The following, in my opinion, is one of the coolest stories in the new testament. It is later on the same day that the women discover Jesus is missing from the tomb. They went down very early that Sunday morning and after the discovery, they went to the disciples with their news. Peter went to the grave to see for himself.
The group of disciples to which the women brought their news included much more people than the core group. Luke 24:9 informs us that the women brought their news to “the eleven, and all the rest.” When we think of the following of Jesus, we think of men and women together. Some women followed Jesus from the beginning of his ministry in Galilee. Some men traveled with their wives and sisters and mothers. There is evidence of children among the followers.
So, the news of the resurrection was announced in the early morning hours and later in the day, two of the disciples took off walking down a road openly and without fear. They were on their way to a town named Emmaus. That particular town was believed to be approximately seven miles from Jerusalem. When I walk at a fast pace, I can cover three miles in about forty-five minutes. Since they were taking their time, I give them a walking time of around three hours.
Of the two disciples, one is immediately named. He is Cleophas, with some translations being Alphaeus or Clopas. Many scholars identify this disciple as the brother of Joseph, the husband of Mary. His wife was also named Mary and his sons included Jude, James, and Simon, half-brothers or cousins of Jesus. The unnamed disciple may have been Cleophas' son Simon. More on that later.
These two disciples are joined on the road to Emmaus by Jesus himself, only they do not recognize him. Their eyes are closed to his true identity. While it is possible that Jesus looked different after his death on the cross and three days in the grave, this is not the only instance where Jesus is not recognized after his resurrection. From an account in another gospel, Mary Magdalene sees him but thinks he might be the groundskeeper.
When the two disciples reached their home in Emmaus, they invited Jesus to eat with them. The reason why is found in Luke 24:29. It was getting close to dark, as the verse says, “it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” I mention this only to point out the time of departure from the main group. An approximate three-hour walk would have placed their departure around noon.
As they ate, Jesus took the bread, blessed it and broke it – sort of a signature move. One of the core disciples would have recognized that from the last supper, but no doubt, in his three years of ministry, Jesus would have often eaten with his followers, perhaps breaking bread, in the same way, each time. It was at the point where Jesus blessed and broke the bread that the two disciples' eyes were opened and they recognized the man as Jesus.
He sat right there with them. He had been in their company for hours preaching from the scriptures, but only now they saw him for who he was. Their mouths must have fallen open only to be stammering and speechless. There he sat – Jesus, back from the dead. They recognized their Lord – and then he just vanished. In our day and age, we are used to many fantastic representations in TV and film, but he vanished as he sat between them. Did the bread fall from hands no longer there?
They had not recognized him until that moment, but something in them wanted to. They may have thought the style and delivery of preaching seemed familiar – they just couldn't place it with the face. They reasoned among themselves, in verse thirty-two, “Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?”
Of course, they had to jump right up and run back to the other disciples. Another three-hour trek, perhaps this time made in half the time. And here is the part I mentioned earlier that I would get back to. They recounted their adventure to the others, perhaps waking them to do so, and they said in verse thirty-four, “The Lord is risen indeed,” and here, they did not say that Jesus had revealed himself unto them, which might have seemed more natural, but they mentioned a name, “and hath appeared to Simon.”
Had Cleophas blinked or looked away at the critical moment? Was Cleophas very old with diminished eyesight? If he was revealed to Simon, then is that Simon the unnamed disciple? Even as they recounted their tale, Jesus appeared to all of them. It startled them, hearts were racing. Many still did not believe the resurrection, they had just lost their Lord to the cruelty of the Romans, a thing that all their experience told them was permanent.
He proved to them that he was real, that he was back. He ate something in their sight. He showed his physical wounds to them. In other gospel accounts, Jesus upbraids them for their unbelief, but not in Luke. As he had done for the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, Jesus explained everything. He then led them to Bethany where he blessed them and was “carried” up into heaven.
Carried by what, or by whom? Was it a moonlit evening? Was it cloudy? Certainly, as endings go, this one is brief. Some accounts have him around for as many as forty days after his resurrection. In those other accounts, he heals and preaches and is seen by thousands. Did he reveal himself to his accusers, or did they hear of his presence, perhaps seeking verification, but all too late? Did Pilate hear of his doings in those final forty days? All of that would make a great movie, but more importantly, and lastly, what was the significance of Luke's exclusion of the forty days? Was there significance in Jesus revealing only “unto the eleven, and to all the rest?” Was there significance to the location of the Ascension? Bethany was the home of Lazarus (another resurrected) and Mary.
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