Luke 24:13-35
Lesson Focus
Our understanding of the Christian faith is only as good as our reliance on Jesus Christ to open our eyes so that we might see what he is doing.
Catching up on the story
Jesus has died and been raised from the dead. The disciples, however, need help to understand what has happened and what they should do next. Mary Magdalene has been to the empty tomb and saw that Jesus was not there. She was even encountered by an angel who told her Jesus was alive. Peter himself also witnessed the empty tomb.
The Text
It is the same day that Jesus was raised from the dead, the first day of the week. It was Easter Sunday. Two of Jesus’ followers (Cleopas and an unnamed follower) traveled from Jerusalem to their home seven miles away in Emmaus. As they walked, they discussed everything they had seen and heard during their time in Jerusalem. They had witnessed all that Jesus had said and did. They had shared the Last Supper with him. They had witnessed his death. Even though they had heard Jesus speaking of his resurrection, which was supposed to take place three days after his death, they had not yet witnessed it.
These two were bright individuals. They knew the scriptures and thought they knew what the messiah would be like. Even though they had spent so much time with Jesus, witnessing all that he said and did, they failed to grasp the full weight of his deeds and teaching. Another individual catches up to them from behind as they walk and talk. It was, we are told, Jesus himself. These two travelers don’t recognize that it is Jesus.
As the three walk together, Jesus asks the two companions what they have been discussing. Their progress stopped. They were sad. Literally, they stopped walking and stared at Jesus, wondering how he could not know what had taken place. Finally, Cleopas speaks up, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place in these days?” (Luke 24:18) Cleopas is astounded that this man has no idea what has just taken place in Jerusalem. Jesus responds with another question: “What things?” Cleopas and his companion begin to recount for Jesus everything they had seen and heard. They told Jesus the story of his life, teaching, and death. They even told him how a woman found his tomb empty.
Cleopas admits this Jesus fellow was a prophet strong and mighty in word and deed. They had hoped that he would be the one who would redeem Israel. They had hoped that Jesus would be the one to free Israel from oppression. Cleopas and his companion have seen and heard all that Jesus has said. They know the scriptures about whom the messiah is supposed to be, but they are unable to faithfully interpret the story. They have missed something. Jesus responds to their interpretation of events and offers his own. “Oh, how foolish you are, how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:25-26) Then Jesus, beginning with Moses and all of the prophets, explains everything these two have seen, heard, and read.
The three traveling companions reach their destination, the village of Emmaus. Jesus continues to walk on as if he is going to go further down the road. Cleopas and his companion beg Jesus to stay with them. After all, it is late and will get dark soon. The roads are not safe at night. Jesus is convinced and agrees to stay and eat with them.
The scene shifts to inside a house where the three companions are about to enjoy a meal. As they are about to eat, Jesus takes the bread, blesses it, and divides it between them. At that moment, the eyes of the disciples were opened, and they realized with whom they had been talking and traveling. As Cleopas and his friend recognize whom they were eating with, Jesus disappears. Jesus’ disappearance and their new understanding hit them like a ton of bricks. How did they not know? “Where not our hearts burning within us as we walked and he talked? Everything is clear now!” That very same hour, the two companions get up and leave to return to Jerusalem to share the good news of what they had seen and heard with the other disciples.
So What?
How often do we go somewhere, learn something, witness something, and not know its significance until much later? Something happens to trigger in us a new understanding of the event which we had previously witnessed. It’s like watching some movies. We only know the significance of some scenes, even really short scenes, until the director reveals it later in the film.
This is one of the things this passage does for us. The disciples, who had witnessed all that God had done through Jesus Christ, were not grasping the significance of those events. They did not understand them as they should have. So Jesus, post-resurrection, reveals himself to the disciples once more. This time Jesus’ revelation makes clear for his followers the teaching and events, and scriptures that the disciples knew.
But Jesus’ revelation comes amid a journey. It is a journey that his followers began when they began to learn about the faith of Israel. It is a journey that started when they decided to follow Jesus. It is a literal journey as they are traveling from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Jesus comes to them and reveals to them all they should know.
At the end of the day, we only know what Jesus has revealed to us. Jesus’ revelation comes to us to help us interpret and understand the biblical story and faith rightly. Jesus’ revelation most often comes to us, though, in the context of the church. Wherever two or three are gathered, Jesus is present. In this text, Jesus’ revelation comes not to isolated individuals but to two believers gathered together. It is in the church that Jesus instructs and illuminates. The reading of scripture in worship, the teaching of pastors, the creeds, and the great theological tradition of the church is the means by which we receive God’s revelation if we are open to it. After receiving that revelation in the church, we can then take what we have been shown and share it with one another so that we all might grow in our understanding of the faith.
Discussion Questions
Read the text aloud. Then, read the text to yourself quietly. Read it slowly, as if you were very unfamiliar with the story.
How has Jesus’ been revealing himself to you in the midst of your journey this past month? Have you been open to his teaching? What are some things in your life that might be blocking his revelation? Busyness? Pride? Technology? Apathy?
Cleopas and his traveling companion seem to know a lot about the Scriptures, and yet they are unable to connect the dots after Jesus’ death. How are we like Cleopas and his friend? How is it possible to know a lot about Jesus but be unable to see what Jesus is really doing?
In verse 21, the travelers declare that they had “hoped that he [Jesus] was the one to redeem Israel.” What kind of redemption were they looking for?
Luke tells us that Jesus “interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.” (Luke 24:27). In other words, Jesus used his own life as a tool to help Cleopas and his friend understand the Old Testament. How might our understanding of the Old Testament change if we were to read it in relation to Jesus?
Read verse 30. What do Jesus’ actions remind you of? Why do you think Jesus chooses that moment to open the eyes of Cleopas and his friend?
Ways to See the World Through Jesus' Eyes…
As you read the bible, pray that God might open your eyes to new ways of understanding.
As you read the Old Testament, ask yourself this question, “How is the God shown in the Old Testament like Jesus? Remember, the God of the Old Testament and Jesus are one and the same!
As you view the events of our ever-changing world, pray that God would help you understand how it is that we, as Christians, should act and respond to that world.
Remember that your experience as a Christian is much like a journey. As you grow in your faith, the landscape changes, and so does your understanding of God and how God relates to our world. Be open to seeing the new ways in which God might be acting here and now.
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