ACC ~ Luke 24 v13 - 27
OVERVIEW:
The two Emmaus disciples are not among the Eleven but could well be from among the seventy (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). Jesusâ identity is hidden from the Emmaus disciples, as the light of his star appeared upon humanity at his birth and then was hidden at his death (EPHREM THE SYRIAn). Their recognition of him is deferred until there is time for more catechesis on the road. The eyes of the Emmaus disciples are held from recognizing Jesus because he is now to be recognized in the breaking of the bread (AUGUSTINE).
Jesus enters their conversation in order to hear from them what they think about his death. But it is precisely these facts that caused the Emmaus disciples to stand there in sorrow, for they were scandalized by the crucifixion, even though Jesus had predicted he would die (AUGUSTINE). The assumption of the early churchâs tradition, mentioned by Hegesippus (cited by EUSEBIUS), is that Cleopas is Clopas, brother of Joseph, making Cleopas the uncle of Jesus, and that the unnamed Emmaus disciple is Cleopasâs son Simeon, later the second bishop of Jerusalem, the leader of the Jerusalem church after 70. Tradition reports that Simeon died a martyrâs death (EUSEBIUS).
The Emmaus disciples respond with their interpretation of the events of Jesusâ life, confessing to Jesus their despair and their doubts, showing that like Moses they do not fully understand Godâs ways. The Emmaus disciples who are scandalized by the cross need to become like the penitent thief, who through the cross saw that he might enter into the kingdom (AUGUSTINE).
Jesus must open the Scriptures for the Emmaus disciples to show them that unless he suffered and died, he could not be the Messiah (AUGUSTINE). The kerygmatic passion and resurrection formulae are supported by the scriptural foundation given by the risen Lord as he interprets for the Emmaus disciples what has remain hidden to them (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). The implication is that the very fabric of the entire Old Testament is christological, for every thread and theme leads to and centers in the crucified and risen Christ (AUGUSTINE).
24:13-16 | Conversing on the Road to Emmaus
EMMAUS DISCIPLES COME FROM THE SEVENTY
CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: As two of the disciples walked to a village called Emmaus, they talked about Christ, regarding him as no longer living but mourning him as dead. As they conversed, Jesus drew near and went with them, without being recognized by them, for their eyes were restrained, so that they should not know him. You must know that these two disciples belonged to the number of the seventy, and that Cleopasâs companion was Simonânot Peter or the one of Canaâbut another Simon, of the seventy. COMMENTARY ON LUKE, CHAPTER 24. [1]
[1] CGSL 616**.
JESUSâ IDENTITY HIDDEN
EPHREM THE SYRIAN: At his radiant birth therefore a radiant star appeared, and at his dark death there appeared a dark gloom. [1] ⌠The Lord of the star appeared in his own person to the two who were traveling with him along the road, but his identity was hidden from them. His star too was like this, for its light appeared to all humanity while its pathway was hidden from all humanity. COMMENTARY ON TATIANâS DIATESSARON 2.24. [2]
[1] See Mt 27:45.
[2] ECTD 72.
RECOGNITION IS DEFERRED UNTIL THEY RECEIVE MORE CATECHESIS
AUGUSTINE: Here we are with two others, walking along the road and talking to each other about the things that had been happening in Jerusalemâabout the iniquity of the Jews, about the death of Christ. They were walking along, talking the matter over, grieving for him as if he were dead, not knowing he had risen again. He appeared and joined them as a third traveler, and entered into friendly conversation with them. Their eyes were held from recognizing him; their hearts, you see, needed more thorough instruction. Recognition is deferred. SERMON 232.3. [1]
[1] WSA 3 7:25.
JESUS IS TO BE RECOGNIZED IN THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD
AUGUSTINE: âWe,â they said, âhad hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.â O my dear disciples, you had hoped! So now you no longer hope? Look, Christ is alive! Is hope dead in you? Certainly, certainly, Christ is alive! Christ, being alive, found the hearts of his disciples dead, as he appeared and did not appear to their eyes. He was at one and the same time seen and concealed. I mean, if he wasnât seen, how could they have heard him questioning them and answered his questions? He was walking with them along the road like a companion and was himself the leader. Of course he was seen, but he wasnât recognized. For their eyes were restrained, as we heard, so that they wouldnât recognize him. They werenât restrained so that they wouldnât see him, but they were held so that they wouldnât recognize him.
Ah yes, brothers and sisters, but where did the Lord wish to be recognized? In the breaking of bread. Weâre all right, nothing to worry aboutâwe break bread, and we recognize the Lord. It was for our sake that he didnât want to be recognized anywhere but there, because we werenât going to see him in the flesh, and yet we were going to eat his flesh. So if youâre a believer, any of you, if youâre not called a Christian for nothing, if you donât come to church pointlessly, if you listen to the Word of God in fear and hope, you may take comfort in the breaking of bread. The Lordâs absence is not an absence. Have faith, and the one you cannot see is with you. Those two, even when the Lord was talking to them, did not have faith, because they didnât believe he had risen. Nor did they have any hope that he could rise again. They had lost faith, lost hope. They were walking along, dead, with Christ alive. They were walking along, dead, with life itself. Life was walking along with them, but in their hearts life had not yet been restored. SERMON 235.2-3. [1]
[1] WSA 3 7:41**.
24:17-18 | The Setting for the Catechesis on the Road
THE EMMAUS DISCIPLES SCANDALIZED BY THE CROSS
AUGUSTINE: You heard just now that the Lord Jesus, after rising from the dead, found two of his disciples on the road, talking to each other about all that had happened, and said to them, âWhat is this conversation you are having with each other, and why are you so sad?â âŚ
So what is the benefit of this reading for us? A very considerable one, if we understand it rightly. Jesus appeared. They saw him with their eyes and did not recognize him. The Master was walking with them along the way, and he himself was the way. But they werenât yet walking along the way. He found, you see, that they had wandered off the way. After all, when he had been with them before the passion, he had foretold everything: that he was going to suffer, to die and to rise again on the third day. He had foretold it all, but his death had erased it from their memories. They were so shattered when they saw him hanging on the tree that they forgot about his teaching. They did not expect him to rise, nor did they hold on to what he had promised. SERMON 235.1-2. [1]
[1] WSA 3 7:40-41**.
THE MARTYRDOM OF SIMON
EUSEBIUS: After Nero and Domitian ⌠persecution was raised against us sporadically among the cities as a result of insurrection among the people. In this persecution we have learned that Simon [Symeon], the son of Clopas, whom we have shown to have been the second bishop of the church at Jerusalem, gave up his life by martyrdom. The witness of this is Hegisippus, whom we have already quoted. When relating about certain heretics, he goes on to show that Symeon was accused by them at this time and was tortured in many ways for a great many days because he was clearly a Christian. He astonished to the highest degree both the judge himself and those with him, and won for himself an end similar to the passion of the Lord. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 3.32. [1]
[1] FC 19:190-91.
24:19-24 | The Christology of the Emmaus Disciples
THE DOUBTS OF MOSES AND THE DOUBTS OF THE EMMAUS DISCIPLES
AUGUSTINE: So then, what kind of consideration does the doubting of Moses demand of us? ⌠Moses doubted when the wood came into contact with the rock. [1] âŚ
The disciples doubted when they saw the Lord crucified. He came to them after his resurrection, as they were talking to each other about this matter in a sad conversation. He kept their eyes from recognizing him, not in order to remove himself from believers but to put them off while they were still doubters. He joined in their conversation as a third party and asked them what they were talking about. They were astonished that he should be the only person not to know what had happenedâto the very man, in fact, who was asking about it. âAre you,â they said, âthe only stranger in Jerusalem?â And they went over all that had happened to Jesus. Straightaway they proceeded to open up all the depth of their despair and, although unwittingly, they showed the doctor their wounds: âWe had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.â The doubt arose because wood had come into contact with the rock. What Moses figuratively stood for was fulfilled. [2] SERMON 352.4. [3]
[1] See Ex 15:23-25.
[2] Augustine interprets the doubt of the Emmaus disciples through juxtaposition of Exodus 15:23-25 and 1 Corinthians 10:4. The rock symbolizes Christ, while the wood prefigures the cross, and therefore contact of the wood and the rock signifies crucifixion. The doubt of Moses, which Augustine reads in Exodus 15:24-25, precedes the miracle of turning water from bitter to sweet. Similarly the grief and doubts of the disciples upon crucifixion of the Lord inaugurate the joy of his resurrection.
[3] WSA 3 10:142*.
EMMAUS DISCIPLES NEED TO BECOME LIKE THE PENITENT THIEF
AUGUSTINE: Recognition, though, happened only when Jesus opened up the Scriptures for them, because they had given up hope and said, âBut we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.â O my dear disciples, you had hoped, now you donât hope? Come here, robber, give the disciples a lesson. Why have you given up hope, just because you have seen him crucified, because youâve looked at him hanging there, because you have thought him weak? He was like that for the robber too, hanging on the cross beside him. The robber was sharing in his punishment but he believed straightaway and acknowledged him, while you on the other hand have forgotten he is the author of life. [1] Cry out, robber, from the cross! You, a criminal, win over the saints! What did they say? âWe had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.â What did this man say? âJesus, remember me, when you come in your kingdom.â [2] So you had hoped, had you, that it was he who would redeem Israel? O my dear disciples, if he was the one that was going to redeem Israel, it means you have defected. But he has reinstated you; he didnât abandon you. By becoming your companion on the way, he himself became for you the way. SERMON 236A.4. [3]
[1] Acts 3:15.
[2] Lk 23:42.
[3] WSA 3 7:49**.
24:25-27 | The Kerygma of the Catechetical Lectures
CHRIST OPENS SCRIPTURE TO SHOW THEM THE CHRIST MUST DIE
AUGUSTINE: So he began to expound the Scriptures to them to help them recognize Christ precisely in the point on which they had forsaken Christ. The reason, you see, that they had despaired of Christ was that they had seen him dead. He, however, opened the Scriptures to them, so that they would realize that if he hadnât died, he couldnât be the Christ. He taught them from Moses, he taught them from the following Scriptures, he taught them from the prophets what he himself had told them: that it was necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory. They listened, they were filled with joy, they breathed again, and, as they said themselves, their hearts burned within them. And still they didnât recognize the presence of the light. SERMON 236.2. [1]
[1] WSA 3 7:45.
JESUS INTERPRETS THE OLD TESTAMENT
CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: In this discourse the Lord shows that the law was necessary to make ready the way and the ministry of the prophets to prepare people for faith in this marvelous act, so that when the resurrection really took place, those who were troubled at its greatness might remember what was said of old and be induced to believe. He brings forward, therefore, Moses and the prophets, interpreting their hidden meaning and making plain to the worthy what to the unworthy was obscure. In this way he settles in them the ancient and hereditary faith taught them by the sacred books which they possessed. For nothing which comes from God is without its use, but all have their appointed place and service. In their due place servants were sent to make ready for the presence of the Master. They brought in beforehand prophecy as the necessary preparative for faith, so that, like some royal treasure, what had been foretold might in due season be brought forward from the concealment of its former obscurity, unveiled and made plain by the clearness of the interpretation. COMMENTARY ON LUKE, CHAPTER 24. [1]
[1] CGSL 617*.
EVERYTHING IN SCRIPTURE SPEAKS OF CHRIST
AUGUSTINE: All that we read in holy Scripture for our instruction and salvation demands an attentive ear. You have just heard how the eyes of those two disciples whom the Lord joined on their way were kept from recognizing him. [1] He found them in despair of the redemption that was in Christ, supposing him now to have suffered and died as a man, not imagining him to live forever as the Son of God. So he opened to them the Scriptures and showed them that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and for all things to be fulfilled that were written concerning him in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalmsâin short, the whole of the Old Testament. Everything in those Scriptures speaks of Christ, but only to him who has ears. He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And so let us pray that he will open our own. HOMILY 2.1 ON 1 JOHN. [2]
[1] In one of the special lessons for Eastertide to which Augustine refers in the Prologue: Luke 24:13-35.
[2] LCC 8:270*.