To Encourage You

Luke 24:25 “And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!”

I read a sermon today by the late Martin Lloyd Jones on Jesus’ encounter with two of His disciples on the road to Emmaus right after the resurrection. It is one of my favorite stories in all the Bible. One of the things that Pastor Lloyd Jones brings out in his wonderful sermon especially spoke to me. (If you’ve never read anything by this man, I’d encourage you too. He was a wonderful writer and he has always challenged me to think more deeply about the things of which he wrote). You see, as these disciples walked along the road, they were depressed. Jesus had been crucified, and they saw little hope for their future. Somehow, they were kept from recognizing Jesus in His resurrection body when they first saw Him, and it was in that condition that Jesus makes the statement to them in the above verse. He had first asked them why they were so downcast. They then told him about the crucifixion and that some women had said that they had gone to the tomb and found it empty. The women had said that they had seen a vision of angels, and the angels had told them that Jesus was alive. Others had gone to the tomb as well, and although they had seen the empty tomb, they hadn’t seen Jesus – so they obviously doubted the women’s report. In fact, earlier in the chapter it says the disciples thought the women’s report was nonsense. It was to this that Jesus calls them “foolish ones.” He tells them that they were “slow of heart to believe all the prophets” had spoken to them in their writings.

You see, that was their problem. They knew some of what the Old Testament prophets had written about the Messiah, but there were other parts they either hadn’t read or hadn’t understood. It was at this point that “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, (Jesus) interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” He showed them how the prophets had written that He must die, but that it was only after He had suffered, that He would “enter into His glory.” Later, after Jesus left them, the disciples said “Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”

It is noteworthy that it was only after He had talked to them, that He opened their eyes to recognize Him. What a lesson this is for us today. Jesus’ message to us, just like it was to these two disciples, is that we are fools if we don’t believe all that the prophets have spoken. We rob ourselves of the burning heart that comes when our eyes are opened to the wondrous things in the Word of God as they are revealed to us, not by Jesus walking beside us on the road, but by the Holy Spirit, Who lives within every true believer. However, it is unbelief – or the “slow heart to believe” – that can keep us from the experiencing the wonderful joy of having the truth of the Scriptures dawn on our heart.

For example, the Bible tells us plainly that God created the world in six literal days. In John 1 it further tells us that Jesus is the Creator, for “all things were made through Him.” Then in Colossians 1:16 we are told, “For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him.” Think of the wonder of this all! Think of how incredibly powerful this awesome Creator is! Ponder the truth that this awesome being came to earth to be born in a manger, walked and talked with people on this earth, and then humbled Himself to die on the cross to redeem those He had created from the sin that would otherwise condemn them to hell. Of course, you can reject this part of the Scriptures. You can think that everything in the universe came about by chance. You can think that Jesus did not create all this in six days, but if you do, know that your thinking is based on something other than “all that the prophets have spoken” and you are robbing yourself of knowing Jesus in all the glory in which He would have you to know Him.

And that’s just one example. There are many more. But that burning heart will only come as you search the Scriptures, believe them, and ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to Who Jesus Christ is, just as Jesus Himself did for the two disciples on that road to Emmaus. May God give us the wisdom to not be foolish and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken, for with that wisdom, and with that intimacy of fellowship with our Creator, comes the deep and abiding joy, that burning heart, that the knowledge that comes only from God can give.