The Life of Christ in the Synoptic Gospels
THE JOURNEY TO EMMAUS
The Life of Christ in the Synoptic Gospels
THE JOURNEY TO EMMAUS
Golden Text: “He opened to us the scriptures.” (Lk. 24:32)
Golden Text: “It is Jesus Christ that died, yea rather, that was raised from the dead.” (Rom. 8:34)
Lesson Plan:
1. An Afternoon Walk (vs 13, 14)
2. Jesus Joins the Conversation (vs 15, 17)
3. Reviewing the Situation (vs 18-24)
4. Jesus Opens the Scriptures (vs 25-27)
5. Jesus Reveals Himself (vs 28-35)
Lesson Setting:
Time: Sunday afternoon, April 9, A.D. 30, the same day of our last lesson.
Place: Emmaus, sixty furlongs from Jerusalem, and the road to Emmaus. The name means warm water,
probably for baths.
Inductive Study of the Lesson
a. Read the lesson, Luke 24:13-35, compare it with the brief account in Mark 16:12, 13.
b. With verse 16 compare other occasions when Christ was not recognized, John 20:14; 21:4.
c. With
the description of Christ in verse 19 compare Acts 2:22.
d. Concerning the reference to Christ as the possible Redeemer see Luke 1:68; 1 Peter 1:18, 19.
e.
For the preceding events of the Lord’s Sunday morning Resurrection read and compare Matthew
28:1-10; Mark 16:1-11; Luke 23:56-24; John 10:1-18.
f. For Christ’s anticipation of His crucifixion see Matthew 20:17-19; Mark 10:32-34; Luke
18:31-34.
g. For the testimony of Moses to Christ see Genesis 3:15; 22:18; Exodus 12; Leviticus 16:1-34;
Numbers 21:9; Deuteronomy 18:15; Numbers 24:17; 20:11, etc. For the testimony of the prophets read
Isaiah 7:14; 9:6, 7; 40:10, 11; 50:6; 53:4, 5; Jeremiah 23:5; 33:14, 15; Ezekiel
34:23; Micah 5:2; Zech. 6:12; 9:9; 12:10; 13:7; Malachi 3:1; 4:2, etc.
Introduction: What took place on that special Sunday morning? – The burial of Jesus in Joseph’s tomb was probably not intended to be final. It was probably a hurried and temporary disposal of His body until the Sabbath was over and there could be a better opportunity of paying the last sad rites. It was likely in view of this that quite early in the morning, after the Sabbath, some of the women made their way to His tomb, so they might anoint the body and properly prepare for its final resting place. On arrival at the grave, they found the stone rolled away from the entrance and the body of Jesus vanished. The grave-clothes were there, and beside them set a youth in white raiment (Luke speaks of two angels), who told them that Jesus had risen, and to inform the disciples of the fact. Terrified and perplexed, the women ran to the disciples with the news, and these in turn hastened to the tomb to prove it for themselves. Shortly afterwards Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene. We now study the closing events of that special and wonderful day, with the disclosures regarding the glory of our risen Lord, as well as our own hope of resurrection glory through Him.
Scripture Reading: Luke 24:13, 14
1. An Afternoon Walk
v 13 ... “To a village called Emmaus ... about threescore furlongs.” A furlong was four hundred cubits, or six hundred to seven hundred feet; so that sixty furlongs would be seven or eight miles.
Where Was Emmaus? – “It was a village sixty furlongs from Jerusalem. The earliest traditions (from the third century on) place Emmaus at the town now called Amwas, formerly Nicopolis. This lies between Jerusalem and Jaffa, about twenty miles from Jerusalem instead of seven and a half; and, also, it was too large a town to be called a village. A tradition from the 12th century points to el-Kubeibeh, just sixty furlongs from Jerusalem, where the assumed house of Cleopas is pointed out among the ruins. References in Josephus indicate Kolonieh, less than six miles from Jerusalem, to the west, a village in a charming valley sprinkled with olives, the gift of springs flowing from the hill sides. No place near Jerusalem has charms which were more likely to have made it a favorite haunt of the citizens from the earliest times” (Geikie, ‘The Holy Land and the Bible’). The problem of the situation of Emmaus is “unsolved, and incapable of solution with the data which we possess” (Hasting’s ‘Dictionary of Christ’).
Who Went To Emmaus That Sunday Afternoon? – Jesus appeared three times in the morning of the first Lord ’s Day, and then left the disciples to become gradually accustomed to the fact of His resurrection. But in the afternoon [v 29] of “that same day” He appeared to “two of them.” “It is expressly implied in verse 33, that they were not apostles. One was Cleopas (an abbreviation of Cleopatros), of whom we know nothing, for the name is not the same as Clopas [equals Alphaseus; Jn. 19:25]” (Cambridge Bible). The other one’s name is unknown. “The other, unnamed, may have been Luke himself; for he, and he alone, tells this incident in detail. His style therein is that of an eye-witness and the omission of his own name, while the other is given, accords with Gospel usage” (Dr. Noah K. Davis). “Probably they had left the group of disciples on purpose to relieve the tension of anxiety and sorrow by walking, and to get a quiet time to bring their thoughts into some order. They were like men who had lived through an earthquake” (Alexander Maclaren).
v 14 ... “And they talked together of all these things.” Their conversation naturally turned to the all absorbing question of the hour – the unsuspecting fate of their revered Teacher, the sudden overthrow of their hopes, plus the startling and incredible news of His resurrection. “The subject nearest to all their hopes and fears and interests, the dead Jesus, and what had happened in the three eventful days. They were perplexed. They ‘reasoned’ [v 15]. They were probably striving to reconcile the apparently conflicting facts, the claims of Jesus and His manifest power, with the ignominious death which He had suffered” (Dr. Charles F. Deems). Conversation: “They that feared the Lord spake often one to another,” is always true when there is much interest in religion, and the effect is close at hand. “And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels.” Conversation is one of the means though which a rough stone is changed into a jewel. Oliver Wendell Holmes said that he did not talk to assert what he thought, but to find out what he thought. Conversation, too, is creative, generating new thought, throwing new illumination on things. “There are subjects worthy of your earnest thought, which can be sifted in conversation as they cannot be in solitary thought. Stimulus, inspiration, and increase of knowledge, and an enlargement of view are often gained through well-directed conversation. As you walk to and from your business, or your place of study, or the church building, as you sit, or as you journey with a friend, how much do you gain out of the conversation?” (H.C. Trumbull). Occasionally someone questions the need for attending various prayer-meetings, as well as Sunday worship. But much lose is the outcome of habitually being absent for such spiritual gatherings of the saints of God. If there is any institution on earth that has evidenced an absolute right to be and to live, it is the old-fashioned prayer-meeting. Isn’t the same true regarding the price Jesus paid for Sunday worship and The Lord’s Supper? Such can be compared to the increase of sounds by a number of echoes, or of light by a number of mirrors; or to the blaze of fire-brands, each of which will go out if kindled separately, but when thrown together kindle each other.
Scripture Reading: Luke 24:15-17
2. Jesus Joins the Conversation
v 15 ... “While they communed,” the same word as “talked together” in verse 14. The conversation “flowed like waters after summer showers.”
v 15 ... “And reasoned,” more exactly, ‘questioned,’ or debated together. The subject engaged their deepest interest, and they were discussing with each other the possible reconciliation of difficulties and clearing up of their perplexity (Am. Com.).
There were so absorbed that they did not notice at first when “Jesus Himself drew [‘was drawing’] near” (v 15). “The use of the imperfect here is very beautiful. Jesus was already walking with them when they observed Him” (M.R. Vincent).
v 15 ... “And went with them,” joined them in their walk. There is an old saying: “Speak of angels and you will hear the rustling of their wings.” “We do not sufficiently realize that if any two of us will make Jesus the subject of our conversation, He Himself will be [in] our company” (Trumbull).
v 16 ... “But their eyes were holden.” The Lord Himself may have been with them all the way, but their eyes were not opened to see Him. “It is profoundly interesting and instructive to note the characteristic of the favored ones who first saw the risen Lord. They were Mary, whose heart was an altar of flaming and frequent love; Peter, the penitent denier; and these two, absorbed in meditation on the facts of the death and burial. What attracts Jesus? Love, penitence, study of His truth” (Maclaren). Mark (16:12) says that Jesus appeared “in another form” to them. “This failure to recognize was in harmony with the mysterious character of the Forty Days” (Dr. George D. Boardman). Christ’s risen body was certainly real, but no doubt, in some ways, it knew the workings of that great transformation into the body of the spiritual world. Regarding Mark’s statement about Jesus appearing in another form, or external appearance: His body must have been the same in which He died and rose again. (a) There may have been an intentional holding of their eyes. (b) They had not the slightest expectation of seeing Him, and in their absorption did not take particular notice of the stranger beyond His general appearance. Could He have looked to them like a rabbi or scribe? (c) There was an entire change of clothing, because the soldiers had taken possession of the clothing the disciples were accustomed to Jesus wearing. (d) Certain natural effects of His agony in the garden and on the cross might perhaps appear in His countenance and maybe in His voice, tending to prevent casual recognition. The reason was probably because “immediate recognition would have prevented the quiet instruction which followed by putting them into a tumult of joy, fear, and doubt, as usual in our Lord’s miracles” (Riddle). Our Unseen Comrade: If we walk with thoughts and words of Christ, He will join us in our journey. It is not His manner to give knowledge to His disciples so they may walk, but to give it as they walk. “We do not sufficiently realize that if any two of us make Jesus the subject of our conversation He Himself will be of our company” (Trumbull). “How often does Jesus still come to us, and we discern Him not! Our paths would be less lonely, and our thoughts less sad, if we realized more fully and constantly our individual share in the promise, ‘I am with you always’” (Maclaren). “If Christ is not with you, my son, it’s because you don’t think of Him. If He isn’t cheering and comforting you, it’s because you are not sorrowful about His absence. I pray you won’t ever be so preoccupied with your own thoughts, your own personal, self- motivated interests, and all the many things this world will bring to bear on you, that you let your best Friend pass you by unrecognized” (Frances E. Tyner). Jesus began, with oriental freedom, entering into their conversation with the question,
v 17 ... “What manner of communications [words] ... that ye have one to another;” literally, ‘throw back and forth to each other.’ As Tennyson says, “Discussed a doubt and tossed it to and fro.” Moffat translates it, “What words are these that are passing between you as you walk?” “The question of the stranger quietly put to the two wayfarers is not without a touch of kindly humor” (Expositor’s Greek Testament). The question implies that they were discussing with some earnestness.
v 17 ... “And are sad.” Rather, ‘downcast.’ Sadler says, “not merely a passing sadness, but as if their hopes were blighted, and they could not life up their hearts again.” “Their thoughts are lingering behind, clinging to the dark crest of Calvary, as the cloud-pennon clings to the Alpine peak” (Burton). Note the punctuation and reading of the R.V., they stopped for a moment in their walk.
Scripture Reading: Luke 24:18-24
3. Reviewing the Situation
v 18 ... “And the one of them whose name was Cleopas [see v 13] said unto Him, Art Thou only a stranger in Jerusalem?” The literal rendering is, ‘Dost Thou alone sojourn at Jerusalem and not know?’ Trench translates, ‘Dost Thou lodge alone at Jerusalem?’ Only an isolated man could fail to know what was in every one’s mind and mouth. Have You just come, and so not heard? or do You live wholly alone, and hence don’t know? “The inquiry in verse 18 would be natural enough even in New York or Philadelphia today; but they had no newspapers in Jerusalem. It might be possible that a great fire might occur in the morning in one part of a great city today, and the other part not hear of it till the next day” (Dr. I.H. Hall).
v 19 ... “And He said unto them, What things? [drawing out their opinions] ... a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God.” However, the death of Jesus may have made them waver in their faith that He was the Messiah, the Redeemer, they had no doubt that He was a prophet, because they knew what He had done, and had heard His teachings. They stood on a firm basis of fact.
v 20 ... “Our rulers ... have crucified Him.” Treated Him as a malefactor, not as a prophet, cutting Him off from His work.
v 21 ... “But we trusted.” Rather, ‘we hoped, we were hoping.’ The imperfect implies that this had been their habitual expectation for some period of time (Webster’s Syntax).
v 21 ... “That it had been He which should have redeemed Israel.” That He was the Messiah, delivering Israel from bondage to the Romans and also “from bondage to sin” (Trench); bringing a new kingdom of Israel, with all the glories foretold for ages, which filled the hopes of the Jews. “The disciples of the Nazarene seem to have looked forward to this particular Passover with special anticipations of joy. They felt that the long-yearned-for hour had come when their illustrious King and Friend would ascend the throne of David, and actually redeem Israel from the Roman servitude, an expectation deepened by the triumphal entry of only the Sunday before” (Broadman).
v 21 ... “And beside all this, today is the third day,” referring either to the length of time needed to extinguish hope, or to a reminiscence of the promise of Jesus that He would rise on the third day. But now He had been dead for three days. “There may be some allusion to the common Jewish idea that it was not until after the third day that a person must be finally reckoned among the dead. Then the hired mourners were dismissed, and daily life went on as usual” (Dr. H.D.S. Sweetapple). Consider what they might have had on their minds: Inglorious collapse, a cause broken and pounded to dust by the strong arm of the hated Roman Empire; shattered hopes; a complete disappointment; a cruel deception; and, above all, the catastrophe of the cross. What Ray of Light Did Cleopas Report? (vs 22-24) – Only the visit of the women to the tomb, which they found empty; their story of the angelic assurance of Christ’s resurrection; and the corroborative visit of Peter and John. “It is all hearsay evidence and unsatisfactory” (International Critical Commentary).
v 22 ... “Made us astonished,” rather ‘amazed us,’ in R.V. The original verb means “to drive one out of his senses” (Vincent). What part should hope play in the Christian life? “Hope,” said Socrates, “is the mainspring of life.” “Hope maketh not ashamed,” said Paul. Hope is the soul’s anchor, and without it we are at the mercy of every storm of doubt.
Scripture Reading: Luke 24:25-27
4. Jesus Opens the Scriptures
v 25 ... “Then He said unto them, O fools.” This is an unfortunate translation in the light of the popular use of the word ‘fool.’ Jesus would never have called these sorrowful disciples ‘fools’ in that sense. The word is equivalent to ‘dull of perception,’ referring to their ‘understanding.’ The next phrase,
v 25 ... “slow of heart,” goes deeper, contemplating the region of ‘feeling’ and ‘moral responsibility.’ The Lord’s rebuke was more in sorrow than in anger, ‘O foolish men!’ “And well He may call them so. Nothing is so ignorant as the unbelief which springs from the failure to understand the law of moral progress: first suffering, then blessedness; first defeat, then victory” (Boardman). All this had been clearly foretold by the prophets. “The two disciples did not know Christ, neither did they know the Bible” (Nicoll). Christ points out the two fruitful causes of religious error: (a) Lack of personal, individual, independent thought. (b) Reluctance to receive truth opposed to time and prejudice. In other words, intellectual sloth and spiritual tor-por.
What did Christ then do for the two? – “Man’s word, and women’s word, and angels’ words, they had paid more or less heed to all these; but God’s Word, that Word which liveth and abideth forever, they had not built and established themselves on it. From that Word they had not sought to learn how it should fare with the Christ of God” (Trench). The time was ripe for such teaching. Sorrow clarifies the mind, steadies it, forces it to weigh things correctly. The soil moist with tears best feeds the seeds of truth” (Dr. Theodore T. Munger). “He showed them that God’s Word is not merely a collection of texts. It contains the records of God’s dealings with the race and with the soul. We must therefore in our study of the Scriptures not merely ask as a matter of curious knowledge, ‘What is the meaning of this dark passage or that difficult text?’ We must rather ask, ‘What broad principles can I learn from the Bible as to God’s guidance of men and nations?’” (Sweetapple). These two humble men listened to His teaching with focused attention. As Christ explained each passage, their faith mounted higher and higher, and their hopes grew brighter and brighter.
v 25 ... “To believe [‘in,’ ‘to rely upon'] all that the prophets have spoken.” The emphasis lies on ‘all.’ They believed a portion of what the prophets had taught; but many things they could not reconcile with what they believed, while others were distasteful, and had become neglected. There is the same danger today in our study of God’s Holy Word.
v 26 ... “Ought not [the] Christ [the Messiah] to have suffered these things?” Were not these things foretold in the Scriptures as characterizing the Messiah, and therefore a necessary mark by which whoever claimed to be the Messiah might be tested? Were they not a part of the Messiah’s work, without which His redemption could not succeed, nor His kingdom be established? The very things which shook their faith in Jesus as the Messiah were essential to His Messiahship.
The Testimony of Moses: “And beginning at Moses” (v 27). The promise to Eve (Gen. 3:15); The promise to Abraham (Gen. 22:18); The paschal Lamb (Ex. 12:46; Jn. 19:36); The scapegoat (Lev. 16:1-34); The brazen serpent (Num. 21:9; Jn. 3:14); The greater prophet (Deut. 18:15); The star and scepter (Num. 24:17); The smitten rock (Num. 20:11; 1 Cor. 10:4); These and many more.
The Testimony of the Prophets: “And all the prophets” (v 27). Immanuel (Is. 7:14); “Unto us a child is born,” etc. (Is. 9:6, 7); The good shepherd (Is. 40:10, 11); The meek suffer (Is. 50:6); He who bore our griefs (Is. 53:4, 5); The branch (Jer. 23:5; 33:14, 15); The heir of David (Ezek. 34:23); The ruler from Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2); The branch (Zech. 6:12); The lowly king (Zech. 9:9); The pierced victim (Zech. 12:10); The smitten shepherd (Zech. 13:7); The messenger of the covenant (Mal. 3:1); The sun of righteousness (Mal. 4:2); And many other passages.
The Testimony of all the Scriptures: “In all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (v 27). All the prophets made some distinctive reference to Christ, except Nahum, Jonah (who was himself a type and prophetic sign), and Habakkuk, who, however, uses the memorable words quoted in Romans 1:17. In addition to direct testimony, the whole ceremonial of the Jewish religion foreshadowed Him. (a) The sacrifices; (b) The Passover, with its slain lamb; (c) The daily sacrifices; (d) The scapegoat; (e) The day of atonement; (f) The high priest. Why should all Christians study and understand the prophecies? Because they make the Bible one book, binding it all together. Because they make us familiar with the long plans of God. Because a knowledge of those that have been fulfilled gives us confidence in the important prophecies that remain to be fulfilled. Best of all, because of Christ’s example. Jesus Christ honored the Bible. He recognized it as the depository of truth. He indorsed it as a divine power. That should be enough for us. How will the Scriptures be opened to us? As we think and talk about them. Whether we are at home, on a journey, with our family or with strangers, we should think of these things. Especially, as we lead them to Christ. “It is Christ alone who can interpret the Scriptures. It is He only who possesses the key to the Scriptures, and the key to human souls” (Nicoll). After we have obtained all the light we can from human sources, it remains that the best of all Bible schools is the school of prayer. Opening the Scriptures – Anyone can easily know enough of the Scriptures to find the way to heaven, and be guided safely through life; as a child may know enough about nature for the ordinary purposes of living. Yet, as in God’s works of nature there are untold treasures, and all that even modern science has gained is but a little spray from the great ocean, a small sheaf from the boundless harvest of good things God has laid up for man’s blessing, so there are yet untold treasures in the Word of God. We are like children who, having learned to read and spell, imagine that we have some conception of the vast and glorious literature into which the simple letters of the alphabet can be formed.
Illustration: The Scriptures are like a mine, over which we have often walked without knowing the treasures beneath our feet. They are like powers of nature, which have always contained the treasures of medicine, coal, gas, oil, electricity, etc., and yet men did not know these riches for ages.
Illustration: Opening the Scriptures. (a) The Scriptures are like a mansion with many rooms opening into one another. You open one door, and it reveals several other doors. The more we study the Scriptures, the more we see there is to learn. It is the same with nature. A piece of glass becomes a lens by which whole worlds are revealed in heaven. The electricity, which in some form has been known for ages, becomes light and power. (b) We can often see a thing clearly after it is pointed out to us, through completely escaping our notice before. A picture explained by an artist remains a new picture, thou we see it many times. A fact of nature pointed out by a scientist illumines a portion of God’s work, unknown before. Ruskin’s fifth volume of Modern Painters (released years ago) opened the eyes of many who had never considered that in clouds, trees and leaves a multitude of interesting and beautiful things, though unnoticed, were plain before the eyes. The same is true of many good books.
Illustration: The early miners in California Gulch were harassed by a heavy black sand. When wiser men came and developed Leadville from that black sand, the first ones said of themselves, “How foolish we were not to know value when we see it.” In early age some men are driven away by their doubts, conceits and lack of consideration, while others come to the same words and find the gold-paved, pearl-gated and glory-lighted city of God – even God Himself!
What is the difference between an open and a closed Bible? – It is illustrated by the experience of the two disciples in our story. A closed Bible means doubt and depression. An open Bible means confidence and exultant joy. A closed Bible leaves us alone with our fears. An open Bible places the Omnipotent One at our side. A closed Bible means a closed heaven, a thick veil over the past and the future. An open Bible means an opened heaven, with no darkness anywhere in time or eternity.
Scripture Reading: Luke 24:28-35
5. Jesus Reveals Himself
v 28 ... “The village.” By and by they drew near Emmaus. Perhaps the first scattered houses were now visible, people standing by the doors, women drawing water at the well, little household fires sending up curling smoke. Maybe they saw the home of one of them.
v 28 ... “He made as though He would have gone further,” as He must do as a matter of decorum, unless invited to remain. He certainly would have gone if not invited to stay. “It was not a pretense, but He actually would have gone further unless they had detained Him; by thus offering to proceed proving them, whether His words had taken any mighty hold upon them or not; and whether there was any desire on their part for further communion with Him [compare Mk. 6:48]” (Trench).
v 29 ... “But they constrained Him.” Pressed Him with urgent entreaties and arguments. Their desire to have Him remain and their sincere welcome constrained Him to remain.
v 29 ... “Abide with us.”
v 29 ... “And He went in.” To the house where they were going, probably the house of one of them.
v 29 ... “To tarry [‘abide,’ as before] with them.” They simply did not have enough of the wonderful stranger. So, since it was drawing near evening, they urged Him to enter their home, abiding with them that night. The words have been used in H.F. Lyte’s beautiful hymn, Abide With Me. “Abide with me! fast falls the eventide. The darkness deepens. Lord, with me abide. When other helpers fail, and comforts flee. Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me! Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.” This is a lesson in hospitality. Paul said, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (referring to Abraham). He could have said, “For some have thereby entertained unawares the Lord Jesus Christ.” Christ in the Home: Christianity is the religion of one who out of thirty-three years on earth gave thirty to the life of the home. A true Christian home is a birth from above. “We love because He first loved.” The love of a Christian home has that sublime, illustrious origin. Christ in the home makes it an abode of prayer, helpfulness and joy. The Bible will be the center of such a home, and it will lie upon a family altar. “When home is ruled according to God’s Word, angels might be asked to stay a night with us, and they would not find themselves out of their element” (Spurgeon). “Dear Friend, whose presence in the house, Whose gracious Word benign, Could once at Cana’s wedding feast Turn water into wine, Come, visit us; and when dull work Grows weary, line on line, Revive our souls, and make us see Life’s water glow as wine. The social talk, the evening fire, The homely household shrine, Shall grow with angels’ visits when The Lord pours out the wine” (Frances E. Tyner). Jesus will not remain where He is not wanted. He comes to us, He makes Himself known, He shows His willingness and power; but if we do not constrain Him to abide with us, then He will pass on. This is true of churches, as well as our own hearts. How can we constrain Him to abide with us? The same principles apply as in the welcome of a guest: (a) we must feel our welcome with warm hearts. (b) We must express the desire and the invitation urgently. (c) We must put away whatever would be disagreeable to Him. (d) We must entertain Him with our best, and make His stay as delightful as possible. (e) We must be in sympathy with His plans and His work, conversing with Him about it. Then He will abide in our hearts, homes and church. The blessings that flow from the abiding presence of Jesus: His personal friendship and love; His words of wisdom and help; new life; new power; new inspiration; new piety and devotion.
v 30 ... “Sat at meat [reclined at the table]. He took bread [or the loaf, assuming the position of master, as He was accustomed to doing with His disciples], and blessed it.” Gave thanks, as was customary for the one at the head of the table. The mind can only imagine the welcome Christ received under their roof, and how the women of the family must have hastened to prepare the evening meal. Imagine when at last it was ready, how the three men sat down together, while perhaps in the background women and children eagerly watched.
v 31 ... “And their eyes were opened.” Whatever had up to now held their eyes (v 16) was taken away. The closer inspection, the customary manner of the Master suddenly revealed to them Who their guest was. How did the two disciples recognize Jesus? It was only a frugal repast; there was only one loaf of bread (v 30, in R.V. margin). “Jesus, in some sort the guest, assumes at once the place of the host, and, as at other times (Matt. 14:19; 15:36; 26:26), the prerogatives of the householder of good man of the house, to whom this blessing and giving of thanks of right belonged” (Trench). “Perhaps His taking the loaf and breaking it and giving it to them recalled an idiosyncrasy of His; as when He had done the same thing on the two occasions on which He had fed the famishing thousands, and on the occasion of His instituting the sacred feast which bears His name” (Boardman). Opened Eyes: Many a time the Lord is near us and we know it not. He comes in His strange providence, He comes in the ordinary duties of life, He comes in nature, He comes in opportunities to do good, He comes in prayer and prayer meetings; and we do not always recognize His presence. We are like a person who is blind to certain colors, or deaf to certain sounds. There is a music of grace heard only by those whose spiritual ears God has opened. Only the pure in heart can see God. But if we press Jesus to abide with us, He will open our eyes that we may see Him and know Him. He opens our eyes (a) by His Holy Spirit; (b) by opening to us the Scriptures in their larger and fuller meaning, through faithful spiritual study; (c) by holy conversation with others; (d) by new degrees of love and higher Christian experience, as the higher one climbs a mountain the prospect spread is wider before his vision, like the Promised Land before Moses on Pisgah’s mountain; (e) by earnest work for Christ; (f) by faithful performance of our daily duties and obedience to each truth revealed; (g) by new developments of His kingdom.
v 31 ... “He vanished out of their sight.” “He had lifted them into the highest possible mood, and all that was necessary was to allow that mood full play” (Gregg). As with Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration, it was not best for them to tarry in the full glory of the risen Christ. It was their task to translate the vision into hope and comfort for other less favored disciples.
v 32 ... “Did not our heart burn within us.” Their hearts were glowing with feeling and interest, with kindling desires for a better life, with love, joy, hope, with sympathy, with increasing knowledge, new light on old truths, and visions of new truth. Their souls seemed to burn.
v 32 ... “While He opened to us the Scriptures?” The Old Testament (Hebrew Bible). What filled the two disciples with wonder? That they had not known their Lord during all this time, when their hearts were burning as He so marvelously opened to them the Scriptures. As we look back from heaven upon our human lives, nothing will seem as strange as our unbelief. Soon after Jesus left them, they hastened back to Jerusalem, to report the wonderful interview to the other disciples.
What did the two disciples hear and say in Jerusalem? – As soon as they opened the door, and before they could deliver their own glad tidings, they were hailed with the good news which is to this day the spirit of the Lord’s Supper, each Sunday “The Lord is risen indeed” (v 34). After telling their own experience and while they all excitedly talked about it, Jesus stood in the midst of the company (refer to the last lesson, ‘Christ Risen from the Dead’).
Conclusion: What Sunday glory is seen only by eyes Christ has opened? – The glory of hope. Eye has not seen nor ear heard, nor mind conceived, the joys that God has prepared for His children. There is nothing we can imagine that is more wonderful than this glorious reality. An old preacher once described the glory of love: “I saw that there was an ocean of darkness and death, but an infinite ocean of light and love flowed over the ocean of darkness, and in that I saw the infinite love of God.” The glory of life: We picture death as coming to destroy; let us picture Christ as coming to save. We think of death as ending; let us think of life as beginning, and more abundantly. We think of losing; let us think of gaining. We think of parting; let us think of meeting. We think of going away; let us think of arriving. And as the voice of death whispers, “You must leave earth,” let us hear the voice of Christ saying, “You are coming to Me!”
Practical Suggestions: (a) The value of frequent conversation about the things concerning Christ. (b) “Whenever two walk together and have Christ for their theme and in their hearts, He will walk between them” (Trumbull). (c) Our eyes are often hindered from seeing Christ, because He appears in unexpected ways and at unexpected times – in times of troubles, in sudden calls to work, in the persons of the poor, in an impulse, etc. (d) Christianity is not the religion of the credulous. It was the compulsion of fact and reason that made even the disciples believe. (e) The Old Testament is full of Christ; and we can understand Christ’s work by means of the prophecies and types which He fulfilled. (f) God’s Holy Word is like God’s world, full of riches, helps, powers, blessings unseen and unknown, but gradually revealed as men are able to receive them. A most earnest prayer should be that our eyes may be opened to see the beauty of Christ’s character, the truths of His Word, the realities of spiritual things, the doors to usefulness. If we wish Christ to abide with and in us then by our love, desire, prayers, and preparations, we must not constrain our willingness to obey.
