Have you lived through those moments where nothing made sense? When life had not gone as planned? Perhaps you were searching for God but it felt He was playing hard to catch.
I’ve faced dark times in life. A smile on my face with a frown in my heart. You’ve been there, too.
So had Cleo.
Cleo’s whole world caved in around him. Everything he had worked for, prayed for, and focused on came crashing down into a meaningless mess.
Tears.
Anger.
Blame.
Questions.
It was all there.
Lies.
Abuse.
Government cover-ups.
Such a maddening twist of fate.
Cleo was not alone in his grief and shock. His wife Mary was reeling, too. She had witnessed the murder first-hand, up close. This husband and wife decided to walk away from it all.
“We just need some space,” she said, trying to forget the bloody scene as they walked together.
Sometimes that is all you can do when you can’t make sense of things. Stepping back can give you perspective.
It was a crisp, spring day. The honey-butter scents of the almond tree blossoms lured in bees that hummed as they gathered the nectar. If the birds were singing, the two on foot were not listening. They didn’t even hear the footsteps of another person out for a stroll as he approached them.
“Mind if I accompany you?” he asked.
Cleo shrugged. “I am not sure we are good company, but yeah, you’re good.”
“What are you discussing? You both look so sad!”
Cleo replied, “You must be the only person staying in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about the things that happened this weekend!”
“What things?” the newcomer asked.
Cleopas explained, “The things about Jesus from Nazareth!” He began to describe the story to the unknown traveler. The religious leaders had plotted His murder. And succeeded.
“We were all hoping that Jesus was the one who would set Israel free from oppression. It is all so real, though. For three years we knew Jesus and talked with him almost every day. Now, for three days, we have been trying to handle life without him.”
“Tell him about this morning,” Mary prodded, knowing it was not polite for a Jewish woman to speak to a man she did not know.
Cleo obliged her. “Some of the women, who are his followers like us, say they saw angels who told them Jesus is alive. A couple of our guys checked out the scene at the tomb and found it empty. They didn’t see Jesus.”
Now sad himself, the traveler looked at them and sighed. He muttered, “So thick-skulled and slow to believe!” He began to explain how and why the Anointed One had to suffer those things. Using the Scriptures by the prophets and Moses, he explained it all.
After two hours of walking and talking, their heads and hearts had grown full but their bellies, empty. “We have reached our destination,” Cleo explained, pointing to the little village. “This is Emmaus.”
“Well, it was nice visiting with you,” the traveler said.
“Please, won’t you come in and eat with us?” the man invited. “You can stay here for the night and continue tomorrow when you have had a good rest. We enjoyed hearing what you had to say.”
The stranger accepted the invite. Later, they let him do the honors of speaking the blessing and breaking the loaf of bread for the meal. He had done this often with them. Cleo’s and Mary’s eyes opened. At that moment, they saw Jesus.
Mary exclaimed, “Jesus!”
Cleopas gasped.
Jesus disappeared.
That couple had been looking at and talking with Jesus for a long time, but something supernatural happened when they began to eat. Like the travelers[1] on the road to Emmaus, you and I have let misunderstandings blind us from Jesus. Tragedies and disappointments leave us looking but not seeing.
Jesus is right in the middle of your mess. You might not see Him[2] yet. You may have glimpsed Him a little. When He opens your eyes, you never see anything the same again.
Yes, this book is about seeing Jesus. You might know a little bit about Jesus or a whole lot. Either way, there is much more to see. Those folks had spent years with Him and still did not “see” Him.
As the two travelers demonstrated, physical eyes cannot “see” Him. We need spiritual vision to see Jesus because often He is right with us and we do not notice. Their spiritual eyes saw Him just before He disappeared. They continued “seeing” Him even after their physical eyes couldn’t because their hearts had opened.
Is Jesus alive in your life? Or are you questioning Him? Blaming Him? I’ve done it. As I write this, my family and I are walking a less-traveled path, needing His insights daily.
You also want to see Jesus better; that is why you are reading this. Would you be willing to walk away from everything for a while? Let’s stroll through the Gospels. As we walk together, He will open our understanding.
It’s funny how you and I ended up on the same path. I’m not sure which side road got you here, but I would like to hear about it. You can find me on the main channels of social media and I would love to hear from you. As I’m able, I respond to emails, direct messages, and other forms of communication I receive. So please, drop a note and introduce yourself!
Let me share where I am coming from. I’m tired of hearing success speeches and motivational talks in churches. It feels like someone has plundered the Bible for techniques and strategies rather than letting it do its work on us. Often, churches try to mix Jesus and the world system in a custom blend: hipster Christianity, shabby chic religion, a spiritual combination as appealing as organic broccoli blenderized with instant pudding, or a clash of alfalfa sprouts with an energy drink.
I’m not bitter about religion but I’m concerned about the direction the broad swath of believers is going. If you ask the person on the street what Christianity is about, you will hear something about music, preachers, lights, scandals, political views, musty buildings, bake sales, or some program a church did in the community. The world sees a lot of Churchianity. They should see Jesus.
The church world today wants market appeal but lacks clarity on what it is supposed to be. So they mix lattes and Living Word. Often they do a good job of neither. They hide Jesus and blind themselves by reaching for a trendy ideal that isn’t worth attaining and accomplishes nothing of His desires for us.
I love church—the one Jesus began. We can recapture what that should be. He will show us how.
The two travelers on that road of life commented afterward how Jesus kindled a fire within them. Their hearts were burning as He opened up the Scriptures to them. Do you want the Bible to speak to you and rekindle your spirit? Do you want to grasp God’s plans for you? You will as you get closer to Jesus and see Him.
More than anything we must see Jesus. Something has hidden Him from our view in some way. It could be sinful choices, moral wounds, or religious tradition. Many who claim to know Jesus cannot see Him like those two committed followers of His could not see Him.
I am talking about more than having a vision. You could have heard the clap of His sandals, have seen His robe snapping in the winds of Galilee, and have looked into His penetrating eyes, yet you might not have “seen” Him. Judas did, as did many others.
Some have encountered the resurrected Jesus and later let that moment fade. With time they went back into godless lives. We want more than super-sensational experiences.
In contrast, this book is about a different kind of seeing Jesus. To be “seeing” Jesus means your spirit will perceive Him in a new way. You will own this relationship, not a mass-marketed salvation experience at a religious gathering.
Once you see Him as He desires you to, everything will make sense. He is the light and seeing Him helps you see everything else in right perspective. Welcome to a paradigm shift. This new way of thinking will refocus your friendships, your occupation, your home-life, your hobbies, your finances, and even your words and thoughts. If you are not ready to be reformatted, you might close this book now and slowly back away.
You have come too far and been through too much to give up now. Your battles, scars, barriers, and terrors are not enough to stop you. Jesus comes alongside to give meaning to your journey and finish it with you.
On the other side of seeing, you will not be able to stop yourself from telling others about Him. Cleo and Mary ran back to the hiding disciples who had not yet seen Jesus and told them everything. As they opened up about seeing Jesus, the other disciples began to see Him, too. He appeared inside that locked room and brought peace in the midst of their terror.
Your journey down the path of life has not been a mistake. The Lord knew the road you would take. He knows the things overwhelming you. He knows you can’t make sense of it all. He’s already been walking with you and now wants you to see Him clearly. Soon, you will know how to help others see Jesus!
This book will not present mere factoids (tedious information) about a historical figure. You are entering the operating room for corrective vision surgery. Don’t worry! Jesus is the Great Physician and He can remove cataracts or stigmatisms that have kept you from seeing as you should.
If you and I had seen Him in the flesh back at that time, we probably would not have noticed Him. One official spokesperson said that Jesus had no “magnificence that we should see Him; nor form that we should desire Him.”[3] He just wasn’t one to catch your eye, I guess. I fear I would have rejected Him the way too many did.
As we move forward, you will discover that you can “see” Him better than anyone did while He walked on earth. I know that sounds impossible right now, but as we gaze at Him, you will find it much more than a museum experience. As you glimpse Him, you will find Him looking back at you. Through our journey you will develop a closer connection with Him, hearing from Him, and He hearing you.
If you ever wished to live in Jesus’s time and to have known Him personally, this is your opportunity. As this book begins to immerse us in the Gospels, we will experience the deep bond His original followers built with Him.[4] Traumas and wounds leave us empty and confused, but Jesus brings peace and a sense of expectancy in life.
Want a joyful, fulfilling life? One of His key eyewitnesses promised, “We write these things to you that your joy may be full.”[5] We will examine those eyewitness reports and discover His biography changing our daily lives.
I recommend that you read one chapter of this book each day. It will take you about a month at that pace. You can binge-read it in one day if you like. However, the message will soak in better and last for the long term if taken in small doses.
. . .
[1] See this story in Luke 24:13-31. While Luke does not name the second traveler, it appears John does. In John 19:25, we learn that Mary, the wife of Clopas (a variant spelling from Cleopas) was at the scene when Jesus died on the cross. It would make sense then that they travel home together and discuss these events on the way. However, this account does not focus on the identity of the second traveler, but on the One to whom their eyes were blinded.
[2] In a stylistic choice, I have capitalized pronouns and nouns referring to Jesus Christ. In keeping with the purpose of this book, this helps us think of Him in exalted terms, not just common.
[3] Isaiah 53:2, LITV.
[4] In I John 1:3, one of His eyewitnesses said that these events were recorded so we could have partnership and participation with them and thus with Him.