Picking Up the Pieces: Cleopas and the Other Disciple

The appearance of the resurrected Jesus on the Emmaus road to Cleopas and an unnamed disciple is one of Luke’s most vivid and dramatic tellings. Three themes dominate today’s text: (1) the irony that the empty tomb had not yet created excitement among Jesus’ closest followers; in fact, the two travelers express deep disappointment in Jesus’ death, which they view as a big setback. (2) Jesus – still unrecognizable to them – unpacks all that the Old Testament says about Him and God’s plan being fulfilled in these Jerusalem events…meaning in God’s economy, nothing is out of place at all. (3) Failure turns into fulfillment, tragedy into triumph when they finally recognize the risen Jesus in His breaking bread with them. The curve ball has not been thrown to humankind but to sin, death, and Satan. Cleopas and his companion would never be the same; Jesus is alive and present, salvation has been accomplished, and their hope renewed. In fact, they are so ecstatic that they go and tell the disciples in Jerusalem what had just happened.