Being Right about the Resurrection

by Calvin Pearson and Tim Frankovich

Peter, James, Andrew . . . All of you! Listen! Cleopas and I have just come from Emmaus. We have seen the Lord! He is alive!

Let me tell you what we saw. We were on our way to Emmaus. We thought it would be easier to hide there and forget what had happened. When we left Jerusalem heading west, we had to go by the hill that He had been crucified on and I didn't want to do that. I suggested taking the east gate, but Cleopas said it would be a waste of time, and as usual, he was right. Just outside the city, we saw that skull-shaped hill. After seeing the place where we lost our hope, we walked in silence.

But once we got up into the hills, away from the city, we began discussing all that had happened. We talked about Lazarus being raised from the dead, and about the Lord's entry into Jerusalem9 But you know, if the Lord could raise the dead, why couldn't he avoid the Sanhedrin and the Romans? It was almost as if he let them kill him.

Cleopas brought that up. He said that the Lord said that He would be killed. I didn't remember that. We began arguing over what he had said. Somehow I had to be right about something. I was trying to make my side clear when Cleopas pointed ahead down the road.

It was a man by himself, walking towards Jerusalem. Not knowing who he might be or even if he was a decoy for a band of thieves, we didn't make eye contact with him. We didn't have anything to be robbed of, but just the same we had had enough violence for a while. So we did our best not to even look at him. As we passed him, he turned and began walking to the side of us. We still didn't look at him.

He asked what we had been talking about. Cleopas answered, and asked if he was the only one living in Jerusalem that didn't know what had been happening99{Implied question from other disciple} No, for some reason, we didn't understand that it was the Lord. I don't know why9 But then he asked us what things had happened.

I told him. At the rate he was going, Cleopas would have gotten it all mixed up. I explained about Jesus of Nazareth, a prophet strong in word and deed. And about how the chief priests and rulers handed him over to the Romans to be crucified. I told how we had been hoping that He would be the one who was going to set Israel free9

Then I told him about how the women went to the tomb this morning and found it empty, and how they said an angel told them that He had risen. And how you, Peter and John, went to the tomb and found what they saw, but didn't see a risen Lord.

Cleopas, would you be quiet, and let me finish?

The stranger's response was not at all what we expected. He told us that we were missing the whole point of the prophets, which was that the Christ had to suffer these things to enter into his glory. Then He started way back with Moses and went right through all the prophets and explained how they were all talking about the Messiah. It was amazing!

We had reached Emmaus by the time he finished. We turned into an inn for the evening, but he acted as if he were going on. So we asked him to stay with us and he did.

And that's when it happened. We had some wine and bread brought to us and he took the bread and broke it and9 then it all fit! Just like you told us he broke the bread that night--he did it right there in front of us! Then9 we realized who he was and9 then he vanished.

The Lord is alive; we saw him and he taught like he always did! When he was teaching, it was just like it had been so many times: our hearts were taking in everything he was saying, as if they were burning.

We came straight back here, even though it was night already. As we came through the West Gate, we saw the hill again. Only this time, it wasn't as frightening or depressing; in fact, that hill became a place of hope!

The Lord is alive! And this time I know I'm right, because I've seen him!