JESUS, ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS
A MISSIONS PERSPECTIVE
Neal Pirolo
Being very familiar with the story of Jesus meeting up with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus can make it very easy to read through it quickly and move on to the next story. However, one day the details of this encounter captivated my attention. Six things that Jesus did, stood out like signposts along that road. I saw a distinct parallel between His actions and the actions that every good missionary will follow in the missions process. Join me on this walk:
1) Jesus came along side and walked with the disciples. In His glorified body Jesus could have done some pretty dramatic attention-grabbing antics. He could have levitated. He could have appeared and disappeared. He could have passed right through their bodies. But He didn’t. He came alone side of them and walked with them.
A good missionary will come along side and work with the nationals. The days of paternalistic colonialism should have never happened. But, for sure, those methods will not work today. The rise of nationalism will not allow them. The communication networks of the world, which have created a global village, will not permit them. The representation of the smallest ethnos in the forums of the world will not grant the richer nations the “privilege” to exploit those once considered barbaric. The principles of Christianity have taken hold in these societies forbidding such tactics to be practiced.
A good missionary will recognize the worth of the poorest (or richest) of peoples—the least educated or the most highly trained. And find ways to come along side of them and work with them. This is for their good as well as the missionary. What sense of worth can one feel if others come in to do everything for him?
2) Jesus hid His own identity from them. Jesus did not say, “Look at Me. See My hands and feet. The wound in My side. Can you even imagine how much I have suffered for you?” He unobtrusively walked with them as if He were another traveler. He had the power to deny them the knowledge of His identity.
A good missionary will hide his own identity. This, of course, is a bit more difficult for a missionary to do. The passport he carries identifies him. He generally comes with resources—finances and people and materials. But there are ways to remain “low key.” In acts of humility, the missionary can allow his presence to be in the background. If any names must be in the marquee let it be the names of the nationals. Or, even better, let the Name of Jesus be the only one lifted up.
3) Though Jesus knew their need, He allowed them to verbalize it. Solomon said that only a fool says all; a wise man holds back until the right time. Jesus knew that these discouraged disciples needed to express their sorrow and sadness; to process the thoughts and feelings they so recently experienced; to verbalize their disappointment: “We thought He was the Messiah.”
A good missionary will discover the felt needs of the nationals and integrate what God has shown him to share. Sometimes missionaries look on the nationals as non-person objects of their great expression of love. “After all,” they may say, “we have given up so much to come to your country.” Not out loud, of course. But non-verbal communication sometimes yells louder than words.
It is true that we who have trusted in Christ as Savior know what the world needs. We can look at any person following any pursuit of fulfillment and know that if Christ is not there, all is vanity and chasing of the wind. For, there is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart (or liver or spleen or throat) of every living person, which can be filled by none other than God, Himself. But an entrance of a culturally relevant presentation of the Gospel—one that makes sense to the hearer—may take some time of listening to “where they are coming from.”
4) Jesus revealed Himself through the Word. This is an awesome thought: The very Word of God, Himself, went to the Scriptures to reveal Himself. Again, He could have just showed them His scars. Or told them a good story. Or tried to cheer them up with a good opening joke. No! He went through the Books of Moses, the Psalms and the Prophets revealing that the Messiah must suffer. This is the message they needed that evening.
A good missionary will direct the nationals to the Word. He will let the Message of Hope come from the Bible. Whether it is by story-telling (a very good method in many cultures) or verse-by-verse Bible study, the basis of every study must be found in the Word of God. What better (in any of our "programs") do we have to offer? Note with interest that Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost was one Scripture after another, laced with a few words of his own.
5) Jesus stayed with them until their hearts were "burning" within them. A fire had once burned in their hearts. Those flames had been all but extinguished by their interpretation of the events of the last few days. Jesus did not come with a blast of the Holy Spirit and totally blow away the embers still smoking. Nor did He wait until He had “earned the right” to share the Truth with them. But, sensitive to the Spirit of God, He gently fanned those embers into a flame of fire.
A good missionary will get a fire kindled (or rekindled) in the hearts of the nationals. He will work with them, mentoring them until that Flame is burning brightly. One of the saddest stories I have to tell is this: One of my Board members asked me to visit a friend of his on one occasion when we were traveling to Europe. I did not look forward to the visit. This friend was pastoring a church in one of the deadest denominations in Germany. We dutifully obliged him with all the niceties of polite society. All the time looking for the “moment of escape.” It came on the Sunday afternoon when we had to catch a bus back to Western Europe. But he insisted on walking us to the bus. Not until we saw the bus approaching, did I see the “smoking flax” (see Matthew 12:20). In those last few moments he had before we left, he said, “Neal, I know I am pastoring a dead church. I spend my time going from the hospital to the mortuary. Can you send someone to help me with my youth?” In every heart there is either a fire to be rekindled or one to be ignited. Unfortunately, I missed an opportunity to “fan a flame”.
6) When the disciples were able to minister on their own--running back to Jerusalem shouting, "He's risen! He's risen!"--Jesus split! He wasn't needed there anymore. He had other work to do. He "got out of the way!"
A good missionary will anxiously look for the time to turn ministry over to the nationals. Often times, this is a lot sooner than he thinks. He must "get out of the way!" A wise Chinese once said, “Missionaries, at best, should regard themselves as scaffolding to be taken down and shipped on to the next building site as soon as the church can stand on its own.” Unfortunately the mission fields of the world are strewn with the “scaffolding” of well-intentioned missions. Paul seemed anxious for Titus to “get on with it” in appointing elders in Crete. He said that he knew that they were “slow bellies”—lazy! Their own poets had said so. But let’s get the job done that I sent you there to do, seems to be the tenor of those opening verses of Titus.
This, then, is the Emmaus Road Story from a missionary perspective. It can help us focus our attention on the primary objectives of Christ’s Command: As you are going throughout the world, you will be witnesses unto Me. Preach the Word; make disciples of all nations.
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