55 lines
2.9 KiB
Markdown
55 lines
2.9 KiB
Markdown
+++
|
||
title = "Luke 24:13–35"
|
||
date = "2023-02-25"
|
||
+++
|
||
|
||
### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Lk24.13-35)
|
||
|
||
At some point during that first Resurrection Sunday, two of the disciples, a
|
||
Cleopas and one other, leave Jerusalem for the village of Emmaus. Jesus follows
|
||
them and overtakes them on the road and overhears them talking about the things
|
||
that had happened to Him over the last few days. He stops them and asks what
|
||
they are talking about, and they can't believe there's anyone who has been in
|
||
Jerusalem (as they presume Jesus has come from) who hasn't heard about the
|
||
death of Jesus. Jesus pretends not to know, so Cleopas tells how He had been
|
||
condemned by the chief priests and rulers to be crucified, how His disciples
|
||
had hoped that He was the promised Messiah who would redeem Israel, and how the
|
||
women told the story of seeing angels at the tomb but no body.
|
||
|
||
Jesus responds by saying they don't understand the Scriptures very well, or
|
||
they would see that the Messiah would have to suffer before being glorified. He
|
||
then proceeds to explain how that is so from all the Scriptures that had been
|
||
written to that point. This is important, because it shows that God's plan from
|
||
the beginning was for Jesus to die on the cross to atone for the sins of all
|
||
who trust in Him for salvation. It wasn't a Plan B or a mid-flight adjustment
|
||
to try to fix a mistake. God is sovereign and cannot make mistakes because He
|
||
is all powerful and knows all things.
|
||
|
||
When they get to Emmaus, Jesus appears to be heading past it, but Cleopas and
|
||
his companion ask Him to stay with them because the day is nearly done, and
|
||
they want to share a meal with Him. He agrees, and after He blesses the food
|
||
and starts to hand it to them, their eyes are opened to who He is. And then He
|
||
vanishes. It has been suggested that the reason they recognize Him at that
|
||
moment is because they could see the nail wounds in His wrist as He hands them
|
||
the food. You can imagine the sleeve of His robe pulling up as He stretches His
|
||
hand out.
|
||
|
||
Why does Jesus suddenly disappear as soon as the disciples are allowed to
|
||
recognize Him? I think it has a lot to do with why He appeared to these two in
|
||
the first place. Certainly, they needed to be told how to read the Scriptures
|
||
more accurately, but I also think Jesus was going around and finding all the
|
||
disciples who were trying to leave Jerusalem and getting them to turn around
|
||
and head back. He eventually tells them to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy
|
||
Spirit to come upon them, which is hard to do when everyone has started going
|
||
in different directions.
|
||
|
||
These disciples understand the implications of Jesus appearing to them and head
|
||
back to Jerusalem, probably after finishing their meal. They get back to tell
|
||
all of the other disciples what they had seen and heard, only to find out Jesus
|
||
had already appeared to Simon.
|
||
|
||
* * *
|
||
|
||
Let us always be quick to share the good news that You are alive today, and
|
||
that this fact has ultimate, eternal significance.
|