People with dramatic “Damascus Road” conversion stories often get a lot of press. We love to hear them talk. You probably know some people with testimonies like this, totally unexpected encounters with the living God. One friend of mine became a believer because she encountered Jesus in a dream.
Far more common, however, are what I call “Emmaus Road” conversion stories—neither amazing nor dramatic, but profoundly effective in moving people from unbelief to belief. So let’s consider that original road trip from Luke 24 and see what we can learn from it.
On the Road with Jesus
Cleopas and his companion were disciples who had been in the room when the women returned from the empty tomb on the day of Jesus’s resurrection, stayed around to hear Peter’s report, and then left the city for Emmaus, a town seven miles away. Very soon after leaving the city they gained a traveling companion who, upon hearing their story, “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets…explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” (Luke 24:27 NIV). We don’t know what specific passages were used, but we can guess that he referred to Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 to discuss his suffering and the hints of resurrection in Psalm 16:11 and Isaiah 53:10–12. The travelers’ failure to realize who was with them on the journey makes it all the more interesting.
It was Jesus, of course, on that three-hour journey with them, patiently leading the conversation through the Scriptures and finally revealing who he was. As in a Damascus Road experience, there was a moment of recognition, but it came at the end of a lengthy examination of Scripture.
The Path for Modern Seekers
So just how is Jesus “on the journey” with seekers in our churches today? Do they recognize him? Do they know how long he has been alongside? Can they hear answers to their questions in their church experiences?
And what questions are they asking? It’s likely that the walkers to Emmaus had many of the same ones: Just who was Jesus really? Was he really the prophesied Deliverer? Why did he have to die? How does that relate to sin? How can the resurrection possibly be real—isn’t death absolutely permanent in our experience? How can we find hope in our daily existence?
Leading the Way
How can we, as leaders, create this Emmaus Road experience for the questioners in our midst? Like Jesus walking alongside, we’ll need to practice a rather long obedience as we journey with them, patiently presenting scriptural truth, always leading in the direction of accepting Jesus for who he said he was.
So be encouraged when people move slowly through their questions about Jesus. You may be praying for that Damascus Road thunderbolt and despairing each day that the flash of recognition doesn’t happen. But it’s a long road to Emmaus. The reality of Jesus continues to confront and confound the linear logic of modern seekers. But in God’s mercy, the moment of faith will come, and their hearts will burn when they recognize who this Jesus person really is.
