“I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” — John 1:31
When the disciples on the road to Emmaus sat down to eat with the risen Jesus, something happened. They had walked with Him for miles—confused, grieving, and blind to the very One they longed for. But then He took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them. In that moment, Luke tells us, “their eyes were opened.” They recognized Him.
That wasn’t an accident.
The same truth echoes earlier in the Gospels. John the Baptist says that he came baptizing “so that [Jesus] might be revealed” to Israel (John 1:31). God chooses to reveal Himself in the simple, tangible, physical signs we call sacraments.
What Does “Sacrament” Mean?
The word sacrament literally means mystery. Not mystery as in a puzzle to solve, but mystery as in something infinitely rich that we can enter into and experience—even if we can never fully explain it.
God is, by nature, holy and transcendent—far beyond the grasp of human intelligence. And our sin only widens the distance, distorting our ability to see and know Him. If left to ourselves, God would remain forever unknown.
But the good news is this: God doesn’t leave us to ourselves.
Through Jesus Christ, the invisible God becomes visible. In Him, we can not only know about God—we can truly know God. We can even be joined to Him in a real and life-giving relationship through the Holy Spirit.
A God Who Comes Close
Here’s the amazing part: God doesn’t primarily reveal Himself through long philosophical arguments or abstract ideas.
He reveals Himself through a meal.
Through water.
Through bread and wine.
In baptism, God claims us. He gives us a new birth and a new identity—beloved children welcomed into His family.
In the Lord’s Supper, God nourishes us. He unites our lives with the very life of Jesus—His body given for us, His blood poured out for us.
These are not mere symbols. They are signs that carry the reality they signify. Through them, God shares His life with us.
He wants to dwell in us.
He wants to enliven our bodies with His Spirit.
He wants a relationship so close that Scripture describes it as a wedding—a union of divine and human life.
This is salvation: God making us one with Himself in Christ.
The Great Reversal
Think back to Eden. Adam and Eve ate from the tree, and their eyes were opened—but what they saw first was their shame. Sin fractured everything.
Now Jesus reverses the curse with another act of eating.
At His table—at the breaking of bread—our eyes are opened again. But this time, not to our guilt…
To Him.
To love stronger than death.
To grace that covers every failure.
To the God who restores us to Himself.
Why the Sacraments Matter
This is why Christians have always treasured baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Not because they’re church traditions we’re supposed to maintain, but because they are encounters with Jesus Himself.
In the sacraments, the mystery of salvation becomes visible, tangible, and personal.
Bread.
Wine.
Water.
Christ with us.
Christ in us.
It is here that our eyes are opened—and we see Him again.
