Emmaus Road Bible College (ERBC)

We are very aware that the name of our college is not unique – Road to Emmaus

Why Emmaus?, We all like something about this name. For us, it sums up our core values.

The small village of Emmaus was about seven miles northwest of Jerusalem, on a two-hour walk; and it is mentioned only once in the scriptures (Luke 24: 13-49). As for what we know, no one famous was born there – of the two residents described by Luke, one was called Cleopas. And this is the only time that Cleopas is mentioned, while the other is not even named. The village did not have any strategic importance. Its name means “Warm Spring”, but it was not its natural resources, which made this village important; This village is significant due to an extraordinary incident that occurred in AD 30. on the road to Emmaus from Jerusalem.

It was the third day after Jesus of Nazareth was crucified in Jerusalem and his followers were in complete disarray. Three days after the death of the Lord Jesus, two of his disciples were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus. They were depressed that their teacher had been killed because they expected him to be the one to redeem Israel. their long-awaited Messiah was dead, but there were exaggerated rumors of resurrection and Angels, so Cleopas and his friend went home in despair and confusion.

Somewhere on the road to Emmaus, they met a “stranger” who began to convince them to talk to him about what had happened. This conversation became one of the most extraordinary Bible studies in the world. When the “stranger” began to respond to the prayer of Psalm 119: 18 –”Open my eyes, and I will look at the wonders of your law.” Luke says that, “And beginning from Moses, and following all the prophets, he declared to them in all the Scriptures what they said of him, to fulfill the multitude of prophecies made about Him more than fifteen hundred years ago, until their hearts “were burning inside of them.” When they arrived at Emmaus, it was in the afternoon so they invited the foreigner to stay with them. He agreed but when they were eating, “their eyes were opened” and this time they realized that it was Jesus himself who had been teaching them and then disappeared.

So some of our core values are:

1. God has no favorites – we can all learn what He revealed to these two “strangers” (see also Galatians 2: 6) and about any other issues that we have to face in our daily lives.
2. As Christians of the 21st century, we have much to learn, and we have no time to waste – we need to learn what he revealed to these two disciples and then to the twelve apostles. (Luke 24: 33-45)
3. God is a humble, reasonable God who loves dialogue (see also Isaiah 1:18) – we should be like Jesus Christ.
4. We need Jesus himself to open our eyes – in addition to education, we need revelation (see also facts 4:13)

These disciples later reported the incident to the other disciples, recounting the event with joy, “And they said to one another: Did not our heart burn within us, while He spoke to us on the way, and when He opened the Scriptures to us? Luke 24:32. This incident explains our use of the name Emmaus.

It also expresses the purpose of Emmaus Road Bible College, a place where men and women can have the scriptures open to them, where they learn, where the Holy Spirit opens our eyes and reveals to us ― “The things related to Jesus Christ”.