….Or, the curious way in which the risen Lord spent the first day of His resurrection.

We find the curious story of the road to Emmaus in Luke 24 verses 13 to 53. The story begins with the empty tomb.

We know that several women, going to prepare the body of Jesus properly for burial, were met with a surprise: an empty tomb. Among the women were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. Finding the tomb empty and the stone used to seal it now rolled away, they hurried to tell the disciples what they had found. Peter and John came running to investigate and found the tomb empty as they had been told, but they had their doubts about what had happened.

Mary Magdalene, who had followed them back, lagged behind; a man approached and, mistaking Him for a gardener, she asked, “Sir, if you have taken Him away, can you tell me where He is and I will take Him away?” Then Jesus revealed Himself to her in a very touching moment by simply saying her name, “Mary.” He then admonishes her to go tell the disciples He is ascending to His Father. Mary returns to the disciples to tell them she has seen Him alive, but they do not believe her. These events are recorded in Chapter 20 of John’s gospel.

Later that day — we don’t know exactly when, just that it was before the evening meal — two men set off from Jerusalem to the town of Emmaus which was three score furlongs away. A furlong is 1/8 of a mile, so Emmaus was about 7.5 miles away: a journey of about 3 hours on foot.

As they went on their way they were discussing the events of the last week. That week had begun with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and climaxed with his trials and crucifixion; and all this occurred during Passover. As they were walking, Jesus drew near and asked them what they were talking about and why they were so sad.

One of them, Cleophas, wonders at Jesus questions. “Are you such a stranger to Jerusalem you don’t know what just happened?” Then he tells Him how they had witnessed the trial and crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth and how they had hoped He would have been the one to redeem Israel. Then Cleophas explains how the women had come back from the tomb claiming it was empty and that angels had told them He was alive. So several of them had gone to verify the story and found the tomb empty but did not see Jesus.

Then Jesus rebukes them:

“O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His Glory?”

Then Jesus goes through the scriptures beginning with Moses and discusses all the scriptures related to the Messiah: how, rather than being some kind of great military leader, He had to suffer for the sins of Man to redeem Mankind from the condemnation of death and eternal punishment. That redemption concerns the Spirit, not the flesh.

When they reached Emmaus, Jesus acted as if He would continue the journey but they begged him to stay and take a meal with them. When Jesus took the bread, blessed it , broke it and gave it to them, their eyes were opened and they realized it was Jesus. Then He vanished.

So they got up and walked back to Jerusalem and went to the eleven disciples and the others that were with them and told their story. As they spoke, Jesus Himself appeared in the room saying “Peace be unto you.”

But they thought He was a spirit so they were afraid and “Believed not for joy.” What a great expression. They were so happy they could not believe their eyes. So Jesus asked if they had anything to eat and sat down to eat broiled fish and honey.

Then He told them once again why He had had to be crucified and what it all meant. Then he commissioned them to spread the news among all nations beginning at Jerusalem. That was the beginning of the work the Church has been doing since that day.

Afterwards they walked from Jerusalem to Bethany on the Mount of Olives, and Jesus ascended into heaven as he blessed them.

So that is the story of the first resurrection Sunday. What I find curious is that, of all the disciples to appear to, Jesus selected Cleophas and another disciple whose name we do not know. Why?

When the women came back from the tomb with a message from the angels that Jesus was alive and that He was going to ascend into heaven, most of the disciples waited in Jerusalem, probably in the rooms where they had shared the last supper. They hadn’t believed the report of the women even after they had seen the empty tomb themselves. Many of them had long journey’s home. Perhaps the two on the road to Emmaus came from there and had decided to just go home since it was not so far.

However, it appears to me, and it is an encouragement as well, that Jesus sought these men out on that road because he wanted to bless them. He wanted them to be part of that core group of believers that witnessed the ascension and 50 days later received the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the upper room. It makes me curious as to what happened to them, what did they do with their lives after that?

We know a lot about what happened to Peter, James, John and later Paul; but what of those other disciples, what ever became of them? Truth be told, Christianity does not produce a lot of “Rock Stars.” In fact, true Christianity kind of avoids that. After all, the meek shall inherit the earth; and disciples of Christ lead quiet lives by design. How is it then that the world is turned upside down by them?

It is because we hold the truth. We are vessels, clay pots who can be filled to the brim and overflowing with living water. We carry the objective truth that, because of the work of Christ on the cross, we have been redeemed: that sin has no power to condemn us, death is done, the grave cannot hold us, and that evil has failed and love prevailed. Furthermore, we are entrusted with the sacred story that redemption is available to all.

The most wonderful part of living redeemed is having communion with God through the Holy Spirit, being able to see light and illuminate the darkness through Christ without fear. It’s the knowledge that we don’t have to “do” anything to be significant to Jesus. We simply have to be His.

“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.” Psalm 107:2