Monday
Monday
The Emmaus Walk
Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
Luke 24:35
The walk to Emmaus, a village seven or eight miles northwest of Jerusalem, is one of the most vivid of Easter stories. It took place during the afternoon of Easter Day. One disciple is identified as Cleopas; the other may well have been his wife. As they walked, they talked about the amazing events that had taken place in Jerusalem recently. And as they talked, the risen Jesus joined them.
Notice what Luke tells us about their eyes. According to verse 16, their eyes were kept from recognizing him; according to verse 31, their eyes were opened and they recognized him. The question is, what happened to make the difference? And how can our eyes be opened as theirs were?
Firstly, we can know Christ through the Scriptures. Jesus reproved them for being so slow to believe the prophets, and then he took them through the three main divisions of the Old Testament—the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms (v. 44), explaining their teaching about the sufferings and glory of the Messiah. As Jesus had said earlier, “The Scriptures … bear witness to me” (John 5:39 RSV). So we need to look for Christ in all the Scriptures. As we do so, our hearts will burn within us.
Secondly, we can know Christ through the breaking of bread. The Emmaus disciples may have seen the scars in his hands or recognized his voice. But it seems more likely that those four verbs Luke uses rang a bell in their memory, that he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them. It was then that their eyes were opened and they knew him. As they said later, “Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread” (Luke 24:35). Many Christians have testified to a similar experience. One example is John Wesley’s mother, Susanna. When the words of administration were spoken to her one day, she confessed, “The words struck through my heart and I knew God for Christ’s sake had forgiven me all my sins.”
Here, then, are two major ways by which Cleopas and his companion came to recognize the risen Lord, and by which we may know him today—through the Scriptures and through the breaking of bread, through the Word and the sacrament.
For further reading: Luke 24:13–35