One of my favorite sections in Luke… just wanted to stop and pause at each verse.
13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
Emmausâ13 That same day? This is the day where Jesusâ tomb was found to be empty. The first Easter Sunday. Two of Them? When the women returned from the empty tomb, they reported what they had seen, what the angels had told them, and what they remembered was said, by Jesus, to the Eleven and to all the others. (We know from other sources, there were about 120 followers. I assume that Cleopas and his companion, were two of those 120 followers.) Where is Emmaus? Some historians tie this town to the battle fought by Judas Maccabeus. (First Book of Maccabees accounts an early victory in the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Empire and the recapture of Jerusalem in 164 BC â the narrative behind the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. 1 Maccabees: Non-canonical by Protestant denominations nor major branches of Judaism, but since when does that stop influencing beliefs!) Emmausâ14 Everything that had happened â as followers they would have known about the miracles and the teachings. They would have begun to see Jesus as their long-awaited Messiah. They began to follow Him and build their trust in Him. Perhaps they shouted âHosannah!â and laid palm branches or their coats down for the arrival of Jesus on a donkey into Jerusalem. They would not have been part of that last Passover meal, but they would have heard and perhaps seen the crucifixion. Maybe they never heard the words of the new covenant. They heard the report from the women; it is most certainly that they were discussing and wrestling with the meaning of that report. Emmausâ15 Jesus himself came up and walked along with them. How gracious and compassionate is our Lord, that He remained in the visible and physical realm for another 40 days to strengthen and encourage his followers. Emmausâ16 they were kept from recognizing Him. No matter what they think they may believe, their actions⌠walking away⌠indicate the doubt they are in at this moment. How many times do we want to pray Mark 9:24, âI do believe; help my unbelief!â God keeps them from seeing Jesus in the physical realm as He is about to reveal Himself in Scripture.
17 He asked them, âWhat are you discussing together as you walk along?â
Emmausâ17 He asked them. I love how God asks us, as if He didnât know! Genesis 3:9 When their shame causes them to hide, God asks the man, âWhere are you?â In Exodus 4:2 When Moses doubted, the Lord answered, âWhatâs that in your hand?â But when the Pharisees questioned Jesusâ authority in Luke 20, Jesus asked them a question about John the Baptist and they refused to answer. Then in Luke 22:67-68, Jesus refuses to answer the Pharisees because He knows they wonât believe Him and if He asked, they would not answer. God asks us questions to reveal to us what is in OUR hearts because sometimes, our attention is misfocused â as is the obvious case here with the two travelers on the road to Emmaus with downcast faces.
They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, âAre you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?â
Emmausâ18 Cleopas, asks Him. Thus, the heart is revealed. Cleopas is so entrenched in the details of Jesusâ recent crucifixion that he canât believe anyone else would be unfamiliar with the event.
19 âWhat things?â he asked.
âAbout Jesus of Nazareth,â they replied. âHe was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didnât find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.â
Emmausâ19 What things. Jesus asks us to Be Specific! Exactly what has captured our attention so much that we are walking away with downcast faces. They provide the specifics⌠Jesus of Nazareth⌠He WAS⌠Emmausâ20 The chief priests and our rulers. The blame game begins. We believed one thing, BUT THEY killed him and our hopes. Emmausâ21 but we had hoped. Apparently the hope to redeem Israel is gone; it has been three days already! (Do we sometimes have a vision and a hope of how things should look with Jesus reigning as Lord of our lives? Do we give Him a three-day window?) Emmausâ22 in addition, There is more to our dashed hopes, other stuff is out of place that we just canât reconcile with what we had hoped, but maybe the source of the information is questionable. Do we ever close our minds and hearts because things donât make sense to us? Do we close out others that He might be sending to us for our benefit? Maybe, even dismiss them as insignificant? Emmausâ23 No Body and Angels If these two followers were expecting the Messiah to be a great military leader that would overthrow Rome and restore Jewish rule in Jerusalem, then Jesusâ crucifixion was a huge blow to that vision. There was no room in that expectation for a missing body and the appearance of angels. Running away is sometimes easier than admitting that you were wrong⌠way wrong! Emmausâ24 Our Companions Maybe they could dismiss the women, but when their own companions DID NOT SEE JESUS, they decided to run. Oh, the irony. Thank you, Jesus, our Lord and Loving Shepherd! You truly leave the 99 to chase down the wandering 1⌠or in this case, 2.
25 He said to them, âHow foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?â 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
Emmausâ25 How foolish you are and slow to believe. Yes, Lord, we are. We are foolish â especially those of us who have the advantage of living in this time between your first and second comings.  We have Your earthly life as an example, You as the written Word, and Your Spirit as a deposit in us. We are blessed to have the full scripture, Old and New Testaments, as well as gifted teachers and preachers. We are truly fools not to believe all that the prophets have spoken after you have already fulfilled these prophecies! Emmausâ26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter His glory? From Genesis 3:15, Deuteronomy 18:15-19, Psalm 16:8-11, Psalm 22, Jeremiah 31:31, Psalm 118:22-24, Isaiah 61:1-2, Isaiah 52, Isaiah 53, Zechariah 12:10, Zechariah 9:9, Zechariah 11:12-13, Malachi 3:1, etc. so many Old Testament passages about the Messiah being the seed of a woman⌠a suffering servant⌠a kinsman-redeemer⌠a humble, compassionate savior to usher in Godâs Kingdom, preceded by a messenger like Elijah. But we understand these travelers⌠if the teachers of Israel did not understand, how could the students? And in Isaiah 55:8-9, we struggle to reconcile with the fact that His ways are NOT our ways. Emmausâ27 He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself. If I spend the rest of the breath He gives me, I pray that He continues to reveal that same Bible study to me. đ
28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, âStay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.â So he went in to stay with them.
Emmausâ28 Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. He does not impose Himself on us. Emmausâ29 But they urged him strongly. We must invite Him to stay.
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, âWere not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?â
Emmaus-30 When he was at the table with them, he is there, doing just the ordinary things of the day⌠breaking bread and enjoying a meal. Emmausâ31 Then their eyes were opened. When they recognized Him, He disappeared. They now knew Him apart from the previous physical, visible experience. Emmausâ32 Were not our hearts burning within us? When the Scriptures are opened to us, sometimes, there are no sufficient words to describe the Spiritual transformation that is occurring except, Were not out hearts burning within us?
33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, âIt is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.â 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
Emmausâ33 They got up and returned at once. It doesnât matter how far you have to go, or the time of day, some news is just too important to wait. They return to âthe Eleven and those with themâ â the same group they had left earlier. Emmausâ34 It is true! The Eleven and those with them were already assembled together and saying that âthe Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon!â Apparently, the two travelers werenât the only ones being compassionately looked after by Jesus. Emmausâ35 Jesus was recognized. Sharing your testimony of Jesus is important. Even though the group in Jerusalem already had other testimony, these two get to share their details. There would have been others in the room that were wrestling with doubts â after all a resurrected Jesus was something the entire world would have to wrestle with. The other doubters may have been able to conceal their doubt, but what comfort they must have had when they heard that Jesus still walked with these two after they walked away.