Luke 24:13-35
Road to Emmaus
Read the passage
13That same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.
14They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.
15And as they talked and deliberated, Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them.
16But their eyes were kept from recognizing Him.
17He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?” They stood still, with sadness on their faces.
18One of them, named Cleopas, asked Him, “Are You the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in recent days?”
19“What things?” He asked. “The events involving Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered. “This man was a prophet, powerful in speech and action before God and all the people.
20Our chief priests and rulers delivered Him up to the sentence of death, and they crucified Him.
21But we were hoping He was the One who would redeem Israel. And besides all this, it is the third day since these things took place.
22Furthermore, some of our women astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning,
23but they did not find His body. They came and told us they had seen a vision of angels, who said that Jesus was alive.
24Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had described. But Him they did not see.”
25Then Jesus said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
26Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and then to enter His glory?”
27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself.
28As they approached the village where they were headed, He seemed to be going farther.
29But they pleaded with Him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So He went in to stay with them.
30While He was reclining at the table with them, He took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to them.
31Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus—and He disappeared from their sight.
32They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us as He spoke with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
33And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, gathered together
34and saying, “The Lord has indeed risen and has appeared to Simon!”
35Then the two told what had happened on the road, and how they had recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread.
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Two disciples travel that day to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They are talking about everything that has happened. Jesus Himself draws near and goes with them, but their eyes are kept from recognizing Him.
Jesus asks what they are discussing. They explain the events concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a prophet mighty in deed and word, whom the chief priests and rulers delivered up to be condemned and crucified. They had hoped He was the one to redeem Israel.
They also tell Him about the women, the empty tomb, and the angels who said Jesus was alive. Some of their companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.
Jesus calls them foolish and slow of heart to believe the prophets. He asks whether it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and then enter his glory. Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explains what the Scriptures say about himself. The suffering they took as the collapse of their hope belongs within God's purpose to redeem. They need the Scriptures opened, not their hopes quietly set aside.
At Emmaus they urge Him to stay. At table He takes bread, blesses and breaks it, and gives it to them. Their eyes open, and they recognize Him; then He vanishes. They return to Jerusalem and tell the eleven what happened on the road and how Jesus was known to them in the breaking of bread.
Questions
1 Where are the two disciples going?
AnswerThey are traveling to Emmaus, a village about seven miles from Jerusalem, while discussing the events surrounding Jesus' death.
2 What had they hoped about Jesus?
AnswerThey had hoped He was the one who would redeem Israel, but His crucifixion has left that hope confused and apparently defeated.
3 How does Jesus explain the Scriptures?
AnswerBeginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explains the things concerning Himself and shows why the Christ had to suffer before entering glory.
4 When do the disciples recognize Jesus?
AnswerTheir eyes open when Jesus takes, blesses, breaks, and gives the bread. They recognize Him and then return to Jerusalem to tell the others.
What This Means for Us
The disciples have facts but not yet understanding. Jesus meets them in their disappointed conversation, listens to their account, and teaches them to read suffering and resurrection within the whole biblical story.
When a passage unsettles what we expected from God, we can stay with it and ask how it fits what he has done in Christ. Learn alongside others instead of closing the book on a difficult question. These disciples return to Jerusalem with both a clearer understanding and news of the living Jesus.
Prayer
Risen Jesus, walk with us when disappointment makes Your promises hard to understand. Open the Scriptures to us, make our homes places of welcome and shared bread, and send us back to others with truthful hope. Amen.