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
Comments
Post a Comment