In it Jesus appears on the way to Emmaus to two of his disciples, days after the crucifixion and resurrection, showing himself as an ordinary man, who was not immediately recognized by those who followed him.
On that way to a village in Emmaus, Jesus joined these two disciples, with whom he spoke about what was happening in Jerusalem, and arriving at the place of destination, they asked him to accompany them, and it is at dinner that, seeing the blessing of the bread that it is revealed to them that it is Jesus who accompanied them.
The Resurrection of Jesus
After the crucifixion of Jesus, in his tomb were two women, who found that the stone that covered it had been removed, to which they entered and They did not find the body of Jesus, being received by two men who announced that the Jesus they were looking for lived.
“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb, bringing the aromatic spices that are prepared, and some other women with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb;
And going in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. It happened that they are perplexed by this, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments;
and as they were afraid, and lowered their faces to the ground, they said to them: Why do you seek among the dead the one who lives? He is not here, but he has risen. Remember what he told you when he was still in Galilee,
saying: The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and rise again the third day. Then they remembered his words” (Luke 24: 1-7)
After these women saw that the tomb where the body of Jesus was empty, they went to inform all the disciples of the event that confirmed the words given by Him.
“It was Mary Magdalene, and Joan, and Mary the mother of James, and the others with them, who said these things to the apostles. But their words seemed crazy to them, and they did not believe them.
But Peter getting up, ran to the tomb; and when he looked inside, he saw the canvases alone, and went home marveling at what had happened »(Luke 24: 10-12)
The disciples were baffled at such an event, and they maintained the hope that Jesus was the Messiah awaited by the people of Israel trusting that he would free them from the yoke of the Roman empire.
However, it would not be precisely from that oppressive government that would free them, but from the yoke of sin that afflicted all Israel and the world, that separated them from God, since the one who governed them was the darkness of satan, which He defeated.
“As it is written: there is no righteous, not even one; no one understands, no one seeks God. They all strayed, together they became useless; there is no one who does good, there is not even one” (Romans 3:10-12)
Jesus had defeated death, fulfilling what He had announced, he had died once and foreverand had risen from the dead to fulfill God’s purpose in bringing salvation to mankind.
«No one takes it from me, but I put it on myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again” (John 10:18).
On the third day Jesus had risen as he had said, He had not only defeated death but allowed all humanity to enter that Holy of Holies By breaking the veil that separated him from the presence of God, that event seen by these women was evidence of the power of the Son of God.
Jesus appears on the road to Emmaus
After this event the disciples continued their lives, and on the road to Emmaus, eleven kilometers from Jerusalem, two disciples were walking while talking about the events that occurred, in that journey Jesus joined themwhom they did not recognize.
And behold, two of them were going on the same day to a village called Emmaus, which was sixty furlongs from Jerusalem. And they were talking among themselves about all those things that have happened.
It happened that while they were talking and arguing among themselves, Jesus himself came up and walked with them. But their eyes were veiled, so that they did not know him” (Luke 24:13-16).
When the apparent stranger approaches them, they continue talking, and it is interesting that they did not recognize Jesus after his resurrection, That speaks that it was not the same Jesus that they saw in those crusades where they accompanied himbecause it would have another aspect that his disciples were unaware of.
Before that, Jesus approached and wanted to inquire about what they were talking about, to know what afflicted them, since they knew the prophecy that they had heard from their own mouth, to which Doubt, sadness and skepticism are achieved about what these women had seen in the tomb.
“And he said to them: What talks are these that you have among yourselves as you walk, and why are you sad? Answering one of them, whose name was Cleopas, said to him: Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who has not known the things that have happened in her in these days?
Then he said to them: What things? And they said to him: Of Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, powerful in deed and in word before God and all the people; and how the chief priests and our rulers handed him over to sentence of death, and crucified him.
But we expected that he was the one to redeem Israel; and now, in addition to all this, today is already the third day that this has happened. Although we have also been astonished by some women among us, those who went to the tomb before the day;
and since they did not find his body, they came saying that I have also seen a vision of angels, who said that he lives. And some of our men went to the tomb, and they found the same as the women with said, but they did not see him. (Luke 24:17-24)
Jesus, being the teacher par excellence, upon hearing what they felt, spoke to them taking what was said from Moses, in order to make them understand that what was said by the lips of the Messiah, was taking place before their eyesand because of their lack of faith they could not see it.
“Then he said to them: !! O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have said! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things, and to enter into their glory? And beginning with Moses, and continuing through all the prophets, he declared to them in all the scriptures what they said about him” (Luke 24:25-26).
What happened to these disciples is a teaching for all believers, who must remain looking in faith at Jesus, since when the person abandons his gaze of the Lord and allows himself to be guided by his thoughts and reasoning, his eyes are veiled
Product of the death of Jesus brought with it in his disciples that disappointment in their hearts and disbelief to what He saidwhich produced that veil in their eyes when they did not recognize the risen Jesus.
This teaching says that when faith is lost you cannot see the hope of what is promised, the intangible cannot be seen tangible as a result of that disbelief that invades hearts, and these disciples had lost it.
The Eyes of the Disciples open
After Jesus rebukes them regarding those thoughts of doubt that the disciples had, affirming that everything said by the prophets since Moses had to be fulfilled to see that promised Messiah, bring salvation to the people of Israel.
When they arrived at the village, Jesus made as if he were going to another place, to which these disciples told him that he would accompany them, since it was very late, to which Jesus accepted and accompanied them.
«They arrived at the village where they were going, and he pretended to go further. But they forced him to stay, saying: Stay with us, because it is getting late, and the day has already declined. So he went in to stay with them” (Luke 24: 28-29)
It is at that moment when they together at a table before eating, the eyes of the disciples were opened to see before their presence Jesus, who had taught them to pray and bless food.
“And it came to pass, as he sat with them at the table, he took bread and blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; but he disappeared from his sight »(Luke 24: 30-31)
At that moment when Jesus raised the bread and blessed it, sharing it with the disciples caused them to realize that this “stranger” who met on the way to Emmaus, was the Messiah, that Jesus of God’s promise, whom they saw tangible after his resurrection.
«And they said to each other: Did not our hearts burn within us, while he spoke to us on the road, and when he opened the Scriptures to us? And rising up the same hour, they returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and those that were with them,
saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon. Then they recounted the things that happened to them along the way, and how they called him from the bread” (Luke 24:32-35).
This which happened before the eyes of the disciples produced the awakening of his faithand they could see how God’s promise was being fulfilled in front of them, since they would be participants in that path that Jesus would lead them to when he reunited with everyone with the power acquired in his resurrection.
“While they were still talking about these things, Jesus stood in their midst and said to them: Peace to you. Then, frightened and frightened, they thought they saw a spirit. But he said to them: Why are you troubled, and do these thoughts come to your heart?
Look at my hands and my feet, that I myself am; handle, and see; for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have. And saying this, they showed them their hands and feet. And as they still, for joy, did not believe it, and were amazed, he said to them: Do you have anything here to eat?
So they gave him part of a broiled fish, and a honeycomb. And he took it, and ate before them. And he said to them: These are the words that I spoke to you, while I was still with you: that it was necessary that everything that is written about me in the law of Moses, in the prophets and in the psalms should be fulfilled »(Luke 24: 36 -44)
When Jesus met the disciples, he achieved disbelief despite the fact that they saw him in a palpable way with his presence. This meeting would to be able to remove the veil of disbelief that as humans they still had, It was a way of showing them that everything they had seen with Him in life, they would continue to live.
It can be said that this moment would serve to break in the life of the disciples the unbelief inherited from sinful manand understand that God remained faithful by their side, and they had to fulfill the entrusted mission of bringing the Kingdom of Heaven.
«Then he opened their understanding, so that they understood the Scriptures; and he said to them: Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead on the third day; and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I will send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:36-49).
With this promise that Jesus gave to each of the…