Skip to content

Commentaries
English
Mark
  
4. Jesus Reveals Himself to the Two Disciples of Emmaus
(Mark 16:12-13)
12After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.13And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.


On the first day of the week of the Passover, two of Jesus’ disciples went back sadly to their village, after they had celebrated the great feast, which coincided that year with isolation and fear.
The apostle Luke told us the details of this report in chapter 24:13-35 of his gospel, and emphasized the love of Jesus to his confused disciples who lost all their earthly hopes through the crucifixion of their Master.
Most of Jesus’ followers understood his coming both temporally and spiritually, and they did not recognize that the kingdom of Christ is not of this world. In their thought, the disciples of Emmaus mixed religion with state, politics with faith, money with spirit, and time with eternity.
They did not know that Jesus led them to self-denial, and emptiness from desire, lusts, and pride, and that he rather led them to humility, contentment, love, and effort with meekness and abstinence to sacrifice their whole lives. Christ does not build his kingdom on guns, planes, battleships, and bombs, nor does he demand taxes, certificates of higher education, or a powerful mediation. He himself is the Way and the Mediator to a new life, who creates a spiritual creation in his followers and conforms them to his image.
These thoughts require a change of mind, i.e. a radical repentance. He who wants to follow Jesus obtains a new goal, and withdraws from money, authority, lusts, and self-esteem. Jesus rather shows us and guides us to freedom from sin and temptation. Whoever follows him humbles himself, and learns to sacrifice himself for those who are unworthy in the knowledge of the humble Son of God who is in himself neither proud nor deceitful, but had emptied himself from his glory becoming a man and a servant to everyone, recognizing the disease in men, which is sin. He bore the judgment in place of everyone, and died for our justification a living sacrifice acceptable to God.
The two disciples did not understand this thing completely, having expected a powerful king. Now, they have seen a weak Savior on the cross. They believed in a bright Deliverer, and they placed him in a tomb the day before. They wished him who came from heaven to teach them, develop them, and appoint them as ministers and honorable men in his all-dominating kingdom. Yet, now they run away from the state authorities, afraid in frustration.
Because of such thoughts, Jesus reproved those disciples. He called them foolish ones and slow of heart, for they did not understand what the Holy Spirit taught them. Christ must suffer and die in order to enter into his glory. His emblem was not judgment and domination, but reconciliation and atoning death. He did not come to live for us, but to die in our place, for this is the only way to reconciliation of men to God. Whoever denies the Crucified One does not understand God in his truth. Whoever seeks to stand before God without his meek Lamb Jesus is not yet aware of his own great sin, which separates him from the Holy One.
The Crucified One is the only established bridge leading to God, and he who has been raised from the dead is our faithful Mediator. Jesus frees us from all self-righteousness, self-content, and self-esteem. He teaches us to stretch out our hands to the redeeming Deliverer. No one living is righteous before God. Christ is our righteousness.
The eleven disciples sat down confusedly and frightfully in the upper room. And when the two disciples of Emmaus came in joyfully and cheerfully and testified that Christ was alive, and that he spoke to them clarifying the necessity of his death and resurrection, the disciples looked at one another, and they shook their heads. Thoughts ran foolishly in their minds, for Mary Magdalene and some women had already told them about this strange event. Is Christ truly risen?
Probably some of them said: “If that were true, he would appear to us first”. Others answered: “Maybe he wanted to punish us for our fleeing, and for Peter’s denial.
At last, they all concurred in the implausibility of the story of his resurrection, and they did not believe it. Those were the apostles in their own power, for the Holy Spirit had not yet dwelt in them. Their faith was not a true, courageous, and living faith, for upright faith is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer
O Lord, who has been raised from the dead, forgive us our unbelief and slowness of heart. Open our eyes that we may see the necessity of your death, and the greatness of your victory on the cross. You are the Holy One. You have been raised from the dead, and death could not catch you. You are alive, and your life is love. As you revealed yourself on earth, so you are today in the Spirit. Teach us to follow you in self-denial, to love you alone, and to serve all men as you made yourself a servant to the unworthy. Amen.
Question
Why did the disciples not understand Jesus’ death, and not believe in his resurrection?