Immediately after their eyes were opened to recognize Jesus, Luke says that He “became invisible from” (literal) the two disciples whom He had joined up with on the road to Emmaus. They didn’t at first recognize Him in His manifestation to them in His eternal, glorified, resurrected body that was spiritual in nature. But their heart burned within them as He opened the Scriptures to explain the things about Himself to them. Finally, as He broke bread with them in communion that evening, their eyes were opened to see that it was Him, and He really was alive. But as Jesus had earlier that day articulated to Mary Magdalene, who after she recognized Him was holding onto Him as if to never let go (Joh 20:17), they could no longer cling to Him as they had known Him in the flesh; 2Co 5:16. For the great salvation He was accomplishing and the kingdom of God He was establishing on earth as it is in heaven are not by sight, but “from faith to faith” (Rom 1:17). I.e., “from first to last” (NIV), God’s salvation is by faith, for “without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Heb 11:6). If His followers were to be “in Him” as the second Adam through the new birth from the seed of His word into His righteousness (as they were in the first Adam, born of his seed into his sin) they had to let go of the temporal, physical manifestation of the Christ as the Jesus they had come to know and come to know Him more fully as He is, by faith: a life-giving spirit through the promise of His transcendent Spirit, Whom He would now ascend to the Father to pour out; see 1Co 15:22,45; cf. Joh 6:63, Rom 8:11, 1Pe 3:18.
What does Luke say that the two disciples in Emmaus from whom Jesus had just disappeared did that very hour? See Luk 24:33-34. Approximately what time would it have been that they arose and returned to Jerusalem, and about what time would they have arrived? Recall that it was “getting toward evening” (Luk 24:29) earlier when they arrived, and they were just eating dinner, so that it would have been around 5 – 6 pm. Also recall that Emmaus was about 7 miles (Luk 24:13) or a couple hours walking distance from Jerusalem, so even if they raced back, it would have been at least 6:30 – 8 pm, or later, when they arrived. For what reason did they immediately return to Jerusalem? See Luk 24:35. What does their action, at the end of the day as night was falling after having traveled all afternoon, tell us about how important they felt it was to immediately let others know about the risen Savior? Does our own faith motivate us with such immediacy to put our worldly plans on hold and even retrace our steps to tell others what we’ve discovered about Jesus?
What might Mar 16:12-14 indicate about there being potentially more to the initial arrival of these two disciples in Jerusalem than what Luke summarizes? Is it possible that the two disciples to whom he refers, to whom Jesus appeared “while they were walking along on their way to the country” are different from the two disciples Jesus appeared to on the road to Emmaus? I.e., is it more reasonable to believe that the details are different enough to conclude that Mark and Luke are talking about two entirely different events, or are the details so similar, especially comparing them to the other resurrection appearances, that it would be unreasonable to suppose they are talking about two different pairs of disciples walking out of Jerusalem on a country road? Does it matter that Mark 16:12-14 is a disputed text not found in some of the oldest manuscripts of Mark? Consider that even though disputed, and quite possibly not a part of Mark’s gospel as we know it, the addition, like that in Joh 7:53–8:11, could only have become attached to it because the early church believed that it was a true pericope, which is why it is still included in our Bibles today.
What does Luke’s description that they found the eleven and those with them gathered together, as opposed to saying that they simply went to where they were gathered, indicate about a potential search, perhaps to several locations, that they needed to make before locating them? Would they necessarily have even expected to have found them all gathered together? Cf. Joh 20:19 and recall that following Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion His followers scattered for fear that the authorities who seized Jesus to stamp out His movement might also seize them. In fact, although both Mark and Luke use the eleven to refer to the group of Jesus’ remaining apostles (sans Judas), who does John later say was actually missing from the group that night, at least when Jesus appeared to them? See Joh 20:24. What does afterward in Mar 16:14 indicate about there being a period of time between when the two disciples first reported their experience and the others didn’t believe them, and when Jesus Himself stood in their midst as they were continuing to relate (Luk 24:35, imperfect tense) what had happened? Note that the Greek word used (ὑστερον) means later, after an unspecified interval of time; cf. Mat 21:30,32,37, 25:11, 26:60, Joh 13:36, Heb 12:11. Is it possible that at least some of the others to whom Mark says that the two disciples reported their encounter with the risen Jesus, who didn’t believe them, included Thomas and those of his persuasion who weren’t inclined to believe Peter’s testimony even if they had heard of it by that time, perhaps before they found the main gathering of disciples? Cf. Joh 20:25, Mat 28:16-17. While it is reasonable to believe that these two disciples, and the two Marys (Mat 28:9) along with some others who were persuaded by their testimony, and even John (cf. Joh 20:8-9), would have immediately accepted Peter’s testimony, and so have become a welcome audience to those who were inclined to believe it, should we understand that the disciples as a whole, and even the rest of the apostles, would have necessarily believed that Jesus had risen on the basis of Peter’s experience? See again Mar 16:14, Joh 20:25; cf. Gal 2:11, Luk 9:46, 22:24. In light of John’s description of Thomas’ unwillingness to believe even after Jesus had appeared to all the rest of the apostles, although Peter’s experience would have added weight to the testimony of the two Marys, and the experience of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus would have added even more, what should we understand from Mark’s account was still the position of the majority of the eleven before Jesus Himself appeared to them? See Mar 16:13-14. What does this remind us about how difficult it was, even for Jesus’ own disciples, to believe that life could be restored to His body, and the great power of God to do things we can only imagine are impossible? See 1Co 2:9; cf. Luk 1:37, 18:27.