Who Was Cleopas in the Bible — Meaning Explained

Cleopas, also spelled Cleopas or Clopas, appears in the Gospel of Luke as one of the two disciples traveling to Emmaus on the day of Christ's resurrection. The name is a shortened form of Cleopatros, meaning 'of a renowned father.' He and another disciple — whose name is not given — were walking the seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus, 'talking together of all these things which had happened.' Their conversation was heavy with grief and confusion. Jesus had been crucified. Their hopes that He would redeem Israel had been dashed. Some women had visited the tomb and claimed angels said He was alive, but the disciples had not seen Him. As they walked, 'Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.' Jesus asked what they were discussing, and Cleopas responded with astonishment: 'Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?' Jesus pressed him: 'What things?' Cleopas then summarized the events: Jesus of Nazareth, 'a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,' had been delivered to be crucified. 'But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.' He also mentioned the women's report of the empty tomb and the angels. Jesus then began to teach them, 'beginning at Moses and all the prophets,' interpreting the Scriptures concerning Himself. They still did not recognize Him. When they reached Emmaus, Jesus 'made as though he would have gone further,' but they constrained Him to stay. At the table, Jesus 'took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.' They said to each other, 'Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?' Cleopas and his companion immediately returned to Jerusalem and found the eleven gathered together. They reported that the Lord had appeared to Simon, and then Cleopas and his companion told 'what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.' Cleopas's story demonstrates that Jesus meets His people in their confusion, opens the Scriptures to reveal Himself, and makes Himself known in the breaking of bread — a foreshadowing of the Lord's Supper. Their burning hearts and eager return show that an encounter with the risen Christ transforms sorrow into joy and converts travelers into witnesses.