While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them.  But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. (Luke 24:15-16 NASB)

 After the death and resurrection of Christ, he appeared to two of his disciples on the road to Emmaus.  The disciples did not recognize Jesus. Why?  They were not looking for an upside-down kingdom.

As the two disciples were walking along that road, they were very sad (v.17).  They had hoped Jesus would free Israel from Roman oppression.  They had envisioned an earthly kingdom that the Messiah would establish. They were looking for a triumphant king (v. 21) and not a suffering servant. 

Jesus explained why he had to die (v. 25-27), yet they were still clueless. That night at supper, Jesus blessed the bread and broke it, and the eyes of the disciples were opened.  They had that aha moment that only the Holy Spirit can give to us.  The breaking of the bread represented the brokenness of Christ.  That evening the two disciples started to understand that the realm that Jesus was promoting was not of this world.  It was an upside-down kingdom where the poor could actually be rich, and the weak could be strong, and those who are the least, were the greatest. The scales had fallen off their eyes, and they realized they must lose their lives rather than keep it. It was better to give than receive, and their purpose was to serve and not be served.

It was a paradigm shift in the lives of these two disciples. You cannot see Christ without being changed, yet, at times he is hidden from us.  Have you missed seeing Christ because you were not looking for him in an upside-down kingdom?

I worked for seventeen years as a missionary with Youth With A Mission.  My missionary work has taken me to Mexico, Canada, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Spain, and Ukraine.  I hold a Masters of Education in curriculum and instruction from Virginia Commonwealth University.  [email protected]