28 And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther. 29 But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them. Luke 24:28–29

Who wouldn’t want even more of Jesus’ teaching if the opportunity presented itself? But he apparently had places to be in their eyes, just as he came strolling by the struggling disciples rowing against a great wind on the sea. In that case, “he intended to pass them by.” (Mark 6:48)

When we intentionally sit down with the Word, we invite Jesus in, to spend more time with him, to teach us. He can’t refuse our hospitality! My mother read the morning paper from cover to cover every day. She looked forward to it. In the same way, we should anticipate with excitement hearing more of God’s word each day.

30 When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. Luke 24:30–31

And they sat down after their long walk together to break bread, but interestingly, Jesus took the role of the host to bless the meal. When he took the bread and broke it, the men observed the nail prints on his wrists, and he was revealed to them, and he “vanished.” Contrary to my understanding of many years, they did not find the manner in which he broke the bread a dead giveaway, since the two men were not a part of the twelve, and were not present in the Upper Room (but they could have observed Jesus feed the five thousand, Matthew 14:19).

They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us.” Luke 24:32

Before sprinting back to the apostles, the men savored the enlightenment from their conversation with the risen Christ for a moment. The Greek word kaio for “burning” here means to bring to “spiritual light.”

When they finally made it back to Jerusalem, they found the eleven apostles together with the others. By that time, Peter had seen Jesus. Given the supernatural capabilities of Jesus’ new body, that encounter could have been anytime between the apostle’s visit to the tomb and his return to the fold.

Despite the preponderance of the evidence, some of the men, Thomas most assuredly, still doubted. (Mark 16:13) It’s important to note that Thomas did finally have his face-to-face encounter with the risen Lord. (John 20:26-28) Actually, what we hold in our hands, bound in leather or a tablet accessing zeros and ones, is evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.

We should purpose each day to be enlightened. Jesus wants to join us and shed light on so many things if we’ll let him.