OVERVIEW: This Gospel was written toward the end of the first century. By that time, most of the church was composed of Christians who had not witnessed Christ in the flesh. This story connects them (and us) with Christ, who is still revealed through the reading and interpretation of scripture (v. 27) and the Lord's Supper (vv. 30-31). Later disciples are not at a disadvantage because they have not seen Jesus (Madsen, 66).
This story echoes the story of the angels' appearance to Abraham and Sarah at Mamre (Genesis 18:1-15). In both stories, the hosts fail to recognize the significance of their guests, but extend hospitality nevertheless. In both stories, hospitality leads to revelation-to blessing.
This story involves highly liturgical language, including" he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them" (v. 30); "The Lord has risen indeed" (v. 34); and "the breaking of the bread" (v. 35). The risen Christ is revealed through the telling of the story, the interpretation of scripture, and the breaking of bread.
LUKE 24:13-16. TWO OF THEM WERE GOING TO EMMAUS
13Behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was sixty stadia from Jerusalem. 14They talked with each other about all of these things which had happened. 15It happened, while they talked and questioned together, that Jesus himself came near, and went with them. 16But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
"Behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was sixty stadia from Jerusalem" (v. 13). "Two of them" refers back to "the eleven and all the rest" (v. 9). Cleopas is never mentioned in any list of the apostles, so these two are among "the rest" rather than among the eleven apostles. Bergant suggests that they are husband and wife, in part because they offer hospitality jointly as would a husband and wife (Bergant, 170).
"That very day" refers back to "the first day of the week" in verse 1. This is Easter afternoon-just hours after Jesus rose from the dead.
We know little about Emmaus, which was 60 stadia from Jerusalem (a stadium is 607 feet or 184 meters, so 60 stadia would be about 7 miles or 11 km). All of Jesus' resurrection appearances take place near Jerusalem.
The story does not tell us why the travelers were going to Emmaus, although their hospitality to Jesus-their invitation to stay with them-makes it likely that Emmaus is their home.
"They talked with each other about all of these things which had happened" (v. 14). "All these things" would certainly include the witness of Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women who sought out the apostles to tell them about the empty tomb-and the angels-and the angel's words, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again" (vv. 5-7, see also v. 10). But "all these things" would probably include their earlier hopes and aspirations as they followed Jesus-and their dashed hopes at the place called the Skull (23:33).
"It happened, while they talked and questioned together, that Jesus himself came near, and went with them. But their eyes were kept (ekratounto-held) from recognizing him" (vv. 15-16). The problem is not that Jesus' appearance has changed or that the Emmaus disciples are distracted. The verb is passive, indicating that these two disciples are being acted upon. God is preventing them from seeing what would otherwise be obvious.
LUKE 24:17-24. ARE YOU THE ONLY STRANGER WHO DOESN'T KNOW?
17 He said to them, "What are you talking about as you walk, and are sad?" 18 One of them, named Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who doesn't know the things which have happened there in these days?" 19 He said to them, "What things?" They said to him, "The things concerning Jesus, the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people; 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we were hoping that it was he who would redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Also, certain women of our company amazed us, having arrived early at the tomb; 23 and when they didn't find his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some of us went to the tomb, and found it just like the women had said, but they didn't see him."
"What are you talking about as you walk, and are sad?" (v. 17a). In spite of the fact that these are two of Jesus' disciples (see the notes on v. 13b above), Jesus neither identifies himself nor expects to be recognized (see the comments on v. 16 above). In verse 31, their eyes will be opened, and they will recognize him.
Jesus hasn't caused their sadness by asking his question. They are sad because of their memory of the events of the past few days.
"One of them, named Cleopas, answered him" (v. 18a). This is the only mention of Cleopas in the New Testament. We know nothing more about him or his companion.
This passage is heavy with irony. Cleopas assumes that Jesus is "the only stranger in Jerusalem who doesn't know the things which have happened here in these days" (v. 18b) when, in fact, Jesus is the only person who truly understands those events. Cleopas is himself ignorant.
In response to Jesus' question, "What things?" (v. 19a), Cleopas neatly summarizes the Gospel in these verses, saying that:
LUKE 24:25-27. BEGINNING WITH MOSES AND THE PROPHETS
25He said to them, "Foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26Didn't the Christ have to (Greek: dei) suffer these things and to enter into his glory?" 27Beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he explained to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
"Foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!" (v. 25). Jesus reprimands the two disciples for failing to believe the prophets (v. 25).
"Didn't the Christ have to (Greek: dei) suffer these things and to enter into his glory?" (v. 26). This little word, dei, suggests a divine imperative-something ordained by God. Jesus is implying that God ordained the Messiah's suffering prior to his entering into his glory. While this was not self-evident to the first disciples, the Emmaus disciples have identified Jesus as a prophet, reminding us that prophets were persecuted (6:23-26) and killed (11:47-49; 13:34)-Jesus' own words. God's ways are not our ways. God chose the foolishness of the cross, because "the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (1 Corinthians 1:25). We should not be surprised that God-who chose young David and Gideon's tiny army and little Israel-would also choose a cross.
"Beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he explained to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself" (v. 27). Jesus begins by revealing himself through the scriptures, but Luke doesn't tell us which scriptures. Some possibilities include Deuteronomy 18:15; Psalm 2:7; 16:10; 110:1; 118:21-23; Isaiah 53; Daniel 7:13-15; Hosea 6:2; and Amos 9:11.
We are left to wonder whether Jesus explicitly connected the suffering and death of the prophets with his own suffering and death. Certainly the prophets served as a model for the crucifixion-and for the humble, sacrificial service that God expects of us.
Scripture is a powerful vehicle for revealing Christ. Scripture guides and strengthens Christians. Scripture has the potential to convert unbelievers. Gideons tell true stories about people whose lives have been changed by reading the Bible. We give the reading of scripture a prominent place in our worship, because it witnesses powerfully to Christ.
LUKE 24:28-32. THEN THEIR EYES WERE OPENED
28 They drew near to the village, where they were going, and he acted like he would go further. 29They urged him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is almost evening, and the day is almost over." He went in to stay with them. 30 It happened, that when he had sat down at the table with them, he took the bread and gave thanks. breaking it, he gave to them. 31 Their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished out of their sight. 32They said one to another, "Weren't our hearts burning within us, while he spoke to us along the way, and while he opened the Scriptures to us?"
"They drew near to the village, where they were going, and (Jesus) acted like he would go further" (v. 28). This sounds as if the Emmaus disciples have reached their home. Jesus proceeds to leave them. Custom requires them to invite Jesus to dinner, and custom requires Jesus to decline unless they insist.
"They urged him, saying, 'Stay with us, for it is almost evening, and the day is almost over.' He went in to stay with them" (v. 29). As noted above, this story reminds us of Abraham at Mamre, entertaining angels unaware (Genesis 18:1-15).
"It happened, that when he had sat down at the table with them, (Jesus) took the bread and gave thanks. Breaking it, he gave to them" (v. 30). These are almost exactly the words that Luke used to describe Jesus' actions at the Last Supper (22:19). Note especially the four verbs: took, blessed, broke, and gave. Jesus took these same actions at the feeding of the five thousand (9:12-17). Normally, the host would perform these actions in a home and the celebrant would perform them in a worship service. Jesus, the guest, becomes both host and celebrant at this table.
"Their eyes were opened, and they recognized him" (v. 31a). Earlier, "their eyes were kept from recognizing him" (v. 16). Now their eyes are opened. The exposition of the scriptures prepared them for recognition, which comes with the breaking of bread. It was God who veiled their eyes, and it is God who unveils them.
"and he vanished out of their sight" (v. 31b). Jesus had come into their presence unbidden and suddenly in verse 15-"but their eyes were kept from recognizing him" (v. 16). Now, when they recognize him, he vanishes from their sight.
Culpepper says that this story is a counterpoint to the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (16:19-31). In that parable, Lazarus lay outside the rich man's gate, but the rich man neither acknowledged him nor shared his bread. In death, their situations were reversed, and the rich man begged God to send Lazarus with a drop of water. The irony was that, by failing to help Lazarus, the rich man deprived himself of blessings (Culpepper, 482). By contrast, the Emmaus disciples show hospitality to Jesus, and are rewarded with a private audience with the risen Lord. We never know what blessings we might receive by giving hospitality or what blessings we might lose by foregoing it.
"Weren't our hearts burning within us, while he spoke to us along the way, and while he opened the Scriptures to us?" (v. 32). At the time, these two disciples did not understand what was happening, but Jesus was preparing them for the revelation that would come with the breaking of bread-preparing them to recognize him.
Luke 24:18-31 - BIBLE.ORG COMMENTARY
The Condition and Need of the Two Disciples (16-24)
The Condition of their Sight-a Problem of Perception (16)
We should note that what we see here is really the effect, the fruit of a deeper problem. This will become evident in the process of this exposition.
"Their eyes were prevented (Lit. "were held back, restrained, hindered") from recognizing Him (vs. 16). But why? Two verses, Mark 16:12 and John 20:15, may shed some light on this.
Mark 16:12 And after that, He appeared in a different form to two of them, while they were walking along on their way to the country.
John 20:15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, "Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away."
These verses suggest that their inability to recognize Christ was first of all a product and phenomenon of His glorified body. He could appear as a gardener or as just a traveler and withhold His true identity.
So the bigger question is why did the Lord do this? Perhaps to illustrate how the Lord comes to us in different ways and uses different people and events to teach us and reach us. He might work through a traveler or a simple gardener, but always, He is the sovereign, omniscient, and companionable Christ who is ever at work and always near and ready to come to our aid.
But perhaps this also illustrates how, if we are ignoring His Word and its careful application to the details of our lives, and so walking independently of His fellowship and guidance; if we are ignoring His answers to life and its questions as found for us in the Scripture, then we become filled with unbelief, blind, and insensitive to His presence and working in our lives.
Point: Their problem was one of perception: But what is perception? It is the ability to see below the surface and to understand what is not evident to the average mind. It means the ability to realize what is true. Even though He was standing in their presence, they were unable to perceive His presence.
Application: Christ is not in the grave. He is risen, but even as the risen Lord who has ascended, He is still never remote to us though we may not be relating to His love and presence. He is always near and interested in us wherever we go whether in the city, in the country, on the road, in the garden, in the church, in the home, at work, every place. He is always there, but do we perceive His presence? O how we need to remember and believe Matthew 28:20, "... Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age."
The Nature of their Speech-a Problem of Comprehension (17-24)
Now we see the root, the deeper problem and cause for their lack of perception. The Lord now speaks as the great and loving counselor. He asks, "What are these words . . ." This forms a mild rebuke and was a question designed to cause them and us to think about the nature of our speech, which so often reveals troubled hearts. Our speech is so indicative of the condition and comprehension of the heart. The Lord's words to the religious Pharisees teaches us something that is true for all men. He said, "You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good?" Then note what He said, "For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart" (Matt. 12:34).
"Are exchanging" is from the Greek verb, antiballw, which, in this context carries the idea of "to throw back and forth like a ball as in a game." The point is, when our words are not anchored in the Word, in the viewpoint of God, and do not stem from an awareness of His presence, the end result, regardless of how sincere we are, is that we often just play games with words like a ball we throw back and forth.
Like a lot of people, they were probably proud of their opinions and they were exchanging ideas, experiences, feelings, fears, and probably doing some grumbling as well. Their words simply could not comfort them and in essence, they were pooling their ignorance. As a result, "... they stood still, looking sad," or lit., "with sad, sullen or gloomy faces (or expressions)." The content of their conversation is given in verses 18-24.
With Jesus Christ unrecognized He was not free to work in their lives and hearts and the dialog here becomes a picture of what the message of Christ's death and resurrection would be, just theological information without seeing and trusting in the spiritual implications.
It is also an illustration of how we can muddy up the waters and fail to witness and make the issues clear when we are not consciously walking with Him as our resurrected Savior.
Point: Their problem was one of comprehension. Comprehension means an understanding of an object or subject of thought in its entire compass and extent. They lacked insight into Christ's presence because they lacked comprehension of the person and work of Christ and its meaning to life.
Application: Are we truly comprehending the meaning of the person and work of Christ, past, present, and future with all its implications? And are we living by faith in the light of what that means to us so that it impacts our hearts, minds, our faces, conversations, and actions? Compare Paul's prayer in Eph. 1:15f.
The Remedy for the Disciples (24:25-31)
A. The Exposition and Revelation of Christ in the Scripture (25-27)
These verses quickly show us a number of critical areas of need while also pointing out the divine remedy for our doubts, our fears, our grumbling, our sadness, and absence of experiencing God's purpose and mission.
The First Critical Area of Need:
Their condition (the lack of perception and comprehension) was a product of their neglect of God's truth in some way. This is evident from the following:
"Foolish" is the Greek anoetos, which literally means, "without understanding," but it generally carries a sense of blame. It has a moral as well as an intellectual sense, and the use of this word suggests their condition was a product of their own indifference and self-reliance. Unlike the Bereans of Acts 17:11, they had failed to search the Scriptures regarding the things the Savior had taught them. In the Old Testament a fool is one who is not only without God's wisdom, but he is one who is without it because he thinks he does not need it or because his values and priorities, being all wrong, cause him to neglect it. Proverbs 1:22-25 is helpful here.
22 "How long, O naive ones, will you love simplicity? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing, And fools hate knowledge? 23 "Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. 24 "Because I called, and you refused; I stretched out my hand, and no one paid attention; 25 And you neglected all my counsel, And did not want my reproof;
Verse 25 shows us that being naive and a fool deal with a person's chosen condition and outlook and not his mental equipment. This concept is further supported by the next statement of our Lord because He also addressed them as "slow of heart to believe all . . ." This brings out two pertinent points:
Application: Sluggishness to know the whole counsel of God's Word can happen to any of us when we become what we might called 'cafeteria believers,' those who pick and choose from the Scripture according to what fits their own agendas and selfish desires. In our day where a false prosperity gospel is preached and where a consumer religion is promoted, people tend to choose churches like they choose a restaurant or a mall for what they have to offer by way of activities, entertainment, comforts, conveniences, rather than for the faithful and indepth proclamation of the Word of God. Sermonettes are just fine for these folks, but as someone has said, 'sermonettes produce Christianettes.' Thus, the Bible is too often NOT a means of knowing God and having intimate fellowship with Him. Instead, it is a means of selfish fulfillment-an experience, an emotional high, deliverance from a habit, and on the list goes. Packer correctly describes the problem when he writes about the man centeredness of our godliness:
Modern Christians tend to make satisfaction their religion. We show much more concern for self-fulfillment than for pleasing our God. Typical of Christianity today, at any rate in the English-speaking world, is its massive rash of how-to-books for believers, directing us to more successful relationships, more joy in sex, becoming more of a person, realizing our possibilities, getting more excitement each day, reducing our weight, improving our diet, managing our money, licking our families into happier shape, and whatnot. For people whose prime passion is to glorify God, these are doubtless legitimate concerns; but the how-to-books regularly explore them in a self-absorbed way that treats our enjoyment of life rather than the glory of God as the center of interest.1
The Second Critical Area of Need:
The Bible is about the person and work of Christ. It is filled with him. He is the spirit of prophecy and the heart of the Bible. Scripture points us to Him as God's answer and provision for man's needs, questions, and problems. Through His precious Word God wants to point us to Christ and seeks to enhance our walk with Him because He is everyone's need. We go then to the Word to see Jesus which in turn means to see God and man's salvation and sanctification. But these men had failed to grasp the full message of the Old Testament regarding the person and work of the Savior as the suffering Servant who must die and be raised from the
dead. They knew something about His glory, but not His sufferings.
The Third Critical Area of Need:
Of the short forty days He had left on earth, the Lord Jesus spent an entire afternoon ministering the Word to these two men. Does this not show us that the concern and priority of the Savior is for us to know Him through the Scriptures?
Application: Let us not miss the significance of this. Here the exalted and glorified Lord shows great enthusiasm and places great importance on the written Word. We might think that the exalted Lord would be independent of the Scripture, but no, He took them immediately to it. Does anything reveal the priority and importance of the Bible any more than this event? Surely this is a token, a mark of the Bible's authority and indispensability to our life here on earth. How we need this attitude and priority! But we also need to note the method of Christ's communication with these two of His disciples. What did the Savior do? He opened the Word and expounded, explained it to these two men as it concerned Himself.
The Invitation and Response of the Disciples (28-29)
In these verses we see the necessity of positive responses to the revelation of God's Word. Here was a test for their hunger and response to the Lord and His to His Word. Verse 28, "... and He acted as though He would go farther," suggests the Lord would have moved on if they had not urged Him to stay. And, please note, they would have remained unchanged: just two men exchanging words--but still depleted, depressed, and discouraged. The Bible is truly living and active and sharper than a two-edged sword with the power to penetrate and change our lives, but unless we respond and seek fellowship with the Savior through its pages, we remain unchanged. We may be religious and morally good in some ways as were the religious externalists, the Pharisees, but if we are ignorant of the message of Christ or without intimacy with Him in the Scripture or both, we will be unchanged from the inside out.
"Urged" is parabiazomai which means "to use force to accomplish something, to urge strongly, to prevail upon." It is a strong word and demonstrated (1) the animating power of the Word (Heb. 4:12) and (2) their positive response to its message along with their hunger to know the Savior. In the papyri this word was used in connection with someone coming forward of their own free will (see its use in Acts 16:15, but see also Christ's invitation in Rev. 3:20). The Lord Jesus seeks to come into our lives, He stands at the door and knocks, but He does not force Himself in. We must invite Him and respond to His plan and methods.
We then read that "He went in to stay with them." It is interesting that the word "stay" is the Greek meno which is used in John 15 of the abiding life that results in bearing fruit for the glory of God. Then too, we might remember James' exhortation, "draw near to God, and He will draw near to you" (Jam. 4:8).
The Initiation and Ministry of Christ as the Host (vs. 30)
"... He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it he began giving it to them." How interesting! They had invited the Savior to come in to abide with them in their home, but as He did, in keeping with who He is, He assumed the position of host and not just a guest. It was He who took the bread, broke it, and gave it to them. You see, the Lord Jesus is not just the unseen guest in our homes. He is always to be much more. He comes in to be the unseen host. He comes in to take charge and to lead in our fellowship that He might minister, lead, feed and sustain. He leads, we follow. This was the same truth, though presented through a different figure, in Joshua 5:13-15. There Joshua was suddenly faced with a man with his sword drawn who was none other than the pre-incarnate Christ and who had come on the scene, not to take sides, but to take over as the Commander of the Lord's Army.
Application: As we walk along the road of life, are we experiencing the Lord Jesus as our companion and fellow traveler? And are we allowing Him to come into our homes as the very real, though unseen Host who lives to lead and minister to our life? Or are we, like these two disciples on the road to Emmaus who know the news of the Savior, but are still walking in retreat without mission and purpose, with a sad and gloomy countenance, as those who are not really living in the reality of the Risen Christ?
I am reminded of Paul's words to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:1-10? There he encouraged Timothy with regard to his ministry of multiplying his life in the lives of others by the strength of God's grace (2 Tim. 2:1-2). He sought to motivate him through the illustrations of a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer (2:3-7). But then he gave the exhortation, "Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel." It is this message of the risen companionable Christ which formed the pinnacle of the exhortation. So Paul, based on this awesome truth of a risen Savior, went on to explain,
"for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned. For this reason, I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory" (2 Tim. 2:9-10)
If we are not experiencing the risen Christ as our companion, we have no one to blame but ourselves and our own foolish heart and sluggishness toward spiritual things. The Lord Jesus is our faithful companion in the road of our daily lives and He wants to come alongside to turn our sadness into joy and peace and give us mission and purpose.
A little boy was offered the opportunity to select a dog for his birthday present. At the pet store, he was shown a number of puppies and from them he picked one whose tail was wagging furiously. When he was asked why he selected that particular dog, the little boy said, "I wanted the one with the happy ending."
If we want to reach out for a life with a happy ending (a life with significance and purpose), we have no choice but to accept the living Christ as our Lord and Savior. But we must also walk with Him as our present companion and dwell with Him as the Host of our homes and as the Commander who has enlisted us. Only then can we truly rejoice in the eternal life that we possess in the Savior who has conquered all our enemies.
What about our Priorities?
Howard Rutledge, a United States Air Force pilot, was shot down over North Vietnam during the early stages of the war. He spent several miserable years in the hands of his captors before being released at the war's conclusion. In his book, In the Presence of Mine Enemies, he reflects upon the resources he drew upon in those difficult days when life seemed so intolerable.
During those longer periods of enforced reflection it became so much easier to separate the important from the trivial, the worthwhile from the waste. For example, in the past, I usually worked or played hard on Sundays and had no time for church. For years Phyllis (his wife) had encouraged me to join the family at church. She never nagged or scolded-she just kept hoping. But I was too busy, too preoccupied, to spend one or two short hours a week thinking about the really important things.
Now the sights and sounds and smells of death were all around me. My hunger for spiritual food soon out-did
my hunger for a steak. Now I wanted to know about that part of me that will never die. Now I wanted to talk
about God and Christ and the church. But in Heartbreak (the name POWs gave their prison camp) and in solitary confinement there was no pastor, no Sunday School teacher, no Bible, no hymnbook, no community of believers to guide and sustain me. I had completely neglected the spiritual dimension of my life. It took prison to show me how empty life is without God.2
We now come to the results-the amazing transformation that occurred in these two men as a result of their fellowship and submission to the presence of the Savior.
The Results in the Two Disciples (24:31-35)
Transformation of their Sight--Perception (31)
"And their eyes were opened and they recognized Him . . ." Their problem had been one of perception, but now in verse 31 we see the power of the Word to give light and spiritual sight. Suddenly they were able to perceive that this new companion and fellow traveler was the none other than the Lord Himself and they began to perceive and experience the reality of His presence.
Like a two-edged sword (Heb. 4:12), the Word had not only cut through their callus and coldness, it had penetrated to comfort them as well. It gave them insight and understanding or perception and comprehension. As the Psalmist put it, "The entrance of Your word gives light."
We then read that "He vanished from their sight." Literally it is, "He became invisible." This illustrates the Lord's relationship with believers today. It is a spiritual fellowship with Christ in the Word by faith. But though physically invisible to us, He is nevertheless there with the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to God's truth and the very real reality of His life and ministry in us and to us. He is the One who walks in the midst of the church as seen in Revelation, walking in the midst of the seven churches.
A passage that is significant here is John 20:15-18 which reads:
Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?" Because she thought he was the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him." Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Aramaic, "Rabboni" (which means Teacher). Jesus replied, "Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. Go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" Mary Magdalene came and informed the disciples, "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them what Jesus had said to her (NET Bible).
What the Savior wanted to impress upon her, upon the disciples, and upon us was not that "I have ascended," but that "I will ascend." You see, the resurrection was clear enough as His appearances and the empty tomb made clear. The resurrection was the authentication to His person and work and thus the stepping stone to His ascension and exalted position in heaven as our forerunner and representative to open the way for us to God as Christ's brethren and God's children. He could not, therefore, remain with them as before. Not yet. And Mary and the disciples must not cling to Him as such-nor should we.
So what does this mean? It means our relationship to Him during the church age would not be physical, but spiritual. It would be a relationship with Him through the Word (2 Cor. 5:15-16; John. 4:23-24; 17:17). It means we must, therefore, cling to Him as the ascended Lord, but also as the One who is nevertheless our companion in the way through the Spirit and the Word.
General Commentary on Luke 24:13-35
Our reading is the story called "The Walk to Emmaus." It occurs right after the Easter narrative in the Gospel of Luke (24:1-12), and it takes place later in the day on Easter Sunday. The story is found only in Luke's Gospel. The location of Emmaus has never been identified with certainty, but it was near the city of first-century Jerusalem, which was smaller than the city is today.
INTRODUCTION: The story begins abruptly with the words "two of them" who are on the road to Emmaus. But who are those persons? There is no clear antecedent to "them" in 24:1-12. They are clearly not part of the eleven within the original circle of the Twelve, since the story ends with them going to report to "the eleven" what had happened (24:33). Yet they are part of a "group" of disciples (24:9) to which the women also belong who had gone to the tomb, and three of whose names are provided at 24:10 ("Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women"). In addition to the women, some of this "group" also visited the tomb on Easter morning (24:24) subsequently "and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him," the risen Christ. We are given the name of one of the two on the road to Emmaus. His name is Cleopas (24:18), but he shows up nowhere else in the New Testament.
vv-13-27: In the first part of the story (24:13-27) these two persons (presumably men) have no idea who Jesus was when he approached them. He must have had normal human features (not superhuman), and they do not even catch on to his identity when he interpreted "Moses and all the prophets" concerning himself (24:27). They are aware, however, of recent events in Jerusalem. They recite to Jesus a brief summary of his earthly career ("a prophet mighty in word and deed"), his passion, and his death (24:19-20). They also know the essential Easter story. What they say in 24:22-24 is a brief recounting of the Easter narrative in 24:1-12.
vv. 28-35: It is in the second part of the story (24:28-35) that the identity and significance of the stranger becomes known to the travelers on the road. They are gathered at the table, and their guest "took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them" (24:30). The words are almost identical to those in 22:19 at the Last Supper ("he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them"). Their likeness is even clearer in Greek; only the tenses (imperfect or aorist) and modes (indicative or participle) of otherwise identical verbs differ. Surely the eucharistic symbolism is intentional. In fact, interpreters have often pointed out that worship practices in the early church have affected the telling of the story. The event is on a Sunday, and it involves the interpreting of Scripture, proclamation, and sacrament. It is in that event that the two disciples understand who the stranger is. They now know it is Jesus, who vanishes from them. Then too they recall that their hearts burned within them while he had been teaching them concerning the Messiah on the road to Emmaus (24:32).
v. 34: The story ends with the two men going to Jerusalem to report what had happened. But before they can do that, they hear the testimony of the eleven who say that Jesus had been raised and had appeared to Simon (Peter, 24:34). The statement functions to place Peter as the first believer in the risen Christ, the first apostle.
CONCLUSION: The story has theological and homiletical significance on three levels. First, like the lesson from last Sunday, it demonstrates that belief in Jesus as risen Lord was not self-evident to his earliest followers, even after his crucifixion and resurrection. The reason why people back then came to believe in him was that he appeared to them. In other words, it took divine revelation for them to believe. That was true for Peter (24:34), and it was true for the men who traveled on the road to Emmaus.
Why is it that some believe, and others do not? Martin Luther explained it all so well in his explanation to the third article of the Apostles' Creed in his Small Catechism. There, he says, we cannot believe by our own reason or strength; it is by the Holy Spirit that one comes to believe.
Second, the setting for most persons to come to faith is Christian worship, which includes Scripture, proclamation, and sacrament. That is also where the faith of all is sustained. It is the place where Jesus continues to reveal himself. The Christian faith is born and nurtured where people share in worship through word, gesture, and earthly means, such as water, bread, wine, and tactile expressions of mutual care-the smile, the clasp of another's hand, perhaps even an embrace.
And, finally, the story for today is one of movement. It contains at least nine verbs describing movement. The two men "are going" (24:13), Jesus "came near and went with them" (24:15), they "came near" Emmaus (24:28), Jesus "walked ahead of them" (24:28), "he went in to stay with them" (24:29), "he vanished from their sight" (24:31), and "they got up and returned to Jerusalem" (24:33). Some of the verbs tell of movements made by Jesus; others tell of the two men. Either way, both Jesus and his followers are on the move. But it is not movement for its own sake. The moves being made have a purpose, and that is to tell the story of Jesus, to interpret it, to have fellowship (communion) with Jesus and others, and to share it all with others. That is what it means to be the church.
EW Commentary Luke 24:17-31
2. (24:17-24) The disciples explain what they talked about.
And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?" Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?" And He said to them, "What things?" So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see."
a. What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad? Jesus opened the conversation by asking them what they had talked about. From this, we can know that Jesus had walked silently with them for a while, just listening as they carried on the conversation.
b. Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened here in these days? Jesus probably smiled when they said this. He knew pretty well what had happened here in these days.
c. What things? In saying this, Jesus skillfully played along with the conversation, encouraging the men to reveal their hearts. Even though He knew their hearts, there was value in them saying it to Jesus.
d.The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth: The men explained what they did know about Jesus.
e. We were hoping: These disciples had a hope disappointed. Their hope was not truly disappointed; but in some ways their hope was misguided (that it was He who was going to redeem Israel). Jesus would show them that their true hope was fulfilled in Him and His resurrection.
f. Just as the women had said: The only thing these disciples had to go on was the testimony of others, but they were slow to believe. The report of the women meant little to them, and the report of Peter and John who had seen the grave clothes meant little - because Him they did not see.
3. (24:25-27) Jesus teaches them why the Messiah had to suffer.
Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
a.Slow of heart to believe: Jesus told them that the problem with their belief was more in their heart than their head. We often think the main obstacles to belief are in the head, but they are actually in the heart.
b. Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory? They should have believed what all the prophets have spoken, that the Messiah would suffer first and then be received in glory.
c. And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself: Jesus began to teach them what was surely one of the most spectacular Bible studies ever taught. Beginning in Moses and all the Prophets, He told them all about the Messiah.
ii. "The Savior, who knows the Word of God perfectly, because of His intimate union with the Spirit who is its Primary Author, expounded to them in broad outline all the Scriptures that referred to Him, from the first books of the Old Testament and right through to the end." (Geldenhuys)
iii. "We should not understand this as the selection of a number of proof-texts, but rather as showing that throughout the Old Testament a consistent divine purpose is worked out, a purpose that in the end meant and must mean the cross." (Morris)
d. Expounded to them in all the Scriptures: This describes how Jesus taught them. The idea of expounding is to simply let the text speak for itself; exactly what a Bible teacher should do his or her best to do.
4. (24:28-32) Jesus is revealed to the disciples on the road to Emmaus.
Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent." And He went in to stay with them. Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"
a. He indicated that He would have gone farther: Jesus acted as if He might continue on farther, but did not want to force His company on these disciples. But they constrained Him shows that even though they didn't know this was Jesus in their midst, they knew they wanted to spend as much time as they could with this man.
b. He took bread, blessed and broke it: These men were not present at the last supper Jesus had with his twelve disciples; they knew nothing of the sacramental nature of breaking bread in theological terms.
c. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him: Though it was not what might be called a sacramental meal, there was something in it that showed them who the mysterious and wise guest was. Before their eyes were restrained (Luke 24:16); now their eyes were opened and He was known to them in the breaking of bread (Luke 24:35).
ii. "However it was, whether by word or hand, they felt irresistibly that this was He. Some little action, some dear familiar trait, told them in a flash this was the Christ." (Morrison)
iii. Jesus may be right in front of you, walking with you and sitting down with you at every meal - and your eyes could be restrained from seeing Him. We therefore should pray that God would open our eyes to see Jesus as He is, as being with us all the time.
d. He vanished from their sight: As soon as their eyes were opened to who Jesus was, He left miraculously and they both said what was on their hearts. Their hearts burned as they heard Him speak and teach.
e. Did not our heart burn within us while He talked: Even when they didn't know it was Jesus, even when they didn't believe He was risen from the dead, their heart still burned because of the ministry of God's Word and of Jesus, the Living Word of God.
