Article: The Road to Emmaus is a Road to Recognition! | Jacob Varghese

In Luke chapter 24 verses 13-35 we see an incident. Nearly two thousand years ago, two discouraged people were walking together to a village called Emmaus, roughly seven miles from Jerusalem. They had chosen to follow Jesus and had been excited about all He had done and taught. But Jesus had been cruelly taken from them. Now, they were confused, not knowing what to do next. Suddenly a stranger joined them and asked what they were talking about. They explained what had happened and how they could no longer follow Jesus as they had planned. During the next few hours, the stranger explained that the events surrounding Jesus’ death were not the end but rather the beginning of an exciting new opportunity to walk daily with the son of God. The stranger was the risen Christ Himself!
We have before us one of the most vivid and insightful accounts of our Lord’s appearances after His resurrection. Luke is the only one of the four gospel writers to include this story. It is a story that reveals to us not only something about who we are, but how Jesus opens our eyes to see Him for who He is and about how we can come to know Him. The journey to Emmaus is both a literal and a spiritual journey. On one hand it recounts the story of two disciples who, after the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord, walk seven miles from Jerusalem to their village of Emmaus. On the other hand, it outlines for us the journey that we all take from not recognizing Jesus, to understanding what the Scripture says about Him, to recognizing Him for who He is, and finally to our giving witness of what we have experienced.
Our reading is the story called “On the Road to Emmaus.” It occurs right after the resurrection narrative in the Gospel of Luke chapter 24:1-12, and it takes place later in the day on resurrection Sunday. This story is found only in Luke’s Gospel. The location of Emmaus has never been identified with certainty, but it was near the city of first-century Jerusalem. In the story we see the two of them “were going” (24:13), Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them (24:15), as they approached the village to which they were going (24:28), Jesus continued on as if He were going farther. (24:28), But they urged Him strongly, “Stay with us” (24:29), Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight (24:31), and “they got up and returned at once to Jerusalem” (24:33). Both Jesus and His followers are on the move. But it is not the movement for its own sake. The moves being made have a purpose, and that is to tell the story of Jesus, to interpret it, to have fellowship and communion with Jesus and others, and to share it all with others.

The story begins abruptly with the words “two of them” who were going to a village called Emmaus. But who are those persons? There are no clear details about “them” in chapter 24:1-12. They are clearly not part of the eleven within the original circle of the Twelve, since the story ends with them going to report to “the eleven” what had happened according to chapter 24:33. Yet they are part of a “group” of disciples (24:9) to which the women also belong who had gone to the tomb, and three of whose names are provided at Luke 24:10 “Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them”. In addition to the women, some of this “group” also visited the tomb on that morning (24:24) subsequently “and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see Him,” the risen Christ. In this story, we are given the name of one of the two on the road to Emmaus. His name is Cleopas (Vs.18), but he shows up nowhere else in the New Testament while his companion remains unnamed.
In the first part of the story in chapter 24:13-27 these two persons, probably both men have no idea who Jesus was when He approached them. He must have had normal human features, and they do not even understand His identity when he interpreted the scriptures beginning with “Moses and all the prophets” said concerning Himself (24:27). They are aware, however, of recent events in Jerusalem. They recite to Jesus a brief summary of his earthly career “a prophet mighty in word and deed”, his passion, and his death (24:19-20). They also know the essential resurrection story. What they say in Luke chapter 24:22-24 is a brief recounting of the resurrection narrative seen in Luke 24:1-12.
It is in the second part of the story mentioned in verses 28-35 that the identity and significance of the stranger becomes known to the travelers on the road. They are gathered at the table, and their guest “took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them” (24:30). The words are almost identical to those in Luke chapter 22 vs19 at the Last Supper -“He took a loaf of bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them”. It is in that event that the two disciples understood who the stranger is. They now know it is Jesus, who disappears from them. Then they recall that their hearts burned within them while He had been teaching them concerning the Messiah on the road to Emmaus (24:32).
The story ends with the two men going to Jerusalem to report what had happened. But before they can do that, they hear the testimony of the eleven who say that Jesus had been raised and had appeared to Simon Peter (24:34). The statement purposes to place Peter as the first believer in the risen Christ, the first apostle. Why do you suppose these two men were kept from recognizing Jesus for hours? The clue I think is in verse 25. Jesus called them foolish and slow of heart to believe. Their outward inability to recognize Jesus reflected their inward unbelief of what the scriptures revealed about Him.
Notice with me few things from this passage, as we reflect our Lord’s resurrection story:
I. Jesus search for us
Although the disciples knew who Jesus was, they did not recognize Him. They knew a lot about Him. They had been witnesses to all those things that had happened in Jerusalem. No doubt that they had heard on many occasions the things Jesus had testified about Himself. Yet, they were not able to recognize Jesus when they met Him. There were several reasons why they did not recognize Jesus. The first reason I understand is God did not want them to recognize Him. This conveys the sense that they were kept away from recognizing Him because God had a purpose in blinding their eyes from reality. Jesus is not being cruel here. His gradual revelation of Himself allows them to learn certain lessons about trusting God’s promises. The disciples had been told about these events many times, but they had not believed. The second reason could be for them the events had not happened as expected. They had a preconceived idea of who Jesus was, what He had come to do, and how He should do it. But when things did not turn out like they thought they should, they dismissed the whole thing as a mere failure, as misplaced hope and trust. While God always has a plan, we are not always sharing in to that plan. When things don’t turn out like we expect, instead of giving up and admitting defeat, perhaps it would be wise to see things differently, to see it may be God is up to something we simply do not understand. Another reason is that they had little faith. They had heard the reports of the women who went to the tomb. They had seen the empty tomb for themselves and yet they had not believed. The supernatural working of God to raise Jesus from the dead was outside their paradigm. They had never seriously considered who Jesus was. We need to be careful not to make the same mistake, to markdown what God has done simply because we cannot explain it or understand it. While God often uses natural things to accomplish His will, He also does things we can neither explain nor understand. These two disciples knew something had happened, but it was beyond their level of faith to see things as they truly were. Just because they knew about Jesus, does not mean they knew Him. Just because they could see Him does not mean they could see who He was. Many people today know who Jesus is. They have heard about Him, read about Him, use His name, and many even claim to know Him. They would not recognized Him if they saw Him. Their eyes have not been opened. Knowing about Him and knowing Him are two different things.
Secondly notice that:
II. Jesus opens our eyes
Verse 27 says, “Then beginning with Moses and from all the prophets Jesus interpreted for them the things concerning Himself in all the Scripture.” He might have pointed them to Deuteronomy 18:15, which says, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to Him.” And from there to Isaiah 7:14 where God says, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive, have a son and name Him Immanuel.” From there Jesus could have taken them to Isaiah 53:3: “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like one, people turned away from; He was despised, and we did not value Him.” Perhaps Jesus showed them what Isaiah 53:7 says: “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter, and like a sheep silent before His shearers, He did not open His mouth.”
We know that Jesus walked them through the entirety of the revelation to show how it gave witness to who He was, why He had come, and why it was necessary. Jesus wanted them to see that if they would only believe what the Scriptures say about Him, they would understand why He came and why He had to suffer. They would have known who He was. Luke 16:31: “If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.” Many people will try to tell you who Jesus is. They will tell you He is one of many ways to get to Heaven. They will tell you He was a good man, a great prophet, a good teacher, or a rebel who defied the Roman authorities. But outside of the knowledge of Scripture, you will never have a proper understanding of who Jesus is. That is one of the reasons it is so important to believe in that all of Scripture is God’s word. For if it is untrustworthy at any point then it can be untrustworthy at every point. When you know the Scriptures, they will build your faith, and only through faith you can come to Jesus. The truth of Scripture about Jesus, leads us to personal faith in Jesus. God prevented these two disciples from recognizing Jesus to convey the deep truth. Jesus tells us that we must have the scriptural truth to understand who He is. Outside of the word of God there is no reliable witness to who Jesus really is.
The scripture tells us the truth about Jesus. But look in verse 30 for the third point
III. Jesus reveals Himself
It was only as they had fellowship with Jesus that He disclosed Himself to them. Jesus reveals Himself to those whose eyes He has opened through the truths of His Word. It is not without significance that it is around the supper table that the disciples’ are opened and they could see Jesus for who He really is. After the resurrection, many of the appearances of Jesus are associated with table fellowship. This is true here, in Luke 24:41-43, and in John 21:9-15. In the intimacy of fellowship Jesus reveals Himself to us. His working in our lives becomes clearer, and His provision and protection come into focus. But when they recognized Him He disappeared. Fellowship with Him was not going to depend on their ability to see Him, but rather upon their taking Him at His word.
And notice finally their response. Once they recognized Him, they could not help but share Him.

IV. Jesus moves us to shareWhen your eyes have been opened, you will want others to have their eyes opened. Can you imagine the excitement they must have felt? They said to one another, “Did not our hearts burn within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” Their encounter with Jesus had been emotional. It had stirred them on the inside. It had moved their very hearts. And once moved they could not help but share. That very hour, dark as it was, late as it was, dangerous as the road was, they left for Jerusalem. They gave witness that Jesus was risen, that He had walked with them and talked with them, explained the Scriptures to them, and broke bread at their table. All who have experienced the risen Savior should be moved with similar emotions. All who have come to know Him should react the same way. We should not be able to contain it. Jesus told Thomas in John 20:29, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
One last observation, When God ordains things to happen contrary to our expectation like Cleopas not expecting Jesus to die, those are times when we are tempted to doubt His word, lose faith and as a result lose sight of Him. But not being able to see or recognize Jesus doesn’t mean that He is not there walking with us. We may not recognize Him, as Luke tells the story of the two disappointed disciples on the road to Emmaus, but remember, every trial is an opportunity to discover and recognize what God wants us to see. We must allow God to open our eyes. To make this process less difficult we need to invite God in to our life. Cleopas and his companion listened intently to the voice of truth and invited Him into their home. So surrender your expectations to God, seek God’s perspective from the scriptures and trust completely in God’s timing.

The two followers on the road to Emmaus undoubtedly felt utterly alone as they mourned the death of their dreams. During their suffering, painful circumstance, God was indeed nearby and He allowed their pain to continue until their own desires no longer held them captive. Like these two are you travelling alone in your life journey? God is with you. Are you willing to see Him? Do you know Jesus for your life? Have your eyes ever been opened to see who He is and what He has done for you? Do you know that He walks with you and talks with you? Can you testify to His presence in your life? Do you have fellowship with Him? Has your experience with Him been so real, so moving, so life changing that it has caused you to tell others about Jesus? What will you do with the resurrected Jesus in and through your life?
JACOB VARGHESE

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