Cleopas and I meet Jesus

As usual, there had been thousands of people in Jerusalem for the Passover festival. The crowds were noisy and rambunctious, enjoying the spring weather.  My husband, Cleopas, and I were talking about everything that had happened as we began our journey back home. You see, we had been with a man called Jesus of Nazareth, who was a mighty prophet. There were 12 men who had followed Jesus for three years now, and lots more of us who decided to join the group as they had come through our towns. We traveled all over the region and on our way towards Jerusalem before the festival, we had seen him perform some astounding feats. Peter and the others who were closest to Jesus had seen him heal lepers and the blind, and even bring someone who was dead back to life. As word of these things spread, more people were following Jesus. Of course, the traditional custom that men and women who are unrelated should not travel together has made our lives interesting! The men would be together in one group with Jesus and the twelve, and the women in another group. Most of us women would walk along with Mary, the mother of Jesus.  When we approached Jerusalem, crowds of people had heard that Jesus was coming and shouted praises to him. They threw their cloaks and branches cut from the trees onto the ground to make a smooth path for him, shouting “Hosanna!” and calling him “King”. But while we were in Jerusalem, the chief priests and leaders of the Temple and the city elders got upset with Jesus. His teachings were that the leaders had things all wrong. And you should have seen what happened one day! Jesus was so upset when he saw the money changers in the Temple, he drove them all out, yelling and knocking over their tables!  We heard them say that he was a rabble rouser, maybe even trying to start a new insurrection, the way Barabas had!

So, after the Passover meal, Jesus and some of his closest friends were in a garden at the Mount of Olives. And a big group of soldiers came and arrested Jesus. Pilate offered to release Jesus, but the crowds were shouting for Barabas to be released instead. And then shouting for Jesus to be crucified! We were just horrified that this could be happening. Jesus had said he would die, but no one thought it could be anything like this. Mary and some of us women stayed at the site outside the city walls, where they crucified him. He looked so awful after the beatings and flogging, we hardly recognized him. Mary was inconsolable, and looked so lost and alone. Jesus spoke to her from the cross, telling her that John, the youngest of the twelve, was her new son, and that she is now his mother. How typical of him to worry about them, when he was in so much agony, he could hardly speak. After Jesus had died, a wealthy man named Joseph helped to bury him in his own tomb. It had to be done quickly as the Sabbath approached.

There had not been time before the Sabbath for us women to properly care for Jesus' body. It was not until the morning after the Sabbath that we could take the spices and balms to the tomb, to take care of him for the last time. The women told us the most astonishing things when they got there! There was an angel, saying that Jesus was no longer there, but had risen! The younger women ran to tell the men, and Peter and John led the group back to the tomb, running all the way. And sure enough, there was nothing there but the linen cloths! I still can not quite imagine it.

So, as Cleopas and I began our walk back home to Emmaus, these are the things we talked about. He told me what the men had said about the trial, that Pilate had seemed to believe Jesus innocent and then had washed his hands of the case. I told him about Mary's anguish as we watched Jesus dying.  As we walked and talked, we barely noticed a stranger approaching until he was right beside us, walking along. He asked what we were discussing as we walked. I thought he was just making conversation. Cleopas told him we were talking of the arrest, trial and death of Jesus of Nazareth. The man seemed not to have heard about it! We told him about Jesus, of the things we had seen, and our hopes that this was the one who would redeem all of Israel, as in the prophecies. And we told him that we were wondering how this could have been a real prophet, when he had been crucified, even under false pretenses! The stranger then said, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to us what was said in all the Scriptures concerning the Christ, or Messiah. It was especially exciting for me to hear this wise teacher, because women have to remain in the outer courts of the Temple, so we do not get to ask our husbands what the chief priests and teachers mean when they teach. In fact, this man seemed to even be speaking to me as he taught, not just to my husband. Well, time went so quickly as he spoke, we were nearly home when he finished explaining these prophecies to us. We invited him to stay with us for the night, as it was nearly dark.

I got the supper ready as quickly as I could after our journey, and the stranger joined us at the table. He took some bread, gave thanks, broke it into pieces and gave it to each of us. As he did, Cleopas and I looked at each other in astonishment! We suddenly knew this was Jesus! So many times we had seen him give thanks and hand bread to us, out in the countryside when there were thousands of people, or over a table with just a few of us. As we recognized him, he just disappeared from our sight! We sat there, shocked for a few minutes, then we both started to talk at once! We realized that as he explained the Scriptures to us, our hearts were burning with knowledge of the truth of God, and a yearning for more. Well, we got up and hurried back to Jerusalem to look for Peter and the others. When we found them, all together, we told them, “it is true! Jesus is alive again!” We told how he came to us as we walked along the road. And how he told us about how the Scriptures predicted all of this and how we finally recognized him as he broke the bread. We were all so excited, we were talking all at once, just like little children!

In the days since these things happened, we have told everyone we meet about this amazing man, this Jesus. We tell about his teachings, miracles, about how he prayed. And we tell that he died and rose again!  But most of all, we tell about how he loved us. Each and every one of us, felt that special love that he had. He loved us, and He loves you too. Will you, too, follow Him?


(1265 words-edited March 16, 2008)