As we grow and mature in secular and spiritual matters, it becomes less and less likely that anything will surprise us. In fact, people in the world consider being unflappable and cool a desirable personality trait. We use this attribute in meetings at work or conversations with friends to portray ourselves as knowledgeable, having something to add to almost any subject. The encounter on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35; see also Mark 16:12) may be an experience that would astound even the most unflappable among us.

It tells a story about two people, Cleopas and a second, unnamed person walking home from Jerusalem on the road to Emmaus, a town west of the capital city. According to All the Men of the Bible by Herbert Lockyer, this Cleopas, a disciple, though not one of the twelve, is the husband of Mary, who witnessed Jesus' crucifixion (John 19:25, spelled "Clopas"). Much speculation revolves around the other person's identity. Commentators reasonably suggest several people, including Simon Peter and Cleopas' wife, Mary. Some believe John deliberately left it anonymous so the reader could insert himself into that role.

The story begins:

Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?" (Luke 24:13-17)

These two dusty travelers did not recognize Jesus, but if we were in their sandals, we would be wise to consider Hebrews 13:2: "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels." Here, they entertained the Son of God!

"These things which had happened" were Jesus' trial, execution, burial, and resurrection. Cleopas and his associate had witnessed some of these remarkable events, and they had heard details of all of them. While it is exciting to imagine their conversation, the text indicates its tone when Cleopas scoffs at their new Companion, saying, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?"

Luke describes how Cleopas laments to this Stranger that Jesus seems not to have been the Messiah they had expected. However, the Stranger demonstrates He knows significantly more than they do about the Messiah. During their long walk—at a comfortable walking pace of three miles per hour, the journey would have taken as long as two and a half hours—He sets them straight: "And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself" (Luke 24:27). They received an earful!

Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent." And He went in to stay with them.

Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. (Luke 24:28-31)

Jesus disappears, and the two immediately say to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us!" (Luke 24:32). In their defense, these two were in a state of spiritual exuberance, too intensely stimulated to contemplate and rue their earlier foibles deeply.

The story makes clear these two had actually seen the resurrected Jesus, but they were kept from recognizing Him. His identity was revealed to them only later that evening while sharing a meal. They may have recognized Him when He used familiar words in His prayer, but Jesus probably revealed Himself only after accomplishing His intended purpose in traveling with these two disciples.

Imagine their embarrassment as these two realized who their walking Companion was and remembered what they had thought or even said about this Stranger. What we suppose about their mortification may reflect our own immediate fears about our encounters with God during our walk with Him. But consider some corollary ways to react to this story:

We often think of God as far away in the third heaven, with Christ sitting at His right hand. Many of us begin our prayers this way. Perhaps, too, we think our prayers need to be efficient so we will not waste God's time. He is a busy God with the entire universe to run, and being creatures bound to the physical, we think He can spare only so much attention per person per day. We courteously do not want to take time from others. However, one of God's attributes is omnipresence, which means God is not bound to time and place as we are. He is always present. This reality means that Jesus Christ can walk with us and with someone else on the other side of the planet simultaneously, 24/7/365!

When on a walk with someone—or at a party, at work, at dinner, before Sabbath services, etc.—good manners make it incumbent on us to carry our side of a conversation. We teach our kids that conversation is like a tennis match: One side serves and then waits for the other to return the ball, and then there may be a volley, back and forth. Such is the nature of conversation and fellowship. We can envision maintaining our conversation with Jesus by remembering His walk with two disciples on the road to Emmaus. While He knows our nature already, we can learn more about His nature as we continue our walk with Him. In reality, He is always with us through His Spirit, but if we feel distant from Him, it might be time to extend an invitation to go on a walk.

There is another positive benefit to imagining Jesus Christ at our side instead of "way off in the third heaven." A truly humble Christian who desires to please God often desires to beg His forgiveness for his faults, weaknesses, and sins, which always happens after transgressing His law. Recognizing that He is always at our side provides a Christian's conscience with three timeframes relative to transgression:

1. After we sin: We will feel our conscience pricked immediately after we transgress.

2. As we sin: We know there is a Witness to our sin in the moment of transgression.

3. Before we sin: We may receive correction before we transgress (may we be so blessed!).

Ideally, knowing Christ strolls at our side, we realize that we should consult with Him (even if ever so briefly) before we do anything!

Finally, consider the excitement expressed by Cleopas and his fellow disciple. Imagine walking with Christ while He explains all the Old Testament scriptures that point to Him. After their experience with Him, the two disciples say to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us"! The word "burn" in Luke 24:32 is kaiomenē (Strong's #2545), which means "ignite, light, burn." It can describe a beneficial burning like lighting a candle for light in Matthew 5:15, or a terrible burning like the Lake of Fire in Revelation 21:8. Sometimes it is appropriate for a Christian to be on fire, to feel zeal for God on the one hand or to feel the burn of correction on the other.

The story finishes in Luke 24:33-35:

So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.

That same night, Cleopas and his companion hurry back, probably running the seven miles to Jerusalem to relate their story, breathless with exertion and excitement. Right in the middle of their recounting of events, Jesus suddenly appears among them (verse 36)! What an amazing validation of their experience.

What is just as exciting is that we walk with Jesus too—all the time! Just as He did with these disciples, let Him teach us and set our hearts on fire!