The Opening Of Eyes
Or
The Breaking Of Bread
Sunday Oct. 1, 2023
Scripture To Consider:
“Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and Jesus 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. And they said to one another, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?’”
“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.” Luke 24.28-35
Something To Consider:
Jesus declared in John chapter 6, verses 35 and 48, “I am the bread of life.” And in verse 51 Jesus said, “I am the living bread.” Let no one be deceived, it takes the opening of the Scriptures to spiritually open a person’s eyes. It takes the breaking of the bread of life, which is the Word of God, and distributing or communicating the Word of God to overcome spiritual blindness.
Our text today is a prime example proving the Scriptures to be alive and an active agent in the lives of those whose hearts are open to the truth of the gospel. The Word of God is an all-consuming fire and more than able to burn away any and all chaff that may exist in a person’s life.
If we take the name of Christian, has the fire of God’s Word burned away the chaff of sin within our lives? Have we been recipients of a spiritual awakening from the death of our sins and trespasses? Has the Word of God become a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path? And if not, why not?
Jeremiah wrote, “O earth, earth, earth, hear the Word of the LORD.” And yet, for the most part the earth and its occupants of every generation have not heard the Word of the LORD. For the most part the so-called church has not heard the Word of the LORD. For the most part the so-called church has heard that which is a lie and that which is of tradition and not of the Word of the LORD. And how shameful it is!
Something Else To Consider:
The text mentions the breaking of bread, which opened the door for these early travelers to believe and opens the door for us to say a word concerning communion. Our taking part in communion can be a means of spiritual awakening, if it is observed not as a religious ritual but as an act of devoted worship to Jesus Christ.
Communion, or the breaking of bread, is to be a reverent remembrance of all Christ suffered in exchange for our spiritual freedom. As Jesus broke bread with those on the road to Emmaus their eyes became wide open so that they knew Jesus. As they shared in the breaking of bread, they recognized Jesus immediately. As we remember Jesus in communion our spiritual eyes can also be opened.
And yet, if we do not remember His Word we may become spiritually blinded to the things of God! The Psalmist declared in Psalm 119.16; “I will delight myself in Your statutes [Scriptures]; I will not forget Your Word.” Are we delighting ourselves in the Scriptures? Are we remembering or are we forgetting His Word due to the study or the neglect of His Word?
Something More To Consider:
So they, the two followers of Christ whose eyes were opened, so they rose up that very hour and traveled the seven miles back to Jerusalem in search of the eleven disciples. As these two men were filled with new spiritual vitality, having spent time with Jesus, the Word of God, they had to share the good news with others.
And in like manner as we spend time in the Word of God, fellowshipping with Jesus in spirit and in truth, our lives will become brightly burning lights shining in the darkness of this world. The bottom line is that the Word of God as it is read, studied, listened to, or shared, is powerful to open spiritually blinded eyes, as well as the eyes of those whose hearts are warm towards God and His Word.
John wrote in John 1.4-5, speaking of Jesus, “In Him [in Jesus] was life [is life], and the life was [is] the light of men [women and young people] and the light shines [shines present tense] in the darkness [of this world], and the darkness did not [and does not] comprehend [or fully understand] it [the light of Jesus, the Word of God].”
In other words, the opening of our eyes due to the hearing of the true Word of God, dispels the darkness of this world’s deceit and the enemy’s desire that we live in spiritual darkness. And the breaking of bread, or the breaking open the Word of God brings illuminating light into the midst of darkness. We become the light of this world when our spiritual eyes are opened, and we are found looking unto Jesus.
A Few Final Words:
As Jesus broke bread physically and spiritually in the presence of the two disillusioned followers on the road to Emmaus, their eyes were opened to the truth, and new hope revitalized them to share the good news with others.
Our communing with the Word of God is an eye-opening experience which well equips us to tell others of the wonderful, good news of Jesus Christ, and biblical truth concerning end time events and our need to endure to the end.
According to Luke, after Jesus had vanished from the presence of the two men who had traveled to Emmaus, they said; “Did not our hearts burn within us while He [Jesus] talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”
Prayer:
Our Father in heaven, may we be filled with the bread of life while our eyes and hearts are opened to the glory of God in and through Christ Jesus. In Him Always, Amen!
According to Jesus 