After having their eyes opened to recognize that it was Jesus who had been communing with them, revealing Himself to them from the Scriptures, the two disciples who had just arrived in Emmaus immediately arose and returned to Jerusalem to share with others what they had discovered: Jesus really was alive! Arriving back in Jerusalem they perhaps visited one or more locations before they “found gathered together the eleven and those with them” (Luk 24:33). For His followers were fearful that the authorities who crucified Jesus would target them as well, to squash His following, especially since His body was now missing, for which they could accuse them of stealing it. For as difficult as it was for Jesus’ closest disciples to come to understand the nature of His resurrection and that He was really alive, what else could His enemies have believed who rejected Him? Cf. Mat 27:64, 28:13, Joh 20:19. At some point the two disciples learned that Peter had also had an experience with the risen Jesus, which along with the testimony of the two Marys would have inspired some with the most faith that it was true—like John, who at the tomb had already believed that somehow Jesus’ words that He would rise again were true, even though he couldn’t as yet understand it (Joh 20:8-9). And although Luke’s summary of these two disciples’ account graciously omits the stubborn unbelief and hardness of heart of the others to believe it, it is clear from Mark’s gospel that in spite of the testimony of these several who had seen Him, the majority of Jesus’ apostles still would not believe until Jesus Himself appeared to them later that evening (excepting Thomas) and they were finally convinced; Mar 16:9-13.
What does Luke note that the two disciples related to the others as significant for how they came to recognize Jesus? See Luk 24:35. As we break bread in celebrating the Lord’s Supper, is our communion only with fellow believers in remembrance of Jesus, or is it also with Jesus Himself, as it was with these two disciples, so that in the breaking of bread we too come to recognize Him in some sense for who He is? What do we understand that the bread represents? See Mat 26:26. Should we understand that Christ’s physical body was literally broken for us, like the communion loaf? See Joh 19:33,36; cf. Exo 12:46, Num 9:12, Psa 34:20, and note that the KJV “this is my body, which is broken for you” in 1Co 11:24 does not reflect the reading of the earliest manuscripts followed by all modern versions, which read simply, “this is my body, which is for you”. What then does the singular loaf represent, and what is represented by it being broken so as to be shared? See Joh 6:33,51. What did the early church come to understand about what those become a part of who partake of the life of Christ, that is represented by the communion loaf? See 1Co 10:16-17, 12:12, Eph 1:22-23, 5:29-30, Col 1:18. What is the significance that in uniting ourselves to Christ we become a part of His body, that was given for the life of the world? See 1Co 12:26-27, Heb 13:3. As the single communion loaf represents the unity of the body with both Christ and one another, what in particular do we ourselves come to personally recognize about Christ in the broken bread of the communion loaf? See Phil 3:10-11, Col 1:24; cf. Mat 16:24-25, Joh 12:24-26. In our communion with Christ and the breaking of the bread, have we come to recognize that we ourselves, as part of His body, represented by the single loaf, are given for the life of the world? Besides our unity in communion with Christ, what does our piece of the loaf in communion with the rest of the body communicate about what our relationships must be to one another within the Church? See Eph 4:1-6,11-13, Phil 2:1-4, Col 3:14-15.
How does Luke describe what happened as these two disciples were relating their experience to the unbelieving apostles, who remained unconvinced that Jesus was alive? See Luk 24:36. Is it perhaps significant that it was as they were explaining how Jesus was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread that He Himself appeared in their midst? While others may remain unmoved by our intellectual understanding and even our own experience or testimony, is it not often the case that as we share our communion with Jesus, often in the fellowship of a communion meal, that He also appears to them? See 1Jo 1:3.
What was the first thing Jesus said to them, and why? See Joh 20:19, Luk 24:36-37. What else does Mark’s gospel note was among the first things Jesus spoke to them? See Mar 16:14. What does John’s description of Jesus’ words to the unbelieving Thomas eight days later indicate about the nature of His reproach? See Joh 20:26-29. When Jesus finally appears to us and we see Him as He is, will He have similar words of reproach for us, especially as it relates to our lack of faith to obey His commandments, or will He say, “Blessed are you who did not see, and yet believed”?