Revelation on the Road

In Luke 24 Cleopas and his friend are leaving Jerusalem and on the road to Emmaus when they meet Jesus, although of course they don't recognise who he is.

They recount the events in Jerusalem for him:
- Jesus was a prophet from God, "powerful in word and deed", they hoped "he was the one who was going to redeem Israel."
- he was handed over by the chief priests and crucified
- three days later, the tomb is empty (v.23,24)
- the women reported seeing "a vision of" angels who said he was alive

(But they're clearly not convinced! In fact, they're leaving and going home. Alive! That's crazy...)

[Jesus] tells them to pay attention and he opens up the Scriptures regarding himself. Later, they recall how their hearts were "burning within [them]".

Finally, as they eat together in Emmaus, their eyes are opened and they recognise Jesus! They immediately return to Jerusalem, running the 7 miles in the dark (v.29) to tell the disciples (though sadly, their news is already out-of-date because in the meantime Jesus has also appeared to Peter!)

It's not the fact of the empty tomb that convinces them, it's not the angels (the women aren't credible witnesses to start with and with a story like that..?), nor have they simply understood from the Scriptures what it was all about. Their new excitement, as they rush back to Jerusalem, is because they have met the risen Christ himself. As always, it's about revelation, not information!

Richard Briggs pointed out that Christian belief is not based on the fact of the empty tomb, but on the experience of Jesus, alive from the dead. The disciples went from a scared bunch of nobodies, hiding in an upper room, to being passionately excited about Jesus, missionaries and martyrs and church leaders, not because they'd seen an empty tomb, but because Jesus was alive from the dead! They had met him, seen his hands and feet (v.40), seen him eat "broiled fish" (v.41-43 present a funny scene, easy to imagine.. they're all standing there, amazed, and he's trying to convince them he's not a vision. 'Give me something to eat, ' he says.).

There's also a sweetness to this story in the way that Cleopas and his friend don't miss out. If Jesus had not caught up with him (and his wife?) on the road they would not have returned to Jerusalem, where Jesus then appears to all of them and tells them to wait in the city until the Holy Spirit comes. It's also worth noting that Jesus has apparently appeared to Peter individually before this point (see also 1 Corinthians 15.5 for the earliest account of the resurrection appearances), significant because of Peter's earlier betrayal.

The Road to Emmaus story gives us the paradoxical truth:
"Scripture reveals Jesus but you need Jesus to reveal Scripture."
(see also Luke 24.45)