Luke 24:25-26 “Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?”
The story of the two on the road to Emmaus has long been a fascinating account every time I read it. The shock of the trial, crucifixion, death, burial, and rumored resurrection must have been a lot to fathom in such a short period.
Having someone to process things with is a special gift. Knowing that your innermost fears and desires are discussed without judgment or rejection. Having faith that they will tell you like it is because they love and accept you.
But to have a stranger enter into that discussion is risky.
Little did they know that it was the Lord.
The conversation quickly turned to recent events and what it meant to them.
Luke 24:17 “And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?”
Then, we are given an inside look as to the reason for their dismay.
Luke 24:21 “But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.”
What they were looking for and what truly happened seemingly missed the mark of their expectations.
Jesus then helps them to focus on the main thing using scripture to do so.
Luke 24:27 “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.”
But not before upbraiding them for their lack of faith.
He accuses them of being “slow of heart.”
Slow to understand or slow to comprehend; both are not places we would like to be when hearing the scriptures opened to us and by the Lord Himself no less! Yet, are we not slow of heart today?
Most bible-believing children of God will tell of their knowledge that we are in the last days and that Christ could come. We have heard sermons and lessons on the end times. We are to think eternally and act accordingly.
Yet, has there indeed been any change in our day-to-day activities?
Are we living expectantly of Jesus’ imminent return?
Do we witness to those we meet or, at the very least, give them a gospel tract telling how they can trust Jesus as their Savior?
Slow of heart means there is skepticism, doubt, and a lack of faith.
I can see more clearly now that our Savior’s heart was disheartened at their visible lack of understanding. After Jesus mysteriously vanishes from their presence, they make haste to return to Jerusalem to tell the disciples and believers what had just happened.
All of a sudden, Jesus appears to them once again. This time, He empowers them to possess the understanding needed to put it all together.
Luke 24:45-47 “Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
We’ve all had those “Aha” moments when understanding comes, and we see things. This moment for them was meaningful. All the preaching and teaching they had heard for three and a half years began to make sense.
Everything that was whirling around in their minds now aligned to make perfect sense.
Wisdom is the ability to see things the way God sees them.
Understanding is the application of what we know.
We need both, but both are a gift from God. The speed at which we gain wisdom and understand hinges on our submission to the Holy Spirit.
As we yield to Him and trust His leading in our life, we begin to see things the way God sees them (wisdom). Then, we can listen to hear as God leads us to do that, which we just heard (understanding).
Sounds simple, right?
I truly believe that this is where our enemy, Satan, fights the hardest in God’s children’s lives. He uses distraction and division tactics to get our minds focused on things other than God’s Word, God’s leading, and His will for our lives.
Notifications pop up on our phones, or a sound indicates an email, text, or post of particular interest has arrived, and we must open them to check. Unless we take action to prevent such distractions, we lose focus, and our hearts become slow to understand.
When our children were young, it was difficult to read my Bible without some event to distract me from being entirely focused on what I read. I had to decide to wake earlier than my children to have the quiet time needed to place my whole heart into hearing what God had for me that day.
Psalm 57:7-8 “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise. Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.”
Jesus thought it important enough to rise early to pray. Should we not take His example?
Mark 1:35 “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”
The cure for a heart that is slow to understand has a plan to meet with God early and get our hearts in tune with the One who created the day.
Countless days of devotions have led me to believe that because of what I read, prayed, and meditated that day, and I was more prepared than rushing off without meeting with God.
Ask God today to quicken your heart to hear and understand His Word.
I genuinely believe that is a prayer God will answer!
