The Road to Emmaus and Jesus Appears (Luke 24:13-53)
That same day, two of the disciples are walking to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They are talking about everything that has happened. As they walk and discuss, Jesus Himself comes and walks along with them. But their eyes are kept from recognizing Him.
He asks: what are you discussing? They stop walking, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asks: are you the only person in Jerusalem who doesn't know what has happened? Jesus says: what things? They tell Him about Jesus of Nazareth, a prophet powerful in word and deed, how the chief priests handed Him over to be crucified, and how they had hoped He was the one who would redeem Israel. And now it is the third day since it all happened. Some women went to the tomb and said His body was gone and angels appeared and said He was alive. Some went to check and found the tomb empty, but they did not see Him.
Jesus says to them: "How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explains to them what was said in all the Scriptures about Himself. Their hearts are burning within them as He speaks.
They reach Emmaus. The stranger acts as if He is going further. They urge Him: stay with us. He goes in to stay with them. When He reclines at the table, He takes bread, gives thanks, breaks it, and gives it to them. And their eyes are opened and they recognize Him. And He vanishes from their sight. They say to each other: "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" They get up at once and return to Jerusalem, seven miles back, in the dark.
They find the Eleven gathered together and tell them: it is true, the Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon. While they are still speaking, Jesus Himself stands among them and says: "Peace be with you." They are startled and frightened and think they are seeing a ghost. Jesus shows them His hands and feet. He invites them to touch Him. He asks if they have anything to eat and eats a piece of broiled fish in front of them.
Then He opens their minds to understand the Scriptures. He says: everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled. The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.
He leads them out to Bethany, lifts up His hands, and blesses them. While He is blessing them, He leaves them and is carried up into heaven. They worship Him and return to Jerusalem with great joy, and are continually in the temple praising God.
A Curious Question
The two disciples on the road to Emmaus talked with Jesus for seven miles without recognizing Him. It was not until He broke bread with them at the table that their eyes were opened. And the moment they saw who He was, He disappeared. Why do you think Jesus opened the Scriptures to them first, before letting them see who He was? What do you think would have been different if He had just appeared in front of them and said "it's me" without explaining anything from the Bible first?
Old Testament Connection
The road to Emmaus is the most explicit scene in all four Gospels about how the entire Old Testament points to Jesus. The risen Jesus opens with Moses, works through all the Prophets, and shows two grieving disciples that the suffering, death, and resurrection of the Messiah were written into the script of the Hebrew Bible all along. He was not summarizing a few relevant passages. He was walking through the whole story and showing them where He had been hidden in plain sight.
This is exactly what we have been doing in every unit of this curriculum. Genesis showed the promised seed who would crush the serpent. Abraham's near-sacrifice of Isaac showed a God who would provide a lamb on a mountain. Exodus showed the Passover lamb whose blood protected from judgment. Ruth showed the kinsman redeemer who paid the price to restore what was lost. Every story was a thread in the same fabric. When Jesus broke bread at Emmaus, He was doing what He always does: making the unseen visible, opening eyes that were kept shut, giving light where there was only grief. The disciples said their hearts were burning as He explained the Scriptures. That is what good Bible teaching does. It is not information transfer. It is the living Word opening the written Word so that people see the person of Jesus on every page.
Discussion Questions
- The two disciples said their hearts were burning within them as Jesus talked with them on the road and opened the Scriptures. Have you ever felt that way while learning from the Bible, when something suddenly made sense or felt alive? What was it, and what happened in you when it did?
- When Jesus appeared to the disciples in the room, they thought He was a ghost and were terrified. He showed them His hands and His feet and ate fish in front of them to prove He was real. Why do you think it mattered so much that the resurrection was physical and real, not just spiritual? What would be different about the Gospel if Jesus had only risen in some spiritual sense?
- Jesus told the disciples that they were witnesses of everything that had happened, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins would be preached to all nations beginning from Jerusalem. What do you think it means to be a witness? What does being a witness to the resurrection look like for you, in your school, your neighborhood, and your family?
"So What?" What Can I Do?
Jesus told the disciples they were witnesses and that the message would go to all nations beginning from Jerusalem. Your Jerusalem is wherever you are right now: your school, your street, your family. This week, identify one person in your Jerusalem who does not know the story of the cross and the empty tomb. You do not have to preach a sermon. Just decide: I am a witness. Pray for that person by name this week and ask God to give you one natural opportunity to tell them something true about Jesus. Witnesses do not create the evidence. They just tell what they saw.
Memorize God's Word
Luke 24:45: "Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures."
Hand Motions:
- Then he opened: Hold both hands closed in front of you, then open them slowly outward like a book being spread wide.
- their minds: Place both index fingers gently against your temples.
- so they could understand: Slowly nod your head and widen your eyes as if something suddenly becomes clear.
- the Scriptures: Hold both hands open and flat in front of you, side by side, as if holding an open book, then look down at them reverently.
Praying with Kids
Lord Jesus, You walked seven miles with two disciples who were heartbroken and confused, and You opened the Scriptures to them the whole way. You opened their eyes at the table. You opened the minds of the disciples in Jerusalem. Open our minds too. We have heard these stories. Help us to actually see You in them. Help the Bible to feel alive to us the way it felt alive to the disciples on that road, when their hearts were burning. And help us to be the kind of witnesses who do not just know the story but who tell it. Thank You that the last chapter of Luke does not end with a burial. It ends with great joy. Amen.
Craft: The Burning Heart Road Map
Children will create a simple road map showing the Emmaus journey, marking the moments where Jesus was present even when unseen, as a picture of how God walks with us and opens our understanding even when we do not immediately recognize Him.
Materials Checklist
Instructions
- Draw a simple road running across the paper from left to right, with Jerusalem on the left end and Emmaus on the right end.
- Along the road, mark three spots with small circles. Label them: 1. The Conversation, 2. The Scriptures Open, 3. The Bread is Broken.
- Above spot 1, draw a simple speech bubble and write: "We had hoped he was the one to redeem Israel."
- Above spot 2, draw a flame shape in orange or red and write: "Were not our hearts burning within us?"
- Above spot 3, draw a simple loaf of bread and write: "Their eyes were opened."
- At the very end of the road, draw a small arrow pointing back toward Jerusalem with the words: They returned at once. With great joy.
- On the back, children write the memory verse and one sentence about a time God helped them understand something about Him that they had not seen before.
Effective Teaching Techniques
This is the final lesson in the Gospel of Luke and the culminating lesson of the entire curriculum. Everything taught in every prior unit has been pointing here. If you have been teaching these lessons in order, children now have a substantial foundation: creation, the fall, the promise of a Savior, Abraham's faith, the Passover, the tabernacle, the kinsman redeemer, and twenty-eight lessons of Jesus' ministry. The Emmaus road is Jesus Himself doing what you have been doing as a teacher every week. Do not miss that. Tell children explicitly: what Jesus did on the road to Emmaus, showing how all the Scriptures pointed to Him, is exactly what we have been doing all year. And He did it because He loves people too much to let them walk away confused.
The moment of recognition at the table is one of the most beautiful details in all of the Gospels. Jesus walked seven miles explaining Scripture. Their hearts burned. But they did not recognize Him until He broke the bread. Why the bread? Because they had been at the Last Supper. They had watched Him take bread, give thanks, and break it. The gesture was unmistakable. Recognition came through the familiar action of the one they loved. Ask children: where do you think you most often feel closest to Jesus? In a worship song, in a prayer, in a story from the Bible? Recognition comes through those familiar places where He has always met us.
The ascension at the end of Luke is not a loss. The disciples return to Jerusalem with great joy. That seems counterintuitive: the person they love just left. But He left with His hands raised in blessing, which means the last image they carried of Jesus was not the cross or even the broken bread. It was open hands raised over them. That is the image to close with. The last thing Jesus did in the Gospel of Luke was bless His disciples. The last thing He does for us is the same.
The most likely question: "Will we see Jesus like the disciples did?" Answer honestly and theologically: not yet, in the same physical way. But Jesus promised that He would send the Holy Spirit to be with His disciples always. The book of Acts, which Luke wrote as a sequel to this Gospel, begins immediately after the ascension with the Spirit coming at Pentecost. Jesus did not leave His disciples alone. He sent the Spirit who opens minds to understand the Scriptures, exactly what He did on the Emmaus road. That same Spirit is available to every person who trusts in Jesus. The road to Emmaus is still open.