (30). A seemingly simple act becomes the stage for revelation. Did they see his nail-scarred hands as he broke the bread? Or was it the way he acted: Took – Blessed – Broke – Gave. Think of the feeding of the 5000 in Luke 9:16 (read), or the Last Supper (read 22:19). Same actions as he now performed. Was it the simple Hebrew blessing he prayed? Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, shehecheyanu v-ki'y'manu v-higianu la-z'man ha-zeh. Blessed are you, Our God, Ruler of the Universe, for giving us life, for sustaining us, and for enabling us to reach this season. Or was it the total package?
I believe it was, in part, the way he broke the bread and gave it to them. He did it in keeping with who he is, the host and not the guest. You see, the Lord Jesus is not just the unseen guest in our homes. He is much more. He comes as the unseen host, to take charge, and to lead in our fellowship to minister, lead, feed, and sustain us. When we invite him into our lives, he blesses us with his leading presence.
Having Our Eyes Opened (31-32)
An Italian Baroque painter named Caravaggio produced a painting called “Supper at Emmaus.” Jesus is seen blessing the food, but the two disciples are in a state of surprise. One has his arms outstretched in wonder, while the other looks like he will jump out of his chair. The waiter, meanwhile, has a “duh” moment. This is the moment of revelation. Their eyes are opened. They see Jesus!
There are two questions we need to ask in response to this scene. The first is this: Why couldn’t they recognize Jesus all this time?
If we go back in the narrative to 24:16, we read that “their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” A literal translation is “their eyes were overpowered.” Then in verse 31 “And their eyes were opened.” Both actions are passive with respect to the subjects. That means something was done to them that they had no control over. For the purposes of revealing himself, Jesus kept them from recognizing him.
We sometimes talk about the lenses we use to see and interpret events. We can take them on and off at will. But here the choice is Christ’s – it is a Christ-centered moment orchestrated for his purposes. He reveals himself to the disciples when the time is right. The human trigger in this revelation, I believe, was in the disciples’ invitation for Jesus to stay, or literally – abide – with them.
The apostle Paul explains that the person who is not seeking Christ will not see him because there is a veil over their eyes. “But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed,” (2 Cor. 3:16). They will not understand scripture; sermons will seem pointless; church has no meaning…until the person turns to Jesus. Until then they are blinded by the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:3-4).
The second question is this: Why did Jesus disappear after they recognized him?
The consensus among scholars drives home an important truth. Just as Jesus told Mary Magdalene not to hold on to him (John 20:17), Jesus did not want these two disciples to cling to his physical person. From now on there will be another way to see Jesus that are hinted at in this text.
There are two visible signs of the church in which we recognize the person of Jesus: Preaching the Word and Communion. We see this reflected in the Emmaus event when Jesus explained the suffering Messiah to the disciples through the OT, and then as he broke the bread before them. And what was the essence of the new church following Pentecost? In Acts 2:42 we read, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” This is how the community of faith practices the presence of Jesus: teaching the Word and breaking bread.
Why did Jesus disappear after they recognized him? Because he gave them these two signs to remind them of the resurrected Christ. Jesus would soon ascend to the right hand of God to begin to rule over his kingdom. In his absence he left them with these simple but profound reminders.
Not only did the believers share the communion table, but they also broke bread in their homes (Acts 2:46). Every meal is sacred when Christians gather to share it. When we share the Lord’s Supper, we recognize the presence of the Lord with us. But even the meals in our homes are sacred times of table fellowship and a reminder of Jesus’ presence. When we eat together, let us consciously recognize the Lord’s presence.
Going Back to Jerusalem (33-35)
Having experienced the risen Christ, the two disciples left the table, gave no care to the clock, and headed back to Jerusalem. This is a great reversal; a 180 degree turn. If the journey of the two disciples to Emmaus symbolized a journey to despair, the return to Jerusalem symbolized a return to hope.
Here is a third critical question: Why did the two disciples go back to Jerusalem?
With the journey to Emmaus, the community of disciples was breaking apart. To return to Jerusalem, they were willing to re-enter the fellowship of like-minded believers who shared the testimony of the resurrection of Jesus. Remember, NT Wright said that Christianity is a resurrection movement. A movement like this was meant to be shared.
Note the subtleties of these verses in relation to the church. “And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed,” (33-34a). They arose – they were spiritually restored to a condition of faith; they found the eleven – they went searching for the very people who would be excited about their experience with Jesus; then they told what happened – they explained how Jesus taught them on the road and then revealed himself with the breaking of the bread. These believers were able to encourage one another because they had seen the risen Christ.
Do you see it? This…is…the church! We are celebrating the risen Christ every Sunday. We are practicing his presence at the table of fellowship, when we eat our meals. We gather together to share in the faith we have in Jesus Christ.
It is often said by various individuals that they prefer to worship God in his natural temple. They mean, of course, being in nature, by a lake or on a mountain, in a forest or by a river. I have no problem with that conviction regarding worship. You can worship God alone. But what you cannot do alone is be the church. Church by its very definition is an assembly of people called out to be God’s people.
In the church, we practice the presence of Christ so that we may be the presence of Christ in the world. And as the world observes the church, they are supposed to see that we belong to Christ as we love one another.
Covid has really done a number on that ideal. We have been divided in our families and in our church. We have been divided over the vaccines. We have been divided on lockdowns and masks. We have been divided over convoys and health restrictions. These divisions have nearly broken us as the people of God. What we have forgotten is Jesus Christ, risen from the dead. His resurrection binds individual believers together into his body. His body ought not to be fractured and it is our task together with the Holy Spirit to be brought back under the Lordship of Jesus into one new person. So let us forgive one another and let us love one another. Let us go back to being a people of hope for a despairing world.
Why can’t we see Jesus?
Visions and dreams are ecstatic experiences that give incredible comfort and strength to people who have them. Why don’t all Christians have them?
I believe that Jesus meant for us to see himself in each other. We don’t all have visions and dreams of Jesus because God wants us to see Jesus in the ordinary parts of our day, in the encounters we have with each other, and when we share our tables.
Remember Jesus’ parable of the final judgment? He said when the Son of Man comes in his glory, he will gather all the nations, and like a shepherd he will separate the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on the right and the goats on the left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me,” (Matthew 25:34-36).
And the righteous will answer him, “When did we do that?”
The King will answer, “Whatever you did to the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did to me.”
That’s you and me. Where do we see Jesus? When we do good to each other, when we show grace and mercy to each other, and when we love each other warts and all.
The presence of Christ is here. Christ is among us.
If we can’t see Jesus, pray the Spirit opens our eyes.
AMEN
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