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Luke 24.28-49
August 16th 2020
Meat
So, we left off last week with Yeshua expounding on all the Old Testament passages to the two men walking away from Jerusalem on the Road to Emmaus as Luke reports at verse
27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
And we pointed out that even though the men had the EXPEIRENCE of seeing the resurrected Lord He still taught them the scriptures the spoke of him.
So let’s read from verse 28 now to continue the story.
28 And they (Yeshua, and the two men) drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.
29 But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.
30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
33 And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,
34 Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.
35 And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.
So back to verse 28.
28 And they drew nigh unto the village (of Emmaus) whither they went (where they were headed) and he made as though he would have gone further.
This is really interesting to me for the simple reason that it appears that Yeshua is sort of feigning behaviors with them.
If I was to interpret it this way I would be somewhat dismayed because I have always held Jesus out as being authentic and real. I mean, why would God with us feign or pretend anything?
And so what this ultimately tells me is that in the interactions with human beings there is always choice – and God is always extending choice to us; that even here, after Yeshua expounded the scriptures to these men, he allowed them to invite him to stay with them, rather than impose His will upon them.
This is a significant insight into the way God works. So as he was appearing to walk on ahead of them (verse 29)
“they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.”
The word constrained means that they urged him or pressed him through invitations to join them.
I am convinced that God is a gentleman, and while he does act on and through things, I am convinced that in the realm of human free will He must be invited in, and welcomed.
And so again, I reject the man-made idea that when it comes to human will He imposes his upon us. And this is one proof text to support this stance I take.
So, they invited him to stay – apparently not knowing that it was Yeshua just yet. They must have enjoyed his wisdom and insights and longed to have him with them.
So they say, “Abide with us,” remain with us, or pass the night in our house, “for it is evening and the day is far spent.”
Of course, there is a wonderful hymn we used to sing as Latter-Day Saints, which is really from Christian history and is sung in two varied ways or compositions
Abide with me, FAST falls the even tide
OR
Abide with me tis eventide, the day is past and gone.
Whatever tune you use, the message is poignant. In any case, Yeshua accepts their invitation, or as Luke says, “he went in to tarry with them.” Verse 30
30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
Now, some suggest that this was a communion moment but I don’t think so because there was no wine presented. So I think that they were just eating.
What was unusual (about what I believe was a simple meal) was that while Yeshua was invited by them to be their guest, he took on the role of a master of the house and did the breaking and distributing of the bread.
I think this was a revelation to them.
So, in addition to blessing it and breaking the bread and then giving it, there is also the possibility that at that point they saw the wounds in his hands as he reached out to them. (verse 31)
31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
Their eyes were opened – by what means this occurred is up to conjecture. Perhaps it was spiritual, perhaps it was that a blindness was removed, we can’t really say what happened as it could have been they simply saw his hands and realized it was him.
What we can say, however, is that once their eyes opened, he vanished out of their sight – which to most means his disappeared – poof..
Its really a remarkable story when we think about it. Here were two men leaving Jerusalem who obviously (from the conversation they had) were not really sold out to Yeshua as the Messiah any longer – because he had died.
And then the resurrected Messiah goes out to the as they are headed away from Jerusalem, and He engages with them – he does NOT overpower them nor demand that they receive Him but he just questions them.
And then he teaches them all the scriptures from the Old Testament that testified of Yeshua being the promised Messiah.
And then he walks on, “as if to go elsewhere” waiting, as it were, to be invited into their lives.
And once he was invited into their lives or home, he takes command of the meal, and serves them, and reveals himself in some manner.
And when they realized who it was, when their eyes were opened, he vanishes!
What a picture of God working on the two-way street with people.
So having left them we now read:
32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
Now, if you have ever been LDS you know that this passage is often cited as a proof text to support the idea that a great way to discern truth is by what the LDS call “a burning in the bosom.”
Jeremiah himself, in Jeremiah 20:9 wrote
“Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.”
And Psalm 39:3 reads “My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue,”
So, its not unheard of for a person to sense/feel/acknowledge what seems like a fire in their heart burning in relation to experiences with God.
But as THE key factor to know spiritual truths? Not so sure about that.
What is particularly interesting, however, about this passage in Luke is that in one of the four most important Greek manuscripts that we have in our possession, called the Codex Bezae (and I am not going to go into its history and such but it is worth looking up) but in this Codex, the Gospel of Luke is the only complete book included, and there, instead of having a word that translates to burned (kaiomenh) the word is kekalummenh is used, which means “veiled.”
To support this wording another Latin manuscript (known as the Itala) has the words “fuit excaecatum,” which too means “blinded,” rather than burned.
So if we receive these as the superior translations, then what the two men actually said here was,
“Was not our heart veiled (blinded) when he conversed with us on the way, and while he unfolded the Scriptures to us, seeing we did not know him?”
Just another bit to consider in our quest for biblical truth.
In the end, and whichever way we see this, we realize a few things from this experience that the two men had.
We realize how utterly blind all of us can be to even the most plain doctrines in the scriptures until they are explained or taught by the Spirit.
It is almost certain that these disciples had repeatedly read or heard the Scriptures that spoke to Yeshua as the Messiah and of His life and death but never, till then, did they fully understand that the Messiah must suffer the way he did until he opened the scriptures up to them.
I think that it is telling that Yeshua took the time to actually explain the Scriptures to these men rather than just cause or force them to believe.
And this supports the idea that explaining the Bible properly is important in the lives of those who are in the dark, which is supported by the fact that if even Yeshua took the time to explain the verses to two of His disciples who were undoubtedly devout Jews, then the scripture is important to all of us!
At verse 33 we come to another amazing facet of this story.
33 And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,
Isn’t that an amazing conclusion to all that they have experienced? That originally they were exiting Jerusalem, but after experiencing Yeshua and having the truth about Him explained they immediately returned, that same hour, and traveled another seven miles back to report to the eleven who were gathered together what they had seen and heard?
I mean, we know it was late, and yet they did not delay in returning to those who believed with the news of what they saw.
We also note that because it says that these went back and told the eleven which proves that they themselves were not part of the apostles.
Upon reaching them verse 34 tells us what they said:
34 The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.
Now, I’m not really sure who is speaking here – but it seems like it’s the apostles talking to these two men – because Peter was with them, and why would they say this about Peter?
35 And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.
This story continues however, and so let’s read our next segment beginning at verse 36:
36 And as they thus spake, Yeshua himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
40 And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.
41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?
42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.
43 And he took it, and did eat before them.
44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
48 And ye are witnesses of these things.
49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
Alright, lets go back to verse 36
36 And as they (the two men from the road to Emmaus) thus spake, Yeshua himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, “Peace be unto you.”
Now this appearance seems to be the one John describes in John 20:19 where the apostles are assembled together (along with some others) and had closed the doors for fear that the Jews would discover them gathering.
Part of the surprise for them then, at the appearance of Yeshua, therefore, seems to be the fact that Yeshua was able to stand in the midst of them with the doors being closed.
So, Yeshua greets them with a common salutation among the Jews, saying
“Peace be unto you.” (verse 37)
37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
This isn’t the first time the apostles were afraid of Yeshua and believed that he was a Spirit.
We remember in Mark 6:49 how it says
But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out:
50 For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.
What is interesting about this situation is that in their supposing that they had seen a spirit indirectly confirms to us the fact that there are spirits out there (as Yeshua himself does not say to them “there is no such thing as spirits”) but will simply teach them that spirits do not have bodies of flesh and bone as they could see that he possessed.
38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
The word “thoughts” here means doubts or suspicions. We cannot say for sure what the doubts were –
Whether he was really Yeshua, or whether he was actually resurrected, or perhaps even if he was the Messiah – whatever it was, they were doubting – and Yeshua asks them why twice!
Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
Remember,
The Scriptures had foretold his death;
He had himself repeatedly foretold of his death and resurrection, and now
they had the testimony of Peter and of the women that had seen Yeshua alive AND now of the two men from Emmaus.
They had EVERYTHING they needed to see it was true – and yet they doubted – and in their doubt, they feared.
See the connection between the concepts of “fear and doubt” and “faith and peace?”
Show me a person full of faith and I will show you a soul at rest internally. Show me a person full of doubt and I will show you one frightened anxious terrified soul – no matter what the subject matter is.
Getting on a boat and going to the high seas? Doubt or faith will determine your state of mind.
Raising a child? Being married? Trying something new? Doubt or faith determines so very, very much of the journey you will take along the way.
And so it is with things of the faith.
These men were frightened and therefore uncertain and lacking faith thought that they were beholding was a Spirit. So Yeshua says:
39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
According to John 20:27, Yeshua’s body still maintained the wounds from his crucifixion. They had assumed he was a Spirit (we aren’t really sure why – perhaps he was glorified or it was just a matter of him being with them after all they knew he went through) and he proves that no, he had the same body that he had before – wounds and all.
This passage is important for other reasons as well when it comes to our knowledge of God and His Son.
Yeshua said in John 4:24
“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
From this we must conclude the following:
1. That God, who is a spirit, is not in a body of flesh and bone because Yeshua has made it clear:
“for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.”
This one-two punch from the scripture puts the LDS founders First Vision to bed – completely – unless you want to trust the vision of a man over the recorded words of Christ.
We also know from this that corporeal Yeshua was not God – for Yeshua himself said it:
“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
So, we know that the flesh that Yeshua in habited prior to resurrection was not God – what was in him was God. And so to know him was not to know Him by sight or smell or touch – to know the identity of Yeshua was to know Him by the Spirit.
We cannot say that Yeshua corporeal body was God because he was tempted in all things – and God cannot be tempted; and that he died – and God does not die.
So, we must be cognizant of exactly who and what Yeshua was when we speak of Him instead of just assigning him characteristics that cannot hold up:
In his earth-life he was a mortal man bearing the fullness of God His Father in Him.
In his post resurrection appearances, he was God bearing his mortal body about as a witness of his overcoming sin and death.
After His ascension into heaven and the Holy of Holies he was God in a resurrected body of flesh and bone waiting to return as promised,
And ever since he is the God/Man, fully God in everyway, bearing about His heavenly resurrected body and being forever more God to us as one of us.
With his body (here at his point) he was proving to the apostles that he had overcome the power of death – so he tells them, “Handle me and see!” Be convinced, for you could not handle a spirit this way. I have come back from the dead.
40 And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.
In the invitation for them to “handle him and see him” he show them the wounds in his hands and feet as evidence that he was in the same body. But this was not convincing enough for them apparently as verse 41 says
41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?
In other words, they were still suspect or in shock and did not rejoice immediately at seeing his hands and feet.
Our phrase, “it was too good to be true” might help us understand their response. So Yeshua takes it a step further – and this is a significant step when we think about it. He says to them (or asks them):
“Have you here any food?” (verse 42)
42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.
Broiled fish and honey (or honey still in the wax) abounded in and around Palestine and was common food for them. Ready?
43 And he took it, and did eat before them.
Now, I want you to think about this. Paul says that the bodies believers have will be like a seed that must die, and go into the ground before it can bring forth the heavenly body, which when we compare a corn kernel to a corn stalk, we can see that they are VERY different things in very different forms.
But because of Yeshua’s resurrection, many people have assumed that our resurrection will mimic his to a T.
Yeshua had to come back in and with the body that was put in the grave, for his body was prophesied that it would not see corruption. They had to handle and see and touch the very body that was crucified and laid in the grave as a means to identify him AS having risen.
IF he had risen with his heavenly body alone, the one we are all going to receive at death, they would have probably just assumed that he was, in fact, a spirit.
I point this out (at this point) by the fact that Yeshua uses his body to eat in front of them. When we eat, whatever goes in is digested, the nutrients are assimilated into our bodies and the remainder is expelled, right?
Our resurrected bodies will not be eating. There is no need – unless there is some sort of spiritual food to consume. But the heavens are not full of resurrected people eating material food, digesting it and expelling the rest. That is what material bodies do. Paul makes it very clear that the resurrected bodies we will receive are spiritual and not earthly.
So Yeshua eating here is a huge distinction between His resurrection and ours. He HAD to have His body to evidence His victory over the grave. We do or will NOT! He had to evidence his victory over the grave to others. We do not. And he evidenced his victory through expression in his former shell. We will not. (verse 44)
44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, (meaning, what I am showing you is the fulfillment of everything I said to you while I was with you) that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
Last week we covered many of the passages that were written of the promised Messiah both in the Law of Moses (the first five books of Moses –
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) and the prophets (all the rest of the canonized Old Testament books written by prophets including
Joshua, Judges, 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings, which were called the former prophets; and Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve smaller books from Daniel to Malachi, which were called the latter prophets) and the Psalms which naturally include the psalms and what are called the Hagiographa or the holy writings and also include Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, and the two books of Chronicles.
These divisions in the Old Testament were long in use before the time of Christ.
And then what does he do with the disciples themselves? The same thing he did with the two men on the road to Emmaus (verse 45)
45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
It’s really interesting that Yeshua did not just rely on the amazing fact that He was standing there in a resurrected body before them as the means to prepare them to go out and reach the rest of the House of Israel with the Good News.
He actually went to the scripture and taught them (opened the scriptures to them) about how it spoke and prophesied of him.
This is really significant and underscores the importance of the scripture in bringing people to the truth.
It’s not just experiential, this faith. It is by and through a process of incorporating and assimilating the written word of God into our minds.
Can’t stress this enough – that experiential religion has its value but the living word sustains and moves believers forward in faith, thereby equipping us with the capacity to love.
Never forget that even after showing himself twice to the two on the way to Emmaus and then to the eleven, he opened the scriptures and taught them from them.
Why? Because this is the means by which God opens the minds and hearts of his children, and washes out the old, and formulates the truth. The scripture – Old and New.
I’m sorry, but this just blows my mind that the risen Lord, standing there with his resurrected body TWICE takes the time to teach these men from the scripture how they testified of Him. This says SOOO much about the way human beings truly grow and mature in the faith.
I could hear believers today saying things like, “If Yeshua showed up to me, man that would be all I need!” This is the reliance on experiential things to bolster faith. I hear it when people say things like, “All I really like when I go to church is the worship.” Experiential. Emotional.
And its not enough to sustain us. We need the living word moving in and washing away the old and fortifying the new. This is God’s way of teaching us of him and helping us to submit to His will and ways. Its not for intellectual prowess or being able to recite passages ad nauseum. It to teach us to submit to him. (verse 46)
46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Now, this was Yeshua, the Hebrew Messiah, speaking to his Jewish apostles, who were called to go out into all of Israel and share the Good News of Him with them.
And this is the message that they gave to the members of the House of Israel:
“that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
We cannot read these words as having application to us today in the same way. It was to them. Why?
Because repentance, and the remission of sin in accordance to their repentance, was directly tied to them having received the law.
(Remember, where there is no law there is no transgression)
But they were the receivers of the Law of Moses as the Nation of Israel, and God promised them a Messiah, who would come and live the law perfectly fulfilling it, and they, if they wanted to be saved from the coming destruction, needed to repent and receive a remission of their sins. Listen to it again:
“that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
This preaching that these apostles would do would be to the Nation that just put him to death and the preaching of repentance and remission of sins would be in HIS NAME.
And he adds:
“Beginning at Jerusalem.”
So, imagine the scene. Yeshua was killed and rose again in Jerusalem. There were all sorts of witnesses to this – and eleven of them were assigned, having witnessed his resurrection, to go out IN HIS NAME and preach repentance for the remission of sin.
Gnarly. Tough. Challenging.
And he tells them to take this to all Nations beginning at Jerusalem.
Now again, think about this. This was the message to them – eleven men. To take this message (which was to the Jews) to all nations beginning at Jerusalem.
Did they get to Australia? North America? Canada? Remember it was to these eleven – not to the world or readers today.
The solution is in the word the King James translates to all Nations. It’s ethnos and best means tribes.
That makes more sense, doesn’t it? You eleven, take this news to all the tribes beginning at Jerusalem.
It is also fitting to remember that Yeshua told them flat out before he was crucified in Matthew 10
23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
So go out to all your brethren in the Nation to the best of you ability with this message before I come back – and start in Jerusalem (verse 48)
48 And ye are witnesses of these things.
You have witnessed it all – and now you have been taught – go – last verse
49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
The promise was, that they should be aided by the power of the Holy Spirit in their efforts, with power from on high – which would enable them to do miracles, speak tongues, bless lives and convince. This would happen at Pentecost.
But in the meanwhile, stay in the city of Jerusalem until this power is given you.
And we will stop there finishing up the last few verses of the book next week before we embark on . . .1st Timothy.
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