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Christ: The Living Expositor
(Luke 24:13–32)

And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad. One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?” And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.” And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther. But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them. When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” (24:13–32)

The most important reality in the world is God’s truth. The Word of God is the word of truth (Ps. 119:43, 160; John 17:17; 2 Cor. 6:7; Eph. 1:13; Col. 1:5; 2 Tim. 2:15; James 1:18), which is tried (Ps. 18:30), upright (Ps. 33:4), forever settled in heaven (Ps. 119:89), a lamp for the feet and a light to the path (Ps. 119:105), pure (Ps. 119:140), the source of reward (Prov. 13:13), good (Prov. 16:20), a blessing (Luke 11:28), sanctification (John 17:17), and the sword of the Spirit used in spiritual warfare (Eph. 6:17).

Only those who understand the Bible can know the truth about salvation from sin and eternal damnation in hell; only those who obey biblical truth can live fulfilled, obedient, blessed, effective, joyful lives. To understand Scripture is to understand everything from God’s perspective, which is the only true view. All of God’s purposes for humanity and all of His purposes in time and eternity can be known only to those who understand the Bible. Therefore the greatest service that can ever be rendered to anyone is to explain to them the meaning of Scripture.

Nowhere is that fact more powerfully illustrated than in this passage. In this His first post-resurrection appearance in Luke’s gospel, Jesus confronted two of His followers who were ignorant, filled with doubt, and confused. It was not that they did not believe the Scripture, but that their understanding of it was deficient—and a deficient knowledge of Scripture is insufficient and dangerous. Therefore Jesus opened the Old Testament Scripture to them and dispelled their darkness and confusion about Him with the light of truth. The story of this encounter may be viewed from three perspectives: the need for understanding, the source of understanding, and the response to understanding.

THE NEED FOR UNDERSTANDING

And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad. One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?” And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.” (24:13–24)

As it does twenty-six times in Luke’s gospel (and eight times in Acts), the phrase kai idou (and behold) introduces something new and unexpected. This encounter took place late in the day on Sunday, as evening was approaching (v. 29). Two disciples of Jesus, some of the rest of the followers of Jesus who were not apostles (24:9), were going home that very day to a village named Emmaus. Nothing is known for certain about Emmaus, which appears nowhere else in Scripture. Tradition identifies it with the village of Kubeibeh, seven miles northwest of Jerusalem.

As they trudged along the dusty road, the two men were heartsick, devastated, and utterly confused. All of their hopes and dreams concerning Jesus had been dashed. David Gooding summarizes their dilemma:

Like the apostles and the rest of the disciples who had heard the women’s testimony to the resurrection, they did not believe it and thought it was nonsense.

On their way back to Emmaus from Jerusalem they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. The phrase all these things encompasses everything that had happened that week in relation to Jesus. They would have remembered the triumphal entry on Monday, when the massive crowds hailed Him as the Messiah, the Son of David. On Tuesday He disrupted the religious leaders’ lucrative, corrupt financial operations by again attacking the temple operations (cf. John 2:13–17). Wednesday and Thursday He taught the people, foiled the religious leaders’ attempts to trap and discredit Him, and then turned the tables on them and humiliated them into silence. But then on Thursday night and Friday came the shock of His arrest, mock trials, crucifixion, death, and burial. It was unimaginable and devastating that the one in whom they and others had placed their hope had been executed by the leaders of Israel.

While they were talking and discussing these disastrous events, trying to make sense out of what had turned their world upside down, a stranger joined them. That was not uncommon; most people traveled from place to place on foot and the roads were traversed by many people. But unrecognized to them, it was Jesus Himself in resurrected, glorified form who approached and began traveling with them. His appearance was not dazzling like the angels (Luke 24:4), or like His had been at the transfiguration (Luke 9:29). The men were not startled by His appearance; He seemed to be just another person on the road. They did not know who He was, because their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him until He revealed Himself, as was the norm after His resurrection (Matt. 28:17; John 20:14–15; 21:4). They would not, of course, have been expecting it to be Jesus, since they did not believe He would rise. By not revealing Himself to them until after He explained the Scripture, Jesus modeled the principle that the power lies in the explanation of biblical truth, not in the person doing the explaining.

Good teachers ask provocative questions and Jesus, the greatest of all teachers, was no exception. As they walked together on the road He asked the two men, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” They stopped abruptly and stood still, looking sad with disappointment, dumbfounded by the stranger’s question. Incredulously and perhaps agitated, one of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?” That Luke mentioned Cleopas by name suggests that he may have been Luke’s source for this incident. He asked Jesus in essence how He could possibly have been unaware of what was common knowledge throughout Jerusalem, things that even a pilgrim visiting the city for Passover could not have missed.

Christ’s follow-up question, “What things?” was intended to elicit a further response from them. Cleopas’s unnamed companion now joined the conversation, and they responded with a summary of the situation from their perspective. They had been discussing the things about Jesus the Nazarene, and they proceeded to give a description of Him. He was first a prophet (John 4:19; 9:13–17), a spokesman for God. More specifically, He was the prophet of whom Moses wrote (Deut. 18:18–22; cf. Acts 3:22), that is, the promised Messiah. Their description was accurate but cryptic; Jesus was a prophet, but more than a prophet. Unlike all other preachers, He was mighty in deed and word; the countless miracles He performed throughout His ministry demonstrated His power over the natural and supernatural realms, and He spoke like no man had ever spoken before (John 7:46; cf. Matt. 7:28–29). His person and deeds were also pleasing in the sight of God. At His baptism “a voice out of the heavens said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased’” (Matt. 3:17), while at His transfiguration God declared, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased” (Matt. 17:5; cf. Matt. 12:18). Jesus was also admired by all the people, who praised God for the miracles He performed (cf. Luke 18:40–43; John 7:12).

But in shocking contrast to those accolades the chief priests and the rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. Even though Jesus was sentenced to death by a Roman governor in a Roman court and crucified by Roman soldiers, the two men did not mention the Romans, since they were merely the executioners carrying out the Jewish leaders’ will. And even though in the end the crowds cried for Pilate to crucify Jesus, they did so because the chief priests and rulers manipulated them (Matt. 27:20). The religious elite were the real killers (cf. Acts 4:10; 5:30).

The execution of the Lord Jesus had created an existential and theological crisis for the men, who had been hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. As noted earlier, a dead Messiah had no place in their thinking; they expected someone who would liberate them from Roman oppression and establish the kingdom promised in the Old Testament. The verb translated redeem appears only here in Luke’s gospel, although the noun form is used in 1:68 to speak of the redemption of Israel.

Everyone knew that to redeem something required the payment of a price (cf. Lev. 27:13, 15, 19, 27, 31). That should have been fresh in their minds in light of the just-completed Passover celebration, when animals were sacrificed as the price for forgiveness. But though they understood that redemption required death, they were never taught it would require the death of the Messiah Himself. As a result, they were shocked and confused when He was executed.

That it was now late in the third day since these things happened and they had no evidence that Jesus had risen seemed to confirm that their faithless assessment of the situation was correct. They acknowledged to Jesus, “Some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive.” To arrive at the conclusion that Jesus had not risen, they had to reject the clear testimony of the women that He had. Even though Peter and John went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said, thus verifying that part of their testimony, they were not persuaded, presumably because the two apostles did not see the risen Lord. However, if the women were proven trustworthy in what the disciples were able to verify, they should have concluded that they were also trustworthy in what was not yet verified. That they did not shows how deeply ingrained was their inability to believe that Messiah could die and rise again.

THE SOURCE OF UNDERSTANDING

And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. (24:25–27)

The two disciples’ confusion and unbelief clearly defined their need to understand the reality of what had happened. They needed to know not only that Jesus rose from the dead, but also that His death and resurrection are essential features of His messiahship. They needed to understand that what had taken place was God’s plan for the redemption of Israel and the world. The risen Lord’s questions and their responses had put Him in position to provide them with the answers they needed. Good expositions of Scripture are set up with questions.

Before instructing the men, Jesus first rebuked them for being foolish men and slow of heart (i.e., “dull,” or “stupid”) to believe in all that the prophets have spoken. Their confusion stemmed from their failure to understand and believe all that the Old Testament taught regarding the Messiah. They were right to expect Him to reign and rule; to establish His kingdom over Israel and the world.

But that was only part of the truth, as Jesus’ question, “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” indicates. They, like all the Jewish people, were looking for a Messiah who would vanquish their oppressors, not be killed by them, and missed the truth that He first had to suffer before establishing His kingdom. There was no excuse for their lack of understanding, since the Old Testament was clear and understandable. Jesus repeatedly challenged His opponents, “Have you not read?” (Matt. 12:3, 5; 19:4; 22:31; Mark 12:10), and said that their errant theology stemmed from a failure to understand the Scripture (Matt. 22:29).

There was no excuse for failing to recognize the necessity for Messiah to suffer death. They knew that sin must be paid for by the death of a substitute. After Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, God killed an animal to provide coverings for them, picturing the death of an innocent substitute to cover the sin of a guilty sinner (Gen. 3:21). He accepted Abel’s sacrifice because it was a blood sacrifice, and rejected Cain’s because it was not (Gen. 4:3–5). After the flood, Noah built an altar and offered sacrifices (Gen. 8:20). The sacrificial system laid out in the Pentateuch, including the Day of Atonement and Passover, involved the deaths of countless thousands of innocent animals. It was self-evident, however, that those sacrifices did not ultimately satisfy God’s justice, otherwise they would not have been constantly repeated, as the writer of Hebrews explains:

Having rebuked them for failing to know the significance of the Old Testament’s teaching regarding Messiah’s suffering, Jesus—the one to whom that teaching pointed (John 5:39)—personally tutored them in a true understanding of it. Beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. That teaching would undoubtedly have included such things as the Protoevangelium (Gen. 3:15); Abel’s and Noah’s sacrifices; the ark, which pictures Him as the true ark into which sinners enter and sail safely through the waters of divine judgment; the ram offered as a substitute in place of Isaac (Gen. 22:13); the Passover lambs, which pictured Him as the final sacrifice (Ex. 12; cf. 1 Cor. 5:7); the manna (Ex. 16), which pictured Him as the true bread from heaven (John 6:32–35); the five main offerings in Leviticus (burnt, grain, peace, sin, and trespass), of which He is the fulfillment; the Day of Atonement, where He is pictured by both the sacrifice on the altar and the scapegoat that bore away sin; the rocks that provided water in the wilderness (Ex. 17; Num. 20), which pictured Him as the source of spiritual provision for His people (1 Cor. 10:4); the prophet of whom Moses wrote (Deut. 18:18–22; cf. Acts 3:22), who was the Messiah; the one hanged on a tree, cursed by God and taken down before sunset (Deut. 21:22–23), and hated without a cause (Ps. 69:4). He might have taken them to Psalm 40:7, which the writer of Hebrews applied to Him (Heb. 10:7). He would surely have pointed out the details of His crucifixion given in the Old Testament (Pss. 22; 41:9; 69:21; Isa. 50:6; Zech. 11:12–13; 12:10; and especially Isa. 53); and Daniel’s prophecy of the seventy weeks (Dan. 9:24–26), which predicted the exact day of His triumphal entry. Jesus also would have explained the prediction of His resurrection given in Psalm 16:8–10 (cf. Acts 13:34–37).

THE RESPONSE TO UNDERSTANDING

And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther. But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them. When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” (24:28–32)

Christ’s unparalleled survey of the Old Testament’s teaching regarding Himself, particularly His death, left Cleopas and his companion stunned and overwhelmed. Their hearts were ignited by the Scripture explained (v. 32), since Jesus still had not revealed Himself to them. Understanding the meaning of the Bible fulfills the true believer’s deepest longing, because it anchors faith in reality, producing profound joy. To know the true interpretation of Scripture is to know God and realize how His plan is unfolding and His sovereign purpose is being accomplished.

As the three men approached the village where Cleopas and the other disciple were going, Jesus acted as though He were going farther. He did so for the same reason He had questioned them, to elicit a response that would demonstrate the effect of the Scriptures on their hearts. And it did. They wanted more instruction and did not want the thrilling teaching to end.

So as Jesus started to leave, they strongly urged (the Greek verb literally means “to use force”) Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” Their invitation was not motivated by hospitality, since by acting as if He were going farther, the Lord gave the impression that He had a place to stay. What they wanted was more understanding of God’s revelation. To their great joy Jesus obliged and went in to stay with them.

Then in the midst of the continuing conversation, Jesus did something unusual. When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. It was the host’s place to break the bread and initiate the meal, not the guest’s. Evidently the two men were so caught up in Christ’s teaching that they forgot all about eating. As Jesus performed this act of kindness, their eyes were suddenly opened and they recognized Him. As noted earlier, no one recognized the resurrected Jesus unless He revealed Himself to them. Perhaps the familiar way He broke the bread and the familiar words He used to bless the meal were the means Jesus used to open their eyes. Having revealed Himself to them, He vanished from their sight.

Instead of marveling over Christ’s remarkable disappearance, they said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” What set their hearts on fire was the understanding of Scripture they had received from Him. The burning joy that resulted was so overwhelming that they immediately went out into the pitch black night and headed back to Jerusalem to share with the others the knowledge that they alone possessed—that Jesus’ suffering and resurrection were firmly grounded in the Old Testament. God’s plan was being fulfilled!

When the truth of Scripture becomes clear, the heart is set on fire for joy and for testimony. It was that blazing joy that prompted Henry Martyn to exclaim, “Now let me burn out for God”; David Brainerd to write in his diary, “Oh that I could be a flame of fire in the service of my God!”; and John Wesley to say of his conversion, “I felt my heart strangely warmed.”