Cleopas is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Cleopas was one of the two disciples who walked with the resurrected Jesus on the road to Emmaus, as recorded in Luke 24. On the same day that Jesus rose from the dead, these two travelers were making their way from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus, about seven miles distant. As they went, they talked together of all the things that had happened—the crucifixion of Jesus, the empty tomb discovered by the women, and the perplexing report of angels who said He was alive. While they conversed, Jesus Himself drew near and walked with them, though their eyes were kept from recognizing Him.
When Jesus asked what they were discussing, Cleopas answered. Luke identifies him by name at this point: “And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?” His words reveal both his astonishment and his assumption that any visitor to Jerusalem must surely know of the momentous events of that week. Cleopas then recounted the story of Jesus of Nazareth—a prophet mighty in deed and word, condemned and crucified—and confessed the hope that had now been shaken: “But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel.”
Cleopas appears only once by name in the King James Bible, yet he stands as a witness to one of the most tender scenes in the Gospels. He and his companion later urged the stranger to stay with them, and it was at the table, when Jesus took bread and blessed it, that their eyes were opened and they knew Him. Cleopas is remembered as one who walked and talked with the risen Lord, and whose heart burned within him as Jesus opened the Scriptures along the way.
The Name
The name Cleopas is Greek in form, and it is commonly understood as a shortened form of Cleopatros, a compound name meaning “glory of the father” (from *kleos*, “glory,” and *pater*, “father”). This derivation is widely accepted, though some have also proposed a connection to the name Clopas, mentioned in John 19:25 as the husband of one of the women at the cross. Whether the two names refer to the same man is debated and cannot be settled from the text itself. What is clear is that Cleopas is a Greek name borne by a Jewish disciple, a reminder of how thoroughly Greek culture had permeated the world into which the gospel came.
A Closing Thought
Cleopas walked and talked with the risen Christ without recognizing Him, and his heart burned within him before his eyes were ever opened. There is a gentle comfort in that. We, too, may travel a road of confusion or grief, certain that the Lord is far off, when all the while He walks beside us and speaks to us in His Word. Cleopas reminds us that recognition often comes later—at the table, in the breaking of bread, in the quiet opening of Scripture—and that the burning heart is itself a sign that He is near.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: New
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Luke 24:18 — And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?