him they saw not. 25 And he said unto them, O foolish men, and
slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26
Behooved it not the Christ to suffer these things, and to enter
into his glory? 27 And beginning from Moses and from all the
prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things
concerning himself. 28 And they drew nigh unto the village,
whither they were going: and he made as though he would go
further. 29 And they constrained him, saying, Abide with us; for
it is toward evening, and the day is now far spent. And he went in
to abide with them. 30 And it came to pass, when he had sat down
with them to meat, he took the bread and blessed; and breaking
_it_ he 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, Was not our heart burning within us, while he spake to us
in the way, while he opened to us the scriptures? 33 And they rose
up that very 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
rehearsed the things _that happened_ in the way, and how he was
known of them in the breaking of the bread.

No man saw Christ rise; but many saw the risen Christ. He appeared to Mary
and to Peter and to James and to "the eleven" and to more than five
hundred disciples at one time; but of the appearances on the day of his
resurrection none is recorded with more dramatic vividness and more
definiteness of detail than that related by Luke when Jesus walked with
two disciples toward Emmaus.

This village was probably situated some seven miles northwest of
Jerusalem. Thither these two men were moving with sad and discouraged
hearts when Jesus joined them and drew from them expressions of their
disappointment and despair. The One on whom they had set their hopes of
redemption for Israel had been put to death, and although he had spoken
mysteriously of a resurrection on the third day, the day was passing, and
he had not been seen, although it was true that reports had reached them
of a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Such in substance seem
to have been their words, in no small measure a confession of obstinate
unbelief. They had little expectation that the Lord would fulfill his own
promises; the thi