February 15 - Does Jesus Vanish?

When Jesus traveled the Emmaus road with His two companions, they enjoyed His fellowship, even to entreating Him to continue on with them, but they did not recognize Him. Clearly they thought He was very dead.

For all of us, like them, the moment comes when He is revealed, when we know with whom we have been communing. Some will say that He began before long to vanish away and the early newness and freshness of salvation fades.

In the case the disciples on the road to Emmaus, there was no holding him, but they did get up right away and retrace their steps back to Jerusalem, where they found His companions and, joy of joys!, they found Him again.

The vanishing of Jesus, if it were so, would be reason enough to enter into a monastic life. Abraham was under compulsion, privilege and promise: “Walk before Me,” said the Lord to Him, “and be thou perfect . . . blameless.” Was that a commandment or an announcement?

For us, not even those words can compare with the “resurrection speak” we have by the finished work of Jesus Christ in bringing us to the Father. As we have seen, we are admonished to walk IN THE LORD JESUS, our Savior and King. (Colossians 2:6: “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him . . .”)

Having walked one mile with Him, the marvel is that we could go another three steps without the assurance of His Presence, and as the sheep of His pasture, the comfort and security of His compelling Voice. We can only imagine that we thought it was His job to keep up with us, instead of the other way around.


"Vanishing Act"
photo by Kerry