The students will be able to explain that Jesus walked with the two on the road to Emmaus and later that day revealed Himself to them. They will realize when Jesus speaks to us He lets us know that He is real and that we can trust in what He says.
Introduction: Begin your class session by having each of your children cover their eyes with their hands. Tell your group that you are going to touch one of them and that student should say a few words. The others must try to guess who is speaking. They will not be able to recognize the speaker by sight because their eyes are covered. Then explain that today's story is about some men who didn't recognize Jesus, even though their eyes were physically open.
Climax: As they ate bread together at Emmaus, Jesus revealed Himself and they knew Him.
Conclusion: Just as the two at Emmaus did not recognize Christ, we know Him personally only after He reveals Himself to our hearts.
Response: The students will be able to explain that Jesus walked with the two on the road to Emmaus and later revealed Himself to them. They can explain that when Jesus speaks to us He lets us know that He is real.
We do not have many Scriptures in the Old Testament that foretell the Resurrection. In Psalm 16:10 we read "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." This does not specify the number of days Christ would be in the grave, Jesus appeared to several people on the day of His resurrection. He first appeared unto Mary. He also appeared to the women who came to anoint His body (Matthew 28:9). He appeared unto Peter and to the eleven in the evening as they sat at meat. Our text is about the two who talked with Him on the way to Emmaus. No one can be sure who these two were. There is no evidence to prove that the Cleopas mentioned here is the same as Cleophas of John 19:25. Some Biblical scholars think the unnamed disciple might have been Luke himself. The account sounds as though the writer was there in person.
It is not known for certain where Emmaus was. The text says it was about threescore furlongs from Jerusalem, but gives no direction. It is thought that it was located near the village of El Kubiebeh which is seven miles northwest of Jerusalem.
Emmaus was evidently the home of these disciples and they were returning there following a visit to Jerusalem. They were talking of the events of the day when Jesus overtook them. They did not recognize Him as His appearance had changed (Mark 16:12). After questioning them about their conversation, He reproved them for their unbelief, but went on to expound the Scriptures concerning Himself.
When they came to their village they asked the Stranger to come in with them as the day was far spent. They sat down to eat and as Christ blessed the food they recognized Him as the Lord. He vanished from their sight and they hurried back to Jerusalem to tell the news that they had seen Jesus.
Build your review around the message of the memory verse. Have a large basket or container with a big question mark on it in front of your group. Explain that lots of times we have questions about what is right or what we should do. God's Word has the answers! In the basket place a number of questions that can be answered by a Bible verse. Have students come up and pull out a question and read it aloud. Other students should be prepared ahead of time with a Bible and the answers. When they hear their question read, they can come up and read the answer out of the Bible.
Focus your review on the memory verse for this week. Bring supplies for a camping trip such as a sleeping bag or backpack. Include a lantern in your supplies. Describe how dark it gets at night, and turn out the lights in your assembly area. Tell the children you can't see to do the things you need to do, and ask what you need. When they say, "A light," light your lantern. Then parallel this to the Bible. It is our "light" to tell us what to do. But it will do us no good unless we read it, just like your lantern did no good until you lit it.
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