Surprised! / Our Daily Bread

Surprised! By: David McCasland Today’s Reading: Luke 24:13–35 Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. LUKE 24:31

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610), an Italian artist, was known for his fiery temperament and unconventional technique. He used ordinary working people as models for his saints and was able to make viewers of his paintings feel they were a part of the scene. The Supper at Emmaus shows an innkeeper standing while Jesus and two of His followers are seated at a table when they recognize Him as the risen Lord (Luke 24:31). One disciple is pushing himself to a standing position while the other’s arms are outstretched and his hands open in astonishment. Luke, who records these events in his gospel, tells us that the two men immediately returned to Jerusalem where they found the eleven disciples and others assembled together and saying, “ ‘The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter.’ Then [they] told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread” (vv. 33–35). Oswald Chambers said, “Jesus rarely comes where we expect Him; He appears where we least expect Him, and always in the most illogical connections. The only way a worker can keep true to God is by being ready for the Lord’s surprise visits.” Whatever road we are on today, may we be ready for Jesus to make Himself known to us in new and surprising ways. To find the Lord Jesus Christ we must be willing to seek Him.