He took bread and blessed it, and brake, and gave unto them, and their eyes were opened, and they knew Him… And they told what things were done in the way, and how He was known of them in breaking of bread. Luke 24:30-31,35
It is amazing to us how those two disciples failed to recognize the Lord Jesus as He spoke with them on the trip to Emmaus. Surely they would have seen in His face and hands the marks of His crucifixion. Surely they would have recognized His voice, and understood Who He was by the vast amount of information that He was imparting to them. The only explanation, of course, is that, for the purpose of His instructions to them, the Lord Jesus needed them to be unaware of His identity, and so He hid it from them. Being kept from the distraction of His presence, they were able to follow along with what He was unfolding to them of the Scriptures. But there came a moment, an event, that must reveal Him to them. The same event reveals Him to us when we remember Him.
The first part of our text, from verses 30 and 31, describes the moment of recognition. The second part, from verse 35, describes how they told the other disciples in Jerusalem the manner in which they recognized Him. For the remainder of their lives, those two people would remember that great moment, and joyfully relive it in their minds and in their retelling of it. That breaking of bread would be precious to them because of its revelation. And they would appreciate that preciousness in the years to come, ever time they would break bread with the other Christians. Almost two thousand years later, the Lord’s people still appreciate the preciousness of His presence as we break the bread together.
It was our Lord Himself who instituted the feast that we observe in remembrance of Him. We recall that as we break the bread, and give thanks that He would give us such a wonderful way in which to appreciate His finished work on the cross, and to appreciate His presence among us. Week by week, we have a fresh revelation of Him, as we recognize the wonders of His person, the greatness of His love, the perfection of the sacrifice He made for us, the glories of the redemption that He purchased for us. The sharing of our meditations and worship enables us to understand and enjoy Who He is that delights to gather in our midst.
It is true that we break the bread in remembrance of our Lord. But we also break the bread in recognition of Him. -Jim MacIntosh