Eyes closed and hearts open!

Celebrities often encounter people who question their identity. Rowan Atkinson, the actor in Mr. Bean, narrates the story of someone approaching him and saying he looked remarkably like Mr. Bean. When Rowan Atkinson told him he was him, the person replied, “Wish you were, don’t you?”

While the Galilean ladies and the apostles saw the empty tomb and wondered about its mystery, two men on a journey had the unique privilege of meeting the Lord face-to-face. They traveled from Jerusalem to Emmaus, which is 60 stadia (7 miles or 11 kilometers) away (Luke 24:13). As they traveled, they debated and discussed all that happened in Jerusalem (24:14). Jesus joined their journey like a fellow traveler (24:15). “Their eyes were taken hold of so they might not recognize him” (24:16). Seeing they didn’t see.

The Lord asked them what they debated and why they were sad (24:17). Cleopas, one of the two, said to him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who doesn’t know what happened in these days?” (24:18). Jesus played dumb and asked, “What?” (24:19a). They said,

About Jesus of Nazareth, a prophet with powerful words and works before God and people — how the chief priests and our rulers judged them to death and crucified him. We hope he was the one to redeem Israel. But it has been three days since these happened. Women who went to the tomb early in the morning amazed us, saying that they did not find his body there; instead, they saw visions of angels saying he was alive. Some of those with us went to the tomb, found just as the women said, and didn’t find him there (24:19b–24).

They summarized the events carefully and faithfully. The Israelites believed a person could resurrect within three days, so they worried that it had been three days and that they had not seen Jesus yet, but his body was absent. Their eyes had been taken hold of, so they couldn’t recognize or understand him.

Jesus spoke again: “O, aren’t you being unthoughtful and slow in your heart to prophets’ words? Didn’t they say Christ must suffer and enter his glory?” (24:25–26). Saying that, he explained to them all the scriptures about him, starting with Moses until all the prophets (24:27). Their eyes were still closed.

When they neared their destination, Jesus pretended to be going ahead, but they insisted on him joining them because the sun was already setting and the night was coming (24:28–29). When they reclined to eat their supper, “taking the bread, he blessed, broke, and gave it to them” (24:30). At that moment, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him (24:31a). Immediately, he disappeared from them (24:31b).

Although he disappeared from them, their eyes, hearts, and understanding of the scriptures were opened. They said to one another, “Aren’t our hearts burning with what he said to us on the pathway by opening the Scriptures to us?” (24:32).

The same is true of us. We might not see him visibly, but he has opened our spiritual eyes and hearts and explained the Scriptures. That’s the power of the gospel.