by Janet Mushi | 2 January 2019 08:46 am01
Many believers today long for a personal, tangible encounter with Jesus — to hear His voice audibly, to see His face, to walk with Him physically. But Scripture reveals something greater than outward experience: the inner revelation of Christ through His Word.
After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to two disciples walking to Emmaus, yet they didn’t recognize Him. Why? Because their spiritual perception was not yet opened — a condition common even among believers today.
Let’s revisit that powerful story — and ask ourselves: Has Jesus opened our minds to understand the Scriptures?
📖 Luke 24:13–16 (NIV)
“Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.”
Jesus didn’t appear with angelic light or divine power — He simply walked with them in the form of a man. They were discussing Him, and where two or three gather in His name, He is present (Matthew 18:20). This shows us that Christ honors spiritual fellowship.
Yet the disciples couldn’t recognize Him — not because He looked different, but because “they were kept from recognizing him.” (v. 16). This signifies that spiritual blindness is not due to lack of information, but lack of divine revelation.
📖 Luke 24:25–27 (NIV)
“He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”
Notice: Jesus didn’t first reveal Himself physically — He revealed Himself through the Word.
🔎 Theological Insight:
Jesus could have said, “It’s Me! Look at My face!” But He didn’t. Why? Because faith that is grounded in sight is weak (John 20:29). Faith that is grounded in Scripture is lasting and fruitful (Romans 10:17).
Here, Jesus affirms the authority and unity of the Old Testament — showing that from Moses (Torah) to the Prophets, the entire Hebrew Bible points to Himself (cf. John 5:39).
📖 Luke 24:32 (NIV)
“They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’”
When Jesus expounds the Word, it ignites spiritual hunger, recognition, and conviction. This inner burning is the witness of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:16), stirring believers toward deeper understanding and love for Christ.
📖 Luke 24:30–31 (NIV)
“When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.”
It was not sight, but shared communion — centered around the breaking of bread, that opened their eyes. This is deeply symbolic of:
Recognition of Christ becomes clear when we share the table with Him and embrace the Word He reveals.
📖 Luke 24:44–45 (NIV)
“He said to them, ‘This is what I told you while I was still with you: everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.’ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.”
🔎 Theological Insight:
This moment fulfills Deuteronomy 29:4:
“But to this day the LORD has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear.”
But now, in Christ, this veil is removed (2 Corinthians 3:14–16). He opens our minds (Greek: dianoigō – “to open thoroughly”) to grasp the full counsel of God revealed in Scripture.
Jesus wants us to understand His person and mission not merely through experiences, but through Scripture. This is why biblical literacy is not optional — it is the foundation of Christian discipleship.
Even after seeing Jesus risen, many disciples still doubted (Luke 24:37–41).
Thomas demanded visible proof (John 20:25), but Jesus responded, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29, NIV)
Even Judas, who lived with Jesus for years, saw His miracles and heard His teachings, still betrayed Him (Luke 22:3–6).
Miracles don’t change hearts — only the Word of God, revealed by the Holy Spirit, can do that (Hebrews 4:12).
“Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” — Matthew 18:20 (NIV)
“Let us not give up meeting together… but encouraging one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” — Hebrews 10:25 (NIV)
Just as the two on the road to Emmaus experienced Christ when walking and talking together about Him, we too encounter Jesus when we engage in Spirit-led Bible study and fellowship. Christ honors gatherings focused on His name and His Word.
If you find yourself uninterested in reading the Bible — or struggling to understand it — ask Jesus to open your mind, as He did for the disciples.
But remember:
If Jesus wanted us to follow His image, He would have left us a picture. Instead, He left us the living Word — and the Holy Spirit to illuminate it.
“Lord Jesus, open my mind to understand Your Word. Stir my heart as You did for the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Help me to seek You not through feelings or images, but through the living and enduring truth of Scripture. Let my eyes be opened to see You in every page, and my heart burn with love for You. Amen.”
May the Lord bless you and those you encourage with this word.
Source URL: https://wingulamashahidi.org/en/2019/01/02/has-your-mind-been-opened/
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