The Road to Emmaus

On the same day that the women found Jesus' tomb empty, two of Jesus' followers were walking to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. One was named Cleopas; the other remains unnamed, allowing readers to place themselves in the story. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened—the triumphal entry, Jesus' arrest and trial, His crucifixion, the reports from the women about the empty tomb and angels. Their hopes had been crushed, and they were trying to make sense of the devastating events.

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. Some translations say their eyes were 'held' or 'restrained'—God was sovereignly preventing them from identifying Jesus so He could teach them an important lesson. Jesus asked them, 'What are you discussing together as you walk along?' They stood still, their faces downcast, frozen by the question.

Cleopas answered, 'Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?' The irony was profound—they were explaining to Jesus what had happened to Jesus. 'What things?' He asked. They told Him about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. They recounted how the chief priests and rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death and crucified Him. Then came their confession of shattered hope: 'We had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.'

They mentioned the confusing reports from that morning—some women had gone to the tomb early, didn't find His body, came back saying they'd seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. Some disciples had gone to the tomb and found it empty, just as the women said, but they didn't see Jesus. The two were caught between the empty tomb's evidence and their inability to believe. Their 'we had hoped' revealed they had processed Jesus' death as the end of their hopes, despite His repeated predictions of resurrection.

Jesus responded, 'How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?' The word 'foolish' meant lacking understanding, not stupidity. They had believed parts of Scripture but not all of it. Then, beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, Jesus explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself. Imagine this Bible study—Jesus Himself teaching how the entire Old Testament pointed to and was fulfilled in Him!

As they approached Emmaus, Jesus acted as if He were going farther. But they urged Him strongly, 'Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.' Their hospitality opened the door for revelation. When He was at the table with them, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and began to give it to them. These actions echoed the Last Supper and the feeding miracles. In that moment, their eyes were opened and they recognized Him—then He disappeared from their sight.

They asked each other, 'Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?' They had felt something profound as Jesus taught them, though they hadn't understood what it was. Now they recognized it as the Holy Spirit bearing witness to truth. They got up immediately and returned to Jerusalem—a seven-mile walk back in the dark, but their encounter with the risen Christ energized them. They found the Eleven and others assembled and were greeted with the news: 'It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon!'

Then the two told what had happened on the road and how Jesus was recognized by them when He broke the bread. This story illustrates how Jesus reveals Himself through Scripture explained and through fellowship breaking bread together. It shows that sometimes Jesus walks with us even when we don't recognize Him, that understanding Scripture is key to recognizing Jesus, and that encountering the risen Christ transforms discouragement into joy and sends us back to community to share what we've experienced.