The Road to Emmaus (Commentary)

I was just working on a message about this, and I thought I’d share my thoughts on the Road to Emmaus Passage.

This whole passage is about many things but 2 things that I want to point out.

1. Redemption from the garden
2. How to read the Old Testament

The word Emmaus means “warm baths/ Hot springs.” Back in Jesus’ day, there used to be hot springs where people would bathe to get healing from skin conditions.

Luke 24:13-31 (NIV)
3 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles[d] from Jerusalem.

 

These two were [probably] husband and wife because later on in the passage it says a man named Cleopas was there, but it never describes the other person, so why, well because in the Jewish tradition when a family is introduced it will only account for the man of the house like in the story of the feeding of the 5,000, it says that there were five thousand Men.

14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.

 

How does this a picture of redemption? Well remember that God walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day, so as we think about how this couple was walking with our Savior we can think about Adam and Eve and how they also walked with Jesus.

16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.

 

So, why were they kept from recognizing Him? Because if they could see Jesus with their physical eyes we would say well this was just a story that cannot ever happen again and cannot affect me because the only way to have this same experience is to see Jesus physically and not through the Bible.

17 And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”

 

Do you find yourself sad as you go through life? Well your miracle, your joy, is found in the thought of Jesus being raised from the dead! Think about Him as you go throughout your life. Think of the ever-loving Savior that came, died, and was raised up and is alive and walking today because everything that makes us sad has been put in the grave, and everything that makes us joyful has been raised from the grave!

18 Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?” 19 And He said to them, “What things?” So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,

 

Wait, stop right there, Jesus is not a prophet but Savior yet they called him a Prophet, remember when Jesus was at the mount of transfiguration and Moses and Elisha appeared; then Peter said let us build three altars one for Moses, one for Elisha, and one for Jesus. And God said, yo Hear Him, not hear them, but He said hear Him, and Moses and Elisha disappeared. The reason Peters idea was not the smartest of ideas was because he put Jesus on the same level as Moses and Elisha. Moses [in that story] represented the Law, and Elisha represented the prophets. So Jesus is not just another prophet and not just another law-giver but He is Savior.

20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.

 

The priests’ work was to serve God on behalf of the people. And the chief priests had responsibility for all the priests’ work. It was the priests who offered Israel’s gifts to God. This included all their sacrifices (the animals that they gave to God). So, think with me for a moment that the chief priests made sure that Jesus was put to death, just like in the Old Testament how the chief priests would make sure that all the sacrifices would be done correctly.

21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.

 

So, they thought that Jesus was going to redeem Israel in a political sense that is to redeem Israel from the wars and attacks from the foreign countries

22 Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. 23 When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. 24 And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.”
25 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!

 

The KJV Says, “Oh Fools.” This seems like I can understand where Jesus is coming from it seems like this is still happening. There are two problems that Jesus encountered that still go on today. 1. That people are either foolish as in they don’t or have ever heard of the truth and have never heard of the gospel of grace. 2. People have heard of the true gospel, but are slow to believe, in other words, it’s too good to be true.

26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

 

The first five books of the Bible [Old Testament] are called the Pentateuch and the books of Moses, so in this instance he was referring to all of the Old Testament except the writings [like psalms, proverbs, etc.]

28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. 29 But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.

 

I can also feel for Jesus because sometimes we preachers could keep preaching but the time catches up with us. He would have kept going, he would have finished by talking about the writings, but they were done.

30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.

 

He took bread, blessed, broke it, and gave it to them. He took bread, blessed, broke it, and gave it to them. He took bread, blessed, broke it, and gave it to them. What does this remind you of? Communion, they had communion with Jesus. And look at what happened next.

31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight

 

The communion opened their eyes. It must be that when we take communion we see Jesus!  And not only where there eyes were opened but remember this is all about redemption back from the garden. Then their eyes were opened, then their eyes were opened, so what does that have to do with the garden? Well go back to Genesis 3 and it says that they ate of the fruit and their eyes were opened, and they knew him? No, they knew they were naked. Also When it saids “they Knew him” (epiginóskó) – Full Knowledge. One you put epi it is Full Knowledge, Ginóskó is just Knowledge

32 And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”

 

It is only when you see Jesus in the Bible that hearts burn. It is only when we see Jesus, when we HEAR Jesus, that our hearts are warmed. Remember that old saying, “Man that teacher has a cold heart.” Amen, when you see Jesus in the Bible your heart becomes warm. Have you ever went and heard a sermon that was like a cold shower like woo, I mean you didn’t hear Jesus you heard all about a lot of things we ought to be doing and never had our hearts burn within us? Let’s have more sermons that are Jesus centered and Jesus focused and that when the bible is open, we see Jesus!

33 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.

 

Final note, the breaking of bread (communion) helps us know Jesus more and more. As it was written, “He was known to them in the breaking of bread.”

photo credit: Jared Rarick/creationswap.com