Recently, a very close family friend, whose home we frequent several times a week, was presented an old church directory that contained pictures of all the families in the church 15 years ago. As she thumbed through the pictures and marveled at how all the children had grown through the years, she came across a family she did not recognize.
When she inquired as to the family’s identity, she was told that it was my family! My friend sees me and my children several times a week, but she did not immediately recognize those in the dated picture to be her familiar friends.
There are many reasons that we might sometimes fail to recognize those who should be intimately familiar to us. Recognition might be allusive to someone because of the natural physical changes brought about by the passage of time or maybe because a person has so drastically altered their appearance in some manner that recognizing them becomes improbable.
Sometimes our failure to recognize someone says more about us than it does about them. In the case of Jesus and the disciples on the road to Emmaus, one has to ask, “What was the reason why these two men did not immediately know who Jesus was?” Doubtless, they would have been in Jesus’ presence often, and they likely would have witnessed his miracles and teaching in an up-close and personal manner, though neither of these two men was part of the original twelve.
Luke records for us in chapter 24 that two disciples were “that very day” (Luke 24:13) going to a village called Emmaus. These men had been in Jerusalem for the Passover and now were returning to their homes. “That very day” refers to the day of resurrection, and Luke seems to be underscoring how on the very day that the heavens were celebrating, these two men were walking away with regret and sorrow.
If there was a day in the history of the world that called for a loud shout of victory and renewed hope it was this day. Instead of ecstatic joy, these men are let down and disappointed. It is into this climate that the writer reports, “While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them” (Luke 24:15).
If we were reading this for the first time and were yet unaware of what would happen next, we might expect that a great celebration would soon erupt on the Emmaus Road when these men realize that their Teacher is walking next to them.
Will they fall down and worship? Will they tackle him with a warm embrace? Will they stare in stark disbelief? The answer is no to all of these possibilities. Instead, Luke informs us that “their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him” (Luke 24:16). To the disciples, Jesus appears to be just another random traveler returning to his home seemingly unaware of the earth-shattering events that had altered the course of history on that very day.
This is not the only time in the New Testament, however, that disciples did not immediately recognize the resurrected Jesus, but it is the only one which seems to require a supernatural explanation. John records for us that Mary Magdalene was weeping at the grave of Jesus when he appeared and asked her what was wrong (John 20:15).
The Bible then makes this odd statement, which has much more meaning than our present platform allows us to explore, as we are told that Mary thought Jesus was the “gardener” and assumed that he could have moved the body of Jesus. It’s not until he called her name that Mary realized that this man was the resurrected Lord.
John also records for us another account of a fishing expedition when seven of the disciples had fished all night but caught nothing (John 21). When the sun began to rise over the horizon, Jesus called out to them from the shoreline with the instruction to cast their nets to the right side of the boat. Without knowing it was Jesus who spoke to them, they did as they were told, and they caught 153 large fish in one net. It was only then that “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 21:7) recognized Jesus.
Two of these accounts could be explained in very logical terms. Mary’s vision could have been blurred by her tears and sorrow, and the fisherman might have been too far from shore to recognize the man who spoke to them. But no such explanation can be made regarding the Emmaus Road experience.
It is clear that these two disciples did not know Jesus because they were prevented from recognizing him. And though we, who now read this account, are left wondering why it was necessary for Jesus to keep his true identity from these two followers, the Bible does not provide the answer.
Though my next observation does not answer our question at large, it does provide another aspect of intrigue. One of the travelers is identified as “Cleopas” (Luke 24:18), which despite the different spelling, seems to be referenced in John 19:25 when the Bible says, “But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene.”
If the Clopas of John 19 is the Cleopas of Luke 24, then it would seem to indicate that these two disciples were much more intimately acquainted with Jesus as opposed to being casual members of the crowd who would often follow Jesus from a safe distance.
Again, this does not explain why their eyes would have been prevented from recognizing their friend who had overcome death, but it could point to the reality that Jesus might have utilized their consuming, blinding grief to enable him to set the stage for his coming revelation.
Though our curiosity is ignited here, it is important for us not to speculate beyond what the Bible clearly reveals. The Bible does not offer a reason as to why their eyes were kept from seeing Jesus initially, and we must guard against crafting a reason born out of our own rationale rather than the biblical evidence.
Like the disciples on the Emmaus Road, Jesus walks with us and reveals himself in different ways and to different degrees from day-to-day. There is nothing I can know of my God except that He chooses to reveal it. We cannot grow in our knowledge of God or His ways except that we are looking through the lens of Scripture.
He does not waste our circumstances, trials, or grief but draws near to us in our moments of deepest despair, and in his own time, he peels away the cataracts that distort our vision so that we might know him and the power of resurrection. And when our shallow belief is confronted with the presence of the risen Lord, it is the word of God alone that becomes the framework and foundation for seeing Jesus for who he really is.
Regardless of what prevents us from seeing Christ as we ought, may we all come to know Jesus as a friend who walks with us in our pain and disappointment, and like the disciples, may our hearts burn as well as Jesus reveals himself to us each day through his Word.
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Dr. Rick Kirby, along with his wife and children, lives in Anderson, South Carolina. Rick serves as a corporate chaplain in the upstate of South Carolina, in addition to shepherding micro-church movements, which he does in partnership with the Evangelical Free Church in America and the Creo Collective. Rick has written as a freelance writer for organizations such as The INJOY Group, InTouch Ministries, and Walk Through the Bible. Rick holds a Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degree from Erskine Theological Seminary. Through the years, Rick’s family has been deeply engaged in discipling efforts globally in India, Romania, Brazil, Ecuador and most recently in Puerto Rico. Among the many things Rick enjoys are woodworking in his woodshop and roasting (and drinking) coffee. You can find other works by Kirby at www.rickkirby.org.