13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some 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.” 25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
Luke 24:13-35
28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” 33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
The Path to Jesus
Those who had believed and followed Jesus were now downcast and returning to life as normal. The Messiah they had hoped Jesus would be is no longer possible and so they begin to travel back to their homes. Two such disciples have the privilege of meeting the risen Jesus, one named Cleopas (the masculine version of Cleopatra meaning ‘glory of the father’) and an unnamed disciple. These two men were likely part of Jesus’ regular followers. Interestingly, church tradition holds that Clopas in John 19:25 was Joseph’s brother (that is Jesus’ adopted father). If Clopas is the same man as Cleopas here, as some argue, then this could be Jesus’ uncle on the road to Emmaus. As fascinating as that may be, it is not likely to be the case.
In this story, these two men are travelling to Emmaus, a short distance of seven miles from Jerusalem which should take about 3 hours to walk. The week’s events would have been a hot topic, likely to be the centre of conversation for the whole of Judea for some time. While they are discussing and trying to make sense of these things, Jesus inserts Himself into the conversation. Interestingly, the text says that ‘their eyes were kept from recognising Him.’ It seems that God had supernaturally blinded the eyes of these men so that Jesus could accomplish some purpose.
Coming close, Jesus starts a conversation and asks the men to describe for Him what had occurred. They stop walking, and the text says they look sad. They had been hit hard by the death of Jesus and were in deep sorrow over the events. There must have been an awkward silence, because Cleopas had to step up and answer Him. Firstly, Cleopas is shocked that this stranger has no idea what has happened, for it was the talk of the whole area. If there was a massive earthquake, unnatural darkness for three hours and the temple curtain torn, all centred around the death of Jesus, you can bet that everyone will be talking about this for weeks. Jesus wants them to describe these things to Him so He can use it as a teaching opportunity. He asks, ‘what things?’
They then tell Him everything that has just happened; that Jesus of Nazareth was a prophet, who performed many miracles and spoke with authority but had been put to death by the chief priests and rulers. They say something that is worth taking note of, ‘we had hoped that He was the one to redeem Israel.’
Now that word, λυτροῦσθαι (lytrousthai) means to release something, most commonly when something is held for ransom. This same word is used in Titus 2:14 and 1 Peter 1:18, both times speaking of how we were ransomed from our former way of life into a life of holiness. We were bought by Jesus’ blood for something greater. Is that what they mean here? They were using a great word to speak of what Jesus had just done for Israel. They accurately recognise that Israel needs to be ransomed and redeemed. But from what? They were meaning the overthrow of the Romans and the establishment of the Kingdom. They were waiting for an earthly kingdom – something that still blinded them. God may have kept them from recognising Jesus, but their own presuppositions and assumptions were fully capable of doing that for them.
They also tell Jesus of how the women went to the tomb and found it empty, likewise the men went and found that the women were telling the truth, except for one thing. The women claimed that an angel spoke to them and told them that Jesus was still alive – as we have already seen the Jews did not believe that an individual resurrection would occur within history. So naturally the men doubted them. They saw the empty tomb, but it could have been anything. The Roman guards could have taken the body elsewhere during the night. The chief priests could have taken the body for safe keeping. Steeped in misogynistic first century beliefs, these men were unlikely to believe the women’s testimony. Especially since the male disciples didn’t see any angels, and neither did they see Jesus.
Did the men think Jesus had risen from the dead? They were entertaining the idea, but they didn’t believe it. How do I know that? They were returning home to Emmaus. If they really thought it was a possibility that Jesus had risen from the dead, they would have returned to Jerusalem and looked for Him.
Jesus is not impressed with their lack of trust because He begins by calling them fools – ouch. Why were they fools? Yes, they may not have believed the women, and yes, they may not have believed Jesus when He predicted His death and resurrection three times, but the reason they were fools is because they didn’t believe the Scriptures. They were slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken in Scripture.
This is a good reminder. The reason they were slow of heart is because they were not willing to change their cultural beliefs regarding how to interpret Scripture. Their culture had dogmatic beliefs on what Scripture said and would rarely, if ever, question the traditional Rabbinical teachings. This is a reminder to filter out our cultural baggage (yes, even church culture) when reading Scripture. The culture may be secular and enforce their morality on the Bible, but we as the church should stick firmly to the word of God. Yet even the church may have views that don’t line up with what the Bible says, in that case we still believe and practice what has been revealed to us in Scripture. Jesus had a high view of Scripture and expected people to change their beliefs to conform to what God had revealed. These men on the road to Emmaus had barely even begun to be shaped and changed by the Word. That was going to change.
Starting with Moses and all the Prophets (He had about three hours and He was going to use it), He interpreted all the Scripture concerning Himself. What a great privilege to sit under Jesus teaching in that moment. He showed them that the Christ had to suffer and rise again, before entering into His glory – the Kingdom of God that was about to be established on earth through the church.
The three hours were likely up, and the city was approaching. Jesus acted as if He was going to continue walking, giving the two men a chance to invite Him in and explore these concepts further. They urge Him to stay, as the sun was going to set soon. He then sat at the table with them, and just as He had done in the Last Supper, He broke the bread and blessed it and gave it to them. It was at that moment that their eyes were opened. Now these two disciples were not present at the Last Supper meal, so why this moment did they recognise Him? God sovereignty chose that moment to open their eyes. God chose the moment to wake them up when the bread was broken and given to them. Jesus had redeemed Israel, not from the Romans, but from their sin. They were the ones who needed the bread. The text says that it was then they recognised Jesus. Almost immediately afterwards He vanished from their sight. His work was done.
These two men were given the privilege of meeting the risen Jesus. The two men must have been shocked that they didn’t recognise Him earlier, for they said their hearts were burning while He opened the Scriptures. All of a sudden, these stubborn men who were slow of heart to believe the Scriptures now believed and were changed men. How do I know that they were changed? They immediately got up and went straight back to Jerusalem. In their unbelief they left the city behind to return to their normal lives. And now, in their belief, they left their normal lives behind to go back to Jerusalem.
It was almost dark when they arrived in Emmaus, and likely the sun had now set as it was after dinner. But their excitement couldn’t be contained. They got back on the road, risking the danger of travelling at night as it was a treacherous road to Jerusalem in the dark as bandits and robbers were common especially during the festivals. They didn’t worry about that. They needed to get back to the Eleven and tell them what they had seen. By the time they got back to the Eleven it would have been late, and yet there was a larger crowd of disciples there. An aura of excitement was in the air. They see Cleopas and the other disciple coming back and they say, ‘the Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!’ They already knew that though, they had just seen Him hours earlier. They tell the rest of the disciples what had happened. The Lord has returned, and He was about to establish His Kingdom.
This is the beginning. This small rag-tag band of men and women equipped with the message that Jesus rose from the dead would turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6). Never doubt your usefulness in the Kingdom of God if you believe in Jesus. There is nothing special about us, but something amazingly special about the message. If these early Christians could change the world for Jesus, so can you.
Use these last two weeks of devotionals as a catalyst to think big. Don’t settle for the normal mundane road to Emmaus but take risks for Jesus – go where the action is. Find the churches that are on mission and join them. Do whatever it takes to be apart of a genuine Gospel work. The disciples travelled back to Jerusalem in danger, in the dead of night so that they could be where the action is. Before they met Jesus there were returning to life as normal in Emmaus, but after encountering the risen Jesus their life would never be the same. If we claim to believe in the risen Jesus, let’s do the same – let’s leave behind our normal life and instead let the road take us to where the action is.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, you have defeated death and given us hope in a world of chaos. You have revealed your truth to us in your Word. Help me to set aside my cultural baggage and believe it wholeheartedly. Use me Lord to share your Gospel message with those around me who don’t know you. Help me to share boldly and clearly the words of life so that those who are under judgment and death can know freedom and life in you. Fill me with your Spirit and equip me for this work. In Jesus Name, Amen.