Introduction

Of all the things that Jesus could have been doing (or celebrating) on His resurrection day, Jesus was on the road to Emmaus and talking with two disciples, one named Cleopas and the other unnamed. But wait a minute! Neither of these two disciples recognised they were with Jesus! Moreover, this was clearly by intention because at no point on this fairly long journey, did Jesus say who He was.

Luke 24:16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.

Is there divine wisdom in this because are not all His disciples’ eyes (future from then) restrained in varying degrees as to who Jesus really is – dependent on the disciple’s faith? Did Jesus limit the physical perception (of the Emmaus Road disciples) to encourage their spiritual perception of Himself through the scriptures – to mirror the conditions for all believers in the upcoming Christian Age?

As this ‘stranger’ explained spiritual truth from the scriptures something incredible was happening to the disciples hearts. God was doing spiritual heart surgery deep within them.

Luke 24:32 And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”

As the physically raised Son of God explained to these disciples about Himself from Moses and all the Prophets; as He expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself, something extraordinary was happening deep within their hearts. The psalmist states:

Psalms 51:6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

When truth enters the inward parts – namely the human heart – if the heart is ‘good ground’ (as in the good soil of the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13:23) this truth will produce wisdom as well as a harvest of (spiritual) fruit. The psalmist says:

Psalms 119:130 The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.

And Jesus explains the effect of the word of God within a human heart which is ‘good ground’:

Matthew 13:23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Remember, this was day one of Jesus’ physical resurrection and Jesus chose to spend this precious time in such an unusual way with two of His disciples. Perhaps these two were representative of His whole church to come (both Jew – named, and Gentile – unnamed), either way, this choice by Jesus speaks volumes about His priorities. Jesus places great emphasis on this ‘truth receiving activity’ – of discovering Jesus in scripture with a view to spiritual understanding and wisdom.

Of course, the majority of Jesus’ disciples throughout the whole church age would never physically meet Jesus face to face and would never physically hear His voice (this side of heaven). Like these two on the road to Emmaus, they would be wholly dependent on the scriptures (or His Word) for spiritual food and nourishment as taught by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus, therefore, was setting a pattern for His future disciples, in anticipation of His upcoming, prolonged physical absence (until His return) regarding how His disciple’s would receive spiritual truth and spiritually grow. This pattern was the sharing of the pure pristine apostolic (and prophetic) truth with one another – biblically, the ‘breaking of bread’.

The Revealing

At the end of the journey, Jesus accepts the disciples’ hospitality and enters their lodging and at the ‘breaking of bread’, their eyes were opened, and they knew Him!

Luke 24:30-31 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.

This association of ‘eyes opening and knowing Jesus’ with the ‘breaking of bread’ is deeply symbolic. Had Jesus demonstrated on His resurrection day, the very essence of what it means to consume the Bread from Heaven? After all, Jesus was the Living Bread from heaven and He was the Truth – to be consumed by His disciples:

John 6:51 “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

The Journey of Faith This Side of Heaven

This Emmaus episode makes perfect sense because all of Jesus’ disciples are on a long metaphorical journey (this side of heaven or until His return) during which we are to discover the identity of Jesus – who He really is – through the corporate (two or more) sharing of revealed truth in the Word of God.

This breaking of physical bread – eating together – is surely the context for disciples to share revealed truth with one another about who Jesus is. This ‘sharing of Truth’ is how Jesus intended the church to grow spiritually. It is a heart matter. Like the feeding of the 5000 (John 6:11), the miracle of spiritual revelation was in the distribution. Truth (which has been shared and) which enters the heart, when revealed by the Holy Spirt, causes our born-again spirit to grow towards maturity.

1 Peter 2:2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,

Pentecost and the Birth of the Corporate Church

This is what happened on day one of Pentecost:

Acts 2:42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

The disciples shared Truth (Jesus) in the context of ‘breaking bread’ and together with prayers, this was their fellowship! Not only did the church grow numerically, 3000 in one day (Acts 2:41) and then up to 5000 (Acts 4:4), but more importantly the church was growing spiritually. Their corporate witness was of great effect as they were:

Acts 2:47 praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

This activity of ‘breaking bread’ continued:

Acts 2:46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,

No Worship?

Note that ‘worship’ is not mentioned at this early stage of the church (in the narrative of Acts). This does not mean that ‘worship’ did not happen or is not important, but that ‘worship’ is always based on the receipt of the pure pristine apostolic truth within our hearts. After all, without Truth in our hearts who are we worshipping? When Jesus revealed to the woman at the well (John 4:23) the upcoming form of worship that He would desire, He not only emphasised the ‘spirit’ but also ‘truth’.

John 4:23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

No Wine?

Note that ‘wine’ is not mentioned with this ‘breaking of bread’ at this early stage of the church. This omission of wine importantly differentiates the daily activity of ‘breaking bread’ from the annual remembrance supper of Passover (when bread and wine is taken in remembrance of Jesus’ broken body and shed blood on the cross). Remember that Passover was celebrated by the Jews once a year, and the Apostle Paul continued to recognise the annual frequency of feasts long after his conversion. As we read in Acts:

Acts 18:21 but took leave of them, saying, “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing.” And he sailed from Ephesus.”

Be careful with the wording of 1 Corinthians 11:26 which is incorrectly used to defend an ‘ad hoc’ (at any time) taking of the remembrance supper (bread and wine). This verse does not say the remembrance supper should be taken ‘often’, rather Paul is just saying: “whenever you take the remembrance supper”, which is not a statement of ‘frequency’.

1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

The Bible, therefore, makes a distinction between the daily ‘breaking of bread’ (without wine) and the annual remembrance supper of bread and wine (as instigated by Jesus at His last supper), where He presented Himself as the Lamb of God.

A Warning

Finally, Jesus was quite harsh with the two disciples (on the road to Emmaus) for not already understanding the truth concerning Himself from the prophets:

Luke 24:25 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!”

This disproportionate response of Jesus may, therefore, be a stern warning to the church, as represented by these two disciples: Beware the foolishness of neglecting ‘Truth’ and the ‘sharing of Truth’ (or ‘breaking bread’) while Jesus is physically absent from you!

Summary

In summary, the disciple’s eyes were restrained for this whole Emmaus Road episode until Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of bread. Jesus appears to have deliberately associated ‘breaking of bread’ with revelation of who He is as derived from the scriptures. When these privileged two followers returned to the eleven in house in Jerusalem, notably on the very same ‘resurrection’ day, their explanation of how Jesus was known to them was in the ‘breaking of bread’.

Luke 24:33-35 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.

Has Jesus set a pattern for the church age, during which all disciples together, in relative darkness, are called to search for Jesus in the scriptures? Is this what is meant by the spiritual consuming of the Living Bread from heaven?

John 6:51 “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

The stern warning given by Jesus exhorts all disciples to consider this matter very seriously.

The End of the Resurrection Day

At the end of this long resurrection day, Jesus appears in the house in Jerusalem and talks with the disciples and those others who were present. As if to emphasis this activity of ‘breaking bread’, Jesus eats with them and then he opens their understanding!

Luke 24:41-45 But while they still did not believe for joy, and marvelled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?” 42 So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. 43 And He took it and ate in their presence. 44 Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” 45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.