I have questions about Luke 24:13-15, the Road to Emmaus. 1. What was happening in Emmaus and why were these men heading there rather than any other place? 2. What was the significance of Jesus breaking the bread and its coincidence with the opening of the eyes of these disciples? 3. The scripture gave us the name of the second disciple to be Cleopas, I never heard about this name in the Bible before, was there a reason for the scripture to give it to us?
Although the Bible doesn’t tell us why they were going to Emmaus, the most logical conclusion is that they were going home after the spring Feasts, because they invited Jesus to stay with them when they got there. Luke 24:16 says they were kept from recognizing Him as they walked together. At dinner, when He reached for the bread to give thanks, His arms likely extended from the sleeves of His robe exposing the scars on His wrists. That was the trigger that opened their eyes (Luke 24:30-31).
There is no other reference to Cleopas in the Bible, and while there are several opinions about who he might have been, no one knows for sure. Luke might have mentioned his name simply to add credence to his account because according to the concordance his name comes from two words that mean “of a renowned father”. Perhaps the people of Luke’s day would have known about either Cleopas or his father.
I think the greatest lesson we can learn from the Emmaus Road encounter is that it tells us exactly what day of the week the crucifixion took place. It’s clear from Luke 24:13 that the two disciples met Jesus on the road to Emmaus on Sunday, the day of His resurrection, and in Luke 24:21 they said it was the 3rd day since the crucifixion. If Sunday was the third day since the crucifixion, then Saturday was the second day since it happened, Friday was the first day since, and Thursday was the day Jesus was crucified. This could be the main reason the Holy Spirit had Luke record it.