Jesus Asks a Question on the Road to Emmaus
Jesus Asks a Question on the Road to Emmaus.
The Grand Inquisitor. Messiah Jesus was a Master of asking questions: some were open-ended, others were very pointed; some were out of curiosity, others were challenging; some seemed rhetorical, others seemed painfully obvious; some were to reveal Himself, others were to guide the other into self-understanding; some were intentionally provocative, others were to kick-start a conversation; some questions were asked to explore a topic to deepen understanding and stretch toward the truth; some were leading questions that He designed to suggest a particular answer, and others were questions in response to questions asked of Him; some were hypotheticals to stimulate the imagination, other questions were used by Him as stepping stones to think logically from one point to the next. Jesus used questions to dignify the listener, letting that person know that He is taking that person seriously and listening carefully. Many of His questions were acts of friendship and used to pursue a more profound intimacy with someone. Jesus asked very few yes-no questions, and since time was usually irrelevant for Him when He was with people, He rarely asked a “when” question. Several biblical scholars have studied the gospels with Christ’s questions in mind, and they have literally counted a total of 307 questions in His various conversations and teachings. It seems that a worthy spiritual exercise when considering the many questions of Jesus is that we ask ourselves… should I take His questions personally, as if He was asking us that question right now?
The Question. “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 in a lively exchange, Jesus Himself drew near and walked along with 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 halted and stood still, looking distressed... (Luke 24:13-18).
An Ice-Breaker. 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 stranger wanted to engage them in conversation, perhaps to give the two walkers an opportunity to process their grief, so He asked them what they were talking about.
“… 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 past few 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 our 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).
“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.
Flabbergasted. 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 the other disciples, 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 possibility in their conversation while they walked.
“… And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, Jesus expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself; He interpreted for them every passage of the Hebrew Bible which referred to Him.” (Luke 24:27).
Opening Up the Word. 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).
The Holy Spirit is the Teacher. 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).
“… 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 24:28-31).
Abide with Us. 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 finally opened to recognize Jesus. In His glorified body, without earthly physical limitations, Jesus then simply disappeared. “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).
Another Appearance. Cleopas and his companion were overjoyed after recognizing Jesus in their home. They had seen the risen Jesus, and they wanted to tell the eleven 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 prove it was really Him by showing them His scarred hands and feet. And then of all things, Jesus asked another question, “Do you have anything to eat?” Still wondering if this is all so good it has to be true, they gave him a piece of broiled fish, which He promptly ate! (Luke 24:36-43).
Glorified Eating. Was Jesus truly hungry when asked His disciples for food after the Resurrection? Most theologians seem to agree that since Jesus had a glorified body at that time, He didn’t need food. By eating some fish, He was only proving to the disciples that He wasn’t a ghost. It’s another proof, along with His scars and wounds, that reveal the fact that Jesus indeed had a body after He resurrected. It was a changed body, but somehow it was still a body. On the other hand, if a glorified body does not need food, why will there be a Wedding Supper of the Lamb in heaven? (Rev. 19:7-9). We will all have glorified bodies at that point, so why will all the saints gather at a celebration feast in paradise? The Messianic Feast has been prophesied (Isaiah 25:6) and proclaimed in Scripture. If none of us need food in heaven, why will all of us be celebrating with a feast?
Spiritual Metaphysics. We do know that Jesus’ resurrected body was what some have called the perfect union of the physical body with the spiritual body. It was a mysterious weaving together of the natural with the supernatural. Jesus was tangible and yet He also was transcendent. What that looks like exactly is anybody’s guess. The early church theologians believed that Jesus’ body was made of a different glory, was more perfected. It was said that Christ’s body was perfected to a higher law than physics. They maintained that His physical elements were in fact subject to the power of Christ Himself.
Tangibly Transcendent. Those thoughts coming from early church thinkers make a lot of sense, especially when we consider what Christ was able to do with His body after the Resurrection. He could do things like disappear (Luke 24:30-31), travel seemingly through space after the Emmaus walk, pass through solid objects like walls and doors (John 20:21), and float through thin air into the clouds at His Ascension (Luke 24:51, Mark 16:19, Acts 1:9). It appears that Jesus’ body did not have physical limitations, that it enjoyed new capabilities. Jesus had a physical death and experienced a physical resurrection, and He retained that human element in His resurrected body. His physical matter had been transformed, but He kept a measure of His flesh. He had a spiritual body that could be touched and felt, seen and heard, and He could eat food too! Christ was tangible after the Resurrection, yet He was completely transcendent. Jesus had a physical body that was glorified, and therein is a wonderful mystery that will be revealed in the fullness of time.
Emmaus. One early biblical manuscript claims that Emmaus was about seven miles from Jerusalem (Luke 24:13). Another early manuscript though claims that Emmaus was a 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!