Luke 24:13
in Luke 24That same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was threescore furlongs from Jerusalem.
KJV
And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.
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This verse in Luke 24
Commentary
20 notes on this verseAs two of the disciples walked to a village called Emmaus, they talked about Christ, regarding him as no longer living but mourning him as dead. As they conversed, Jesus drew near and went with them, without being recognized by them, for their eyes were restrained, so that they should not know him. You must know that these two disciples belonged to the number of the seventy, and that Cleopas's companion was Simon—not Peter or the one of Cana—but another Simon, of the seventy.
This site's exposition
a village called Emmaus
on Luke 24:13-14
Two disciples travel that same day to a village called Emmaus, threescore furlongs from Jerusalem, about seven miles, talking together of all these things that had happened. Emmaus's exact site is disputed among several candidates in the archaeological record, and the bench holds the location loosely while noting the distance itself, a half day's walk each way, gives the conversation room to run its full course. Their talk, all these things, sets the scene as two believers processing grief and confusion together, exactly the condition in which the risen Lord chooses to meet them.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
Or to two of the disciples by themselves our Lord showed Himself in the evening, namely, Ammaon and Cleophas.
(de Con. Ev. lib. iii. c. 25.) The fortress mentioned here we may not unreasonably take to have been also called according to Mark, a village, He next describes the fortress, saying, which was from Jerusalem about the space of sixty stades, called Emmaus.
Here we are with two others, walking along the road and talking to each other about the things that had been happening in Jerusalem—about the iniquity of the Jews, about the death of Christ. They were walking along, talking the matter over, grieving for him as if he were dead, not knowing he had risen again. He appeared and joined them as a third traveler, and entered into friendly conversation with them. Their eyes were held from recognizing him; their hearts, you see, needed more thorough instruction. Recognition is deferred.
"We," they said, "had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel." O my dear disciples, you had hoped! So now you no longer hope? Look, Christ is alive! Is hope dead in you? Certainly, certainly, Christ is alive! Christ, being alive, found the hearts of his disciples dead, as he appeared and did not appear to their eyes. He was at one and the same time seen and concealed. I mean, if he wasn't seen, how could they have heard him questioning them and answered his questions? He was walking with them along the road like a companion and was himself the leader. Of course he was seen, but he wasn't recognized. For their eyes were restrained, as we heard, so that they wouldn't recognize him. They weren't restrained so that they wouldn't see him, but they were held so that they wouldn't recognize him.Ah yes, brothers and sisters, but where did the Lord wish to be recognized? In the breaking of bread. We're all right, nothing to worry about—we break bread, and we recognize the Lord. It was for our sake that he didn't want to be recognized anywhere but there, because we weren't going to see him in the flesh, and yet we were going to eat his flesh. So if you're a believer, any of you, if you're not called a Christian for nothing, if you don't come to church pointlessly, if you listen to the Word of God in fear and hope, you may take comfort in the breaking of bread. The Lord's absence is not an absence. Have faith, and the one you cannot see is with you. Those two, even when the Lord was talking to them, did not have faith, because they didn't believe he had risen. Nor did they have any hope that he could rise again. They had lost faith, lost hope. They were walking along, dead, with Christ alive. They were walking along, dead, with life itself. Life was walking along with them, but in their hearts life had not yet been restored.
For as two of them were taking a walk, and when the Lord had joined their company, without its appearing that it was He, and whilst He dissembled His knowledge of what had just taken place, they say: "But we trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel," -meaning their own, that is, the Creator's Christ.
13 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church6 voices
And behold, two of them were going etc. After having described the revelation of the resurrection, the Evangelist here describes the apparition of the one rising, in which indeed he appeared to two disciples as suitable witnesses. Now the progression and order of this apparition …
And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about sixty stadia from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things which had happened. A stadium, as the Greeks say, with Hercules as …
It is the same as Nicopolis, a remarkable town in Palestine, which after the taking of Judæa under the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antonius, changed together with its condition its name also. But the stadium which, as the Greeks say, was invented by Hercules to measure the distances of roads, is the eighth part of a mile; therefore sixty stades are equal to seven miles and fifty paces. And this was the length of journey which they were walking, who were certain about our Lord's death and burial, but doubtful concerning His resurrection. For the resurrection which took place after the seventh day of the week, no one doubts is implied in the number eight. The disciples therefore as they walk and converse about the Lord had completed the sixth mile of their journey, for they were grieving that He who had lived without blame, had come at length even to death, which He underwent on the sixth day. They had completed also the seventh mile, for they doubted not that He rested in the grave. But of the eighth mile they had only accomplished half; for the glory of His already triumphant resurrection, they did not believe perfectly.
(non occ.) After the manifestation of Christ's resurrection made by the Angels to the women, the same resurrection is further manifested by an appearance of Christ Himself to His disciples; as it is said, And behold two of them.
Some say that one of these two was Luke himself, which is why the evangelist concealed his name.
Some say that Luke was one of these two, and for this reason concealed his name.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Now in this passage of story we may observe, I. The walk and talk of these two disciples: They went to a village called Emmaus, which is reckoned to be about two hours' walk from Jerusalem; it is here said to be about sixty furlongs, seven measured miles,
And behold two of them went that same day,....
The Nineteenth Century5 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
“Two of them.” Two of the disciples. The name of one of them was “Cleopas,” Luk 24:18. Many have supposed that the other was Luke, and that he omitted his own name from modesty. Others have supposed that it was Peter. See Luk 24:34; 1Co 15:5. There is no evidence to guide us here. Dr. Lightfoot has shown that “Cleopas” is the same name as “Alpheus,” who was the father of the apostle James, Mat 10:
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
two of them--One was Cleopas (Lu 24:18); who the other was is mere conjecture. Emmaus--about seven and a half miles from Jerusalem. They probably lived there and were going home after the Passover.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)
proposed
The history contained in these verses, is not found in any other Gospel but that of Luke. Of all the eleven appearances of Christ after His resurrection, none perhaps is so interesting as the one described in this passage. Let us mark, in these verses — what encouragement there is to believers to speak to one another about Christ . We are told of two disciples walking together to Emmaus, and talking of their Master's crucifixion. And then come the remarkable words, "As they talked and discussed these things with each other — Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them." Conference on spiritual subjects is a most important means of grace. As iron sharpens iron — so does exchange of thoughts with brethren, sharpen a believer's soul. It brings down a special blessing on all who make a practice of it. The striking words of Malachi were meant for the Church in every age — "Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other — and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in His presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name. 'They will be Mine,' says the LORD Almighty, 'in the day when I make up My jewels.'" (Malachi 3:16, 17.) What do we ourselves know of spiritual conversation with other Christians? Perhaps we read our Bibles, and pray in private, and use public means of grace. It is all well, very well. But if we stop short here — then we neglect a great privilege and have yet much to learn. We ought to "consider how to provoke one another to love and good works." We ought to "exhort" and "edify one another." (Hebrews 10:24; 1 Thessalonians 5:11.) Have we no time for spiritual conversation? Let us think again. The quantity of time wasted on frivolous, trifling, and unprofitable talk — is fearfully great. Do we find nothing to say on spiritual subjects?
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)
proposed
The history contained in these verses, is not found in any other Gospel but that of Luke. Of all the eleven appearances of Christ after His resurrection, none perhaps is so interesting as the one described in this passage. Let us mark, in these verses — what encouragement there is to believers to speak to one another about Christ . We are told of two disciples walking together to Emmaus, and talking of their Master's crucifixion.
Behold, two of them - This long and interesting account is not mentioned by Matthew nor John, and is only glanced at by Mark, Mar 16:12, Mar 16:13. One of these disciples was Cleopas, Luk 24:18, and the other is supposed by many learned men, both ancient and modern, to have been Luke himself. See the sketch of his life prefixed to these notes. Some of the ancient versions have called the other disciple Ammaus and Ammaon, reading the verse thus: Behold two of them, Ammaus and Cleopas, were going in that very day to a village about sixty furlongs distant from Jerusalem. But the Persian says positively that it was Luke who accompanied Cleopas. See the inscription to section 140 of this Gospel in the Polyglott. Dr. Lightfoot thinks it was Peter, and proves that Cleopas and Alpheus were one and the same person. Threescore furlongs - Some MSS. say 160 furlongs, but this is a mistake; for Josephus assigns the same distance to this village from Jerusalem as the evangelist does. War, b. vii. c. 6. s. 6. Αμμαους απεχει των Ἱεροσολυμων σταδιους ἑξηκοντα, Ammaus is sixty stadia distant from Jerusalem, about seven English miles and three-quarters. A stadium was about 243 yards, according to Arbuthnot.
The words behind it
21 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἰδοὺ | idou | behold | G2400 → | 200 times |
| δύο | duo | two | G1417 → | 133 times |
| ἐξ | ex | of | G1537 → | 911 times |
| αὐτῶν | auton | them | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἐν | en | on | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| αὐτῇ | autea | same | G846 → | 5565 times |
| τῇ | tea | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἡμέρᾳ | hemera | day | G2250 → | 389 times |
| ἦσαν | esan | were | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| πορευόμενοι | poreuomenoi | going | G4198 → | 147 times |
| εἰς | eis | to | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| κώμην | komen | a village | G2968 → | 27 times |
| ἀπέχουσαν | apechousan | being distant | G568 → | 19 times |
| σταδίους | stadious | stadia | G4712 → | |
| ἑξήκοντα | hexekonta | sixty | G1835 → | |
| ἀπὸ | apo | from | G575 → | 640 times |
| Ἰερουσαλὴμ | ierousalem | Jerusalem | G2419 → | 76 times |
| ᾗ | he | whose | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| ὄνομα | onoma | name [is] | G3686 → | 227 times |
| Ἐμμαοῦς. | emmaous | Emmaus. | G1695 → |
ΚαὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἰδοὺbehold
idouG2400 →200 times
δύοtwo
duoG1417 →133 times
ἐξof
exG1537 →911 times
αὐτῶνthem
autonG846 →5565 times
ἐνon
enG1722 →2738 times
αὐτῇsame
auteaG846 →5565 times
τῇthe
teaG3588 →19766 times
ἡμέρᾳday
hemeraG2250 →389 times
ἦσανwere
esanG1510 →2333 times
πορευόμενοιgoing
poreuomenoiG4198 →147 times
εἰςto
eisG1519 →1755 times
κώμηνa village
komenG2968 →27 times
ἀπέχουσανbeing distant
apechousanG568 →19 times
σταδίουςstadia
stadiousG4712 →
ἑξήκονταsixty
hexekontaG1835 →
ἀπὸfrom
apoG575 →640 times
ἸερουσαλὴμJerusalem
ierousalemG2419 →76 times
ᾗwhose
heG3739 →1405 times
ὄνομαname [is]
onomaG3686 →227 times
Ἐμμαοῦς.Emmaus.
emmaousG1695 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
1 stopEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Luke 24:18One of them, named Cleopas, asked Him, “Are You the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in recent days?”
it leads to
- John 19:25
Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother and her sister, as well as Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene.
- John 19:25
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies19
On this verse
On this chapter
- The Apocrypha
- The Tanakh
- The Torah
- Bread
- How We Got the Bible
- Lydia: Acts 16:11-15, 40
- Messianic Prophecy
- The Messianic Psalms
- Moses Wrote of Me
- The Ascension: Acts 1:1-11 · Luke 24:50-53
- The Intertestamental Period
- The Promise of the Father
- The Women Who Followed: Luke 8:1-3 and the Passion Witnesses
- The Road to Ecbatana
About Luke

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceJudaeaEmmausThe village on the road from Jerusalem where the risen Christ opened Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms to two disciples and was k…
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on 20 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Gospels; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 232.3; Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 235.2-3; Bede, On the Gospel of Luke; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bonaventure, Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24; Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON LUKE, CHAPTER 24; Glossa Ordinaria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Tertullian, Against Marcion Book IV; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Luke and Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas.
