The two disciples on the road to Emmaus compelled the Lord Jesus to stay with them. He sat at the table with them; this expression has the thought of fellowship, and Luke uses the Greek term for this expression several times throughout his Gospel (cf. Lk. 7:36, 9:14–15, 14:8). Each time it is used, it means to recline at a meal, which was the custom of the day.

Here the Lord Jesus was willing to fellowship with them around their table. But something interesting took place. When Christ is the center of our fellowship, He becomes the object of that fellowship. In the early church, they continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine, in fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers. The fellowship flowed out of the teaching and here we see the same thing.

Another thing we notice is that the guest becomes the host. Often, when our Lord is invited into a home He takes over! This is the way it ought to be! I once saw a picture hanging in a home which read, “The Lord is the unseen guest at every meal.” But the truth is He does not want to be the unseen guest; He desires to be the host of our homes!

We must remember that God does not want to simply be a part of our lives, but that we fully surrender to the lordship of Christ, to His authority in our lives, and it will affect our hearts as it did for these two on the road to Emmaus.