“‘What things?’ he asked. ‘About Jesus of Nazareth,’ they replied. ‘He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.'” Luke 24:19-21

PB and I process our thoughts very differently. I’m an internal processor. I get very quiet, I think and think and think, and only then will I give voice to the conclusion on which I have landed. PB is an external processor. He talks and talks and talks, and after giving his thoughts a thorough airing out, settles on his resolution. The funny thing is, we usually end up with the same outcome. We just take different roads to get there.

I used to freak out at all his ideas and plans and dreams. He used to be perplexed by my withdrawal and silence. After forty-one years of marriage, we understand each other’s style. I let him talk it out, he lets me think it through.

Jesus understood these two friends on the Emmaus road. He played along with the conversation, drawing out what was on the hearts of the two disciples and allowing them time to talk it out. But Cleopas and his friend were getting a few things wrong.

• First, Jesus was more than a prophet.
• Second, the chief priests didn’t hand Jesus over – they weren’t the ones in control. Jesus said, “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” (John 10:18)
• Third, these two disciples were talking in past tense. They had given up hope and were walking away before the end of the story.
• Fourth, Jesus didn’t just redeem Israel. He redeemed the world.

Sometimes when Jesus comes up to walk beside us,
it’s an invitation to talk through what we’re thinking.
He patiently listens as we process,
even if our conclusions are faulty.
Correction will come.