And it “came to pass, that, while they communed
together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near,
and went with them” (Luke 24:15)
Time without number, I have seen this happen. When
saints begin to speak of the Lord Jesus and commune
together concerning Him, before many moments have
passed by, they become aware that Christ in the person of
the Holy Spirit has joined their meditation to enlighten
their understanding.
Time and time again, I have seen this happen when among
the Holy Ghost filled men and women of God that I have had
the privilege to be associated with.
Indeed, the word of the Scripture is true: “where two or
three are gathered together in His name, He is there in
their midst.” Wherever hungry devoted hearts are reaching
out to Him, there will His Presence be. He will break the
bread of life for them to eat. And they will eat, and their
eyes will be opened.
Dearly beloved in Christ, let’s learn this simple truth: the
Presence of Christ is not a place where we go to meet Him.
The tangible Presence of Christ is found wherever souls are
reaching out to Him. His Presence is found in them that
love Him. Several times in the Scriptures we read of the
Lord Jesus visiting the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus
their brother, but the Scriptures do not say that they ever
visited Him. His presence was often with them because
they loved Him. Our blessed Lord and the Most High
dwells not in huge temples made by man. His abode, His
Presence, is always with devout worshippers, humble and
true. He delights in true worshippers who worship Him in
spirit and in truth.
These are the people the Lord delights in and manifests His
Presence around. They are His jewels; they are His portion.
The prophet Malachi spoke in the Spirit concerning these
ones in the third chapter of his prophecy:
“Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to
another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a
book of remembrance was written before him for them
that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.
“And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that
day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as
a man spareth his own son that serveth him” (Mal
3:16,17).
As we pause and reread the opening passage of Scripture
for this chapter, there seems to be a very powerful message
in the words, “As they communed together and reasoned,
Jesus Himself drew near.” These words are so revealing,
for meditating on Christ is the key to His abiding Presence.
As they spoke to one another about Him, He drew near and
walked with them. And throughout the journey, He taught
them the Scriptures. They were so touched that they did
not want Him to depart, and they begged Him to abide with
them.
Abide With Me
It may be difficult to believe now, but I was a member of
my church choir while growing up. My grandfather, who
brought me up, not only made sure I learned to read the
Joseph Olarewaju
Bible by the age of six, not only made sure I attended every
service including the early morning prayer meetings, but
also made sure I participated in the choir in the village
church we were part of.
As you might have correctly guessed, I wasn’t yet born
again at the time, but as a grandson of a prayerful man of
God, I was brought up to love the Word of God and the
hour of worship. This great man, for whom I had and still
have great love and respect, guided and molded me in the
right way from a young age. I have no doubt in my mind
that those first twelve years of my life, when my
grandfather “set the Lord continually before me” (Psa 16,8)
set the course for the whole of my life. And I can boldly say
with the Psalmist that “the lines are fallen unto me in
pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage” (Psa
16:6,8).
Many of the Scriptural passages he made me read and
memorize, in addition to the words I heard him utter when
I happened to wake up during his usual early morning
prayer, were deposited somewhere in my being and
became invaluable after I was born again. Many of the
songs I learned in the choir, which did not mean anything
to me at the time, later became a spring of life that would
rise from within my heart with new meaning and
inspiration to worship God in a new and living way.
These songs often ignite fire within me, initiating an
internal combustion and creating an inspirational
momentum to run the race fervently. And though my
grandfather went home almost forty years ago now, I still
try to live the Scriptural legacy left for me by God through
his life. Though he’s not in this present race, I am sure he’s
in the stands among the “Cloud of Witnesses,” and
together with the Patriarchs, he is watching and urging
us on.
Many of the hymns that I sang in that Anglican church
choir became inspirational songs for my private devotional
time. The Holy Spirit uses the words of some of those
hymns to minister to me, often opening my eyes to the
truths in words that I’ve sung for years for mere melody.
One of these songs in particular is connected with the
account of the resurrection and pertinent to the message in
this book: “Abide With Me.”
This song creates a solemn picture in my mind’s eye of
what the disciples experienced during that crucifixion
week, and inspires awe in my spirit for the resurrection
event. Of equal importance is the revelation in the words
of the song—that in the midst of the saddest event, we can
expect the resurrected Christ to draw near and abide with
us. The song reveals that in the midst of despair and in the
darkest hour, even when all help has failed and there’s no
hope, we can expect Him, the Help of the helpless, to show
up. We can expect the Resurrected One to appear on our
road to Emmaus, speak the words and break the bread of
life to us, and cause our eyes to be opened.
I don’t know about you, dear reader, but I need His
presence every hour. And as the words of the song state, it
is He alone who can foil Satan’s power and put me over. He
alone is my guide and sustenance.
The original version of “Abide With Me” has eight stanzas
or verses. The one in the hymnbook I grew up with has five
stanzas, translated into my native language, with the
following wordings:
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
I need thy presence every passing hour.
What but thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
Reveal Thyself before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
Till Jesus comes, O Lord, abide with me” (Henry F. Lyte,1847)
The author of this song, Henry Lyte, wrote it in a time of
great personal sorrow. Having been a preacher for several
years, he identified with the sorrowful state of the disciples
during the crucifixion week, and took the inspiration for
composing this song both from the twenty-fourth chapter
of Luke and from his own experience. In great sorrow, as
he watched the glories of the setting sun fade with its last
golden rays, he took a piece of paper and penciled this
solemn tune for generations to come.
The song, which was a closing prayer from his heart, also
aptly describes the state of mind of those disciples on the
road to Emmaus on the resurrection day. As they
sorrowfully dragged themselves along the road, not
knowing the Lord had indeed risen. A stranger joined
them and talked with them throughout the entire journey,
as discussed in the previous chapter.
The Amplified Bible renders the next verse as saying: “But
their eyes were held, so that they did not recognize Him”
(Luke 24:16). Again here we see that these disciples saw
Him, talked with Him, listened to Him, and walked with
Him for almost seven miles, and yet did not recognize Him.
But their hearts sensed something while they listened to
Him along the way. There was a knowing flowering inside
them, but they did not give it enough attention to develop
and become perception. Hence, they could not see.
You and I definitely remember days in our lives when we
felt premonitions down inside our spirits, but we did not
act upon them; we ignored or silenced the voices of our
spirits. And thus we were unable to take advantage of and
benefit from what the inner man was foreseeing. Looking
back afterwards, we recognize events and heartaches we
could have avoided had we listened to the still small voice.
If we learn to listen to the voice of the spirit man and walk
by the inner sight, we will overcome more often than we do
in our daily lives.
After the disciples on the road had poured out their hearts
in lamentation before the stranger, he began speaking to
them from the Scriptures. Starting from Genesis and going
through the books of the Prophets, He expounded the
Scriptures to them concerning Christ the Anointed One.
He showed them that the sufferings of Christ were really
the appointed way for Him to enter His glory, but these
disciples were disappointed by the disgrace they had seen
Him go through. He taught them throughout the journey
and their hearts burned within them as they listened, but
they still did not recognize Him.
And as they drew near the town of Emmaus where the two
brethren were going, the stranger acted as if he was going
further. Without doubt, the words of life He was speaking
to them were already doing some positive work in them.
They wanted him to continue speaking, and desired that he
would not depart from them. So they begged and urged
Him to stay with them, saying: “Abide with us: for it is
toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in
to tarry with them” (Luke 24:29).
This is where the main thread that ran through Henry
Lyte’s song came from. It was a gloomy time indeed, and
this stranger had spoken the words of life that seemed to
be changing the brethren’s outlook. His words had
penetrated through the gloominess, shining forth and
pointing them to the heavens. No one but He could guide
them and succor them in this hour. So they pleaded with
Him to abide with them through the night: they sincerely
invited Him to stay.
In the past thirty-something years, I have occasionally
sung this song (if you call what I do singing; screaming is
more like it), and the main thread running through my
spirit is that of earnestly inviting His Presence to abide
with me. In fact, to be more accurate, when I sing this song,
I am earnestly pledging my utmost desire to be and remain
in His Presence. I know He dwells in me, but I want that
consciousness of His Presence to consume me every hour.
I am telling Him that in spite of all the troubles and
confusion around, in the midst of the storms of life,
“through cloud and sunshine,” “in life and in death
(physical)” I intend to abide in His Presence and earnestly
pray that He will abide with me. He has already said that if
anyone will invite Him in, He will honor such an invitation
and abide with such a one.
Notice that all this time, walking and talking with Him, the
disciples did not recognize Him. Their minds were still
engulfed in sorrow. They were still wishing the events of
the past three days had not happened. They were hoping it
was just a corporate dream and someone would wake them
up from it and things would suddenly be as the week
before. While sorrow filled their hearts, they could not see
Him, though He was right there, talking with them.
Dearly beloved, let this be a lesson for you and me. If we
are consumed by sorrow, worry, or self-pity, we may be in
danger of not seeing the glory of God that is right before
our eyes. If we are consumed by the painful experiences we
are passing through, we may be in danger of missing the
salvation that God is trying to unveil before our eyes. We
must let go, cast our cares, our pains, and our sorrows on
Him, and keep looking for the appearing of Christ our
Savior and our Deliverer. For as we look for Him in our
darkest hour, He, the “Help of the helpless,” will show up
and abide with us. When all other helpers have failed and
all comforts have fled, the Friend that sticks closer than a
brother will join us on the thorny rocky road to Emmaus,
and through the lonely and scary night, He will abide with
us.
And with Him at hand, what is there to fear? No foe can
challenge us when He, the mighty Conqueror, is nigh. It is
He who “spoilt principalities and powers and made a
show of them openly, triumphing over them.” It is He, who
overcame sin and nailed it to the cross, that is near and is
our Justifier. It is He, who in dying overcame death and
rose Lord of all, that is abiding with us.
What is there to fear? Death, where is thy sting, and Grave,
where is thy victory? Yes, we’ll overcome always, if He
abides with us.
So when the brethren arrived at the little town that they
were traveling to, about seven to eight miles south of
Jerusalem, they urged this stranger to abide with them. At
this point, he was still a stranger, but now a stranger they
didn’t want to part with. They invited Him into their home,
and as His manner is, He went in with them.
If we would have Christ abide with us, we must be earnest
and with sincerity invite Him. He does not impose Himself
on anyone. To His disciples, He said, “If any man will come
after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and
follow me.” And the invitation in the Book of Revelation is
also after this manner, for it is for whosoever will:
“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that
heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And
whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev
22:17).
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear
my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and
will sup with him, and he with me” (Rev 3:20).
Those that have experienced the pleasure of communion
with Him cannot but desire more of his company. He took
bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. This he
did in His usual manner, perhaps with the same words He
had used before the crucifixion. And as He did this, their
eyes were opened, and they recognized Him.
He joined them on the road and walked with them. He
opened the Scriptures to them. He went into their home
with them. He joined them at their table. And in the
breaking of bread, He made Himself known unto them.
Immediately, these two disciples got up and joyfully made
the journey back to Jerusalem to report to the Apostles that
they had seen the Lord.
He had been with them all along, but it was only when he
broke the bread that they saw him. So, we must understand
that we can never hope to recognize the “Stranger” in our
midst if we don’t have communion with Him. He lives in
you, but unless you allow Him to break the bread of life for
you to partake in, your eyes may not be opened to “see”
Him. We must constantly have communion with Him if we
expect Him to reveal Himself to us.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Word of God. The breaking of
bread is the breaking of the Word. When Christ breaks the
bread, the Word of God, for us, our eyes are opened and we
behold Him and are transformed into His likeness.
“If any man love Me, he will keep My words: and My
Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and
make Our abode with him;
“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he
it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of
my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself
to him” (John 14:18,21,23).
If anyone among us will keep His words and draw nearer
to Him in communion and love, the Father and the Son will
abide with us and make Themselves known unto us. The
Lord will do this through the ministry of the Holy Ghost.
When “the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into
all truth: …for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it
unto you” (John 16:13,14). Here, and here alone, lies the
secret of spiritual understanding