They constrained Him, saying, Abide with us…and He went in to tarry with them…as He sat at meat with them…their eyes were opened, and they knew Him.
—Luke 24:29-31
Mary taught us what the morning watch can be for the revelation of Jesus to the soul. Emmaus reminds us of the place that the evening prayer may have in preparing for the full manifestation of Christ in the soul.
To the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, the day had begun in thick darkness. When they finally heard about the angel who had said that Jesus was alive, they did not know what to think. When “Jesus Himself drew near” (verse 15), their eyes were blinded, and they did not recognize Him. (See verse 16.) How often Jesus comes near to us with the purpose of manifesting Himself but is hindered because we are slow to believe what the Word has spoken! But as the Lord talked with the two disciples, their hearts began to burn within them, yet they never once thought it might be Him.
It is often the same with us today. The Word becomes precious to us; our hearts are stirred with the new vision of what Christ’s presence may be; yet our eyes are blinded, and we do not see Him.
When the Lord acted as though He would have gone farther, their request, “Abide with us,” constrained Him. On His last night, Christ had given a new meaning to the word abide. They did not yet understand this, but by using the word they received far more than they expected—a foretaste of the life of abiding, which the resurrection had now made possible. Let us learn the lesson of how necessary it is that, toward the close of each day, there should be a pause, perhaps in fellowship with others, when the whole heart takes up anew the promise of the abiding presence of Christ and prays with the urgency that constrains Him: “Abide with us.”
And what is the chief lesson of the story? What was it that led our Lord to reveal Himself to these two men? Nothing less than their intense devotion to Him. There may be much ignorance and unbelief, but if there is a burning desire for Him above everything else—a desire that is always fostered as the Word is heard or spoken—we may be assured that He will make Himself known to us. To such intense devotion and constraining prayer, the Lord’s message will be given in power: “Lo, I am with you alway[s]” (Matthew 28:20). Our eyes will be opened, and we will know Him and the blessed secret of the ever-abiding presence.