DID OUR HEARTS NOT BURN WITHIN US AS HE SPOKE TO US ON THE WAY AND EXPLAINED THE SCRIPTURES? (LUKE 24, 32)

Cosmas Uzowulu

Abstract


The one verse of Luke which we are about to study forms part of the great periscope of Luke 24,13-35. It is about the Emmaus Road and a Meal Discovery. The appearance of Jesus on the Emmaus road is one of Luke's most vivid and dramatic accounts about Jesus, and he narrates the event with great skill and drama. The account relates the travelers' disappointment over Jesus' death and their curiosity over the empty tomb. Since their “sight†is shrouded, they do not initially recognize Jesus when he joins them. They think that all hope is lost. But things change as their new companion manifests how Jesus is the fulfillment of all of the OT. There is a necessity to God's plan. During their meal and table koinonia (fellowship), Jesus gradually reveals himself. Jesus' resurrection thus receives confirmation through an appearance. The travelers are overjoyed at being with Jesus and understanding God's plan as revealed in the Scriptures. Thus: “Did our hearts not burn within us as He spoke to us on the way and explained the Scriptures� Therefore, failure becomes fulfillment.i This study will be in two sections: The first section will be on the analysis of the text, while the second section will be its application and theology.

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References


i.

Cf. J. A. FITZMYER, The Gospel according to Luke (x-xxiv) (Anchor Bible 28A; Garden

City, NY.: Doubleday, 1985) 1557-59, notes four Lucan emphases: (1) the geographic

journey,

(2) Jesus' gradual revelation of himself, (3) Christology and fulfillment of OT prophecy,

and

(4) the meal scenes. Fitzmyer sees the meal as “Eucharisticâ€; although there is breaking

of

bread and thanksgiving, it is not a Eucharistic, especially given the absence of wine.

ii.

I. H. MARSHALL, The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary on the Greek Text (NIGTC;

Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978) 897.

iii.

A. PLUMMER, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to St.

Luke (ICC: Edinburgh: Scribner, 1896) 556.

Did Our Hearts Not Burn Within Us As He Spoke To Us On The Way And Explained

The Scriptures? (Luke 24, 32)

iv.

Parabiazomai usually means “to use force†on someone, but here “quiet persuasion†is meant,

which is similar to the use of the un-prefixed form in the difficult 16,16. On the importance

of hospitality in Judaism, see PHILO, On Abraham 22#107-13; similarly JOSEPHUS,

Antiquities 1.11.2 #196.

v.

Cf. FITZMYER, The Gospel according to Luke (x-xxiv),1567; similarly, PLUMMER, A

Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to St. Luke, 557-58.

vi.

Cf. W. GRUNDMANN, Das Evangelium nach Lukas (THNT 3; Berlin: Evangelische

Verlagsanstalt, 1963) 447; similarly, MARSHALL, The Gospel of Luke, 897-98; likewise, J.

ERNST, Das Evangelium nach Lukas (RNT 3; Regensburg, 1977) 663. See also these other

biblical passages, Judg 19,9; Tob 10,8; Luke 7,36; 11,37; 19,5; John 1,38; Acts 16,15.

vii.

Meals are frequent in Luke: simple meals (7,36; 11,37; 14,1), feasts (5,29), miraculous

provisions (9,16), cultic meals (22,14), wedding feasts (14,8-9), and the eschatological

banquet (12,37; 13,29); G. R., The Resurrection Narratives: A Redactional (Grand Rapids:

Baker, 1984) 123 n.26; similarly, PLUMMER, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the

Gospel according to St. Luke, 556. That Jesus ate such meals with the “wrong people†is

noted in 15,1 and 19,1.

viii.

On breaking bread, see Matt 14,19 = Mark 6,41 =Luke 9,16 = John 6,11; Matt 15,36 = Mark

,6; Matt 26,26 = Mark 14,22 = Luke 22,19; Mark 8,19; Acts 2,42.46; 20,7.11; 27,35; John

,11; 1 Cor 10,16; 11,24.

ix.

See this in his giving the blessing.

x.

Cf. PLUMMER, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to St.

Luke, 556.

xi.

That the participants do not even know that they were sitting with Jesus speaks against seeing

the messianic banquet here; but so argues F. W. DANKER, Jesus and the New Age: A

Commentary on St. Luke's Gospel (revised edition; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1988) 394.

xii.

The first occurrence of the personal pronoun auton (their) is slightly emphatic since it is

separated from its modifier.

xiii.

Cf. FITZMYER, The Gospel according to Luke (x-xxiv) 1568.

xiv.

R. J. DILLON., From Eye-Witnessesto Ministers of the

Word: Tradition and

Composition in Luke 24 (Analecta Biblica 82; Rome: PBI, 1978) 155.

xv.

The distributive singular kardia (heart) shows that the heart burned in each of them, cf.

MARSHALL, The Gospel of Luke, 898. The periphrastic idiom pictures a running emotion,

see PLUMMER, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to St. Luke,

-58. On the sense of kardia in Luke see, 1,51.66: 2,19.35.51; 3,15; 5,22; 9,47; 24,25. See

also, D. L. TIEDE, Luke (ACNT; Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1988) 437.

xvi.

For other figurative uses see Ps 39,3 (39,4 MT); 73,21; K. SCHMIDT, TDNT 3:464. And for

literal uses of kaio, see Matt 5,15; 13,40; Luke 12,35; John 5,35; 15,6; Heb 12,18; Rev 4,5;

,8.10; 19,20; 21,8.

xvii

Cf. J. SCHNEIDER, “Suze teo†in TDNT, 7.747.

xviii.

The wor for “amazed†appears frequently in Luke-Acts for catching someone off guard (Luke

,47; 8,56; Acts 8,9.11).

xix.

Cf. D. L. BOCK, Luke: The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan:

Zondervan, 1996) 616.


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