Here is the major lesson of the Emmaus Road experience. Though resurrection is hard to believe, be assured that it took place. Its reality means that Jesus claims are true. He was more than a teacher and more than a prophet. He was the promised, anointed one of God. A host of skeptics saw that this was so, and they believed. Do not be skeptical as these men were. Remember what God required of his Messiah: suffering, then vindication in exaltation. Jesus starts to break their misconceptions with a rebuke: How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory? For the second time in the chapter, Luke notes how these events were necessary (dei; compare v. 7). Jesus reviews the rest of the story from the book that reveals it. Events and Scripture together raise the issue of faith in Gods promises. The disciples have been slow to believe. They have not read Isaiah 52--53 or Psalm 16 with understanding, not to mention Deuteronomy 18:15, Psalm 2:7, Psalm 110:1, Psalm 118 or Daniel 7:13-14. No doubt when beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself, Jesus used many of the texts that show up in other places in Luke and Acts. By taking them back to the Scripture, Jesus is noting that what took place was part of Gods plan and promise. Luke highlights the point by speaking about all the Prophets and interpreting all the Scripture. Scriptures promise centers on Jesus. This text is a primary witness to Jesus. We can rest assured that Jesus is who he claims to be. The lesson has not ended, but it is getting late. So as they draw near to Emmaus, Jesus pretends (NIV acted as if; Greek prosepoiesato) he would journey on, but the men prevail upon him to stay with them. Since he has revealed the plan, now it is time to reveal the person. It is in the intimacy of fellowship that Jesus is recognized. This setting is no mistake; it is a major Lukan theme. Many of the resurrection appearances he describes are associated with table fellowship (Lk 24:41-43; Acts 1:4; 10:41; also Jn 21:9-15). As Jesus sits at the table, takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it and gives it to them, their eyes were opened. In a situation that recalls the feeding of the five thousand and the Last Supper, the disciples realize that they have been talking with the Lord himself (Lk 9:22; 22:19). Though not a reenactment of the Last Supper, this meal does show that Jesus is present and is known when his disciples remain close to him. The lack of recognition of verse 16 is reversed. Their perplexity over recent events is removed. It is through sitting with Jesus and listening to him that we get to know him. After his recognition by the disciples, Jesus disappears. That Jesus is alive is all the disciples need to understand. They can now appreciate that he is with them. All of a sudden the entire discussion on the road makes sense. Like a lost key found or a huge mystery solved, the direction of recent events becomes clear and the way to understand life anew is opened up. Because of this new awareness, the disciples recall their recent scriptural review in a new light: Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us? Their words point to how emotional the exposition had been for them, like a message being sown into the soul. With a flame relit in their hearts, they return to the gathering of disciples in Jerusalem. The news is too good to keep to themselves. To know Jesus is to be thrilled at the prospect of sharing news of him with others. Good news travels fast, and news of the verification of the resurrection was no exception. Jesus has, in effect, been everywhere. The two returning disciples are greeted with a report like their own: The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon! This is a new detail in chapter 24, since earlier all Luke had reported was the empty tomb Peter saw (v. 12). So the message of the Emmaus disciples is preempted. Jesus is among all of them. It is becoming clear to all in the community that the women were right after all. Jesus is alive, and their hope remains as firmly in place as ever. The Emmaus report follows. Luke stresses that Jesus revealed himself to the two disciples during the breaking of the bread. In the quietness of the table Jesus is especially revealed. We can imagine the flood of emotion in the room as these stories of Jesus appearances flowed in. It must have been like a newsroom full of reporters collecting facts on a breaking story. The room was probably abuzz. What is more, though it is late and much has already happened, Jesus appearances are not over quite yet. Despite his physical absence, he has actually been with all of them all along through resurrection--a very crucial message for the disciples to learn about how Jesus will be with them in the future. To say Jesus is risen is to say that he is with us.Jesus Commission, Promise and Ascension (24:36-53) Though Luke is concluding his Gospel, the real story is just beginning. Ahead is the disciples empowerment through the bestowal of the Spirit so they can carry out their call on behalf of God. Beyond that is the mission to proclaim to the world what they have experienced and understood. Jesus had ministered to them to prepare them for this time. Now it is nearly time to go. Training camp is just about over; a long season of ministry lies ahead. This account is unique to Luke and allows him to link the Gospel with Acts, given that the ascension ends and begins each volume. This final Gospel unit has a few similarities to the Emmaus account. Both include a resurrection appearance, a meal and scriptural exposition. Jesus is present with his disciples and is present in the Word. The union of the two reflects what life is designed to be. Though I have separated these final verses from the Emmaus account, Luke has effectively woven the two stories together. As the room is buzzing with reports of Jesus self-manifestations, he appears and says, Peace be with you. The disciples are still trying to take it all in, so peace is hardly their reaction. Rather, they are startled and frightened. They think for sure it is a spirit (pneuma; NIV a ghost). Even with the numerous reports of appearances, the idea that Jesus is alive and present is hard to accept. Empirical modernists are not the only skeptics: for the first disciples Jesus resurrection was a difficult truth to swallow. Only a rapid-fire succession of demonstrations convinced the community it was so. Jesus deals with their shock by challenging them. Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a [spirit] does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have. Jesus invites them to determine once and for all that what has been reported is true. Offering himself to be handled, Jesus wants to lay to rest for all time any doubt about his resurrections truthfulness. He showed them his hands and feet. This is no phantom. There is no hallucination. The disciples have not fabricated the stories that they heard. Psychosis has not created an account to fill an emotional hole. This is no immaterial Jesus, as the Gnostics later claimed had come, a Jesus who walked but left no footprints. No, this is the crucified Jesus with the marks of nails in his hands to prove he had gone the limit to overcome sin. It is Jesus raised from the dead, pure and simple. It is all too much. The disciples still fight unbelief, but it is mixed with joy as the truth is slowly but surely dawning like morning light. Amazement is the dominant emotion. To prove the point, Jesus asks for food: Do you have anything here to eat? He accepts the broiled fish, probably obtained in the city, and eats it. The meals consumption destroys the disciples now short-lived spirit hypothesis. Jesus is really in their midst. He has come to have a final word on this momentous day. Jesus reminds them that everything that had occurred had been discussed by him. His life has been a fulfillment of Scripture. Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. Once again Luke highlights the divine design by using the term dei, it is necessary. The Bible is an open book on Jesus life and mission. Then Jesus explains the Scriptures. Like a prophet-teacher, he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. A careful look at the syntax shows that three themes dominate his exposition, since verses 46-47 are governed by three Greek infinitives (pathein, anastenai, kerychthenai). It is crucial to appreciate that fulfillment centers on the person of the Christ. It is in the promised Son of David that these events are fulfilled. Old Testament hope is being realized here (though at the time Jesus spoke the scriptural texts were not known as the Old Testament, but simply as the revered writings of the Jewish faith, the Scriptures). Jesus says he is the completion and fulfillment of scriptural promise and hope: What God promises, he brings to pass. In fact, you are experiencing the center of his plan right now. To know Jesus is to be in the will of God.
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 19:17:43 +0000
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