The third day after Jesus was buried, two of his friends walked to a
village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. As
they walked along they talked together about the sad things that had
lately happened. At that moment Jesus himself came along and joined them,
but they did not know him. He asked them what it was they were talking
about, and why they were so sad. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him
if he was a stranger in Jerusalem that he had not heard the strange,
sad news. He asked them, “What news?” And Cleopas answered: “Why, about
Jesus of Nazareth; he was a mighty prophet; his words and his deeds
were wonderful; but our rulers condemned him to death and crucified him.
We hoped that he was the one who was to redeem the people of Israel;
but this is the third day since these things were done. Some women who
were at the grave this morning, told us a strange story; they say his
body is not there, and that they saw angels who said that he was alive;
and some of our friends went to the grave and found that it was as the
women said, but they did not see him.” Then Jesus said to them: “O what
foolish people. How slow you are to believe all that the prophets wrote
about this! Did they not tell that Christ must suffer these things and
then enter into his glory?” Then he began with the books that Moses
wrote, and explained what he and the other writers had said about
Christ. When they drew near to Emmaus the stranger acted as though he
was going further, but they begged him to stop with them, as the day was
nearly gone. So he stopped with them, and as they sat down to the table
together, suddenly something opened their eyes to know that it was Jesus
who sat with them. He took some bread and blessed it, and gave them some.
Then he vanished out of their sight.
[Illustration: JESUS AND THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS.—Luke xxiv. 30.]