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Luke 24

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1 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.

2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.

3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:

5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?

6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,

7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

8 And they remembered his words,

9 And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.

10 It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.

11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.

12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

13 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.

14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.

15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.

16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.

17 And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?

18 And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass therein these days?

19 And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:

20 And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.

21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.

22 Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;

23 And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.

24 And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.

25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:

26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?

27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

28 And they 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.

36 And as they thus spake, Jesus 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.

50 And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.

51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.

52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:

53 And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

   

Commentary

 

On the Road to Emmaus

By Joe David

Lelio Orsi's painting, Camino de Emaús, is in the National Gallery in London, England.

Each of the four gospels contains a story about Jesus appearing to His disciples after the Sunday morning when they had found the sepulcher empty. For example, see Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:14-19; Luke 24:13-33; John 20:19-31, and John 21.

In Luke, there’s a story of two disciples walking from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus, a walk of about seven miles. Shortly after they leave the city they are approached by another traveler who has noticed their troubled faces and serious talk and asks them what is troubling them. Walking along together, they ask the stranger, “Haven’t you heard of the troubles in Jerusalem, how the prophet from Galilee, who we hoped would be the one to save Israel, was given up to be crucified? And strange to say, when some of the women went on the third day to anoint His body, they saw angels who told them that he was not there but was risen from the dead.”

On hearing this, the traveler chides them for not believing, and says “Don’t you see that Christ had to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?” The stranger then tells the two disciples many things concerning Jesus, from the books of Moses, and the prophets, in the Old Testament. The two disciples listen with awe, but do not recognize the stranger. At length they arrive at Emmaus. The stranger appears to want to go on when the two stop, but they beg him to stop also, because it’s getting late in the day, and they want to hear more. So they all sit down to share the evening meal, and when the stranger takes up the loaf of bread and breaks it and gives them pieces, their eyes are opened and they recognize Him, and He vanishes.

One can imagine the stunned awe that came over them both as they realized that this was Jesus. They knew He was crucified, and yet He had walked and talked to them for several hours. The women were right! The angels were right! He was alive!

The New Church believes that there are internal meanings to all the stories in the Word of the Lord, the sacred scriptures, and that this internal meaning, within the literal stories about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Joshua, Samuel, David, and the rest, and all the sayings of the prophets from Isaiah to Malachi, and the four gospels… this meaning is what makes the Word holy.

So what can we see here in this story? Well, that internal meaning in “Moses and the prophets” is the story of Jesus’ life in the world, from His birth in Bethlehem through all His growing years until His “death” and then His rising. Because Jesus knew that, and had certainly read the Scriptures and understood them internally, He knew for a long time how His earthly life was going to close, and that it was necessary for it to close as had been “written”, in order to save the human race. So He told the two disciples that story as they walked toward Emmaus.

More about that walk... In the Word, any mention of walking is really referring to how we live our lives from day to day. In many stories of the Word, it is said that someone walked with God. It is said that we should walk in His ways and that we should walk the straight and narrow path.

Also in this story we are told that this was a journey of sixty stadia (in the original Greek). Sixty (or other multiples of "six") represents the lifelong work of rejecting the temptations that come from our inborn selfishness. Apocalypse Explained 648. So, this journey to Emmaus means our life’s journey - as a person that is trying to follow the Lord’s teachings and become an angel.

The destination was Emmaus. In the Word any city represents a doctrine, an organized set of truths that we have put in order so that we can live according to them -- our rules of life. See Arcana Coelestia 402. They are not necessarily good, as with Jerusalem or Bethlehem, but can also be evil doctrines, e.g. Sodom or Babylon. My dictionary tells me that the name Emmaus means “hot springs”. Another universal meaning in the Word is that water means truth in its beneficial uses, but can also mean truth twisted into falsity by those in hell, in an opposite sense. See, for example, Arcana Coelestia 790. Think of the wells that Abraham dug, or the waters that Jesus promised to the woman of Samaria as they talked by Jacob’s well, or the pure river of water flowing out from under the throne in the New Jerusalem in the book of Revelation. In its converse sense, where water is destructive, think of the flood that destroyed all but Noah and his family, or the Red Sea that had to be parted so that the children of Israel could cross. The springs represented by Emmaus were holy truths bubbling up from the Word for us to use. And these are hot springs, and heat means love. So that's our destination, where truth and love together are flowing out for us to use, in a continual stream from the Lord.

This plain little anecdote about the disciples meeting the Lord on the road to Emmaus isn't just a story about Jesus's resurrection with a spiritual body. It is also a story of how we should be living our lives. We can be traveling toward heaven, listening to the Lord, walking in the way with him, and at the end He will break bread and have supper with us.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #36

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36. Verse 7. Behold, He cometh with the clouds, signifies that the Lord is about to reveal Himself in the Word through the internal sense. This is evident from the signification of "coming," as being, in reference to the Lord, to reveal Himself; and from the signification of "clouds," as being Divine truths in ultimates, thus the Word in the letter; for the Word as to the sense of the letter is Divine truth in ultimates; and since each thing therein contains an internal or spiritual sense, "coming with clouds" means revealing Himself through that sense. That "clouds" signify Divine truths in ultimates is from appearances in the spiritual world. There clouds appear in various kinds of light; in the inmost or third heaven in a flaming light, in the middle or second heaven in a bright white light, and in the outmost or first heaven in a light more dense; and everyone there knows that they signify Divine truth from the Lord through the angels; for when Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, which is the very light of heaven, passes through the angels, it appears as a cloud, purer or denser according to their intelligence. Such clouds have oftentimes been seen by me, and what they signify has also been perceived. This is why "clouds," such as those that appear before the eyes of men in the world, signify Divine truth in ultimates; and as the Word in the letter is Divine truth in ultimates, that is what is meant by "clouds."

[2] He who does not know that "clouds" have this signification, may suppose that the Lord is about to come in clouds for the Last Judgment, and to appear in glory; according to His words in the Evangelists, where He says:

Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and much glory (Matthew 24:30; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27).

"The consummation of the age" which is there treated of is the last time of the church; and the Lord's coming at that time is the revelation of Himself, and of Divine truth which is from Him, in the Word, through the internal sense. Elsewhere than in the Word the Lord does not reveal Himself, nor does He reveal Himself there except through the internal sense. The Word in the internal sense is also signified by "power" and "glory." (That this is fulfilled at this day, namely that the age is consummated, and the Last Judgment accomplished; and also that the Lord has come in the clouds of heaven, that is, has revealed the internal sense of the Word, may be seen in the small work on The Last Judgment, from beginning to end; also in the work on Heaven and Hell 1; also in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n.249-266.

That "the consummation of the age" signifies the last time of the church, see Arcana Coelestia 4535, 10622; that "the coming of the Lord" signifies the revelation of Divine truth through the internal sense, n. 3900, 4060; that "clouds" signify the sense of the letter of the Word, n. 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343, 6752, 8106, 8781, 9430, 10551, 10574; that "glory" signifies Divine truth in heaven, thus the internal sense, for this is Divine truth in heaven, n. 5922, 9429[1-7], 10574. The Lord is said to be "about to come in power," because Divine truth, which is from the Lord has all power, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 228-233, 539.) The like is meant by the Lord's words to the high priest:

Jesus said to the high priest, Henceforth ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven (Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62).

"The Son of man" is the Lord as to Divine truth; "sitting at the right hand of power" is His omnipotence; "coming in the clouds of heaven" is the revelation of Divine truth respecting Him in the Word, for He has revealed Himself and has also fulfilled all things contained in the internal sense, which treats especially of the glorification of His Human.

[3] The same is signified by "clouds" in the following passages. In Daniel:

I saw in the night visions, and behold there came with the clouds of heaven, one like unto the Son of man (Daniel 7:13);

in Revelation:

I saw, and behold a white cloud; and on the cloud one sat like unto a man, 1 having on his head a crown (Revelation 14:14, 16);

in Isaiah:

Behold, Jehovah sitting upon a dense light cloud (Isaiah 19:1);

in David:

Sing unto God, sing praises to His name, extol Him that rideth upon the clouds (Psalms 68:4);

in the same:

Jehovah appointeth the clouds His chariot; He walketh upon the wings of the wind (Psalms 104:3).

Who cannot see that these things are not to be understood according to the sense of the letter, that is, that Jehovah sits upon a cloud, that He rides upon the clouds, and that He makes the clouds His chariot? He who thinks spiritually may know that Jehovah is present in His Divine truth, for this proceeds from Him, consequently that this is what is meant by "clouds there;" so it is also said that Jehovah "appointeth the clouds His chariot;" because by "chariot" is signified the doctrine of truth (See Arcana Coelestia 2762, 5321, 8215).

[4] Likewise in the following places. In Isaiah:

Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the higher clouds [pour down] righteousness (Isaiah 45:8);

in Nahum:

The way of Jehovah is with cloud 2 and storm, and clouds are the dust of His feet (Nahum 1:3);

in David:

Ascribe ye strength unto God; His excellency is over Israel, and His strength is in the higher clouds (Psalms 68:34);

A faithful witness in the clouds (Psalms 89:37);

in Moses:

There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in thy 3 magnificence upon the clouds (Deuteronomy 33:26).

From this it can be seen what is meant by:

The cloud filling the inner court (Ezekiel 10:3-4);

And the cloud resting upon the tent (repeatedly in Moses); also that:

Jesus when He was transfigured, was seen in glory, and a cloud overshadowed the three disciples, and it was said to them out of the cloud, This is my beloved son (Matthew 17:1-10; Mark 9:1-11; Luke 9:28-36).

(See also what is said about the Lord's being in a cloud in the midst of angels, in the little work on The Earths in the Universe 171.)

Footnotes:

1. The Greek has "the Son of man," as found also in Apocalypse Explained 906; Apocalypse Revealed 642; Arcana Coelestia 9807, 9930.

2. The Hebrew has "storm and tempest," as also found in Apocalypse Explained 419, 594; Arcana Coelestia 2162.

3. The Hebrew has "His," as also found in Apocalypse Explained 594.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.