Identifying the risen Christ: some reflections on the epistemology and theology of the Road to Emmaus story

Book section : Chapter

In this chapter, I consider what spiritual significance we might find in the fact that people who knew Jesus very well ante-mortem seem, in some cases, to struggle to recognize him in his resurrected state. I explore this question with reference to the Road to Emmaus story (Luke 24). I develop two lines of reflection, by proposing that the story points, arguably, to the importance of bodily demeanor in constituting and communicating spiritual authority, and that it invites us to see Jesus's identity in terms of his role in revealing and realizing the divine purposes. These readings offer, I suggest, a way of expounding what seems to be a fundamental proposal of the Emmaus text: that the risen Jesus is made known not on account simply of his bodily appearance, but in what he does, and indeed in how he does it.

Authors: Wynn, M

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Routledge
• Host title: Biblical Narratives and Human Flourishing: Knowledge Through Narrative
• Pages: 146-161
• Chapter number: 10
• Series: Routledge Studies in Analytic and Systematic Theology
• Place of publication: London
• Publication date: 2024-06-28
• Edition: 1
• DOI: 10.4324/9781003422587-12
• EISBN: 9781003422587
• ISBN: 9781032716169
• Language: English
• Subtype: Chapter