Luk 24:32-36 | KingComments | STEP | Walking and speaking they approached the village where they are on their way to. Time will have flown by. The Lord is about to bid farewell. He does not insist, but tests whether there is a desire to invite Him. This appears to be the case with Cleopas and his companion. They urge Him to stay with them. They express their wish in those wonderful words that the Savior would also like to hear from us: “Stay with us”, and to which He likes to respond. By the way, it is also getting toward evening, the day is nearly over. When there is a meeting with the Lord, the day is nearly over. The world around them becomes darker and darker as the light in their heart and home is enlightened by His presence. The Lord goes in with them. He does not seek shelter just for one night, but He seeks them. He wants to stay with them to never leave again. And they seek Him, for they would like to hear more of this Stranger about Him Who, despite His disappearance, has become more dear to them because by what He has told them. As soon as the Lord has accepted the invitation and entered with them, He does not take the place of Guest, but of Host. What normally is done by him who invites, the Lord does of His own accord, without asking permission. He takes the bread for dinner, He blesses, He breaks it, and He distributes it to those who have invited Him and with whom He is a Guest. This is not the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, because that happens when the church comes together, i.e. in church context. The Lord also says nothing about thinking of Him, doing in remembrance of Him. He simply breaks the bread for the meal. Yet it is not an ordinary act, but His act. He breaks the bread to make Himself known to His disciples, because His breaking of the bread here means He has surrendered Himself into death. The moment He breaks the bread and gives it to them, the covering of their eyes is taken away, and they see Who He is. Their eyes are opened and they recognize Him. At the same time He vanishes from their sight. With this He indicates that their relationship with Him has now come on another basis. Namely, He has become the object of faith ( ). It is no longer a visible Messiah, but for faith He is as real as if He were physically, visibly, present. How real is our faith? Wouldn’t it really make any difference in practice if He were physically present? The two disciples are not surprised that the Lord is suddenly invisible. They now understand the situation because they have understood His teaching. He spoke to their heart that first was so slow. He has made it burning for Him. That’s what they say to each other. When he spoke to them on the road, he addressed their heart [literally: “our heart”, singular], which is in the same mind, when He opened the Scriptures to them. This is more than just opening and reading the Bible. It is to explain the Scriptures and to give them their true meaning. The teaching of Scripture has the consequence that we understand Scripture. That will do a work in our heart. By listening together to the teaching from God’s Word in which things are connected to the Lord Jesus, the hearts of all are melted together into one heart.

‏ Luke 24:32-36

The Lord Makes Himself Known

Walking and speaking they approached the village where they are on their way to. Time will have flown by. The Lord is about to bid farewell. He does not insist, but tests whether there is a desire to invite Him. This appears to be the case with Cleopas and his companion. They urge Him to stay with them. They express their wish in those wonderful words that the Savior would also like to hear from us: “Stay with us”, and to which He likes to respond.

By the way, it is also getting toward evening, the day is nearly over. When there is a meeting with the Lord, the day is nearly over. The world around them becomes darker and darker as the light in their heart and home is enlightened by His presence. The Lord goes in with them. He does not seek shelter just for one night, but He seeks them. He wants to stay with them to never leave again. And they seek Him, for they would like to hear more of this Stranger about Him Who, despite His disappearance, has become more dear to them because by what He has told them.

As soon as the Lord has accepted the invitation and entered with them, He does not take the place of Guest, but of Host. What normally is done by him who invites, the Lord does of His own accord, without asking permission. He takes the bread for dinner, He blesses, He breaks it, and He distributes it to those who have invited Him and with whom He is a Guest.

This is not the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, because that happens when the church comes together, i.e. in church context. The Lord also says nothing about thinking of Him, doing in remembrance of Him. He simply breaks the bread for the meal. Yet it is not an ordinary act, but His act. He breaks the bread to make Himself known to His disciples, because His breaking of the bread here means He has surrendered Himself into death.

The moment He breaks the bread and gives it to them, the covering of their eyes is taken away, and they see Who He is. Their eyes are opened and they recognize Him. At the same time He vanishes from their sight. With this He indicates that their relationship with Him has now come on another basis. Namely, He has become the object of faith (2Cor 5:7). It is no longer a visible Messiah, but for faith He is as real as if He were physically, visibly, present. How real is our faith? Wouldn’t it really make any difference in practice if He were physically present?

The two disciples are not surprised that the Lord is suddenly invisible. They now understand the situation because they have understood His teaching. He spoke to their heart that first was so slow. He has made it burning for Him. That’s what they say to each other.

When he spoke to them on the road, he addressed their heart [literally: “our heart”, singular], which is in the same mind, when He opened the Scriptures to them. This is more than just opening and reading the Bible. It is to explain the Scriptures and to give them their true meaning. The teaching of Scripture has the consequence that we understand Scripture. That will do a work in our heart. By listening together to the teaching from God’s Word in which things are connected to the Lord Jesus, the hearts of all are melted together into one heart.

Back to Jerusalem

After this wonderful discovery and experience, their whole disappointment has turned into great joy. They have to share this with the other disciples. They no longer think of Him as the One of Whom they hoped He would redeem Israel. There is still a long way to go before the redemption of Israel has actually come. In that respect, nothing had changed.

However, they have seen the resurrected Lord and through the teaching of God’s Word they have understood that the Lord’s way to glory had to go through suffering. As a result their faith and hope have become alive and sound and they go to tell the disciples about it. They want to share this. With us it is the same. Everything we have seen in the Word of the Lord Jesus will have an effect on our life. It will make us witnesses, this is inevitable.

When they have arrived in Jerusalem they find the eleven apostles gathered together with a number of others. Before the two from Emmaus can give their enthusiastic testimony, the others already call that the Lord has risen. For it is already known to them through Peter, for the Lord has appeared to him.

We see how quickly the testimonies of the Lord’s resurrection multiply. We hear, as it were, a song from the one answered by others and vise versa on the theme of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus in which the personal encounters with Him are sung. How beautiful it would be if this aspect were to be discussed frequently in the Christian meetings. This may literally happen by singing songs; it may also happen in personal testimonies.

After the warm welcome, the two also tell of their meeting with the Lord and how He is recognized by them in that action that has spoken to their heart. He spoke to them in a different way and revealed Himself to them. With them it is the act that speaks of His death. They share that with the others.

Appearance to the Disciples

When the hearts are full of the Lord Jesus and the experiences of encounters with Him are exchanged, it is inevitable that He Himself enters in the midst there. He shows Himself to them and speaks the comforting and encouraging words: “Peace be to you.” The reaction of the disciples who see Him for the first time is not encouraging for the Lord. They become afraid of Him and think they see a spirit. They have heard the stories of the others, but haven’t met Him yet. As in previous meetings, the Lord must first lower a barrier of unbelief. There is no spontaneous joy.

He asks them why they are troubled and why doubts do arise in their hearts. He asks these questions because He could have expected a different reaction. Haven’t they already heard several testimonies of His resurrection? Why did they not believe it? But He helps them. He shows them His hands and His feet. In them the wounds of the cross are still visible and they will be visible forever. He will be known by it forever. It is the proof that it is He Himself. He does not send anyone else who tells about His wounds, but He shows them Himself.

He invites them to touch Him and to convince themselves that they do not see a spirit appearance, but a Man. He is still Man after His resurrection and true Man and that He will be forever. He has flesh and bones. He doesn’t speak of blood because He shed it once for all.

The Lord makes His words follow by showing His hands and His feet. He emphasizes with this that He, Who stands before them here as the Living One, is the same as the One Who went doing good (with His hands) through the land (with His feet) (Acts 10:38), with the result that He was hanged on the cross and died there.

Then the disciples’ fear turns into joy. It is a joy of their heart and not of their mind. A wave of joy goes through them, their hearts are overwhelmed, but their minds cannot yet grasp it. They hear and see their Lord, but it is still so unreal. The last thing they saw of Him was that He hung dead on the cross, tortured and completely exhausted. For days they have been walking around with this image in their thoughts and now He suddenly stands here as the Risen One in a glorified body in front of them. Certainly, it is He, yet it cannot be true.

The Lord meets them even further in their great amazement. He wants to give them the certainty that it is really He Himself and that He is real. He asks if they have anything to eat. They have. They have a piece of a broiled fish, which they give Him. The broiled fish speaks of the judgment He underwent. The Lord takes it and eats it before their eyes, to convince them that what they perceive is all true. They don’t dream.