Luke 24:13-32 | Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” “What things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.” He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
Day 5 of 18 Days in the New Testament with Chuck Swindoll
“THEN JESUS took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). What a great moment it must have been when Christ taught the Scriptures to these two people walking along the road to Emmaus!
Consider this: Could Jesus handle the Scriptures? Would He have done a fairly good job of explaining them? Look at the word “explaining”. He didn’t simply point to a verse or two that proved He was the Messiah. He explained “all the Scriptures.” In other words, He took the Scriptures and interpreted them clearly for these two disciples to see the truth. He went to Genesis and then Exodus and then Leviticus and Numbers and Deuteronomy. Those are the books of Moses. He showed them how the books of Moses portrayed His own coming and His life, death, and resurrection before the fact. Then He took His listeners into the Prophets. And through all of the Prophets, He interpreted correctly the truth concerning Himself. These disciples had no doubt heard Scripture before, but they had missed Him in it—as do many who read the Bible today. So, through the skill of His understanding and interpretation of the Scriptures, Jesus explained to them how the Scriptures pointed to Him.
Then the two disciples urged Him not to go, saying, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late” (Luke 24:29). So He went in to stay with them, presumably continuing the conversation and opening Scripture to them even more.
Here they were enjoying a meal together, finishing it off with a little bread, and suddenly their eyes were opened. The scales fell off. They realized, “The One we’ve been talking to is the Messiah! That’s Jesus, the Son of God!” And immediately He was gone, taken out of their sight.
So they looked at each other and said, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32).
Imagine their conversation: “Remember how He handled the book of Leviticus? Remember what He said when He got to Deuteronomy? Remember how He explained Isaiah and Jeremiah and Lamentations and Daniel? Now we understand that all that has happened recently has been in fulfillment of the Scriptures we’ve known since we were kids!”
After Jesus had explained Scripture to His disciples and showed them how Moses and the prophets had spoken of Him, “their eyes were opened” (Luke 24:31). You know what the implication of that statement is? If you don’t see Christ in the Scriptures, your eyes aren’t open. He is there. He is the key that, when turned correctly, unlocks the truth and causes you to have insight you never dreamed possible.
That’s the way it is with the Bible. People read through Genesis, struggle to get into Exodus, and by the time they get to Leviticus, throw their hands in the air and say, “I cannot make heads or tails of the whole thing.” It’s because their eyes aren’t open yet. They haven’t had the Scriptures explained to them in light of Christ. He is the theme all the way through. Likewise, He is to be the central theme all the way through our lives.