Luke 24:13-16 (NIV)
Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.
This event happened early on Easter Sunday afternoon. At this point, Jesus had already appeared to Mary Magdalene at the tomb (John 20:14-18), but these two disicples had left before her report had been brought to the others in the upper room.
Now that the Sabbath was over, these two followers of Jesus, one of whom was Cleopas (verse 18), were going home to Emmaus, a few miles to the west of Jerusalem. As they walked, they had a lively discussion about the events that had recently taken place, and about what they might signify about Jesus.
Although not a part of the twelve apostles, Cleopas and his companion were disciples of Jesus who followed Him because they believed Him to be the Messiah. Luke doesn’t include the details of their conversation, but it is easy to surmise the content. There was no doubt that the miracles that Jesus had done validated Him as a messenger who had come from God (John 3:2; 9:30-33). But the popular belief was that the Messiah would take over the throne of Jerusalem as the true king of Israel, and that He would live forever, be completely invincible. But Jesus had seemingly not fulfilled either of those expectations. He had been arrested and killed, so clearly He was not invincible. And He had not made Himself king; the Romans were just a firmly in charge as ever.
Cleopas and His companion wanted to believe in Jesus. They even wanted to believe that He had risen from the dead that morning in fulfillment of His promise. But it was hard for them to come to terms with the seeming impossibility of all of that. So they discussed, they opined, they even argued (the Greek word includes all of these shades of meaning), trying to make sense of it all.
It was then that they realized that someone was walking right behind them. That didn’t puzzle or alarm them. This was a well-used road, and they hadn’t been walking very quickly as they talked. They glance back, but didn’t recognize the man who was strolling along at the same pace as they were going, just listening to them talk. Some have wondered whether it was the sun in their eyes that kept them from identifying Jesus, or whether it was simply the fact that they did not expect to see Him there. Some have even opined that Jesus’ appearance was changed. But the simple answer is given in Luke’s own words: “they were kept from recognizing him.” This was Jesus’ doing. He would reveal Himself to them soon. But first there were some things He had to teach them, and they would absorb them much better if they weren’t at the same time trying to come to terms with the reality of His resurrection.
Father, sometimes we fall into the same situation, arguing about theology or current events without realizing that You are right there with us, able to help us to understand, if only we would be quiet and listen to You! Thank You that You are always with us, able to teach us Your ways, able to help us understand Your word, and able to give us wisdom to see what is going on behind the scenes. Open our eyes, Lord, so that we can see You right there with us. Open our ears so that we can clearly hear Your voice. And open our hearts so that they can be instantly responsive to all that You want to show us. Amen.