Section 24:13–35
Jesus came to two disciples on the road to Emmaus
The author told how two of Jesus’ disciples saw Jesus on the road to the village of Emmaus, but they did not know that he was Jesus. He talked with them and reminded them that God’s prophets had said that the Messiah would die and rise again. They invited him into their home. As he sat at the table with them, God caused them to realize that this man himself was Jesus, who had become alive again. Jesus disappeared, and the two disciples went quickly back to Jerusalem and told the other disciples that they had seen the Lord.
The account in this section does not occur elsewhere in Scripture. Some other examples of headings for this section are:
Jesus Appears to Two Disciples (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
The Walk to Emmaus (New Living Translation (2004))
Paragraph 24:13–18
24:13a
The Greek text of 24:13a begins with a common conjunction and that is often translated as “and.” Versions such as the CSB, NET Bible, and New International Version translate this word as “Now.” It introduces a new event and two people in the event. These people are two of the “others” (24:9) who heard the women tell about seeing angels at Jesus’ tomb.
This conjunction is followed by a Greek word that means “look!” or “behold!” Versions such as the New American Standard Bible translate these two Greek words as “And behold.” This way of introducing the event probably indicates that it is important in the longer story of Jesus’ resurrection.
The Berean Standard Bible and some other English versions do not translate this introductory phrase explicitly. You should introduce the new event/story and the disciples in a way that is natural in your language. Some other ways to do this are:
And it happened
-or-
And then
-or-
After that, listen!
That same day: The phrase That same day refers to the same day that the women told the disciples what they saw and heard at Jesus’ tomb. That day was Sunday, the same day that Jesus became alive again. Refer to it here in a clear way in your language.
two of them: The phrase two of them refers to two of Jesus’ followers. These were two of the “others” who were mentioned in 24:9. They were not among the eleven apostles. The name of one of them was Cleopas (24:18), who was a man. The second disciple could have been either another man or Cleopas’ wife. Some other ways to translate the phrase two of them are:
two of Jesus’ followers (Good News Translation)
-or-
two of the others ⌊who heard what the women said⌋
24:13b
were going to a village called Emmaus: Jesus’ two followers were walking from the city of Jerusalem to Emmaus. Emmaus was a village (small town). Other ways to translate this phrase are:
were walking to the village of Emmaus (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
were on their way to a village called Emmaus (NET Bible)
-or-
were going to a town named Emmaus (New Century Version)
24:13c
about seven miles from Jerusalem: seven miles is about the same distance as eleven kilometers. Jesus’ followers would probably take about two hours to walk this distance. Use the method for measuring distance that is natural in your language. For example:
a two-hour walk from Jerusalem
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