The main cast of characters I'm focusing on in this scene are going to be Cleopas, Cleopas' unnamed companion and Jesus. But first, let's set the stage...
Jesus Christ had just been crucified and buried (Luke 23). Luke 24 opens to women who had gone back to the tomb. We are told that among these women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them. They did not find the body of the Lord Jesus there and instead two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning appeared and asked why they looked for the living among the dead, and said 'He is Risen'. Then the women ran back to the Eleven and to the others and told them, but they did not believe the women. Except for Peter. He ran to the tomb, saw the strips of linen laying by themselves and then went away wondering what had happened.
Now that the stage is set, let's get on to the piece of this chapter I am pondering...
And then, Luke 24:13-35 is the story of The Road to Emmaus.
v13 - "Now that very day two of them were on their way to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem." We find out later in v33 that the Eleven and the others were in Jerusalem, so why were they walking seven miles away from Jerusalem? Can I ask you something? In your journey with the Lord, when you haven't quite understood what is going on, do you ever find yourself walking in the opposite direction of where you should be or running away? Do you have a place or person you run to instead of staying put? I can't help but wonder if that is what was going on here.
v14 - "They were talking to each other about all the things that had happened." I love this scripture because they were trying to process through what had happened with each other. Can you relate? I can! I can only imagine what their conversation was like. What had happened was something their minds could not comprehend. Jesus Christ had just been walking WITH them, and they with him as His followers. They could see him, touch him, hear him and they believed him. And then, they saw him wrongly accused, beaten and crucified and buried - only to have someone then say, He is Risen. I am sure their brains were hurting.
v15 - "While they were talking and debating these things, Jesus himself approached and began to accompany them" The scripture in Matthew 18:20 came to my mind when I read this. "For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them". The two were together, talking about what had just happened with Jesus, and 'bam' - Jesus, himself, came up and walked along with them. They were talking about him, together, and he was there - just as he promised in Matthew 18.
v16 - "but their eyes were kept from recognizing him" This blows my mind. The term 'were kept' is also used as prevented, or held. When you look up what those words are in the Greek, it comes from the word 'ekratounto' which is a form of the Greek word 'krateo' that means to put under control or to be held in one's grasp. Both are from the root work, kratos, which means dominion, power or strength. So essentially, this is saying 'their eyes were held, and controlled, by his power'. I want to know more! I wonder if they were annoyed? Like, who is this guy walking with us? Do you ever wonder if Jesus is walking right with us, but our eyes are kept from recognizing him, also?
v17a - " Then he said to them, “What are these matters you are discussing so intently as you walk along?" -- Can we just stop here. Why does the Lord like to ask questions he already knows the answer to?
v17b - "And they stood still, looking sad." Isn't it interesting how one question can literally make us stop in our tracks? They didn't know it yet, but the voice of the Lord was speaking to them. It caused them to stop. And they were sad. I wonder if their expression would have been the same had they known it was the Lord asking them this question. I am going to take some liberty to say that their countenance would have been different had they known it was Jesus. Which makes me wonder, how often is He speaking to us through something or someone else, but we don't know it because we're too busy focusing on what all has happened?
v18 - "Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that have happened there in these days?" Jesus can handle our questions. Even when we have some attitude. Though we have no evidence that Cleopas had an attitude in this question, I am going to think that maybe he did. He was just traumatized by the death of Jesus, he is debating with his friend over it, then some stranger walks up and asks what they're talking about. When he says 'are you the only visitor' - this word is 'monos' in the Greek which could be translated to 'solitary, desolate'. So he essentially asked, "Are you the solitary, gloomy, without hope, foreigner or alien that doesn't know what happened?" Kind of funny how he, being the gloomy, sad one - asks this stranger (Jesus) if he is the solitary gloomy, without hope, person. When the Lord asks you a question, and you answer back with a question (surely, I am not the only one who does this)... does it ever feel like he pulls out a mirror and you see yourself in your question to him that you think is about or for someone else?
v19-20 - "He said to them, “What things?” “The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied, “a man who, with his powerful deeds and words, proved to be a prophet before God and all the people; and how our chief priests and rulers handed him over to be condemned to death, and crucified him" Again, with the asking questions He already knows the answer to! I believe that sometimes he just wants to hear us say what is already in our hearts or minds. This time Cleopas answered him without asking another question. In this statement, Cleopas is testifying to who Jesus was based on his own experience with Him, and what happened to Him.
v21 - "But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. Not only this, but it is now the third day since these things happened." It makes me sad to notice that their hope in this statement is past tense. We had hoped or other translations read 'we were hoping'. None read 'we hope'. Because it seems their hope is missing, I am going to wonder if their faith was also since 'faith is the reality of things hoped for'. Faith often begins with hope.
v22a - "Furthermore, some women of our group amazed us." Go ahead. Smile. I did. The word amazed here is 'exestesan' which means to astonish, to leave someone flabbergasted, to make someone feel out of their mind, or to feel overwhelmed. Do you know any women like that, that they just absolutely amaze you? Maybe as you watch them endure something? Or you see their growth? Or their genuine kindness? I must admit, I giggled at the 'make someone feel out of their mind'. I bet my husband can testify to that concerning me.
v22b-32 - "They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back and said they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive." There is something about morning. Early morning! It has existed since the foundations of the earth. In the 6 days of creation in Genesis, it always ends with this, "There was evening, and there was morning". Also, when the Lord has asked someone to do something, it is a consistent theme that 'early the next morning,', they did it. Or the Lord gave specific instructions which also had to do with the morning. In Revelation 22:16, it says "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star!” Two things to note here. I love that the women saw a vision of angels and that Jesus sends angels to testify of him. The Greek word for morning here is proinos, which means 'belonging to the early morning'. Isn't that interesting?
v24 "Then 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.” The Greek word phrase for they did not see him that is used here is 'horao & eidon'. Those words mean to experience, perceive, spiritually see or see with the mind. eídō ("seeing that becomes knowing") then is a gateway to grasp spiritual truth (reality) from a physical plane. (eídō) then is physical seeing (sight) which should be the constant bridge to mental and spiritual seeing (comprehension). So the men went and found the tomb just as the women did, but they did not spiritually experience or perceive the same thing the women had. Has that ever happened to you? Where you see the same thing as someone else, physically, but you can't always connect it spiritually in the same way someone else did? I think there is a great lesson hidden in this scripture. The men did not spiritually see what the women did, but that did not, and should not, discount what the women spiritually saw and understood.
v25-26 - "So he said to them, “You foolish people—how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Wasn’t it necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Here is the Lord's rebuke. The word for said here is 'lego' which means to lay an argument to rest, to bring closure. A word from the Lord brings things to closure and lays arguments down to rest. His word(s) always demolish arguments and our own thoughts/reasoning (2 Cor 10:4-5/ Hebrews 4:12).
v27 - "Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things written about himself in all the scriptures." There is so much I want to say here. First, what a gracious, merciful, loving Savior. He not only walks with us, but explains/interprets things for us. There is no interpretation of His word for us apart from Him. Jesus is the Word (John 1), or living Logos. Logos means spoken words, or reasoning/logic expressed through words. Jesus here, explains the written words in the scriptures (the grapho), and gave them the interpretation of the words (or rhema). Rhema means an utterance, or spoken word (revelation) through his written word. Did I lose you there? The logos, gave rhema from the grapho. The word, gave revelation of the word, from the word. I hope y'all are as excited about this as I am!!!!!
v28-29 "So they approached the village where they were going. He acted as though he wanted to go farther, but they urged him, “Stay with us, because it is getting toward evening and the day is almost done.” So he went in to stay with them." Jesus acted (prospoieo which means pretended) like he wanted to go further. But they urged him (used words that hit home to him) or begged him to stay with them. The Greek word used for stay here is "meno' which means to remain or abide. They were begging Jesus to abide with them. Can you believe that Jesus pretended like he wanted to go on further without them? Of course He wanted to stay with them, but sometimes, I think he wants to hear us call out and urge him to stay. John 15:7 says "If you remain (abide) in me and my words remain (abide) in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you. The word was with them, abiding with them, and he had just spoken His words to them. They asked him to stay and he stayed.
v30-31a "When he had taken his place at the table with them, he took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. At this point their eyes were opened and they recognized him. Sometimes for our eyes to be opened up to seeing the Lord's hand in what we are doing, we have to remember what he has already done. In this particular instance, the familiarity of him taking the bread, blessing it, breaking it and giving it to them, brought back to their remembrance what they had just done with him a few days before at the last supper. "Then he took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” - Luke 22:19 The very thing that the Lord said to do in remembrance of him, is what made them remember, and caused their eyes to be opened.
v31b "Then he vanished out of their sight." The word vanished here means to disappear or to become hidden. Man! Isn't it odd how we can have a direct encounter with the Lord and in the next second, it's like He is hidden from us? We don't see him. Sometimes I think the Lord's favorite game to play with us is hide and go seek. You find him, then he hides again. And we have to seek him out. Which makes me thankful for his promise that when we seek him wholeheartedly, we will find him (Jeremiah 29:13).
v32 "They said to each other,“Didn’t our hearts burn within us while he was speaking with us on the road, while he was explaining the scriptures to us?” Let me tell you something you probably already know. God is an all consuming fire. Just a word spoken to us by his word has enough power that can ignite your heart and cause it to burn in the most glorious way. One of my favorite scriptures is Jeremiah 20:9 "... His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.
v33a "So they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem." There are so many scriptures that I have come to love from this passage, and this is definitely one of them. They got up. And they returned to Jerusalem. Do you remember at the beginning of this, in v13, they were walking away from Jerusalem? They were walking away from where they were supposed to be. The Lord has a way of getting us to turn around and get us back to where we needed to be. No matter how far off from where you are supposed to be, you can always go back. Sometimes we, okay I, can complicate things when really it can be as simple as getting up, and going back to where you're supposed to be.
v33b-35 "They found the eleven and those with them gathered together and saying, “The Lord has really risen, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how they recognized him when he broke the bread." It is crucial, unless we feel directed otherwise by the Lord, to share our encounters and experiences with others. It builds our own faith and the faith of others. We are testifying of the Lord and His ways and His character when we do. We overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony.
It is interesting to note that Emmaus, the road they were on, means hot springs. I have been pondering why they would leave Jerusalem and head towards the hot springs? Though they were heading towards hot springs, the source of living water encountered them on the road and made their hearts burn within. On the road to the hot springs, they encountered an infinite hot spring of living water - Jesus, himself.
Sometimes, the place we want to be is not where we need to be. More than likely they associated Jerusalem with trauma and wanted to get away from it. Not just because of what they witnessed, but because they were followers of Jesus and therefore, perhaps in danger among the people who crucified Jesus. I am sure that the hot springs, away from the imminent danger, seemed like a better place to walk off to. But, that was not where the Lord wanted or needed them. And he loved them enough to go after them.
If you read further in Luke 24, you will find that Jesus showed up right as they were sharing their stories. If I was Cleopas or his companion, I would be relieved that we went back to Jerusalem, otherwise - they would have missed seeing Jesus again. Jesus also then gives his final commission and tells them to "stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
Jesus has a way of getting us back to where we need to be.
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