It was the day Jesus rose from the dead, and two disciples were heading from Jerusalem to their homes in Emmaus. All of a sudden, there was another guy walking with them. (Hint: It was Jesus.)

They were bummed because they thought Jesus was THE GUY who was going to fix things politically and religiously—but then he was killed on a cross. Yet their friends said some women found the tomb empty on that Sunday morning. 

Jesus started explaining how this fulfilled the Scriptures they had learned as children. Like the women who found the tomb empty, these two men didn’t see Jesus either. It wasn’t until they were eating, when Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and broke it. Then their eyes were opened. 

All of a sudden, he disappeared. But “they asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’” (Luke 24:32).

Living two thousand years later, there are times I wish I could see Jesus—in person—too. But like the disciples who didn’t “see” him, my heart burns within me as other people share the reason for the hope they have, as pastors preach on Sundays, as friends share their insights.

We don’t have to see him with our eyes to know that he fulfilled the Scriptures, which allows us to see him with our hearts and minds. And that gives us all the hope we need to wait until he calls us home and we see him face-to-face.