Other Sunday and Holy Day Readings
THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER (Cycle A)
Readings:
Acts 2:14, 22-33
Psalm 16:1a, 2, 5, 7-10
1 Peter 1:17-21
Luke 24:13-35
All Scripture passages are from the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) unless designated NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name, YHWH (Yahweh).
God reveals His divine plan for humanity in the two Testaments, which is why we read and relive the events of salvation history contained in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that the Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).
The Theme of the Readings: Word and Sacrament
Our Christian faith is nourished by the ministry of God's word
through the Liturgy of the Word in the first part of the Mass, after which we
hear the Sacred Word explained to us in the homily. However, our participation
in the Mass does not reach its fulfillment until the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Then,
we experience the living Christ in the "breaking of the bread" like the Emmaus
disciples on Resurrection Sunday.
In the First Reading, on the Jewish Feast of Pentecost, fifty days after Jesus' Resurrection, St. Peter addressed a Jewish crowd after the miracle of God the Holy Spirit filling and indwelling the disciples gathered in the Upper Room of the Last Supper (Acts 2:1-13). In delivering the address, St. Peter exercised his role as the Vicar of Christ and the ordained leader of the Church (Mt 16:17-19). This passage is the first of the sermons Peter delivered, giving the kerygma (Greek for "proclamation") of the Gospel message of salvation (Acts 2:14-39; 3:12-26; 4:8-12; 5:29-32; 10:34-43). Each of Peter's addresses delivered the substance of the Gospel message of salvation in Jesus Christ, the theme of which we proclaim in the Second Memorial Acclamation at Mass: "Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life. Lord Jesus, come in glory!"
The Responsorial Psalm is a psalm "of David" in which God saves His "chosen one" from destruction. St. Peter applied this psalm to God's supreme "Chosen One, Jesus Christ, in his sermon to the Jewish crowd on Pentecost Sunday (Acts 2:25-33) in our First Reading, quoting Psalm 16:8-11 from the Greek translation of the Old Testament. Peter's point was that David spoke prophetically of Jesus, son of David (Mt 1:1), Son of God since Jesus fulfilled David's psalm. God preserved His "Chosen One" when He raised Jesus from the dead according to His divine plan to show all who believe in Jesus the pathway to eternal life.
In the Second Reading, St. Peter described the effect of Christ's death and resurrection on believers in the context of the Egyptian Passover liberation. The Christian's faith journey is like the Exodus Passover experience in Egypt. Christians are sojourners in a strange land, delivered by the blood of an unblemished victim, Jesus Christ.
Christians first experience His deliverance by passing through the waters of Baptism just as the Israelites passed out of slavery through the waters of the Red Sea to become free people who journeyed to the Promised Land. The Sacrament of Baptism transforms us from someone enslaved to sin and death into a new creation in Christ. Guided by the Holy Spirit and Christ's gift of the Sacraments, we make our way on our faith journey through this earthly existence to eternity in the Promised Land of Heaven. We have hope and faith in our final deliverance from the sufferings of our temporal life because God raised Jesus from the dead according to His foreknowledge and divine plan determined before the creation of the world.
In today's Gospel, Jesus's disciples from the town of Emmaus responded to God's word in Sacred Scripture and His sacramental sign when they recognized Jesus in the "breaking of the bread." Their response was a reversal of the condition of Adam and Eve when their "eyes were opened" to sin. The wording "their eyes were opened" is the same in the Greek translation of Adam and Eve's fall from grace in Genesis 3:7 and repeated in Luke 24:31 and 35. Jesus "opened" the Scriptures to the Emmaus disciples in the same way He brought about the "opening" of their eyes in the breaking of the bread. The miracle continues as the ears and eyes of the faithful in every generation continue to be "opened" to Christ in hearing His message of salvation in the Liturgy of the Word and in recognizing Christ in the breaking of the bread in the Eucharist.
Do you recognize that Christ the Lord is "risen today"? Do you share your experience of Christ with others by talking about the difference Jesus has made in your life? Have you considered joining a Bible Study to learn more about God's plan for humanity's salvation in the Old Testament, which is fulfilled in Christ, so you will understand and recognize Him like the Emmaus disciples in the "breaking of the bread" that becomes Christ in the Eucharist?
The First Reading Acts 2:14, 22-33 ~ The Death and
Resurrection of Christ is God's Divine Plan
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice,
and proclaimed: "You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem. Let
this be known to you, and listen to my words. [...] 22 You who are Israelites,
hear these words. Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by God with
mighty deeds, wonders, and signs, which God worked through him in your midst,
as you yourselves know. 23 This man, delivered up by the set plan and
foreknowledge of God, you killed, using lawless men to crucify him. 24 But God
raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death [Hades] because it was
impossible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says of him:
'I saw the Lord ever before me, with him at my right hand,
I shall not be disturbed. 26 Therefore, my heart has been glad, and my tongue
has exulted; my flesh, too, will dwell in hope, 27 because you will not abandon
my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your holy one to see
corruption. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me
with joy in your presence.' 29 My brothers, one can confidently say to you
about the patriarch David that he died and was buried, and his tomb is in our
midst to this day. 30 But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an
oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne, 31 he
foresaw and spoke of the Resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he
abandoned to the netherworld [Hades] nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 God
raised this Jesus; of this, we are all witnesses. 33 Exalted at the right hand
of God, he received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father and poured
him forth, as you see and hear."
[...] = literal translation IBGE, Vol. IV, pages 324-25. Hades is the Greek word for Sheol, the abode of the dead.
The First Reading is from St. Peter's homily to the Jewish crowd on Pentecost Sunday as he exercised his role as the Vicar of Christ and leader of the Church (Mt 16:17-19). He was addressing the crowd of Jews in the street after the miracle of God the Holy Spirit, filling and indwelling the disciples of Jesus gathered in the Upper Room of the Last Supper on the Jewish Feast of Pentecost, Shavuot in Hebrew (Acts 2:1-13). It is the first of five sermons Peter would deliver, giving the kerygma (Greek for "proclamation") of the Gospel message of salvation (Acts 2:14-39; 3:12-26; 4:8-12; 5:29-32; 10:34-43). Each address gives the substance of the Gospel message of salvation in Jesus Christ, the theme of which we proclaim in the Second Memorial Acclamation at Mass: "Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life. Lord Jesus, come in glory!"
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice,
and proclaimed
It is significant in verse 14 that Peter stood up with the
"Eleven" Apostles. Matthias replaced Judas Iscariot in Acts 1:26, and the
Apostles again number twelve. Peter is one of "the Twelve," but here, the
emphasis is on Peter, who, although with the others, is separate/stands alone
from the eleven. He is one of Twelve but the recognized leader of the Eleven men
who are the first apostolic college of the Church.
Peter spoke as the leader of the apostolic body as he did in Acts 1:15 and continues to do in Acts 2:37; 3:4, 6, 12; 4:8, 13; 5:3, 8-9, 15, 29; Chapters 10-11 and 15:7-11. In Peter's homily to the Jewish crowd at Pentecost, he preached as Jesus taught the Apostles and disciples on Resurrection Sunday in the Gospel of Luke Chapter 24, referring to the Sacred Scriptures fulfilled in Jesus, the promised Davidic Messiah (see Is 11:1-5, 10; Ezek 34:23; 37:25; Mt 1:1). In his address, St. Peter quoted from several Old Testament Scripture passages and applied them to the present situation. He quoted from the book of the prophet Joel (Acts 2:17-21) and the Psalms of David (Acts 2:25-28 and 34-35). All the quotes and references to Old Testament Scripture are from the Septuagint (LXX) Greek translation of the Old Testament (some passages are the same in Greek as in the Hebrew texts).
Acts 2:22-24 ~ St. Peter continued addressing the crowd
22 "You who are Israelites, hear these words. Jesus the
Nazarene was a man commended to you by God with mighty deeds, wonders, and
signs, which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know. 23 This
man delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God, you killed, using
lawless men to crucify him. 24 But God raised him up, releasing him from the
throes of death [Hades] because it was impossible for him to be held by it."
"Hades" is the word in the Greek text of Acts and refers to
the grave or the netherworld, Sheol in Hebrew. English translations refer
to it as "the abode of the dead," "the grave," or "the netherworld," as in the
NABRE translation of Acts 2:27 and 31.
Jesus ministered to the "Israelites" for a period that spanned three Passovers (verse 22; see Jn 2:13; 6:4; 11:55). "Israelites" is the inclusive term for all descendants of the twelve tribes and includes Galileans, Jews from Judea, and all those living outside the Holy Land in the diaspora of the Gentile world. Peter told them it was God's divine plan that Jesus should suffer, die, and be "raised up" from death. He was a man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God (verse 23). Peter told the people they must understand the events that transpired in the death and Resurrection of Jesus from the perspective of the prophecies in Sacred Scripture.
Peter acknowledged that the Jews were responsible for the Messiah's death at the hands of the pagan Romans. However, their actions were also part of God's divine plan since God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death [Sheol/Hades] because it was impossible for him to be held by it. God released Jesus from the state that was the destination of all the dead from the time of Adam's fall from grace. Upon His death, Jesus descended into Sheol/Hades just like all humans because He was entirely man, but Sheol/Hades could not hold Him because He was also fully God.
In death, the righteous and the wicked went to Sheol/Hades before the Advent of the Messiah. It was a place where sinners suffered in judgment for the purification of their sins and where the righteous awaited the coming of the Messiah, banqueting with father Abraham. Jesus described the different conditions in Sheol/Hades in the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man in Luke 16:19-31. St. Peter taught that even the people who perished in the time of Noah had the hope of liberation from Sheol/Hades by the promised Messiah (1 Pt 3:18-20). Also, see CCC 632-633 and Sirach 3:1-12, where verse 7 refers to the promised liberation of the righteous from Sheol described in 1 Peter 3:18-20 and 4:6.
Acts 2:25-28 ~ King David's Prophecies of the Messiah
25 "For David says of him: 'I saw the Lord ever before
me, with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed. 26 Therefore my heart
has been glad, and my tongue has exulted; my flesh, too, will dwell in hope, 27
because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer
your holy one to see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the paths of
life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.'
Peter then turned to the Psalms, continuing his theme of the
prophecies that pointed to the coming of the Messiah and the new age Jesus
inaugurated as foretold in Sacred Scripture. According to Jewish tradition,
King David was born and later died on the Jewish Feast of Pentecost c. 970 BC, so
it was an appropriate reference for the crowd.
Peter began by quoting first, without any additions or alterations, from Psalm 15:8-11 LXX (16:8-11 in the Hebrew translation in NABRE) in Acts 2:25-28 (see the Psalm Reading in this lesson). Psalm 16 is attributed to David and therefore understood to reflect his personal experience/understanding of God. Viewing this quotation from the perspective of Jesus's Resurrection, the words and phrases appear to anticipate those God-ordained events. Even in His darkest moments on the Cross, Jesus did not despair because He knew God was with Him, and He knew the promise of His bodily resurrection from the dead. His flesh "was not abandoned to Hades," nor did His Body "suffer corruption" (Ps 16:11 and quoted in Acts 2:27). Jesus knew the Father was going to resurrect Him from death, and He would ascend bodily to the Father, as He did in Acts 1:9-11, which the disciples witnessed, as Peter mentioned in verse 32.
Acts 2:29-33 ~ Peter Speaks of David's Foreknowledge of God's Plan
"My brothers, one can confidently say to you about the
patriarch David that he died and was buried, and his tomb is in our midst to
this day. 30 But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to
him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne, 31 he foresaw and
spoke of the Resurrection of the Messiah, that neither was he abandoned to the
netherworld [Hades] nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 God raised this Jesus;
of this, we are all witnesses. 33 Exalted at the right hand of God, he received
the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father and poured it forth, as you both
see and hear."
According to a long-standing Christian tradition, dating
back to the 4th century AD when St. Helena went to the Holy Land to
identify the sites associated with Christ and the early Church, the Upper Room
was built above the tomb of King David. Most modern scholars dismiss this
tradition, but in St. Peter's statement in verse 29, you can visualize him standing
outside the house of the Upper Room and gesturing to the tomb of David on the
first floor. According to Scripture, David's burial was in the holy city of
Jerusalem (1 Kng 2:10). The Jewish historian/priest Flavius Josephus (37-100
AD) wrote that no graves could be in the holy city of Jerusalem except those of
David, his family, and the prophetess Huldah (Antiquities of the Jews, 7.15.3;
13.8.4; Jewish Wars, 1.2.5).
30 But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn
an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne ...
God made a covenant with David and his descendants based on
the unconditional promise that David's throne would endure forever, and his
descendant would rule an eternal kingdom (1 Sam 7:12, 16; 23:5;
Ps 89:21, 29-30; 110:1-5; 132:11-18;
Sir 45:25). The first to acknowledge that Jesus was
the Messianic heir of David was the angel Gabriel to Mary at the Annunciation
of the Christ in Luke 1:32-33 ~ He will be great and will be called Son of
the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father, 33 and he will rule over the house of
Jacob forever, and of his kingdom, there will be no end. The Messianic title
"son of David" was often applied to Jesus by others in the Gospels
(see Mt 1:1; 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30; 21:9, 15;
Mk 12:35; Jn 7:42).
31 he foresaw and spoke of the Resurrection of the
Messiah, that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld [Hades] nor did his
flesh see corruption. 32 God raised this Jesus; of this, we are all witnesses.
Peter's point was that since God's anointed would not experience
"corruption" (Acts 2:27 and LXX Ps 16:10), the case for all members of
humanity, David had foreknowledge of the Messianic heir's Resurrection from the
dead. St. Peter declared that this prophecy was fulfilled in no one except Jesus
of Nazareth and proved He is the Davidic Messiah, as he stated in verse 32: God
raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses. The Law of Moses required
two or more witnesses to establish a fact in a court of law (Dt 19:15). Here,
all Christian community members were testifying to the truth of Jesus's
Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven.
Acts 2:33 ~ Exalted
at the right hand of God, he received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the
Father and poured it forth, as you both see and hear.
Peter told the crowd that they had proof of Jesus's true
identity as the Son of God who sits at the right hand of the Father in Heaven
(position of honor and power) because of what they witnessed in the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit upon the New Covenant Church of restored Israel!
Responsorial Psalm 16:1a, 2, 5, 7-10 ~ God is the Path of Life
The response is: "Lord, you will show us the path of life."
1a Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge. 2 I say to
the LORD, "My LORD are you."5 O LORD, my allotted
portion and my cup, you it is who hold fast my lot.
Response
7 I bless the LORD who counsels me; even in the night, my
heart exhorts me. 8 I set the LORD ever before me; with him at my right hand, I
shall not be disturbed.
Response
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices, my
body, too, abides in confidence; 10 because you will not
abandon my soul to the netherworld [Sheol], nor will you suffer your faithful
one to undergo corruption.
Response
11 You will show me the path to life, abounding joy in
your presence, the delights at your right hand forever.
Response
The superscription of Psalm 16 is "a miktam of David." Miktam is a term that occurs six times in psalm superscriptions (16 and 56-60), always with "David." Its meaning is unknown, but all six link to David in the superscription, and four reference the psalmist's struggles with enemies.
The previous psalm was about having a love for one's neighbor being necessary for staying close to God. Psalm 16 describes the personal relationship between the Lord and the psalmist, God's chosen, who begins his prayer with a plea for the Lord's protection in saving him from destruction (verse 1a). Within the series of Psalms 15-24, Psalm 16 has a parallel in Psalm 23, which its superscription calls "a psalm of David."
In verse 5, the Psalmist declares that he has chosen to worship and trust in the Lord. His only desire is to share in His holiness and to submit to the destiny God planned for him (my allotted portion and my cup). The psalmist vows he will stay loyal to God, and in verses 7-10, he offers praise and blessings for the graces that come from God to him and those who devote themselves entirely to the Lord.
Early Church Father, Origen of Alexandria, applied the words in verse 10 to Jesus's descent into the abode of the dead (Sheol/Hades) and His Resurrection from death. Origen wrote concerning the future God promised him and all Christians: "because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld [Sheol], nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption" (cf. Origen, In Evangelium Ioannis, 1.220). And St. Theresa of Avila expressed the idea of Psalm 16 beautifully when she wrote: "He who has God wants for nothing. God alone is enough" (Poems, 30).
St. Peter applied this psalm to God's supreme "Chosen One, Jesus Christ, in his homily to the Jewish crowds on Pentecost Sunday (Acts 2:25-33) in our First Reading, quoting Psalm 16:8-11 from the LXX translation of the Old Testament. Peter's point was that David spoke prophetically of Jesus since God the Son fulfills this psalm. Jesus submitted His life to God, and the Lord did not abandon Jesus to the grave but raised Him from the dead according to His Divine Plan to show all who believe in Him the pathway to eternal life.
The Second Reading 1 Peter 1:17-21 ~ Christian Conduct
17 If you invoke as Father, him who judges impartially
according to each one's works, conduct yourselves with reverence during the
time of your sojourning, 18 realizing that you were ransomed from your futile
conduct, handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or
gold 19 but with the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished
lamb. 20 He was known before the foundation of the world but revealed in the
final time for you, 21 who through him believe in God who raised him from the
dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
St. Peter described the effect of Christ's death and Resurrection on Christians in terms of the first Passover and Exodus liberation of the children of Israel in Egypt. The Christian's faith journey is like the Exodus Passover experience of the children of Israel. Like the Israelites, Christians are sojourners in a strange land delivered by the blood of a spotless victim, Jesus Christ. We first experience His deliverance in the waters of the Sacrament of Baptism as we make our way on our faith journey through this earthly life. We have hope and faith in our final deliverance from the sufferings of this temporal existence because God raised Jesus from the dead according to a set plan and foreknowledge (Acts 2:23) determined by God before the creation of the world (1 Pt 1:20). Earthly treasures are perishable, but Christ has given us an imperishable gift. The redemption and justification by the blood of Christ and His Resurrection to glory was God the Father's eternal plan to consecrate His New Covenant people through faith in God the Son and with the hope of their future eternal spiritual and bodily resurrection.
The Gospel of Luke 24:13-35 ~ Recognizing Christ
in the Eucharist
13 That very day two of them were going to a
village seven miles [sixty stadia] from Jerusalem called Emmaus, 14 and
they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. 15 And it happened
that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked
with them, 16 but their eyes were prevented [held/bound = krateo] from
recognizing him [not to recognize = epiginosoko him]. 17 He asked them, "What
are you discussing as you walk along?" They stopped, looking downcast. 18 One
of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem
who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?" 19 And
he replied to them, "What sort of things?" They said to him, "The things that
happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before
God and all the people, 20 how our chief priests and rulers both handed him
over to a sentence of death and crucified him. 21 But we were hoping that he would
be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since
this took place. 22 Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they
were at the tomb early in the morning 23 and did not find his body; they came
back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that
he was alive. 24 Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things
just as the women had described, but him they did not see." 25 And he said to
them, "Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets
spoke! 26 Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and
enter into his glory?" 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he
interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures. 28 As they approached
the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going
on farther. 29 But they urged him, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening, and
the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them. 30 And it happened
that, while he was [reclining] with them at table, he took bread, said the
blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. 31 With that, their eyes were opened,
and they recognized [epiginosoko] him, but he vanished from their sight. 32 Then
they said to each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to
us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?" 33 So they set out at once and
returned to Jerusalem, where they found gathered together the eleven and those
with them 34 who were saying, "The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared
to Simon!" 35 Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he
was made known to them [opened their eyes] in the breaking of the bread.
[...] = literal translation IBGE, vol. IV, pages 244-45.
13 That very day two of them were going to a
village seven miles [sixty stadia] from Jerusalem called Emmaus, 14 and they
were conversing about all the things that had occurred. 15 And it happened that
while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked
with them, 16 but their eyes were prevented [held/bound = krateo] from
recognizing him [not to recognize = (epiginosoko him].
It was still Resurrection Sunday when the glorified Christ
met two of His disciples on their journey to their home in the village of
Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. St. Mark also mentioned this meeting
with the Emmaus disciples and Jesus's appearance to the eleven Apostles in the
Upper Room in Jerusalem (Mk 16:12-17).
However, in Luke 24:13-35, St. Luke
recorded details of the encounter between the resurrected Christ and the two Emmaus
disciples only found in the Gospel of Luke.
17 He asked them, "What are you discussing as you walk
along?" They stopped, looking downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, said to
him in reply, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the
things that have taken place there in these days?"
One of the disciples was a man named Cleopas (also rendered
as Clopas or Cleophas; see Jn 19:25). According to the Church Fathers, Cleopas
was a relative of Jesus and the father of Simon/Simeon, the second Christian
Bishop of Jerusalem, who succeeded St. James after his martyrdom. The early
Church historian Hegesippus (early to mid-2nd century AD) recorded
that Cleopas was Jesus's uncle and the brother or brother-in-law of St. Joseph
(Church History, Book IV, chapter 22; Church History, III.11.1
page 146). Jesus's disciple, Mary of Cleopas/Clopas, is either Cleopas' wife or
daughter.
The two disciples were brokenhearted over the events of the past three days. They appeared to doubt the testimony of the women as well as Peter and John's report (Jn 20:1-8) concerning the empty tomb and the possibility that Jesus was resurrected from the dead. The obvious question is, why didn't they recognize Jesus as the man walking with them? The literal Greek is "their eyes were held/bound [krateo] so they might not recognize/know/perceive [epiginosoko] him" (Johnson, page 393; IBGE, page 244). In other words, Jesus prevented them from recognizing Him. He clouded their eyes in the same way that their faith in comprehending His Resurrection was clouded. The condition of their "held eyes" would be reversed in verse 31.
19 And he replied to them, "What sort of things?" They
said to him, "The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet
mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 how our chief priests
and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. 21 But
we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this,
it is now the third day since this took place. 22 Some women from our group,
however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning 23 and
did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a
vision of angels who announced that he was alive. 24 Then some of those with us
went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they
did not see."
The disciples called Jesus a "prophet" in verse 19. St. Luke
referred to Jesus as a "prophet" five times in his Gospel
(Lk 4:24; 7:16, 39; 13:33; 24:19) and three times in Acts
(Acts 3:22-23; 7:37; 8:34-35) for a total
of eight times. The title depicted Jesus as the new Moses of the new Exodus and
the fulfillment of the promised supreme prophet in Deuteronomy 18:17-19
(see Lk 9:31 when Moses and Elijah spoke with Jesus about His "exodus" from Jerusalem).
The two disciples expressed this same hope of a "new Moses" in verse 21
when they said they hoped that Jesus would be the one to "redeem" Israel, a theme
of redemption that St. Luke began in 1:68 and 2:38. They didn't yet comprehend
that Jesus's "redemption of Israel" was to be understood in spiritual terms as
the restored faithful remnant of the covenant people of God (see Acts 13:23). Notice
the Emmaus disciples confirmed the visit of the women disciples to the tomb
recorded in the other Gospels and Peter and John's visit to the empty tomb (see
Jn 20:1-10).
25 And he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are! How
slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! 26 Was it not necessary that
the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" 27 Then
beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred
to him in all the Scriptures.
The disciples shared their misgivings concerning the past
week's events with their fellow traveler, and Jesus admonished them for their
doubts in verse 25, calling them "slow of heart." We tend to think of the heart
as the seat of emotion. However, for the ancients, the heart signified the
center of intelligence, reason, and the moral essence of a person.
to believe all that the prophets spoke!
There are two significant points in Jesus's statement
concerning belief about Him concerning the prophets:
26 Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer
these things and enter into his glory?"
Jesus's rhetorical question demands an affirmative
answer. It refers to God's Divine Plan for man's salvation in terms of the
prophecies of God's "Suffering Servant," especially those described in Isaiah Chapters
52-53. To "enter into his glory" is the same as entering into His Kingdom. Jesus
then began to teach them, starting with the Torah (the five books of Moses from
Genesis to Deuteronomy) and continuing with the Psalms (see Peter's reference
to the Psalms 16:8-11
in our First Reading in Acts 2:29-30) and books of the
prophets. Finally, Jesus gave them a lesson on all the Scripture passages that
were prophecies about Him and His mission of redemption and salvation. This is why
it is our Catholic Tradition to study the Old Testament in the light of Christ
in the New Testament. St. Augustine wrote, "for the New Testament lies hidden
in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New" (St. Augustine, Quaestiones
in Heptateuchum 2,73; see CCC 128-129).
28 As they approached the village to which they
were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. 29 But they
urged him, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening, and the day is almost over."
So he went in to stay with them.
Since the Jewish day started at sundown, "evening" was any
time from noon until twilight. Notice that Jesus did not force Himself on
them. Christ is a gentleman; He waits for our invitation.
30 And it happened that, while he was [reclining]* with
them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to
them. *The literal Greek is "reclining;" it was the way free men ate while
slaves ate standing up. They also reclined at the Last Supper.
Still not recognizing Jesus, they invite Him to their home
to have dinner and to spend the night. What occurred during the meal "opens
their eyes" concerning the traveler's true identity. There is a significant
similarity between Jesus's actions at the dinner with the Emmaus disciples and
the events of the Lord's Supper in Luke 22:14-19:
| Luke 22:14-19 (Lord's Supper) | Luke 24:30 (Emmaus meal) |
| he took his place at table with the apostles | while he was with them at table |
| Then he took the bread | he took the bread |
| said the blessing | said the blessing |
| broke it and gave it to them | broke it and gave it to them |
Jesus's actions at the meal with the Emmaus disciples are the same as those of Jesus at the Last Supper three days earlier (as the ancients counted with the Passover meal taking place at sundown that became the Jewish Friday but our Thursday). That night, Jesus took, blessed, and broke the bread (see Lk 22:19). It was in the "breaking of the bread" that the Emmaus disciples' spiritual eyes were "opened," and they recognized/knew Jesus the Messiah!
31 With that, their eyes were opened, and they
recognized [epiginosoko] him, but he vanished from their sight. 32 Then they said to each other, "Were not
our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the
Scriptures to us?"
Verse 31 is the second use of the Greek word epiginosoko;
also see verse 16. In contrast to their eyes "being bound" in 24:16 and
their failure to "recognize/know" [epiginosoko] Jesus, their eyes were
now "opened." They did not just "see" Jesus; they "recognize/know" Him.
Recognizing the messianic significance of the Scriptures Jesus
explained to them; they were also able to recognize/know Jesus in the breaking
of the bread.
What happened to the Emmaus disciples is a reversal of the condition of Adam and Eve when "their eyes were opened" to sin. The wording "their eyes were opened, and they recognized" Jesus in Luke 24:31 and 35 is the same as in the Greek Septuagint (LXX) translation account of Adam and Eve's sin after eating the forbidden fruit: Then their eyes were opened, and they realized/recognized that they were naked (Gen 3:7). Jesus "opened" the Scriptures to them in the same way that He brought about the "opening" of their eyes in the breaking of the bread in verse 31. Now humanity's eyes in every generation continue to be "opened" to Christ in "the breaking of the bread" in the Eucharist.
33 So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem,
where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them 34 who were
saying, "The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!" 35 Then the
two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them
[opened their eyes] in the breaking of the bread.
In verse 34, "Simon" refers to Simon Peter, to whom Jesus
appeared privately after His Resurrection. St. Paul also wrote that the
glorified Jesus appeared privately to Simon Peter, whom he refers to as "Rock" (Cephas),
the title Jesus gave Simon that we transliterate from the Greek "Petros" as
Peter (1 Cor 15:5). "The eleven" refers to the remaining Apostles after Judas Iscariot's
defection and death.
The Emmaus disciples did what all of us must do when we recognize/know Jesus in our lives; they immediately wanted to share their experience of Christ! Is the Lord Jesus Christ "risen today" in your life? Can you say that you have a personal relationship with Jesus? Do you share your experience of Christ with others by talking about the difference He has made in your life? Have you considered joining a Bible Study to learn how Jesus, in the New Testament, fulfilled God's divine plan for humankind's salvation in the Old Testament? Studying Scripture will help you understand God's plan and recognize Jesus like the Emmaus disciples in the "breaking of the bread" that becomes Christ in the Eucharist. Many free, in-depth Bible studies are available on the www.AgapeBibleStudy.com website, and daily Gospel reading lessons on the Facebook site, www.facebook.com/AgapeCatholicBibleStudy/.
Catechism References (* indicates Scripture quoted or
paraphrased in the citation):
Acts 2:22 (CCC 547);
2:23 (CCC 597*, 599);
2:24 (CCC 633*, 648*);
2:26-27 (CCC 627);
2:33 (CCC 659*, 788*)
1 Peter 1:18-20 (CCC 602); 1:18-19 (CCC 517*); 1:18 (CCC 622); 1:19 (CCC 613*)
Luke 24:13-35 (CCC 1094*, 1329*, 1347*); 25:15 (645*, 659*); 24:17 (CCC 643); 24:21 (CCC 439*); 24:22-23 (CCC 640*); 24:25-27 (CCC 112*, 601*); 24:26-27 (CCC 572, 652*); 24:26 (CCC 555, 710*); 24:27 (CCC 555*, 2625*); 24:30 (CCC 645*, 1166*); 24:31 (CCC 659*); 24:34 (CCC 552*, 641)
The Eucharist and the experience of the Emmaus disciples (CCC 1346, 1347*)
The Apostles and disciples as witnesses of the Resurrection (CCC 642*, 643*, 644*, 995*, 996*)
Christ the key to interpreting all Scripture (CCC 102*, 426, 427*, 428*, 429, 601*, 2763*)
Jesus, the Lamb offered for our sins (CCC 457, 604*, 605*, 608*, 615*, 616*, 1476, 1992)
Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2014; revised 2020; 2023