ROAD TO EMMAUS

Marko Marina, Ph.D. Author-Historian wrote this: Just the other day, I was watching “The Chase” on our national TV station, (“The Chase” is a high-stakes quiz show where contestants face off against a professional “Chaser” (trivia genius) to win cash prizes. I was feeling confident in my usual trivia skillfulness. I tend to do well on these quizzes, but my biggest flaw is that I sometimes rush to answer before I’ve thought it through. 

• So, when the question popped up: “According to the Gospel of Luke, where did the risen Jesus first appear to his disciples?”, I blurted out, without hesitation, “Jerusalem!”  To my family’s amazement, I was wrong. The correct answer? “On the road to Emmaus.”
• As a historian of early Christianity, my family looked at me with the kind of disbelief reserved for someone who’s just forgotten their birthday. 

How could I possibly get that wrong? But the truth is, Emmaus is one of those mysterious places in the New Testament — mentioned briefly, yet holding immense rhetorical and literal significance. Even though it’s easy to get mixed up, the story of Jesus on the road to Emmaus deserves more than a passing glance.

• We’ll dive into this fascinating event from the Gospel of Luke, exploring what makes it so important and puzzling from a historical standpoint. Who were the disciples Jesus appeared to? What do we really know about the location of Emmaus? 
• And why has this story remained such a vital part of Christian tradition? Let’s take a walk down that ancient road together and see what we can uncover.

Luke 24                                                          New King James Version

1   Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 

2   But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 

3   Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 

4   And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 

5   Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 

6   He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 

7   saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ”

8   And they remembered His words. 

9   Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 

10  It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. 

• When they arrived, they found the stone had been rolled away from the mouth of the tomb. As soon as they went in, they saw that the body of the Lord Jesus was missing. It is not difficult to imagine their perplexity. While they were still trying to reason it out, two angels (see John 20:12), in shining garments, appeared and assured them that Jesus was alive; it was futile to search for Him in the tomb. He had risen as He had promised when He was still with them in Galilee. Had He not foretold them that the Son of Man had to be turned over to sinful men and be crucified, and that on the third day He would rise again (Luke 9:22; 18:33) Then, it all came back to them. 
• They returned hurriedly to the city and told the news to the eleven disciples. Among those first heralds of the resurrection were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James.

Luke 24:11-12

11   And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them. 

• Remember these are the people who have seen everything, they saw Jesus walk on water, they were there when He called Lazarus out of the tomb, they had seen everything we can only read about. 

12   But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.

• Peter and John both observed what was in the tomb and John believed (John 20:8). This tells us that Peter analyzed the situation; he knew something spectacular had happened because of the condition of the grave clothes, but because he had forgotten the words of Jesus (John 20:9), he did not yet understand and believe the way John had.

John 20:3-10                                                 New King James Version

3   Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 

4   So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 

5   And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 

6   Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 

7   and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. 

8   Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. 

9   For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 

10   Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.

How, how could they not know?

The disciples did not understand the Old Testament prophecies like Psalm 16:10, Isaiah 53) or Jesus’ own direct predictions regarding His resurrection. While they should have understood from a theological standpoint, their lack of comprehension was caused by grief, fear, and preconceived notions of a purely political Messiah. 

Why They Did Not Know (And Why They Should Have)

Existing Prophecy: The “Scripture” refers to Old Testament texts pointing to the resurrection, which the early church later interpreted as predicting Christ’s victory.

Direct Predictions: Jesus explicitly told his disciples multiple times that he would be killed and rise on the third day (e.g., Matthew 16:21, Mark 9:31).

Human Limitation: Despite the predictions, the disciples did not expect the resurrection. Their cultural, religious, and emotional state prevented them from understanding the “must” until they encountered the empty tomb and, later, the risen Christ. 

• Essentially, the scripture was there, but their ability to understand it was not, until illuminated by the events themselves.

You can know that Jesus rose from the dead, but unless you know His words, it won’t make sense. Without knowing the life and teachings of Jesus:

• You don’t know that the resurrection means that the payment that Jesus offered on the cross was perfect and complete.
• You don’t know that the cross was the payment and the empty tomb is the receipt.
• You don’t know that death has no hold on redeemed man.
• You don’t know that when God’s love and man’s hate battled at the cross, God’s love won.
• You don’t know that because Jesus was raised from the dead, we can be resurrected in Him.

How many people are sitting in churches this morning, saying I believe in Jesus, but I just can’t get my head around the resurrection. Well, it requires faith.

Hebrews 11:6                                                 New King James Version

6   But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

• By faith we must believe in the resurrection. 

Now back to our story in Luke 24. There are two other disciples that were traveling that same morning to a village called Emmaus: On this Sunday, these two disciples traveled to Emmaus from Jerusalem. 

As they walked together returning from the Passover celebration in Jerusalem, it allowed them time to talk. Please see this point,                    “it allowed them time to talk”. 

• These weren’t famous apostles, they were simple and half-anonymous followers of Jesus. “I take it as characteristic of our Lord that in the glory of His resurrection life, He gave Himself with such fullness of disclosure to these unknown and undistinguished men… He still reveals Himself to lowly hearts. Here is our Saviour for the common man. Here is the Lord who does not refuse the humble.” (Morrison)
• “There is considerable uncertainty about the original location of the village of Emmaus. Luke mentions that it was about seven miles from Jerusalem. 

The location of the biblical town of Emmaus has been a source of controversy. Archaeologists have not definitively identified one specific site for biblical Emmaus, there are nine candidates for the site of this encounter between Jesus and His two Emmaus disciples.  However, only four sites can be considered serious candidates. The word Emmaus means “warm well,” and since the name suggests there must be a well or natural spring near the site, some candidates can be eliminated.  The other clue to the location of Emmaus is found in the biblical text that records the distance of Emmaus from Jerusalem.  Most translations of Scripture record the distance as sixty stadia, or a little more than seven miles.

• “Luke almost certainly obtained his information from one of the two disciples, in writing this story. The account has all the effect of personal experience.” (Plummer, cited in Geldenhuys)

Luke 24:13-16

13   Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. 

14   And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 

15   So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 

16   But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.

• Who are these guys? What can we say for sure? First, these two disciples were not part of Jesus’ inner circle — the Twelve. Only one of them is named explicitly v.18 Cleopas. This suggests that both were likely among the broader group of Jesus’ followers, beyond the Twelve. Still, their inclusion in this story highlights that Jesus’ resurrection appearances weren’t confined to the Twelve, expanding the circle of witnesses to include others who had followed him.

Luke 24:17-22

17   And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”

18   Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?”

19   And He said to them, “What things?” So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 

20   and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. 

21   But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. 

22   Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. 

23   When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. 

24   And certain 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.”

25   Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 

26   Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 

27   And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

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!” 

• What a moment that must have been for Peter!  We might wish that we had some record of what was said and done there, as we do for Jesus’ touching encounter with Mary in the garden in John 20 (an account I can scarcely read to this day without emotion).  But we can be sure of at least these two things: Peter would have, in the midst of joyful awe at the sight of Christ, expressed deep remorse.
• They had mutual confirmation of the resurrection of Jesus. Though the risen Jesus was not physically in their midst yet, His resurrection had been confirmed by more than two witnesses.

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.

36   Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” 

• This seems to be the same late Sunday meeting Jesus had with the eleven described in John 20:19-25. In his Gospel, John specifically wrote that Jesus appeared to them when the doors were shut (John 20:19). It seems that Jesus suddenly and perhaps miraculously appeared to the disciples in the midst of a closed room without making an obvious entrance.

37   But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. 

38   And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? 

39   Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”

40   When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.

• Jesus first displayed His wounded hands and feet to the disciples. 
• In this Jesus wanted to establish both His identity and His bodily existence, and that it was in a transformed state the same body He had before the cross, upon the cross, and set in the tomb.

41   But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?” 

• Can you see what Jesus is doing here? A spirit doesn’t eat!!

42   So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. 

43   And He took it and ate in their presence.

“Then a great joy, like a tide, swept over them. And they could not believe, they were so glad. Not long ago Christ found them sleeping for sorrow (Luke 22:45), and now He found them disbelieving for joy. 

Do not forget that joy can hinder faith. It may be as great a foe to faith as sorrow sometimes is.” (Morrison)

1. There were several times previous to this when joy hindered faith, in the sense of something being too good to be true.
2. In Genesis 45:25-26, Jacob could not believe that Joseph was alive because the news seemed to be too good.
3. In Job 9:16, Job said that if God would have answered him he would not have believed it.
4. In Psalm 126:1 it seemed too good to be true that God turned against Israel’s captivity.
5. When Peter was set free from prison in Acts 12, the church didn’t believe it (Acts 12:13-14).
6. “Their joy was so great that for a moment it was even a handicap to their faith.” (Geldenhuys)

Luke 24:44-53

44   Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” 

45   And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.

46   Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 

47   and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 

48   And you are witnesses of these things. 

49   Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

50   And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 

51   Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.