And they drew near unto the village, where they were going: and he made as though he would have gone further.
Read Chapter 24
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
Remember, though, dearly beloved, how the Lord Jesus desired to be recognized in the breaking of bread, by those whose eyes had been kept till then from recognizing him. The faithful know what I’m talking about. They know Christ in the breaking of bread. It isn’t every loaf of bread, you see, but the one that receives Christ’s blessing and becomes the body of Christ. That’s where they recognized him. They were overjoyed and went straight to the others. They found whom they already knew. By telling what they had seen, they added to the gospel. It was all said, all done, all written down. And it has reached us.
And He made as though He would have gone further. This was no deceit: for He would have gone on if the disciples had not constrained Him, but as He knew that they would thus constrain Him to abide with them, in this respect he was not willing, but was making as if (πζοσεποιει̃το) He would have gone further.
Hence S. Augustine (Qust. Evang.) says, "When one feigning has reference to a certain meaning, it is not a falsehood, but a certain figure of the truth." And again, "A fiction founded on truth is a figure; not so founded, it is a lie." And S. Gregory (hom23in Evang.) writes, 11By the word "fingere" we mean to put together or form, hence modellers of clay we call "figuli." He who was the truth did nothing by deceit. He manifested Himself to them in the body, such as He came before them in their midst. He would prove them whether they could show charity to Him as a stranger, although they might not yet love Him as God."
