The Road to Emmaus – Part 2 (Luke 24: 28-35)

This lesson continues last week’s discussion about Jesus’ encounter with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus.

Luke 24: 28-35

The Disciples' Eyes Opened

Luke 24:28-35

28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. 29 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.

30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.

32 And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?" 33 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" 35 And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.

Lord willing, we will complete our study tonight on the Road to Emmaus. Let us review quickly what we discussed last week.  On Sunday, the day that the empty tomb was first discovered, two disciples of Jesus left Jerusalem for the village of Emmaus. While they walked and talked of the events that had happened over the past few days, they were joined by Jesus, whom they could not recognize. After the two disciples shared what they had been discussing with their companion, Jesus chided them as being foolish and slow to believe all that the prophets had written, and then showed them in the Scriptures all the things which pointed to Him. We discussed the importance of looking at the whole counsel of God and encouraged you not to pass over the Old Testament.

Jesus was perhaps still explaining the Scriptures to them as the men drew near to Emmaus. His two companions turned off the road to enter the village but Jesus “pretended” (The Greek verb translated “indicated” or “made it seem as if” occurs in the New Testament only here and in John 8:6) that He was going further. We are not told why Jesus pretended as if He intended to keep going, any more that we were told why He hid His identity from the two disciples in the first place. I believe that Jesus knew what was in the hearts of these two disciple. He did not need to test them to find out. But I suspect He did what He did to show them what was in their hearts.

The two disciples did not wish to let their companion leave and pleaded with Him to remain in Emmaus with them. They argue that the day was almost over and evening was upon them. I suspect that they were hungry not only for their evening meal, but also for more of the spiritual food that Jesus had been sharing with them. I believe that through His teaching on the Messiah, Jesus had been knocking at the door to their hearts; now they figuratively open that door, ask Him to stay with them, and He comes in to dine with them (Rev 3:20).

Jesus gives in to their request and went in to stay with them, most likely at a small inn, which would have provided simple food and lodging. The three men sat down to dine, and Jesus took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave some to each. Then, Luke tells us, the two disciples’ eyes were opened and they recognized that their companion was none other than their Lord, Jesus the Christ.

It is interesting that it was when the disciples received bread which Jesus had blessed that their eyes were opened and they recognized Him for who He was. There is much we can say here. We can, I believe, see in this breaking of bread a picture of communion. Bread, which symbolized Christ’s body, which was broken for us on the cross, so that our sins might be forgiven us, was one of two elements of communion. Notice here that wine, the other element of communion, which was a regular part of an evening meal, is not mentioned. This is consistent with what Jesus told His disciples when He instituted the Lord’s Supper - that He would not partake of wine until the kingdom of God comes (i.e., until the Second Coming). Jesus commands those who take communion to do so in remembrance of Him, so that they might recall all that He has done for them through His crucifixion and, I believe, come to understand Him a little more. Similarly in our passage from Luke 24 tonight, it is when they receive the bread which Jesus has broken and blessed that they “remember” and recognize Him. 

Jesus referred to Himself as the Bread of Life to those who followed after Him. Turn with me to the Gospel of John, chapter six, verse 26. I would like us to read through verse 51 but before we do so, let me give a little background on the passage before us.

John chapter 6 opens with Jesus leaving Jerusalem to return to His base of operations in the Galilee. John notes that Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee, to site of one of Jesus’ signature miracles – the feeding of the five thousand. Luke’s account places this miracle near the city of Bethsaida on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus’ disciples joined Him there as well as a large crowd of people, who came to hear Him speak and to be healed. As they day was ending the disciples urged Jesus to send the crowds away as the place was desolate and there was neither food nor shelter for them. Instead Jesus responded by feeding the five thousand from five barley loaves and two small fish.

This miracle amazed those who saw it, so much so that John 6:14 records that “Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world." Indeed many were prepared to compel Jesus by force to become king. Whether these people perceived Jesus to be the Messiah in the full sense what that term entails, or only in a limited political sense, we are not told; however, my opinion is that it was the latter. Jesus however would have none of that; He withdrew to a nearby mountain or hill before they could compel Him. At nightfall, when Jesus had not returned, His disciples set out by boat across the Sea of Galilee. Where they were headed we do not know.

As the disciples rowed, the conditions worsened. Suddenly they saw Jesus walking upon the water, drawing near to their boat. Mark’s Gospel records that Jesus made as if He intended to walk by them. The disciples were terrified by what they saw and cried out. John tells us that they invited Jesus into their boat, He calmed the storm, and brought the boat immediately to their destination, which the Gospel accounts of Matthew and Mark state was Gennesaret.

The next morning the five thousand realized that Jesus and His disciples were gone and sought them first in Capernaum, which was Jesus’ base of operations in Galilee. From there they went along the shore to Gennesaret, where they found Jesus with His disciples. It is at this point that our narrative in John 6 picks up: 

John 6:26-51

26 Jesus answered them [the crowds] and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.  27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."

28 Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"

29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."

30 Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"

32 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

34 Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."

35 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.  36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.  37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.  38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.  39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.  40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."

41 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven."  42 And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, 'I have come down from heaven'?"

43 Jesus therefore answered and said to them,  "Do not murmur among yourselves.  44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.  45 It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.  46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.  47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.  48 I am the bread of life.  49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead.  50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.  51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

Jesus tells the crowds that they seek Him not because of the signs He has done but because they ate of the loaves He multiplied and were filled. I do not read Jesus’ comment in John 6:26 as strictly negative. I do not doubt that there were some in the crowd who sought Jesus simply because He fed them. The kingdom of God, however, is not about eating and drinking but instead about righteousness, and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:16-17).

Jesus tells the crowds not to work for mere physical bread, which only satisfies for a while, but rather for the (spiritual) food that Jesus will give them. This is essentially the same statement as Jesus makes to the Samaritan woman at the well:

John 4:13-14

"Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

Neither the bread and water of the world, nor any other earthly thing, cannot ultimately satisfy us. Only the spiritual things of God can satisfy. After Jesus had fasted for forty days and forty nights in the wilderness, Satan tempted Him to turn rocks into bread to appease His hunger. Instead Jesus responded to Satan by quoting Scripture: "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" (Matthew 4:4) In the passage from John 6, Jesus helps us to understand this by comparing manna to the Bread of Life.

God provided the Children of Israel with manna to sustain their life as they wandered in the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land; but in the end they died. That manna could never satisfy them for more than a day; they needed to gather more every day, except for the Sabbath, when they gathered twice as much the day before. If they tried to collect manna on any other day, it spoiled and bred worms. But now in Jesus God sent down to earth the Bread of Life, which comes down from heaven and gives eternal life. And this bread, Jesus tells us, is His flesh, given for the life of the world. If we eat of it, we will not die.

But praise God we do not literally need to eat Jesus’ flesh to live forever; Christians are, after all, not cannibals, which interestingly was one of the charges that was leveled against the early church by her enemies. It is by knowing God and Jesus Christ that we are saved from the power of sin and death. In John 17:3 Jesus plainly tells us, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” We are saved by grace of God through our faith in Jesus’ redemptive work upon the cross. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

It is Jesus who gives us eternal life. When we have eaten of the Bread of Life and given our lives to the Lord, we are inhabited by the Holy Spirit of God, who teaches us all (spiritual) things, empowers us to struggle against our sin nature, and brings to mind the things that Jesus said (John 14:26). Scripture tells us that it is the Holy Spirit that allows us to discern spiritual things, and I believe that it was the Holy Spirit who opened the eyes of these two disciples so they could recognize Jesus.

As soon as the two disciples recognize that their companion is Jesus, He vanished. However, I believe He did not leave them alone. When Jesus was about to go to the cross, He promised His disciples that He would not leave them alone but would pray that the Father would send them another Helper, the Spirit of Truth, who will abide with them forever (John 14:16-17). Jesus promised that He would not leave them as orphans, all alone without support. There may be times when we do not sense God’s presence around us but even then we will have His Holy Spirit inside us. We can be encouraged because God has promised that He will never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8).  , and Jesus has said that He will be with us, even until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20.).

So it was with these to disciples in Emmaus I believe. Jesus had vanished but the Holy Spirit was still in them, at least for a while, and soon enough forever. Observe what the one disciple says to the other, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?" This is how God operates in us when we have believed – He gives us His Holy Spirit to help us understand spiritual things and He causes our heart to burn within us as we read and hear His word!

Luke tells us that the two disciples got up that very same hour (it would have been night time) and hurried back to Jerusalem to tell their fellow disciples what they had experienced. And our response should be same – our hearts should be on fire because of the Lord, both because of who He is and because of what He has done and what He has promised to do for us. We should be eager to tell others about the Gospel. That is after all the Great Commission that Jesus gave us, to preach the Gospel and make disciples among all the nations. 

Cleopas and his companion hurried back to Jerusalem and sought out their fellow disciples. They found the eleven apostles and those who were with them gathered together, marveling over the fact that “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Given that the two disciples had left Emmaus after dark and made their way back the seven miles to Jerusalem, this gathering is most likely happening around midnight, less than 24 hours after the empty tomb was discovered. Cleopas and his companion then shared with their fellow disciples all that had happened on the journey to Emmaus, and how Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Isn’t that just like our God! Many times when He has done something remarkable in our lives and we go to share it with someone else, we discover that God has been working in their lives at the very same time! This is one reason why God so wonderful and worthy of all our praise – He desires that none should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). It is to me a great encouragement to hear how the Lord is working all around me all the time, even though I am often completely oblivious.

Just as a side note, if the Simon referred to in verse 34 is Simon Peter – and indeed Paul’s comments in 1 Corinthians 15:3-6 seems to corroborate such a reading – then this puts a slightly different light on Jesus’ meeting with Peter and several other apostles on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, which is recorded in John 21. I personally do not believe that this meeting can be the appearance that is mentioned in verse 34, as the timing seems wrong to me. The language in John’s Gospel suggests that the meeting at the Sea of Galilee occurred at least eight days after the discovery of the empty tomb. We often think that Jesus’ conversation with Peter there around the fire was their first interaction since His resurrection. And perhaps it was the first time that the two had spoken. But our passage tonight tells us Jesus had previously appeared to Peter beforehand.

What can I say about the great God that we serve? Praise be to our Father God, and to His Son Jesus Christ, for their everlasting love and longsuffering patience! When we, as adopted sons and daughters, call out to Them, and invite Them to be with us, as these disciples in Emmaus pleaded with Jesus to remain with them, and as the disciples in the boat on the storm-tossed Sea of Galilee cried out for Jesus to enter their boat, They are faithful to respond to the pleadings of their children. I give thanks for the Holy Spirit, who resides inside us, who opens our eyes to the things of God, and who abides with us forever.

Romans 8:28-39

“28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:

"For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."

37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Amen and amen!