When you can't see Jesus
- Zaibel Torres
- May 2
- 7 min read
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WHEN YOU CAN’T SEE JESUS
In my single life, I had faced a lot of disappointments. So much so that I came to a place where I just expected it. So when I started dating Joey, I was expecting him to fail. I did love him, but I had come to a point where I had trust issues. But he loved me, pursued me, and wanted to be a part of my life. So one day, I was going on one of our mission trips to the Dominican Republic, and I asked Joey if he would drop me off and pick me up from the airport. I know it seems silly, but it was very difficult for me to trust people, especially with things that were important to me. So he successfully dropped me off, but while I was there, I was busy, and Wi-Fi was hard to get. So I didn’t get to talk to Joey too much, and I forgot to confirm if he was going to pick me up when I got back.
The day came when it was time for him to pick me up from the airport, and when I got off the plane, the airport was packed with people. I walked aimlessly, looking for Joey, wondering if he had forgotten me. I saw all the other people from church but not Joey. Then, while I was searching, this man stepped in front of me. So I went to step around him when he said, “Are you serious?”
I looked up and made eye contact with him, ready to respond when I noticed it was Joey. He was right there the whole time, but I could not see him. Why?
Was it because I put more faith in my past experiences? Was it becuase I was focused on disapointment.
Was it because I was ready to grieve this disappointment rather than believe that he would come through for me?
Sometimes we put more emphasis on experiences than we do on the truth.
When God asks us to live by faith and not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7
So today I want to talk about two men who were followers of Jesus.
This story takes place after the crucifixion.
Luke 24: 13-32
GOD MAY THEIR EYES BE OPENED
There are three points I want to talk about in this scripture.
What we see vs. what God sees
Experience vs. Truth
The Importance of Remembering
I. WHAT WE SEE VS WHAT GOD SEES.
Vs 16 "but they were kept from recognizing him".
The Bible specifically says that their eyes were kept from recognizing him. Remember that these guys were disciples. Before the resurrection, Jesus was the Son of God, but when they saw him crucified, when they experienced trauma, when they experienced suffering, when they experienced disappointment in their expectations, that was when the Son of God went to being just a prophet.
Let’s be real, suffering can do a number on us. What they witnessed was traumatic. Maybe they came to a place of “Let’s be realistic, he died.” I don’t know, but what's interesting here in this text is that it says, specifically in the ESV version, that “Their eyes were kept from recognizing Him.”
They had an expectation of Jesus that they thought was impossible now that He had been crucified.
Can you relate? Have you ever been in a place of disappointment because things didn’t play out the way you wanted them to?
Right now there could be heartache, there could be suffering, but before you get on the road to run away from God, or from what God called you to do, can I ask you to keep the faith, tough it out? Because God always has a plan.
God has a plan and if you pay attention you and I play a role in it.
But their eyes were kept
This phrase implies that the disciples' perception was influenced by divine intervention.. Throughout Scripture, God often controls human perception to fulfill His purposes.
In Exodus 4:11, God reminds Moses that He is the one who gives sight.
in Isaiah 6:9-10, God tells Isaiah that the people's hearts will be hardened and their eyes closed.
This is all part of God’s plan, to reveal deeper truths at the appointed time.
This moment also fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 53:3, where the Messiah is described as being unrecognized and despised.
It's not about what you see, its about what God see's because there is a plan.
II Experience vs Truth
Vs 25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”
Now remember, they were in a state of disappointment; they were calling Jesus a prophet.
But look what
2 Corinthians 3:14-16
But their minds were closed. For to this day, the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed. And even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
When you turn to Jesus, the veil is lifted. This is why reading, studying, and remembering the scriptures is crucial. There are events occurring now that we cannot perceive, similar to how the Jews were unaware of what was happening with Jesus. It's only when God reveals it to us that we can see it. God must open our eyes.
Look to the person to the left and right and say, “Are you Serious? Open your eyes.”
We both had the same experience, but only one of us saw the truth. Thank God he saw it later.
Like the disciples saw it later, we read in
Acts 13:27 The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning Him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.
That was the message that they preached boldly but to get to this point something had to happen. Their eyes had to be opened.
How?
III Remembering
27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
This must have been the greatest teaching ever. Jesus literally did a Bible study with them, connecting the dots for them. Throughout the gospels, Jesus tells them that he is going to die. He tells them everything, but this is the moment it all makes sense. However, he can’t reveal himself because then they would have the proof before they even remember what he said, what he promised, what he prophesied, and that he was going to ascend back to heaven. He was not going to stay with them, so it was important that they remembered.
There is a movement going on in a lot of churches where they want to throw away the Old Testament, but let me tell you something: nothing Jesus did will make sense to you if you don’t know the Old Testament. Last week we celebrated Passover; in our house, we sat around the table with our grandchildren and we told them the Exodus story.
Why? Because then the crucifixion makes sense.
When Adam and Eve sinned, they were removed from the Garden of Eden, where they walked with God. Their sin separated them from God. So now God puts together the redemption plan to restore the relationship. He’s so holy that His holiness would strike us dead, so something has to die to “atone” for our sins so God can be close, right? Hence, the sacrificial system was put in place.
Somewhere over time, we lost sight of God and made traditions more important, and sacrifices ended up being a lucrative business in the temple. So now God, in His goodness, decides to take on the steps that were meant for us to take to pay a debt that we cannot pay, just so we can be in a relationship with Him. Everything Jesus did links to the scriptures, more than just His death.
When He washed the feet of the disciples, I remembered what I read in Leviticus about how the priest, before a sacrifice, specifically before the atonement (which is Christ), had to wash their hands and feet. Yes, its an act of humility and service, to emphasize the importance of servanthood among believers. But its much deeper than that.
The washing of hands and feet was a symbol of purification and readiness to approach God, emphasizing the importance of cleanliness and reverence in the presence of the sacred. And anyone in that time, if they remembered, would have seen what was happening. Jesus was getting his disciples ready.
So this moment on the road he was getting them ready too.
He gave them the most powerful Bible study of all time, connecting all the dots between the prophecies and himself, showing them how all the Old Testament Scriptures pointed to him.
And no one recorded it. Cleopas wasn’t like Luke, who wrote it down, but I can imagine that he explained:
IN GENESIS, THE SEED OF THE WOMAN.
• IN EXODUS, THE PASSOVER LAMB.
• IN LEVITICUS, OUR HIGH PRIEST.
• IN NUMBERS, THE CLOUD AND THE PILLAR OF FIRE.
• IN DEUTERONOMY, THE MOSES-LIKE PROPHET.
• IN JOSHUA, THE CAPTAIN OF OUR SALVATION.
• IN JUDGES, OUR JUDGE AND LAWMAKER.
• IN RUTH, OUR KINSMAN REDEEMER.
• IN 1 AND 2 SAMUEL, THE TRUSTED PROPHET.
• IN KINGS AND CHRONICLES, OUR REIGNING KING.
• IN EZRA, THE FAITHFUL SCRIBE.
• IN NEHEMIAH, THE REBUILDER OF WALLS.
• IN ESTHER, OUR MORDECAI.
• IN JOB, THE LIVING REDEEMER.
• IN THE PSALMS, OUR SHEPHERD.
• IN PROVERBS AND ECCLESIASTES, OUR WISDOM.
• IN THE SONG OF SONGS, THE LOVER AND HUSBAND.
IN ISAIAH, THE MESSIAH AND PRINCE OF PEACE.
• IN JEREMIAH, THE RIGHTEOUS BRANCH.
• IN LAMENTATIONS, THE WEEPING PROPHET.
• IN EZEKIEL, THE SON OF MAN.
• IN DANIEL, THE SON OF GOD WHO COMES IN A CLOUD.
• IN HOSEA, THE FAITHFUL HUSBAND.
• IN JOEL, THE ONE WHO BAPTIZES WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT AND FIRE.
• IN AMOS, THE ONE WHO BEARS OUR SORROWS.
• IN OBADIAH, THE MIGHTY ONE TO SAVE.
• IN JONAH, THE FORGIVING GOD.
• IN MICAH, THE MESSENGER WITH BEAUTIFUL FEET.
• IN NAHUM, HE IS THE AVENGER OF GOD'S CHOSEN.
• IN HABAKKUK, HE IS GOD'S EVANGELIST.
• IN ZEPHANIAH, HE IS THE RESTORER OF THE REMNANT.
• IN HAGGAI, HE IS THE PURIFYING FOUNTAIN.
• IN ZECHARIAH, THE PIERCED SON.
• IN MALACHI, HE IS THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS WHO RISES WITH HEALING IN HIS WINGS.
The Old Testament was put in place to point to Him. The Law, the Prophets, everything pointed to Jesus. He didn’t change anything; He fulfilled everything they read in the Scriptures.
Today who is He to you?
He is my savior, my redeemer, my avenger, my restorer, my salvation.
But more importantly who is he to you?
Open your eyes! Who is HE to you!
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