This week we've been reflecting on things unseen on the resurrection.

And we can't do that surely without wishing we could have been a little bird flying behind

the two disciples who walked to Ameasus on Easter Sunday, or maybe their pet

dog if he or she was able to understand the Aramaic they probably spoke. They are dispirited

because they'd hoped that Jesus was the Messiah, and they're confused because they've had

a rumour among the disciples that Jesus is not in fact dead but alive.

And then the unrecognized Jesus joins them and explains that the Messiah had to die and

rise again. The prophets had said as much.

And for an hour or perhaps more, he interprets their Hebrew Bible to show them how that was true.

But they still don't recognize him.

It is probably dark when they reach Emaeus, so they invite Jesus to stay with them for a meal.

And at this meal, Jesus seems to become the host, or at least they invite him to

act as host. And as he breaks the bread, they recognize him. And just as mysteriously, as he appeared

on the road, he disappears again. The two disciples are so excited, they get up and they make the return journey to Jerusalem.

They burst into a room where the other disciples are gathered, and they're about to say,

we met Jesus on the way home and he sat at our table, he's alive.

But they must have realized the atmosphere in the room was entirely different from what they'd expected. The disciples in Jerusalem

already knew Jesus was alive, and he'd appeared to Simon Peter. I want to draw one lesson out

of this passage that may seem a little strange to many of us, but I think it's important for those of us who are preachers.

You probably notice that this passage has become a major proof text for preaching from the

Old Testament in many seminaries and training courses for preachers and teachers.

It's become a major emphasis, how to preach Jesus from the Old Testament.

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