But they constrained him, saying: Stay with us, because it is towards evening and the day is now far spent. And he went in with them.
και παρεβιασαντο αυτον λεγοντες μεινον μεθ ημων οτι προς εσπεραν εστιν και κεκλικεν η ημερα και εισηλθεν του μειναι συν αυτοις
8 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Do you desire to experience true life? Follow their example and seek to encounter the Lord. When the disciples shared a meal with Him, it appeared that He was preparing to continue on His journey. However, they urged Him to stay, saying, “Stay with us, for evening has come and the day is nearly over.” They invited the traveler to remain with them if they wished to know the Savior more intimately. What was lost through doubt is restored through the warmth of welcome.
and the day humbled itself. It humbled itself before the setting sun.
It was essential to assess whether those who have not yet recognized Him as God could, at the very least, appreciate Him as a pilgrim. For those who walked alongside the Truth were not unfamiliar with love; they welcomed Him to a lodging as a Travelling guest. Yet, why do we use the term 'welcome' when it states: and needed Him? From this illustration, we deduce that travelers must not only be brought into the lodging against their desire but must also be gently drawn there.
As the disciples journeyed to Emmaus, let us earnestly seek the Lord's presence to remain with us, particularly during times of trial, when we face the hardships that arise from the sinful shadows cast by vice and error in our society and within our own hearts.
However, there were still those who did not believe (Mark 16:13). Additionally, not all of His followers grasped the reality of His current existence. It was essential for the Lord to provide them with spiritual nourishment following their tumultuous experiences, aligning with their destined purpose, and to reinforce His previous bond with them. To achieve this, the Lord planned to reveal Himself to all of them collectively. As their faith wavered, the grace of the Holy Spirit would be withdrawn until it was fully released on the day of Pentecost through the coming of the Spirit. Prior to that, the Lord sought to bring back some who had left Jerusalem, among whom was Cleopas, a relative of the Lord (Mary, Cleopas' wife, is identified as the sister of the Mother of God, Jn. 19:25).
The identity of the other traveler remains unknown. Both were on their way from Jerusalem to Emmaus, a village located sixty stadia from the city. They departed before news of the Lord's appearance to Mary Magdalene reached them. Along the way, they discussed the recent events in Jerusalem. The disgraceful death of Jesus dashed their hopes of Him being the Restorer of Israel. The Lord, partially altering His appearance (Mark 16:12) and veiling their eyes (Luke 24:16), approached them and engaged them in dialogue, demonstrating that it was necessary for the Messiah, the Restorer of Israel, to suffer according to the Scriptures; only through suffering could He attain glory. This reasoning helped them realize that if they regarded Jesus as the Messiah, His death should not be seen as the end of His mission but rather an opportunity to look forward to the glory promised in His resurrection. Jesus spoke at length (for the journey was considerable), expounding the significance of the prophetic texts concerning the Messiah, His suffering, and resurrection. The Evangelist does not specify which Scriptures the Lord referenced, but they were surely the same as those cited later by the disciples and apostles Peter and Paul in their teachings and letters. The disciples found great joy in His words, and their hearts burned with fervor. When they reached their destination, they invited Him to stay rather than continue on alone. At the evening meal, He revealed Himself to them in the breaking of the bread; they may have noticed the wounds on His hands, but He suddenly became unseen. This confirmed for them that they were indeed in the presence of someone extraordinary, prompting them to return immediately to Jerusalem to share the news with the Apostles.
The followers listened intently to His teachings and failed to notice they had already reached the village they were heading to. Jesus acted as though He intended to continue on His journey, but they urged Him to stay, explaining that it was unwise to proceed since the day was nearing its end. He acquiesced to their invitation, entered Emmaus with them, and elaborated on all that had been foretold about Him in the Scriptures. Once seated at the table, He took bread, blessed it, broke it, and shared it with them, as was His custom. It was then that their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him, only for Him to vanish from their sight.
In the appearance of the risen Christ to the two disciples, several remarkable aspects stand out: first, the journey to Emmaus and then back to Jerusalem by Jesus, who had endured death two days earlier from wounds in His hands, feet, and side, along with significant blood loss and immense suffering; second, the act of consuming food; and third, had Christ risen with the same injured, weakened, and frail body that was laid to rest after His crucifixion, He would have been incapable of walking the distance to Emmaus and back, or even moving at all. His ability to embark on such a journey demonstrates that He rose with a body restored to its former state before His crucifixion, marked only by the scars He bore from the Cross.
As we consider this, it is important to note that during His earthly ministry, until His crucifixion, Christ refrained from using His divine nature to alleviate His human limitations. This was crucial for Him to serve as the example of the perfection to which we are called. He stated, "I give My life that I may receive it again; I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again" (John 10:17-18). Therefore, since Christ possessed the authority to reclaim His own life—that is, to resurrect by His own power—and did not merely receive a resurrection, it follows that He did not rise with a frail and broken body, but with a body that had been glorified and restored.
With the capability to perform great miracles and raise the dead, the Lord undoubtedly wielded His divine power to revitalize His weary and spent body. After rising in this restored state, Christ could partake of food, yet He did not require it to maintain His human vitality during the forty days following His Resurrection before His Ascension. He became invisible at will and appeared instantly, empowered by His divine nature, which faced no hindrances.
They reached Emmaus engaged in profound discussion. The stranger intended to continue His journey, but they urged Him to remain with them. When they settled down for a modest meal, He took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and distributed it to them. In that moment, their eyes were opened, and despite His transformed appearance, they recognized their Lord was in their midst. However, immediately upon this recognition, He vanished from their sight. “Did not our hearts burn within us,” they confided to one another, “as He spoke to us on the way and unveiled the Scriptures?” Without delay, they got up and journeyed back to Jerusalem to share their remarkable and joyful news. At that moment, there was no longer any doubt about the veracity of these events; they were welcomed with jubilant affirmations that “the Lord has indeed risen and has appeared to Simon.”
They restrained Him, revealing both their trust in Him and their mindset. The justification they provided was not the true reason for their actions; rather, it stemmed from the fact that evening was approaching, and traveling alone at night may not have been prudent or safe (see Genesis 19:23, Judges 19:9). However, the Lord discerned the intentions of their hearts and acquiesced to their appeal, certainly not for the reasons they stated. When it is said that He "stayed with them," it raises the question: did not one of these travelers reside in Emmaus, where they would gather for supper after their day's journey?
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 22 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS