Series: Roads
Message: The Road to Emmaus
Preacher: Japhet De Oliveira
Daily Walk: Japhet De Oliveira 

Refresh: Open with prayer. Read or listen to Psalm Psalm 82.

Read: Luke 24:13-35 (Message). Note 1-3 insights/questions that arise from the paraphrase. 

Reflect: Who were these two people and why mention one name only? Were they two men? Were they two of the disciples that formed the group of 120 in Acts 1:15? Were they brothers? Were they a couple? One day, when we get to meet Luke face to face, this will be one of the many questions I have for him. Most commentaries leave this area alone and move onto the story itself. But for those of us who love a good story and are keen to connect the dots, there are suggestions about the relationship between the two.  First, as Richard B Vinson points out in his commentary on Luke.

As others have observed, Luke’s audience would recognize this story as a “recognition” scene (anagnōrisis), where literary characters suddenly discover their true identity of someone else. Homer’s Odyssey, with which Luke’s audience would have surely have some familiarity, has several of these recognition moments, all intertwined (p. 744). 

I believe that Luke adopted this model of writing and wants us to discover over time how all these characters are interconnected. These connections bring joy and hope to the story of the wonderful road we also travel with Jesus. 
What if they were male and female? What if we took the tradition of the time and recognized that these two were probably married if they shared a home? What if Cleopas (Luke 24:18) is the same person as Clopas (John 19:25)? Which would in turn mean that his wife was one of the Marys at the crucifixion. It would mean that Cleopas and Mary were the uncle and aunt of Jesus!
Imagine that for one moment. Jesus walking along this road with his aunt and uncle. His aunt who had wept at the foot of the cross. For me, it all fits in with the picture of who Jesus was, is, and will always be. Engaged in my life. For on that third day, as promised, He appears to His community. To His family. The people who wanted to walk the road with Him, but did not know they had to be carried on that road. 

Recalibrate: ​ 

1. ​​When was the last time you relied on Jesus and not on yourself?
2. Who is closest to you on your road of faith? 

Respond: Pray for the opportunity to be engaged in someone else's life.

Research: The second-century Christian chronicler Hegesippus wrote that Clopas was Joseph’s brother. What other views are there?