Luke 24:13 That same day, two of them were going toward a village about seven miles from Yerushalayim called Amma’us, 14 and they were talking with each other about all the things that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed, Yeshua himself came up and walked along with them, 16 but something kept them from recognizing him. 17 He asked them, “What are you talking about with each other as you walk along?” They stopped short, their faces downcast; 18 and one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only person staying in Yerushalayim that doesn’t know the things that have been going on there the last few days?” 19 “What things?” he asked them. They said to him, “The things about Yeshua from Natzeret. He was a prophet and proved it by the things he did and said before God and all the people. 20 Our head cohanim and our leaders handed him over, so that he could be sentenced to death and executed on a stake as a criminal. 21 And we had hoped that he would be the one to liberate Isra’el! Besides all that, today is the third day since these things happened; 22 and this morning, some of the women astounded us. They were at the tomb early 23 and couldn’t find his body, so they came back; but they also reported that they had seen a vision of angels who say he’s alive! 24 Some of our friends went to the tomb and found it exactly as the women had said, but they didn’t see him.”
25 He said to them, “Foolish people! So unwilling to put your trust in everything the prophets spoke! 26 Didn’t the Messiah have to die like this before entering his glory?” 27 Then, starting with Moshe and all the prophets, he explained to them the things that can be found throughout the Tanakh concerning himself.
28 They approached the village where they were going. He made as if he were going on farther; 29 but they held him back, saying, “Stay with us, for it’s almost evening, and it’s getting dark.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 As he was reclining with them at the table, he took the matzah, made the b’rakhah, broke it and handed it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. But he became invisible to them. 32 They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn inside us as he spoke to us on the road, opening up the Tanakh to us?”
33 They got up at once, returned to Yerushalayim and found the Eleven gathered together with their friends, 34 saying, “It’s true! The Lord has risen! Shim‘on saw him!” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the road and how he had become known to them in the breaking of the matzah. (Complete Jewish Bible).
Reflection Questions***
In Luke’s ending, we see that his research (cf. Luke 1:2-4) found this unique story (probably echoed in Mark 16:12, part of the longer later ending). Unrecognized, Jesus walked with two disciples (likely husband and wife) discussing recent events. They were disillusioned (“we had hoped” —verse 21), sad about the crucifixion, and stunned that some women said Jesus' body was not in the tomb. Note: these two followers didn’t say they believed the women’s report—just that it puzzled them.
- Scholar N. T. Wright noted, “It wasn’t simply… that they couldn’t recognize him. This is a strange feature of the resurrection stories, in Matthew (28:17) and John (20:14; 21:4, 12) as well as here… Jesus’ body, emerging from the tomb, had been transformed. It was the same, yet different—a mystery we shall perhaps never unravel until we ourselves share the same risen life.”* Does the Easter story move you to yearn to share that risen life, to experience dimensions that for now remain mysterious to us?
- Cleopas, like the other disciples, was still in the grip of preconceived ideas of what the Messiah would be and do (cf. Mark 9:31-32). Have there been times when preconceived ideas made it harder for you to trust the story of Jesus? Can you recall finding greater joy and peace after letting God alter or overturn some fixed idea you may have held for years?
Loving Lord, sometimes I face discouragement, disillusionment or disbelief. Please come and join me on the road. At those times I especially need your living, loving presence with me. Amen.
* N. T. Wright, Luke for Everyone. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p. 295.
Read today's Insight by Darren LippeDarren Lippe helps facilitate Journey 101 “Loving God” classes, guides a 7th-grade Sunday school class, is a member of a small group and a men’s group, and serves on the curriculum team.
During a recent eye exam to fix some broken glasses, I thought I’d “visit” with my optometrist, Dr. Grace Lasses, about today’s passage.
G. Lasses: Sorry I’m a bit rushed. I was attending a civil wedding officiated by an Optometrist. The vows took forever. Will you take him for better or worse? How about now? Better? Or worse? How about now? (Sigh.)
DL: So, Dr. Lasses I imagine you have a lot of different experiences as an optometrist?
G. Lasses: Please call me, Grace. Oh yes. There was the teacher whose eyes suddenly became crossed.
DL: What happened?
Grace: He just temporarily lost control of his pupils. Then there was the youngster who got poked in the eye. So, I gave him a gauze pad to protect the eye for a few days. He was so upset. He thought he was getting an Ipad. But you don’t want to just talk shop. Let’s get started.
DL: Aye, Doctor. So, what stands out to you from this famous passage of the Walk to Emmaus?
Grace: (Sigh.) This is really a story in 3 Acts:
Act 1: The Patient’s Vision is Faulty. Our friends meet & walk with Jesus but don’t recognize who He is. Perhaps it is due to the glare of the setting sun, or that they were so discombobulated from the events in Jerusalem they were out of sync, or maybe, like an angelic figure, Jesus is unrecognizable.
Act 2: A Clearer Vision. After inviting Jesus into their home (& hearts) they finally recognize Him as He breaks bread. Maybe they had seen Him break bread at a miraculous feeding or perhaps this intimate act around the table allowed their minds to truly focus on Him for the 1st time.
Act 3: Customer Referrals. After this epiphany, they now understand everything Jesus had been talking about during their walk, so they immediately re-trace their steps back to Jerusalem to share the Good News. My guess is this return trip was much faster than the 1st journey. So, what does this mean for us today?
DL: This succinctly captures our faith journey. We may want to believe, but perhaps we have been disappointed by the unexpected death of a loved one, or frustrated by unanswered prayers, or puzzled by the prevalence of evil. We may then have some epiphany be it at a student retreat, or hopeful sermon at a funeral, or by the miraculous transformation that occurred when a friend accepted Christ that we then feel compelled (in a good way) to share this love with all whom we meet.
Regardless of where we are in our spiritual walk, our Emmaus friends should inspire us to get busy. For those with doubts, your questions about faith are valid, but are not necessarily unique. So, like our friends, invite Jesus into our lives & join an Alpha class or Grow Night study & work together to seek out possible answers. If you have already been blessed with the realization that Christ is your Savior, then get going sharing the love with others so they, too, can experience the joy & peace we feel this day.
Grace: That’s great. I think I fixed your glasses. They should really improve your vision.
DL: Perfect! I once was blind, but now I see. That’s amazing, Grace.
Grace: (Sigh.)
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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States Grow Pray Study Guide for Thursday, 05 April 2018 "Matthew’s ending—some of what Mark may have reported" Matthew 28:8-20
Daily Scripture
Matthew 28:
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Daily Scripture
Matthew 28:
8 So they left the tomb quickly, frightened yet filled with joy; and they ran to give the news to his talmidim. 9 Suddenly Yeshua met them and said, “Shalom!” They came up and took hold of his feet as they fell down in front of him. 10 Then Yeshua said to them, “Don’t be afraid! Go and tell my brothers to go to the Galil, and they will see me there.”
11 As they were going, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the head cohanim everything that had happened. 12 Then they met with the elders; and after discussing the matter, they gave the soldiers a sizeable sum of money 13 and said to them, “Tell people, ‘His talmidim came during the night and stole his body while we were sleeping.’ 14 If the governor hears of it, we will put things right with him and keep you from getting in trouble.” 15 The soldiers took the money and did as they were told, and this story has been spread about by Judeans till this very day.
16 So the eleven talmidim went to the hill in the Galil where Yeshua had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they prostrated themselves before him; but some hesitated. 18 Yeshua came and talked with them. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore, go and make people from all nations into talmidim, immersing them into the reality of the Father, the Son and the Ruach HaKodesh, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember! I will be with you always, yes, even until the end of the age.”
(Complete Jewish Bible).
Reflection QuestionsAlmost all scholars agree that Matthew and Luke used Mark’s work as a key source for their gospels. We’re going to read them as possible indicators of what might have been in Mark’s original ending. Like Mark, Matthew (and Luke and John) said women were the first witnesses to Jesus' resurrection (hardly a fact one writer, let alone four, would invent in that male-dominated culture). Matthew noted the plot to spread a false story of what became of Jesus' body. He ended with a grand summary of Jesus' mission challenge and promise to all his followers (the “Great Commission”—verses 19-20).
Lord Jesus, you turn my world and its values upside down, and I can feel “great fear” and “excitement” about that. Because you promise to be with me, I choose to boldly move into the reality you lived and died to open to me. Amen.
- Matthew’s account of the women’s reaction—“with great fear and excitement”—echoed Mark 16:8, with a slightly more positive connotation. We often feel that way when we meet something amazing that will cause huge changes in our life. What is there about having God at work in your life that has made, or might make you, afraid? What about it fills you with the greatest excitement and joy?
- If the sealed, guarded tomb with a huge rock over its door (cf. Matthew 27:57-66, Mark 16:3-4) was empty, it became a big problem for the Roman and Temple authorities. All they needed to stop the Jesus movement for good was his dead body—but it wasn’t there! Matthew said they claimed Jesus' followers stole the body, an absurd charge considering their precautions. Christians travel from all over the world to Jerusalem to see a place that has nothing to see (click here for a photo from Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, traditional site of Jesus' tomb). What role does the empty tomb play in your decision to place your faith in the risen Jesus?
Lord Jesus, you turn my world and its values upside down, and I can feel “great fear” and “excitement” about that. Because you promise to be with me, I choose to boldly move into the reality you lived and died to open to me. Amen.
Read today's Insight by Janelle GregoryJanelle Gregory serves on the Resurrection staff as a Human Resources Specialist. Janelle finds that her heart is constantly wrestling with the truth that she needs a Savior, and the times when she's at her very best are when she's just too tired to put up a fight.
Let me introduce you to 13-year-old me, an awkwardly dressed, rail-thin girl trying to pull off big bangs (but failing miserably). I was having a conversation with a woman, someone much smarter than me. She mentioned that she had just recently bought some Ralph Lauren, a famous clothing brand. Having hair styles on the mind (see early comment about big bangs), I got Ralph Lauren confused with Paul Mitchell, a professional hair products line.
Me: I bought some Ralph Lauren shampoo. It’s really great.
Woman: Ralph Lauren makes shampoo?
Me thinking “Hello! It’s a hair product company!”: Oh, yeah! It’s some of the best shampoo out there!
Woman: I didn’t realize that they were into hair products. I thought Ralph Lauren was mainly a clothing brand.
At this point in the conversation, I realized the confusion I made between Paul Mitchell and Ralph Lauren. The obvious next move was to admit the mistake. However:
Me: Yes, they do. They’ve just recently expanded into hair products.
Woman: Really?
Me: Oh, yes. It’s all designer - designer shampoo, mousse, hairspray…
Woman: Huh. I hadn’t heard about this.
As if I my fabrication wasn’t already enough:
Me: Not only does Ralph Lauren make hair products, they’re getting into makeup, too.
Woman: Are you sure?
Me: I read about it in a magazine. They’re coming out with a makeup line that will match their clothing. I’m definitely going to buy some new eye shadow when it comes out.
Woman: Interesting…
Just thinking back to this story makes me cringe. What was I thinking? Why did I lie? And why did I keep lying???
Well, I didn’t want to be wrong. It was more important to be dishonest and save face than confess to my error. Stupid, right? And this was just to cover up confusion over a product line, nothing of real importance. It’s amazing what we’ll do sometimes just to keep from admitting that we are wrong.
I was thinking about this desire to save face when I was reading today’s passage in Matthew 28. The chief priests had heard from the guards that Jesus’ tomb was empty. The obvious next move for the chief priests would be to go see for themselves. How could you not? There was a highly-guarded dead body that just vanished.
But what would happen if that were true, if there wasn’t a body? They would have been wrong – wrong in their thinking, wrong to crucify an innocent man, wrong in the amount of power that they held. To them, the cost of being wrong wasn’t worth looking into the possibility of Jesus overcoming death. They paid off the soldiers to say that the body had been stolen by the disciples.
So stupid, right?! Why would you not look? Why would you be so afraid to believe? Why would you not come to your senses and admit that you could be wrong? Pride and fear. That’s why. If they were wrong, they were wrong in a very public way. They’d have to admit to making a horrendous mistake. They’d lose all power of position and influence.
Pride and fear are very persuasive. They’ll hold us back from uncovering our faults or admitting we’re wrong. This spans everything from believing in the resurrected Christ to the simple sentence of “I’m fine” when that is nowhere near the truth. Pride and fear are magnificent deceivers, binding us from experiencing the freedom found in truth.
The solution to overpower pride and fear is the same solution that was there 2,000 years ago: go look! The tomb is empty! Jesus is not dead, he’s alive! Being wrong is scary, but being “right” without the truth of Christ is even scarier. We don’t have to be held back by pride and fear or afraid of losing power. True power is not held in position or perfection. It only comes from our relationship with the One who conquered the grave, holding the ultimate authority over pride and fear.
Scared of the truth? Of admitting you are wrong? You don’t have to be. Go look for yourself! The tomb is empty!
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- Two sincere efforts to supply a missing ending
- “He has been raised. He isn’t here.”
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- Prayer Tip: An Oddly Perfect Ending
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- Or download this week's printable GPS.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011.
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