13. That day, two of Jesus' followers were walking to a village called Emmaus, about 2 hours journey from Jerusalem, and as they walked, they were talking about all the things that had happened. While they were deep in conversation, Jesus himself caught them up and walked along with them; and although they saw him, they somehow did not recognise him.
17: Jesus said to them, "What are you talking about as you walk?" They stopped, and looked at him with long faces. One of them, named Cleopas, asked in amazement, "Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn't know what has been happening there in the last few days?" "Like what?" he asked. "Like what happened to Jesus of Nazareth," they answered. "He was a prophet and was considered by everyone including God to be a brilliant speaker and a real man of action.
20: But our chief priests and local officials handed him over to the occupying forces to be sentenced to death, and he was executed by crucifixion. But we had hoped he was going to lead our country to freedom!
Then, after all that, two days after it happened, some of the women from our group came with a surprise for us. They had been to his tomb at dawn, but couldn't find his body. They came back saying they had seen a vision of angels who told them that he is not dead, but alive.
24: More of our group went to the tomb and found it exactly as the women had said, although they didn't see him."
Then Jesus said to them, "What sort of fools are you, you are not very quick to understand and believe the thing the prophets said! Wasn't it necessary for the Messiah to suffer like this before great things could happen and he could complete his mission?"
27: And Jesus explained to them what was written about himself in the Scriptures, beginning with the books of Moses and continuing with all the prophets.
28: As they neared the village of Emmaus where they were staying, it appeared to them that Jesus was going on further; so they grabbed hold of him, saying, "Please, stay with us; it's almost evening and it will soon be dark." So he went in with them.
30: When they sat down to eat, Jesus picked up the bread and, saying a blessing, he broke it and gave it to them. Then everything became crystal clear, and they recognised him, but he just disappeared from their sight.
32: The two said to each other, "Weren't we fired with enthusiasm as we walked and talked and he explained the Scriptures to us?"
33: They got up immediately and rushed back to Jerusalem, where they found the eleven disciples all together with the other followers, and they were all saying, "The Lord really is risen! Simon has seen him!"
35: The two then explained what had happened to them as they walked along the road, and how they had recognised the Lord when he broke the bread.
Author: Geoff Tomlinson