Church Fathers Commentary Luke 24:13-24

"And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was threescore furlongs from Jerusalem. And they communed with each other of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, while they communed and questioned together, that Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. And he said unto them, What communications are these that ye have one with another, as ye walk? And they stood still, looking sad. And one of them, named Cleopas, answering said unto him, Dost thou alone sojourn in Jerusalem and not know the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we hoped that it was he who should redeem Israel. Yea and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things came to pass. Moreover certain women of our company amazed us, having been early at the tomb; and when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. And certain of them that were with us went to the tomb, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not." — Luke 24:13-24 (ASV)

Glossa Ordinaria: After the manifestation of Christ’s resurrection by the Angels to the women, the resurrection is further manifested by an appearance of Christ Himself to His disciples, as it is said, And behold two of them.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Some say that Luke was one of these two, and for this reason concealed his name.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Or, our Lord showed Himself in the evening to two of the disciples by themselves, namely, Ammaon and Cleophas.

St. Augustine of Hippo: We can reasonably assume that the fortress mentioned here is the same place Mark calls a village. He next describes the fortress, saying it was from Jerusalem about sixty stades, called Emmaus.

The Venerable Bede: Emmaus is the same as Nicopolis, a notable town in Palestine, which changed its name along with its status after the conquest of Judea under the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antonius. A stadium, which the Greeks say was invented by Hercules to measure roads, is one-eighth of a mile; therefore, sixty stades are equal to seven miles and fifty paces.

This was the distance they were walking—they who were certain about our Lord’s death and burial, but doubtful about His resurrection. The resurrection, which took place after the seventh day of the week, is undoubtedly symbolized by the number eight.

As the disciples walked and talked about the Lord, they had completed the sixth mile of their journey, grieving that He who had lived without blame had finally come to death, which He underwent on the sixth day. They had also completed the seventh mile, for they did not doubt that He rested in the grave. But they had only accomplished half of the eighth mile, for they did not yet fully believe in the glory of His triumphant resurrection.

Theophylact of Ohrid: The disciples mentioned above talked to one another about the things that had happened, not as if they believed them, but as men bewildered by such extraordinary events.

The Venerable Bede: As they spoke of Him, the Lord drew near and joined them, so that He might both instill faith in His resurrection in their minds and fulfill what He had promised: Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. This is reflected in what follows: And it came to pass, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Now that He had obtained a spiritual body, distance was no obstacle to His being present to whomever He wished. He no longer governed His body by natural laws, but spiritually and supernaturally. Hence, as Mark says, He appeared to them in a different form, in which they were not permitted to recognize Him. For it follows, And their eyes were holden that they should not know him.

This was so that they would reveal their complete doubt and, by uncovering their wound, receive a cure. It was also so they might know that although the same body that suffered had risen again, it was no longer visible to all, but only to those to whom He willed to be seen.

Furthermore, they were not to wonder why from now on He would not walk among the people, seeing that His manner of life was no longer suited to humanity, but was divine. This is also the character of the resurrection to come, in which we shall walk as the Angels and the sons of God.

St. Gregory the Great: Rightly, then, He refrained from showing them a form they might recognize, doing outwardly in the eyes of their body what was happening inwardly in the eyes of their mind. For within themselves, they both loved and doubted. Therefore, as they talked of Him, He showed them His presence; but because they doubted Him, He concealed the appearance they knew. He indeed conversed with them, for it follows, And he said to them, What manner of communications, etc.

Greek Expositors: In truth, they were talking among themselves, no longer expecting to see Christ alive but sorrowing over their slain Savior. Hence it follows: And one of them whose name was Cleophas, answering him said, Are you only a stranger?

Theophylact of Ohrid: It is as if he said, “Are you the only stranger, someone who lives outside the borders of Jerusalem and is therefore unaware of what has happened within it, that you do not know about these events?”

The Venerable Bede: Or, Cleophas says this because they thought Him a stranger whose face they did not recognize. But in reality, He was a stranger to them. Now that He had obtained the glory of the resurrection, He was far removed from their weak human nature, and He remained foreign to their faith, which was still ignorant of His resurrection.

Then the Lord asks again, for it follows, And he said to them, What things? Their answer is given: Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet. They confess Him to be a Prophet but say nothing of the Son of God—either because they did not yet fully believe, were afraid of falling into the hands of the persecuting Jews, did not know who He was, or were concealing the truth they believed. They add in His praise, mighty in deed and word.

Theophylact of Ohrid: First comes the deed, then the word, for no teaching is approved unless the teacher first shows himself to be a doer of it. Action must come before sight, for unless you have cleansed the mirror of your understanding by your works, the desired brightness will not appear.

It is also added, Before God and all the people. For first of all we must please God, and then, as much as we can, we must be honest before other people, so that by placing God’s honor first, we may live without causing offense.

Greek Expositors: They next state the cause of their sadness—the betrayal and passion of Christ—and add in a voice of despair, But we hoped it had been he who should have redeemed Israel. They say, “we hoped,” not “we hope,” as if the Lord’s death were like the deaths of other men.

Theophylact of Ohrid: They expected that Christ would redeem Israel from the evils afflicting them and from Roman slavery. They also trusted that He was an earthly king who, they thought, would be able to escape the death sentence passed on Him.

The Venerable Bede: They had reason for sorrow, then, because in a way they blamed themselves for having hoped for redemption in Him whom they now saw dead. They did not believe He would rise again, and most of all, they lamented that He, whom they knew to be innocent, was put to death without cause.

Theophylact of Ohrid: And yet, these men do not seem to have been entirely without faith, judging by what follows: And besides all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. By this, they seem to recall what the Lord had told them: that He would rise again on the third day.

Greek Expositors: The disciples also mention the report of the resurrection brought by the women, adding, Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, etc. They say this as if they do not believe it, which is why they speak of themselves as being frightened or astonished.

For they did not consider what was told them to be established fact, nor that there had been an angelic revelation, but instead found in it a reason for astonishment and alarm. They also did not regard Peter’s testimony as certain, since he did not say that he had seen the Lord, but only surmised His resurrection from the fact that His body was not in the sepulcher. Hence it follows, And certain of them which were with us went, etc.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Since Luke says that Peter ran to the sepulcher, and he himself relates the words of Cleophas—that some of them went to the sepulcher—he can be understood as confirming John’s testimony that two men went to the sepulcher. Luke mentioned only Peter at first because Mary had related the news to him first.