THE DISCIPLES OF EMMAUS

 

THE DISCIPLES OF EMMAUS

13That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened.

15While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.

17And he said to them, “WHAT IS THIS CONVERSATION THAT YOU ARE HOLDING WITH EACH OTHER AS YOU WALK?”

And they stood still, looking sad.

18Then 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?” 19And he said to them, “WHAT THINGS?”

And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive.

24Some 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.”

25And he said to them, “O FOOLISH ONES, AND SLOW OF HEART TO BELIEVE ALL THAT THE PROPHETS HAVE SPOKEN! 26WAS IT NOT NECESSARY THAT THE CHRIST SHOULD SUFFER THESE THINGS AND ENTER INTO HIS GLORY?”

27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

28So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them.

30When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them.

31And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.

32They 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?”

33And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”

35Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

LUKE 24:13-25

COMMENTARY

Two of the disciples of Lord JESUS, who were not part of the eleven apostles, were on their way to their home town of Emmaus, on the near north-west of Jerusalem, sadden because of the crucifixion of our Lord, despite been announced several times by Him, had impacted them deeply, and having passed three days since his death (Luke 24:21), they had lost hope and thought most probably that the whole thing was a mistake, nevertheless, in their words you can notice that still they fell admiration for Jesus, whom even thought they may have thought he had been mistaken about being the Messiah, they could not deny or negate his greatness in nobility, love, mercy and power that made him unique among humans (Luke 24:19-20).

But in his mercy, Jesus, who came not to lose but to safe (Luke 19:10), he decided to regroup all his discouraged disciples, and in this occasion, one of many other stories is narrated to us by the author of this book.

Hiding from them not to awake suspicion, Jesus appeared to them, blocking their capacity to recognize Him, and asked them what they were talking about, and they told Him in a sad mode, the whole passion and death of our Lord, and how, they seemed to think, it all ended up there, except that some women reported having seen angels and the empty tomb (Luke 24:22-24).

Then Jesus mercifully explained to them the messianic prophecies of the Tanakh about the messiah’s trials and final victory, finally siting to dine with them; suddenly, He opened the eyes of the disciples, while He parted the bread to start dinner, and at that moment, as they acknowledged Him as the resurrected Jesus, our Lord disappeared.

This story is a prophetic confirmation for us today, because in these times of unbelief, many called ‘Christians’ had given up believing in the resurrection or even in the historical reality of their Lord.

As Jesus showed Himself to Thomas the unbeliever, or to these two men, who were not even part of the closer quorum of Jesus’s apostles, we also should be aware of the reality of GOD and our Lord and Messiah, by knowing the Scriptures, and being aware that GOD is powerful to conquer death and human defeat, as He did in Jesus, who being killed and discarded by men, GOD ALMIGHTY brough Him back to life, and proved to the whole planet, that not even death can stop Him from doing his will.

In these last days of evil and war against all that is good and holy, and that through ‘science’, evil men try to destroy our faith in GOD, by discrediting Jesus Christ and his words, Satan cannot touch our own minds, unless we let him, and as with the disciples of Emmaus, who had their understanding ‘opened’ to see the prophecies about Jesus, we also should have our minds free from passions, traditions, and pre-conceived ideas, being aware of the evil of men, because evil and the service of evil is a hard reality as it is goodness and holiness, and with this in mind, understand that NOBODY can destroy the doctrine of Jesus Christ, our Lord, that stands by itself through time and history, and neither deny the reality of his life, as it is historically proven.

And above all, NOBODY CAN DENY the holiness and truth that was delivered by JESUS, and that untimely comes FROM GOD HIMSELF. Because as JESUS taught, and REASON confirms, a BAD TREE DOES NOT GIVE GOOD FRIUT, NEITHER A GOOD TREE BAD FRUIT, and thus, the testimony of JESUS CHRIST, survives all the oppositions, plots and unbelief, by proving the divine origin of his teaching, by the goodness it produces, bringing people back to GOD.

Omar Flores