Sunday School Lesson 12 - Luke 24:17-31 - REVEALED
BACKGROUND: Last week, in Luke 24:1-12, we covered Luke's account of the resurrection, which reported the empty tomb (21:1-3), the angels' announcement to the women that "He has risen," (21:4-8), and the disciples' refusal to believe the women's report. (21:9-12). The main truth of the lesson is that faith in Jesus is fundamentally a moral rather than an intellectual choice. Yes, we believe in the historical fact of the resurrection, but more importantly, we believe it's a matter of having saving faith in Jesus that morally convicts of our sin and our need for a Savior.
This week, in Luke 24:16-31, we'll cover an account unique to Luke of an early resurrection appearance of Jesus to two people on the road to Emmaus. This is the first of three resurrection appearances reported in Luke and is one of the longest accounts in the gospel. I'll summarize the first three verses: The "two of them" mentioned in v. 13 aren't any of the original twelve (now eleven) disciples but are thought to have been from "all the rest" (24:9), that is, the larger group of people that included other followers of Jesus prior to His crucifixion. The two were on the road to a village named "Emmaus" (Hebrews = hot spring), which was about seven miles (60 stadia) northeast of Jerusalem. The things they "talked" about (v. 14) most likely related to the women's incredible report of the empty tomb and resurrection that we studied last week. When Jesus joined them on the road (v. 15), they were incapable of recognizing Him, not due to any change in His appearance but because God was preventing them from seeing what was otherwise obvious (v. 16).
Read Luke 13:17-24 - ARE YOU THE ONLY ONE WHO DOES NOT KNOW?
17 And He said to them, "What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?" And they came to a stop, looking sad. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, "Are You possibly the only one living near Jerusalem who does not know about the things that happened here in these days?" 19 And He said to them, "What sort of things?" And they said to Him, "Those about Jesus the Nazarene, who proved to be a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and crucified Him. 21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 But also some women among us left us bewildered. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. 24 And so some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see."
v. 17a: "And He said to them, 'What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?'" - Even though these two are followers and disciples of Jesus, Jesus neither identifies Himself nor expects to be recognized by them. Not yet.
v. 17b: "And they came to a stop, looking sad." - Jesus hasn't brought on their sadness by asking this question; they were already dejected because of the horrific events they had witnessed the past few days-the arrest, torture, and crucifixion of a man they believed-in, loved, and followed.
v. 18a: "One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him," - This is the only mention of the name "Cleopas" in the NT, and we know nothing more about him or his companion.
v. 18b: "Are You possibly the only one living near Jerusalem who does not know about the things that happened here in these days?" - This question is heavy with irony: Cleopas inadvertently assumes this stranger must be the only person from Jerusalem who doesn't know about the things that have happened there in recent days when, in truth and fact, Jesus is the only person who truly understands those events. Cleopas himself is the one who is ignorant.
v. 19-21: "And He said to them, "What sort of things?" And they said to Him, "Those about Jesus the Nazarene, who proved to be a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and crucified Him. 21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Cleopas and his partner neatly summarize their explanation and interpretation of events:
v. 22-23: "But also some women among us left us bewildered. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive." - We remember the woman's testimony from last week (24:8-10). But to the eleven Apostles, the women's report sounded like "an idle tale, and they did not believe them." (24:11). So, it's no surprise that these two disciples are "bewildered."
v. 24: "And so some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see." - We ought to admire these two Emmaus disciples. When the Jewish leaders arrested and killed Jesus, the eleven disciples fled and went into hiding for fear the same thing might happen to them. But here, in the company of a man they don't know, they openly talk about what they had seen and heard-they had seen the empty tomb, but not Jesus. (Again, ironically, they are seeing Him now but are incapable of recognizing Him.)
Read Luke 24:25-27 - BEGINNING WITH MOSES AND THE PROPHETS
25 And then He said to them, "You foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to come into His glory?" 27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the Prophets, He explained to them the things written about Himself in all the Scriptures.
v. 25: "And then He said to them, "You foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!" - Jesus strongly admonishes the two disciples for doubting the truth of what the prophets had forewarned, and now He proceeds to remind them.
v. 26: "Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to come into His glory?" - The word here used for "necessary" (GK. dei, lit. a divine imperative that must happen). Jesus is telling them that God ordained the Messiah's suffering prior to His entering into His glory. While this was not self-evident to the original disciples, these Emmaus disciples identified Jesus as a prophet, and would know that the prophets were persecuted and killed. This should remind us that God's ways are not our ways and 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). It should not surprise us, therefore, that the same God-who would choose the boy David to lead Israel and gave Gideon a army of 300 to fight 120,000-can use a cross to redeem mankind.
v. 27: "Then beginning with Moses and with all the Prophets, He explained to them the things written about Himself in all the Scriptures" - So, Jesus begins revealing Himself to the Emmaus disciples through the Scriptures; however Luke doesn't explain which scriptures. We can only guess that it might have included Deuteronomy 18:15 "God will raise up for you a prophet like me...", Psalms 2, 16, 110, 118, Isaiah 53., Daniel 7, Hosea 6, and Amos 9. We also don't know if Jesus explicitly connected His own suffering and death to these prophecies. But what we do know is that Scripture is a powerful means for revealing Christ. It not only guides and strengthens the faith and understanding of Christian believers but can save the lost.
Read Luke 24:38-31 - THEN THEIR EYES WERE OPENED
28 And they approached the village where they were going, and He gave the impression that He was going farther. 29 And so they strongly urged Him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over." So He went in to stay with them. 30 And it came about, when He had reclined at the table with them, that He took the bread and blessed it, and He broke it and began giving it to them. 31 And then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.
v. 28: "And they approached the village where they were going, and He gave the impression that He was going farther" - At this juncture, the two Emmaus disciples have apparently reached their destination, while Jesus insinuates that He intends to keep traveling. Now, Jewish custom in this circumstance requires the two disciples extend hospitality-to invite the stranger to share a meal with them, and the same custom requires the stranger to decline unless they are insistent.
v. 29a: "And so they strongly urged Him, saying, 'Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.'" - This incident should remind us of the story of the angels' appearance to Abraham and Sarah in Geness 18:1-15, where, in both instances, the hosts failed to recognize the spiritual significance of their guests, yet extended hospitality to them. In Abraham's case, extending hospitality led to revelation and a blessing-i.e., that Sarah would bear him a son and that his descendants would become a great nation.
v. 29b: "So He went in to stay with them" - They very obviously had been fascinated and moved by what Jesus had taught them in vv. 26-27 and wanted to hear more, much more. Can you remember how God's Spirit touched your mind and heart when you really heard the gospel message for the first time? Weren't you energized, impatient to learn more?
v. 30: "And it came about, when He had reclined at the table with them, that He took the bread and blessed it, and He broke it and began giving it to them." - Does this sound familiar? These are almost exactly the same words Luke used to describe Jesus' actions in the Last Supper (Luke 22:10). Notice the four verbs, "took, blessed, broke, and giving." In doing this, Jesus has now assumed the role of a host and is offering them what we would see as a sacrament or ordinance of the church
v. 31a: "And then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him;" - This is revelation: Now they "recognized" Him. This isn't visual recognition-His appearance hadn't miraculously changed; it was spiritual recognition. They now knew who He is: the risen Christ. Let's go back and review the process: First, Jesus' exposition of the Scriptures prepared them for recognition and second, the breaking of bread prepared them to remember Him. Do you see that?
v. 31b: "and He vanished from their sight." - Jesus had appeared to them mysteriously on the road and now, just as mysteriously, He vanishes from their sight. Most scholars interpret this as an event of divine causation: that Jesus didn't simply walk away but immediately vanished from sight.
APPLICATION-Navigating the road to recognition:
1. Our ability to recognize God involves hospitality. When the two disciples reached their destination, they invited the stranger-Jesus-into their home to share a meal. In a very similar way, if we humans desire to have a relationship with God, we must invite Him in.
2. In order to recognize God, we must seek His perspective. While traveling with the two disciples, Jesus used Scripture to give them the correct perspective on the events that had recently occurred in Jerusalem. As modern day disciples with complete Bibles, we now possess the ability to learn and understand God's perspective on every facet of human life.
3. Our ability to recognize God is based on His timing. Spiritual maturity never occurs instantaneously. In this instance, God didn't allow the two disciples to recognize Jesus until the time was right. We saw Jesus take the time to explain the tragedy they just experienced from a Biblical perspective and only allowed them to recognize Him once they understood. For us, this can be a process that spans years and decades-growing in understanding. I'm not there yet. Are you?
