The sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic seems like a woeful tale of inevitability. But the truth remains that the demise of the massive ship could have been prevented had its crew listened to others. Ships in the area had tried to warn the Titanic that they were steaming into a field of ice, but the radio operator was so overwhelmed with work that he disregarded these messages and famously wired back, “Shut up, shut up. I am busy . . .” (a comical response had it not been for its catastrophic consequences).

As the two disciples walked the road to Emmaus, they should have been prepared to find Jesus alive. After all, the women had already told them that Jesus’ tomb was empty and that the angels had proclaimed Him risen from the dead (Luke 24:23). But the disciples ignored their testimony and were unable to recognize Jesus on the road.

This might seem strange to us, but there are reasons the women’s testimony was ignored. First, their story was an unlikely one—a fantastic tale of an empty tomb and a vision of angels (Luke 24:23). But also, in the first century, women were considered unreliable witnesses. Their testimony could not even be counted in a court of law!

I wonder how often I’ve missed seeing Jesus in my life because I wasn’t paying close enough attention to the testimony of others, I considered their words unreliable, or—like the radio operator of the Titanic—I was overwhelmed by the chatter around me. But being able to recognize the presence of Jesus in my life depends on hearing about the presence of Jesus in the lives of others. May we “encourage each other with [the] words” of what He has done (1 Thessalonians 4:18) and share the comfort God has shown to us (2 Corinthians 1:4).

NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Exodus 3:1-22