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Joseph Farah explains the eternal significance of Jesus’ road to Emmaus ‘Bible study’
By Joseph Farah
It must have been a very depressing and confusing Passover week for the closest followers of Jesus, who has trekked with Him for years through the Galilee with the expectation that He would shortly assume the kingship of Israel, reining and ruling from Jerusalem.
After all, that’s what they were expecting when the week began.
Instead, their teacher, their rabbi, their Lord, was arrested, imprisoned, tortured, tried by a corrupt high priest and the equally tainted Sanhedrin, and finally crucified like a common criminal by the Roman military authorities on a high holy day.
Peter, for one, was so discouraged that he denied three times being one of His followers. The other apostles hid in fear for three days and three nights, not comprehending what had become of their Messiah or what would become of them.
Early Saturday morning, a group of women close to Jesus – Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and Joses, Salome, and others – who had prepared spices for embalming His body, walked to the garden tomb. Knowing the entrance to the tomb would be covered by a huge, rolling stone, they wondered aloud, “Who will help us roll away the stone?”
Then they arrived, they were shocked and perplexed to find the large stone, sealed under the watch of Roman guards, already rolled away, the Lord’s body gone.
“Two men … in shining garments,” probably angels, spoke to the women, saying: “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again” (Luke 24:7).
The women, experiencing both fear and joy, hurried back to tell the 11 apostles and other disciples what they had seen and been told. No sooner had they left than they were met by the risen Jesus Himself, who said, “All hail … Be not afraid; go and tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there they shall see me” (Matthew 28:9-10).
Though some of the men did not believe the story, Peter and John ran to the open tomb and found only Jesus’ grave clothes.
That same day, two of the apostles decided to journey to the village of Emmaus, a distance of nearly 7 miles. Maybe they needed to clear their heads of all the things they had experienced over the last four days. Perhaps they just wanted to talk through all that happened.
As they walked and talked, they were joined by the risen Jesus, but they did not recognize Him.
Jesus asked them, “What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?”