13. Amazed with Jesus on the Road to Emmaus
13. Amazed with Jesus on the Road to Emmaus.
“Life without wonder – radical amazement – is not worth living. It is the beginning of our happiness. Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement… get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible. Never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.” (Abraham Joshua Heschel).
I Stand Amazed | Celtic Worship ft. Steph Macleod
Jesus Christ engaged in a ministry of amazement, astonishment, wonder. Everywhere He traveled, He left people astounded and in awe. He caused a big stir wherever he went, and people left in His wake were amazed at who He was and what He was able to do, whether from His unusually wise teaching, His authoritative exorcisms, His unprecedented healings, His clever and insightful conversations, His dramatic miracles. It seemed everyone marveled at Jesus, despite His best efforts sometimes to be off the radar. There are three Greek synonyms that mean complete astonishment or radical amazement: ekplesso, thaumazo, and existemi. The differences between these three words, though, are fascinating. Are those of us who follow Jesus now, are we also amazed and astonished with Jesus?
“And the people were astonished (“ekplesso”) beyond measure, saying, ‘Everything He does is beautiful (“kalos”), and is done with excellence!” (Mark 7:37).
(1.) ASTONISHED: “ekplesso”; a strong Greek word for astonished; amazed; dumfounded; awestruck; overwhelmed at something extraordinary; struck out of one’s senses; takes your breath away, even to the point of panic. There were at least fifteen gospel events in which the Greek superlative “ekplesso” was used to communicate a radical amazement, astonishment, wonder at Jesus. Jesus was met with overwhelming astonishment after His Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 7:28); by His hometown friends as they rejected Him (Matt. 13:54); after His teaching on the inadequacy of wealth (Matt. 19:25); after His conversation with the Sadducees about heaven and the resurrection (Matt. 22:33); at His synagogue exorcism (Mark 1:22, 27); after His healing of the deaf and mute man (Mark 7:37); after He whipped the moneychangers in the Temple (Mark 11:18); at His brilliant level of understanding with the rabbis at just 12 years of age (Luke 2:48); after casting out a demon with just a word (Luke 4:32, 36); at the exorcism of a demon-possessed boy (Luke 9:43).
“And behold, a man from the crowd shouted out, ‘Master, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child! A spirit seizes him and suddenly he screams out and it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth! It mauls him and will scarcely leave him!’ Jesus answered, ‘Bring your son here to me.’ And even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him down to the ground and completely convulsed him. But Jesus severely rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the child, and then restored the boy to his father. And all were completely astounded (“ekplesso”) at the evidence of God’s mighty power, His majesty and His magnificence. While they were all marveling (“thaumazo”) at everything Jesus was doing…” (Luke 9:38-43).
(2.) MARVELED: “thaumazo”; another strong Greek word that means… marveled at, astonished by; amazed at; filled with wonder to the point of being bewildered; being awestruck in admiration. There were forty-four “thaumazo” passages in the gospels in which people marveled at Jesus, were greatly amazed by Jesus, astonished to the point of awed by Him. Included in the group of people who were completely amazed, “thaumazo’d” by Christ: the shepherds, Mary and Joesph, the disciples, the Pharisees, various crowds during His ministry, and even Pilate himself was astonished by Jesus and marveled at Him. People were amazed by everything from the angelic baby announcement, to various prophecies in Jesus’ young life, to the calming of the storm and the withering of the fig tree; from His miraculous exorcisms and healings to His teachings that always were on point and what were needed at the time.
“And when the friends of the paralytic couldn’t get near to Jesus in the house, they made a hole in the roof and lowered him down in front of Him… When Jesus saw their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven!’ ‘But that you all here may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins,’ he turns to the paralytic and says to him, ‘I say to you, arise, pick up your mat, and go home!’ And the man rose, immediately picked up his mat, and went out before them all, so that all the people were flabbergasted, out of their minds with amazement (“existemi”), and glorified God, exclaiming, ’We never saw anything like this!” (the whole story is in Mark 2:1-12).
(3.) FLABBERGASTED: “existemi”; an extreme word that means to be out of one’s mind with amazement; crazy with wonderment; a stunned astonishment so strong that one is beside oneself; to be overwhelmed so as to be bowled over; literally, to remove from a standing position. This word is used seventeen times in the gospels, including when Jesus healed and forgave the paralyzed man dropped through the ceiling of Peter’s house; when Jesus raised a young girl from the dead; when Jesus calmed the storm and casually climbed into the boat with His disciples; on the road to Emmaus when the disciples heard about the empty tomb from the women. Existemi is also used when the family of Jesus thought He was crazy, going out of His mind.
I Stand Amazed (How Marvelous)
“That very day, two disciples were walking to a village named Emmaus, a few miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were discussing these matters together, Jesus Himself drew near and accompanied them on the road. But their eyes were kept from recognizing Him. And He said to them, ‘What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?’ And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered Him, ‘Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days… Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, condemned to death and crucified? It is now the third day since that happened… Moreover, some women in our company of disciples shocked us out of minds, and we were completely astounded, beside ourselves in amazement (“existemi”)! They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find His body, they came back to us saying they had seen a vision of angels, who said that Jesus was alive!” (Luke 24:13-23; for the whole Emmaus story, read 24:13-35).
Late on Resurrection Sunday after Passover, two disciples were walking from Jerusalem to a village named Emmaus. One disciple was named Cleopas, and the other one is not named, though many suspect that his companion was Mary his wife. Both were fervent disciples of Jesus and fully believed in Him. But they were distressed and confused because of the many events of the last three days. They were deep in conversation, commiserating about what appeared to be great disappointments, and suddenly a stranger appeared with them as they were walking along the road. Scripture says that “Their eyes were kept from recognizing Him.”
The two disciples were perplexed, dejected and troubled, and they even gave signs of giving up hope. Why else would they be walking away from their only source of support and encouragement? They had received the news that, from the solid witness of trustworthy women, Jesus’ body was no longer in the tomb! All the disciples were beside themselves with astonishment, shocked to the core. Those brave, faithful women had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive! So why did Cleopas and his companion choose now of all times to leave Jerusalem? They knew of His crucifixion, they knew of a possible resurrection, and they decide to leave for home? Perhaps they were preoccupied with Jesus’ death. Perhaps their faith was shaken by the recent events. Perhaps they had limited their vision of Jesus to that of political Messiah, and not a spiritual one, a Messiah that would free Israel from its enemies. They seemed to suggest that in their conversation while they walked.
“… And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, Jesus expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and Jesus indicated that He would have gone farther. 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. Now it came to pass, as Jesus sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.” (Luke 24:27-31).
After listening to these two disciples grapple with His death and missing body, Jesus couldn’t contain Himself any longer. He told them that they were being foolish, that their faith was too small. He told them that the prophets in Scripture were clear about the suffering of the Messiah and how the Messiah would only enter glory after He endured suffering. At this point, Jesus walked them through the Hebrew Bible, explaining to them all the ways Jesus fulfilled the Scripture. Jesus conducted a personalized Bible Study on the road to Emmaus! What a privilege for them! Later, Jesus told them that He had shared with them everything written about Christ in the law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. Later, the two disciples said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the Scriptures?” (v. 32).
We are shown here the only way to understand the Word, the only way to take Scripture in and digest it for soul food… Jesus has to be the One who opens up the Bible. We learn to depend on the Spirit of Christ to open it up, anoint the words, and feed us with it. Teachers of Scripture who are not anointed by God will give us stale bread and lifeless food. Whenever we are reading the Bible for ourselves, we are to ask Jesus to anoint the words and open the Word for us, just like He did on the road to Emmaus. Luke couldn’t have put it any better. “He opened their minds to understand the Scripture.” (Luke 24:45).
After the supernatural Bible Study on the road, Jesus was still with them as they neared their destination, the village of Emmaus. He pretended, for some reason, that He was going to continue on past Emmaus, but the disciples asked Jesus to remain with them in their house for the night. Good Jewish hospitality at its best. The disciples used beautiful, picturesque biblical language in the way they implored Him to stay… “Abide with us.” Jesus agreed to remain with them, and they sat down soon to eat at the dining table. Jesus promptly took the bread and blessed it, probably reciting the traditional Jewish blessing: “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, who brings forth bread from the earth.” As Jesus was breaking the bread, their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus. In His glorified body, without earthly physical limitations, Jesus then simply disappeared.
In this scene we find what became later to be known as the domestic church. This setting in Emmaus reveals the home to be the place where Jesus is present, where the dining table becomes the altar. This idea has Jewish roots, because in Jewish circles “a man’s home is his Temple, the table an altar, the food his sacrifice, and himself the priest.” (Dr. David Stern). It is easy to accept this biblical idea as we read through the Hebrew Bible, in which so many of the holy days were centered on celebrating the festivities in the home, with the children being taught the Faith in a domestic context. Much has been said about the appearance of Jesus at the table in Emmaus as being a foretaste of the Eucharist, Holy Communion. “When the two disciples urged Jesus to stay with them, Jesus afterwards responded by giving them a way to stay in Him, by entering into a profound communion with Jesus through the sacrament of the Eucharist.” (John Paul 2).
Cleopas and his companion were overjoyed after recognizing Jesus in their home. They had seen the risen Jesus, and they wanted to tell the 11 disciples about their experience. So they rushed back to Jerusalem to do so. Little did they know at this point that Jesus would soon make another appearance, this time with all the disciples. This time, Jesus would eat some broiled fish!
One early biblical manuscript claims that Emmaus was about 7 miles from Jerusalem (Luke 24:13). Another early manuscript though claims that Emmaus was few miles further down the road. Archeologists are leaning towards the latter view, because they have unearthed ruins from what they believe is the biblical Emmaus, about 12.5 miles from Jerusalem. There is now an official hiking trail that extends from Jerusalem to Emmaus Nicolopis, where there is an established church named Church of the Breaking of the Bread. This church is standing on the spot that is purported to be the House of Cleopas. Oh, for a chance to walk that trail!