“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” — Genesis 3:7 (TLV)
“Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from them.” — Luke 24:31 (TLV)
Two moments in Scripture, separated by centuries, use the same phrase, “their eyes were opened.” One happens in the Garden after sin enters the world. The other takes place on the road to Emmaus after the resurrection. One reveals shame while the other reveals salvation.
And that is not a coincidence. It is redemption coming full circle.
In the Beginning: Eyes Opened to Separation
When Adam and Chavah (Eve) disobeyed God and ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, their eyes were opened.
But what did they actually see?
Not divine wisdom, but loss. The loss of innocence, intimacy, and that perfect fellowship with the Lord. Their eyes opened, but what they saw was smaller, darker, and fractured. Awareness came at the expense of peace.
The Hebrew phrase vatipaqachna einei sheneihem (וַתִּפָּקַ֙חְנָה֙ עֵינֵ֣י שְׁנֵיהֶ֔ם) literally means “their eyes were unsealed.” Throughout Scripture, this phrase signals sudden revelation, but revelation does not always feel comfortable. Sometimes God’s light shows us what we were never meant to carry.
At Emmaus: Eyes Opened to Redemption
In Luke 24, two disciples are walking to Emmaus, heartbroken and confused after Yeshua’s crucifixion. He joins them on the road, but their eyes are kept from recognizing Him.
As they walk, He opens the Scriptures to them, starting with Moses and the Prophets, showing how everything pointed to the Messiah. Then, as He breaks bread with them, “their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him.”
The same phrase appears again, but this time the result is different.
In Eden, opened eyes brought guilt.
In Emmaus, opened eyes brought grace.
In the Garden, they saw what was lost.
On the road, they saw Who restored it.