Luke 24:28

‘And they drew nigh to the village, to which they were going, and he made as though he would go further.”

We can imagine the fascination with which they listened to Him and recognised how little knowledge of the Scriptures they really had, and may well have regretted reaching their village so quickly. They no doubt saw Him as one of those people that the Master had regularly met and talked with, like for example Nicodemus (John 3:1). And on their arrival the Stranger made as though to take His leave of them. He would not presume on their hospitality.

Jesus rarely forces Himself on us. Had they not issued an invitation to Him to stay with them that would have been the last that they saw of Him, and they would not have experienced what was to come. And they would have deserved it. Jesus behaved perfectly correctly in view of the fact that He did not yet want to reveal Himself, but wanted them to see Him as a Stranger.

‘Made as though.' This a good translation. It is not the same thing as pretending (which the word can mean) but makes clear that He expected to be invited in. It would in fact have been gross discourtesy in the light in which He was depicting Himself had He not been so. It would have been bad manners to indicate that He expected hospitality.