Is the breaking of bread in Luke 24:30 meant to be understood in terms of the Last Supper?

Question

Luke 24:30-31 NIV describes Jesus' meal with two disciples after the resurrection:

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.

The account here in verse 24:30 sounds very similar to Jesus' actions in Luke 22:19. I was surprised to find, however, that Darrell Bock quickly denies the connection.

This meal is not a reenactment of the Lord’s Supper since there is no wine and nothing is said over the elements (against, among others, Nolland 1993b: 1206).

^{Bock, D. L. (1996). Luke: 9:51–24:53 (Vol. 2, p. 1919). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.}

Unfortunately that's all he seems to have to say on the subject (at least in this commentary), and it hardly feels to me to be a knock out argument. And, of course, his is just one side. What are the arguments here? Does Luke intend Theophilus to pick up an echo of the Last Supper meal?

Answer 1

Argument from Passover

The Last Supper was the Passover meal, which required the eating of unleavened bread:

Luke 22:7,8 (ESV)

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.”

Exodus 12 and 13 prescribe a week of eating unleavened bread with the Passover meal at the end.

This suggests the meal in Emmaus was with leavened bread rather than the unleavened bread prescribed for the holy week of Passover, because it takes place several days after the Passover week was completed. This argues against reenactment, although not conclusively.

There are other occasions in which Jesus broke bread with the disciples. One notable example recorded for us is Matthew 4:19 (Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand).

Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.

This suggests it was customary for Jesus to say a blessing at the breaking of bread (not just unleavened bread) and is similar to the meal in Emmaus:

Luke 24:30 (ESV)

When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them.

In this view, it is the combination of blessing and breaking bread which caused the men to recognize Jesus, not necessarily a Passover reenactment.

Argument from Disfiguration

This is another line of reasoning which seems sound (and a bit romantic, too!), though some might think it is grasping.

These disciples did not recognize Jesus at first, and the question is, why?

The answer given is that Jesus was disfigured. Scripture support is offered as follows:

Isaiah 50:6 (ESV)

I gave my back to those who strike,
and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face
from disgrace and spitting.

Isaiah 52:13-15 (ESV)

Behold, my servant shall act wisely;
he shall be high and lifted up,
and shall be exalted.
As many were astonished at you—
his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
so shall he sprinkle many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because of him;

If these passages can be taken as Messianic prophecies (there is especially good evidence for the second one), then it can be extrapolated that the beating Jesus took left him disfigured beyond recognition (he had his beard pulled out, was marred beyond human semblance).

Compare these to Luke 22:63,64; Mark 15:19; Matthew 26:67,68

This can explain why Mary didn't recognize him (in the same way as the men at Emmaus).

John 20:17 (ESV)

Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.

The reason they may have recognized him in the breaking of bread is the revelation of his scars when he raised his hands to bless the bread. This would have been a telltale sign. The nail prints would have functioned the same way they did for (doubting) Thomas:

John 20:27,28 (ESV)

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

Conclusive?

No!

But at least a couple other reasons why Jesus could have been "known to them in the breaking of the bread."

Answer 2

It's unclear what Jesus' intention was, and although the textual parallel in those two passages is undeniable:

Lk 22:17 λαβὼν               ἄρτον     εὐχαριστήσας         ἔκλασεν καὶ    ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς
Lk 24:30 λαβὼν τὸν           ἄρτον     εὐλόγησεν καὶ        κλάσας         ἐπεδίδου αὐτοῖς

...plenty of other events have nearly the same construction:

Mt 14:19 λαβὼν τοὺς πέντε    ἄρτους .. εὐλόγησεν καὶ        κλάσας         ἔδωκεν τοῖς μαθηταῖς
Mt 15:36 ἔλαβεν τοὺς ἑπτὰ    ἄρτους .. εὐχαριστήσας         ἔκλασεν καὶ    ἐδίδου τοῖς μαθηταῖς
Mt 26:26 λαβὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς      ἄρτον καὶ εὐλογήσας            ἔκλασεν καὶ    δοὺς τοῖς μαθηταῖς 
Mk  6:41 λαβὼν τοὺς πέντε    ἄρτους .. εὐλόγησεν καὶ        κατέκλασεν ..  ἐδίδου τοῖς μαθηταῖς
Mk  8: 6 λαβὼν τοὺς ἑπτὰ     ἄρτους    εὐχαριστήσας         ἔκλασεν καὶ    ἐδίδου τοῖς μαθηταῖς
Mk 14:22 λαβὼν               ἄρτον     εὐλογήσας            ἔκλασεν καὶ    ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς 
Lk  9:16 λαβὼν δὲ τοὺς πέντε ἄρτους .. εὐλόγησεν αὐτοὺς καὶ κατέκλασεν καὶ ἐδίδου τοῖς μαθηταῖς
Ac 27:35 λαβὼν               ἄρτον     εὐχαρίστησεν ..      κλάσας
1Co 11:23 ἔλαβεν             ἄρτον καὶ εὐχαριστήσας         ἔκλασεν

So there's nothing particularly parallel about them.

Answer 3

Most commentaries seem to conclude that it at least it was indicative of the Last Supper, if not a re-enactment of it.

I tend to agree with Darrel Bock(if I understand him correctly), that this was not a re-enactment of the Last Supper:

The Last Supper(what we tend to look at as the institution of the Lord's Table) was in fact the Passover.(Luke 22:11)

And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?

The Passover was to be celebrated with Unleavened bread and wine, which constituted the main elements of the Feast. The Blessings of the Bread and Wine are at the beginning of any Passover meal,"Blessed are you, Lord our G_d, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine." When the Unleavened Bread is blessed,"Blessed are you, Lord our G_d, King of the Universe, who brings us bread from the earth".

The important verse, which distinquishes the Emmaus Road meal from the Last Supper is this:(Luke 22:18)

For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come

There have been numerous commentaries regarding this issue; some say His Return on the Road to Emmaus was the sign of the Kingdom of God coming, and they use the fact that He did eat at the Upper Room visitation:(Luke 24:41-43)

And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? 42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. 43 And he took it, and did eat before them.

But nowhere does it record He drank wine; in fact He tells them,(Luke 24:49)

"And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high".

signifying that the Kingdom of God that He refered to hadn't come yet.

In regards to the Unleavened Bread, which was to be eaten for 7 days during the Feast;(Luke 12:16)

for I say to you, that no more may I eat of it till it may be fulfilled in the reign of God.

Jesus is offering a blessing over a normal meal, on the 1st day of the week. While it is significant that it is "The Lord's Day", He is recognized in the way He "broke the bread", something He did in His 2 multiplication miracles(Matt. 16:9-10), there is no indication that He did any more than offer a tradition Jewish blessing over the Unleavened Bread. It was in the "Breaking" that He was recognized.

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