And he said unto them,
What things?
And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:
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Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
Recognition, though, happened only when Jesus opened up the Scriptures for them, because they had given up hope and said, “But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.” O my dear disciples, you had hoped, now you don’t hope? Come here, robber, give the disciples a lesson. Why have you given up hope, just because you have seen him crucified, because you’ve looked at him hanging there, because you have thought him weak? He was like that for the robber too, hanging on the cross beside him. The robber was sharing in his punishment but he believed straightaway and acknowledged him, while you on the other hand have forgotten he is the author of life. Cry out, robber, from the cross! You, a criminal, win over the saints! What did they say? “We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.” What did this man say? “Jesus, remember me, when you come in your kingdom.” So you had hoped, had you, that it was he who would redeem Israel? O my dear disciples, if he was the one that was goi...
So then, what kind of consideration does the doubting of Moses demand of us? … Moses doubted when the wood came into contact with the rock. …The disciples doubted when they saw the Lord crucified. He came to them after his resurrection, as they were talking to each other about this matter in a sad conversation. He kept their eyes from recognizing him, not in order to remove himself from believers but to put them off while they were still doubters. He joined in their conversation as a third party and asked them what they were talking about. They were astonished that he should be the only person not to know what had happened—to the very man, in fact, who was asking about it. “Are you,” they said, “the only stranger in Jerusalem?” And they went over all that had happened to Jesus. Straightaway they proceeded to open up all the depth of their despair and, although unwittingly, they showed the doctor their wounds: “We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.” The doubt arose because ...
And He said unto them, What things? Christ constrains them to open their grief and to confess their doubts as to His resurrection.
And they said unto him, concerning Jesus of Nazareth. They acknowledge Him, says Bede, to be a great prophet, but they do not speak of Him as the Son of God, either because their faith was imperfect, or because they feared lest they might fall into the hands of the persecuting Jews. For they knew not with whom they were speaking and therefore concealed what they believed to be true. Because they say (verse21) that they trusted that it had been Hebrews , as being the Messiah and the Son of God, which should have redeemed Israel.
Mighty in deed and in ward. So should every Christian be, especially those who have devoted themselves to a religious life, or have been called to any office in the Church. What they preach they should perform, and teach first by example and then by word.
