Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, 14 and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. 15 And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, 16 but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. 17 He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped, looking downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?” 19 And he replied to them, “What sort of things?” They said to him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. 21 But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. 22 Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning 23 and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. 24 Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.” 25 And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! 26 Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures. 28 As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. 29 But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. 31 With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. 32 Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” 33 So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them 34 who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
On the day of the Resurrection, two disciples leave Jerusalem and walk to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles away (v. 13). They are talking about all that has happened in Jerusalem (v. 14). They know that Jesus has been crucified, and they have also heard the report that the tomb is empty (vv. 20-24; cf. Luke 24:1-12). They are sad, confused, and still trying to understand what these events mean (vv. 17, 21).
As they walk, Jesus Himself comes near and joins them, but they do not recognize Him (vv. 15-16). Luke says their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him (v. 16). They will need help from God to see who He is (v. 31). Jesus begins by asking what they are discussing (v. 17). His question gives them the opportunity to speak openly and to show what they understand and what they still lack.
Cleopas answers with surprise. Jerusalem has been full of talk about Jesus, so he assumes any visitor should know what has happened (vv. 18-19). The two disciples then describe Jesus as “a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people” (v. 19). This is true. Jesus did mighty works and taught with authority (Luke 4:32, 36; 7:16). They speak of Him as a prophet, but they have not yet understood His death and Resurrection as the saving work of the Messiah (vv. 21, 25-27).
Their sadness becomes clearer when they say, “we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel” (v. 21). In this context, “redeem Israel” means that they hoped Jesus would be the promised deliverer of God’s people. They were thinking in terms of Israel’s public restoration and visible deliverance. Jesus did come to redeem His people, but in the deeper way God had planned: by dealing with sin and opening the way to life with God (Matt. 1:21; vv. 26, 46-47).
They then report what the women had said about the tomb. The women went early in the morning, did not find the body, and reported that angels had announced Jesus was alive (vv. 22-23). Others then went to the tomb and found things just as the women had said (v. 24). What the disciples still lack is the right understanding of those facts. They know what happened, but they do not yet know how these events fit into God’s plan revealed in Scripture (vv. 25-27).
Jesus answers by correcting them: “How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!” (v. 25). They have not yet believed all that God had already spoken through the Scriptures. Jesus then asks, “Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (v. 26). The suffering of the Messiah was not an accident. It belonged to the saving plan of God (vv. 26-27, 44-46; Acts 3:18). What looked to them like failure was in fact the road to glory.
Luke then says that Jesus, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, explained to them what referred to Him in all the Scriptures (v. 27). This means that He began with the sacred writings of Israel, especially the books of Moses and the prophets, which Christians call the Old Testament. These writings point forward to Christ. They prepare for Him and find their fulfillment in Him (vv. 27, 44; John 5:39). Jesus helps the disciples read the Scriptures in the light of His Passion and Resurrection. He teaches them not only that He is alive, but also why these things had to happen.
By the time they near the village, Jesus acts as though He will continue on (v. 28). He does not impose Himself on them. They invite Him in, saying, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over” (v. 29). They welcome the stranger who has walked with them and taught them. Luke then moves the scene from the road to the table, where the meaning of the journey will become clear.
At table Jesus takes bread, says the blessing, breaks it, and gives it to them (v. 30). These actions recall earlier moments in Luke’s Gospel, especially the feeding of the multitude and the Last Supper (Luke 9:16; 22:19). At that moment their eyes are opened, and they recognize Him (v. 31). The one who had already opened the Scriptures to them now opens their eyes. Luke then says that Jesus vanished from their sight (v. 31). The point is that they now truly know that He is risen.
The two disciples then say, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” (v. 32). Their hearts had been changing even before they recognized Him. As Jesus explained the Scriptures, He was already leading them from confusion to understanding. Luke draws these two parts together with care: the Scriptures are opened, and Jesus is made known in the breaking of the bread (vv. 27, 30-32, 35).
They do not stay in Emmaus. They return to Jerusalem at once (v. 33). At the beginning of the passage, they were walking away from Jerusalem with sadness and uncertainty (vv. 13, 17, 21). Their direction changes because their understanding has changed (vv. 25-27, 32-33). When they arrive, they find the eleven and the others saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” (v. 34). The Resurrection is being confirmed among the disciples. It is not a private idea or a passing impression. It is the truth of what God has done in Jesus (vv. 34-35).
The passage ends by saying that the two disciples told what had happened on the way and how Jesus “was made known to them in the breaking of the bread” (v. 35). The risen Jesus walks with His disciples, explains the Scriptures, and makes Himself known to them (vv. 15, 27, 30-31, 35). He leads His disciples to understand the Scriptures and to recognize that His suffering, death, and Resurrection were the fulfillment of God’s saving plan (vv. 25-27, 44-47).
Lord Jesus, stay with us, open the Scriptures to us, and lead us to know You truly (vv. 29, 27, 31). When we are confused or slow to understand, teach us and guide us in the way of faith (vv. 25-27). Keep our hearts close to You. Amen.
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Sources and References
- The New American Bible, Revised Edition. Washington, DC: Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2011. Luke 24:13-35 and notes.
- Hahn, Scott, and Curtis Mitch, eds. Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010, 154.
- Casciaro, José María, gen. ed. The Navarre Bible: New Testament, Expanded Edition (Dublin: Four Courts Press; New York: Scepter Publishers, 2008), 351-52.
- Brown, Raymond E., Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, eds. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990, 720-21, para. 196.
- Aguilar Chiu, José Enrique, et al., eds. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. New York: Paulist Press, 2018, 1101-2.
- Collins, John J., Gina Hens-Piazza, Barbara Reid OP, and Donald Senior CP, eds. The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century. 3rd fully rev. ed., with a foreword by Pope Francis. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022, 1360.
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