Based on Luke 24:13-35 (New King James Version)
“Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. And He said to them, ‘What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?’ Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, ‘Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?’ And He said to them, ‘What things?’ So they said to Him, ‘The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.’ Then He said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?’ And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. But they constrained Him, saying, ‘Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.’ And He went in to stay with them. Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, ‘Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?’ So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, ‘The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!’ And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.”
What is the real problem that man has in not being able to have the faith they need? Is God guilty of not opening their eyes or their understanding yet, and that is why they cannot find a way to believe properly? Many think that, that man does not have the capacity to believe because for some reason, God is guilty of not having opened their understanding yet, that all this matter of believing, and faith, comes from God. But by seeing this passage, we can understand that the problem of faith is not God's but rather, man's problem.
The vast majority of people have a serious problem with faith in Christ, and that they simply do not come to complete conviction for one reason or another. Even many so-called believers, who call them Christians, incredibly enough have this faith problem. And why can I say this with so much confidence? Very simply. Observe the way they live their lives. The vast majority, and even those who profess to believe, live in a manner as if God does not exist, and that this world is all there is, and that there is nothing else. That's how they live. And this is of course the unbeliever, and also the vast majority of so-called believers.
What do we see in this passage? The Lord Himself reprimanding these disciples that were on the way to Emaus. He tells them this: “…‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!...” So, this doesn't sound like God's problem, that God didn't open their understanding, or that He didn't give them the faith they needed, but rather, that their blindness came from their own unbelief, despite being disciples. And yet, even when the Lord rebuked them, they still could not find a way to believe. The only thing that broke their disbelief or made them realize that it was the Lord Himself standing before them, was when He broke the bread. A material act awakened them, so to speak. It is possible that the Lord had some unique way of breaking bread. We don't know, but their understandings did not open until that moment. And they themselves meditated after this: “‘Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?...” What does this mean? That quite simply their hearts did not burn, nor did they feel His presence, nor His revelation while He was with them. Why? Was it God’s fault? No. It was their own unbelief. How do we know? Because of what they declared: “‘The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people…” The Lord was not a prophet. The Lord Jesus Christ is Lord and God, and if a person does not come to that complete realization, not only by word or intellectually, but with their whole heart, and literally treating the Lord as the Lord of their lives, they are still blind. And again, is that God's fault, because God has not enlightened them? No. They chose not to have reached that point yet. And that is the serious and universal problem that exists. Because if a person believes and has the Lord as Lord in their lives, are they seeking to do their own will or the will of God? If one has Him as Lord, then one should live alone to seek to do His will. But the serious problem is that almost everyone lives to do their own will.
Someone might say: “Why do you say that the evidence of truly believing in Christ should consist of only doing His will?” And the answer is because when you reach that conviction and acceptance, you have seen Him for who He really is, and there is no purpose greater or more worthy to follow than to do what that immense and infinite Being tells you. We are talking about the King of kings, and the Lord of lords, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the One who was, and is, and is to come, the One who will judge all humanity by their deeds. There is no one greater, there is no one more important, there is no one to whom we owe more. Our entire existence and our future depend on Him. So, it is only logical that if you come to believe in Him as such, that a great change of direction will happen. But if you do not decide and accept Him as such, you will never see the glory of God, and you will never have the salvation or eternal life that only the true God can give through precisely the Lord Jesus Christ (God). You will never please God because you chose not to have that faith, as it is written: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 12:6.
In summary, there is nothing left for the Lord to prove to us that He is Who He says He is. Everything created speaks of Him. And the cross demonstrates His love for us. And even the beating of our hearts, and the air we breathe, depend only on Him. It is simply your decision to either ignore the irrefutable evidence of the Lord and die forever or accept His Truth and live as such in order to attain eternal life. So, do you choose to believe and follow the Lord, or do you choose to continue in your blindness and die that way? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel!