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.
Jesus chastised the two disciples on the road to Emmaus for their lack of faith and their unbelief (v. 25). It was necessary for him to suffer, be put to death and be raised on the third day, as his Father had willed, for the salvation of mankind so that God could exalt him to the glory he shared with God before the world began (Jn. 17:5). Jesus interpreted his life as the fulfillment of all God’s promises made in the Scriptures. Some of the references to Jesus in the OT can be found in the Book of Acts (e.g. Acts 2:17-21; 25-28; Acts 3:22, 26). A correct interpretation and understanding of the scriptures will cause our hearts to be on fire with the love of Christ (v. 32).
They encouraged Christ to stay with them for the evening and Jesus assumed the role of host as he usually did. While they were sharing a meal, “he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him (v. 31).” This is the same language used in feeding the five thousand (Lk. 9:16) and the Last Supper (Lk. 22:19), but this time through grace, the disciples recognized Jesus in the breaking of bread (v. 35). From the early Church the breaking of the Bread was a foundational part of Christian worship (Acts 2:42). Jesus said to his Disciples at the last supper, "I tell you, I shall not eat it [again] until there is fulfillment in the kingdom of God (Lk. 22:16).” The Kingdom of God had come, and Jesus was sharing his food with his disciples who had strayed from ‘the Way.’ They were forgiven, reconciled with Christ, and enlightened. They immediately journeyed back to Jerusalem to rejoin the other disciples and follow Jesus in the Way (Acts 18:25). Simon Peter, who had turned back (Lk. 22:31-34) after denying Jesus three times (Jn. 18:17, 25-27), had been forgiven by the risen Christ, reconciled with Christ (Jn. 21:15-17), and empowered to strengthen his fellow Christians in the Way.
Almighty God, your incarnate Son suffered and died that we may be reconciled with you. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we can learn to interpret and understand the scriptures the way You intend so that our hearts will burn within us when we read or hear your word. Help us to desire you above all things so that we may be worthy of the promise of eternal life given by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This we pray through the same Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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