Luke 24:13-35 (NRSV)
13 Now on that same day two of them were
going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and
talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While
they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16
but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said
to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They
stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas,
answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the
things that have taken place there in these days?” 19 He asked them,
“What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a
prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and
how our chief priests and leaders handed him over 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
took place. 22 Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They
were at the tomb early this morning, 23 and when they did not find
his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed 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 they did not
see him.” 25 Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how
slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26 Was
it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter
into his glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets,
he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
28 As they came near the village to which
they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29 But they
urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the
day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he
was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to
them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and
he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Were not
our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he
was opening the scriptures to us?” 33 That same hour they got up and
returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered
together. 34 They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he
has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the
road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Luke
24:13-35 is the story of the appearance of the risen Lord on Easter Sunday to
two disciples on the road to Emmaus. This is one of the many “road” stories in
the Bible. Jesus was on the road from Galilee to Jerusalem, and in Luke offered
insights concerning discipleship. Paul was on the road to Damascus when he had
his vision of the risen Lord. As this story goes, on Easter Sunday, two
disciples were walking to a village, Emmaus, a town that remains undiscovered
to us, about seven miles from Jerusalem. Ironically, the seemingly superficial
mystery regarding the actual location of Emmaus fits in nicely with the deepest
meaning of this passage. Emmaus may be here, there, or anywhere. The site of
the original episode is irrelevant. Christ will travel wherever his followers
are going. Christ will appear wherever they break bread. As they continue the
journey, they were discussing the things that had recently happened, including
the crucifixion of Jesus and the discovery of the empty tomb. While they
discussed, Jesus approached and accompanied them on their journey. They did not
recognize him. Such a story should remind us of some of the appearances of the
divine to the Patriarchs, such as Genesis 12:7-8, 17:1, 18:1, 26:24, and
32:22-32. The analogy here is that the Lord appeared in such a common and
ordinary way to significant individuals, in this case, Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob. In this case, God did not allow these followers of Jesus to recognize
who accompanied them. Jesus asked what they had been discussing. They were
still and looked sad. Cleopas was one of the travelers. The name Cleopas may be
the cousin of Jesus Clopas, whose son Symeon became a follower of James
according to Eusebius. In that case,
this story would be the reflection of an appearance of Jesus to a relative of
the Lord. We should note that one of the
women at the cross is Mary, the wife of Clopas in John 19:25.In any case, he
wondered if he was the only stranger in Jerusalem who did not know the things
that have taken place recently. The unrecognized and risen Lord asked what
these things were. They answered things about Jesus of Nazareth, a prophet
mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. Further, the chief
priests and leaders handed him over to the Romans for crucifixion. However,
they had hoped he was the one to redeem Israel. Redemption, in its fullest Old
Testament context, includes intervention that could set you free if you found
yourself a prisoner or a slave. It has been three days, and now some women of
their group astounded them that in their visit to the tomb they did not find
the body. They had also seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. Other
disciples discovered things as they described, but they did not see him. The
unrecognized and risen Lord commented on how foolish they are, and slow to
believe what the prophets declared. It was necessary that the Messiah suffer
such things and enter into glory. He then interpreted to them these matters,
beginning with Moses and the prophets. The point here is that what happened to
Jesus receives its meaning as we understand in the context of scripture.
Pannenberg,[1]
in a discussion of the first Christian interpretations of the death of Jesus,
says that not all strata of the primitive Christian tradition view the death of
Jesus as a salvation event. He refers to verses 25-26 as pointing to the early
tradition behind the passion story that seems simply to have recognized the
divine necessity of the innocent suffering and death of Jesus in fulfillment of
the prophetic testimonies of scripture. Such a statement makes it unlikely that
Jesus explained thoroughly the meaning of his death before it occurred. They
had to work out scripturally its meaning. In verse 27, he refers to the
resurrection of Jesus occurring on the third day, a possible reference to Hosea
6:2. This passage does so in consistency with I Corinthians 15:4. As Luke
continues the story, the risen Lord was going continue, but when they reached
the village, the urged him to stay with them. Yet, when he was at the table
with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. At that
point, God opened their hearts, and helped them recognize it had been Jesus all
along. He vanished from their sight. Pannenberg[2]
will stress that at the breaking of bread the primitive Christian community was
aware of continuing table fellowship with its crucified and risen Lord. In this
case, the risen Lord appeared to his disciples to share a common meal with
them. He will stress that the resurrection of Jesus is the basis of the
certainty that Jesus really has the power to be present to his disciples in the
form of the bread they break and eat. They returned to Jerusalem that same
hour, which would be a very good run for most people. They found the eleven and
other companions. They hear from them that the Lord has risen. The Lord has
appeared to Simon. Then, the two disciples shared how they had been with the
risen Lord along the road and how they recognized him in the breaking of bread.
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