Luke 24
- Who wrote it
- Traditionally Luke, a doctor and companion of Paul
- Who it was for
- Theophilus and other followers of Jesus
- What was happening
- The empty tomb, the road to Emmaus, and the risen Jesus with his disciples
What’s happening
On the first day of the week, at early dawn, the women come to the tomb with the spices they have prepared and find the stone rolled away and the body gone. While they are perplexed, two men in dazzling clothes stand by them and say, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He isn't here, but is risen. Remember what he told you when he was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again." They remember his words, return from the tomb, and tell all this to the eleven and the rest. The women are Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them. "These words seemed to them to be nonsense, and they didn't believe them." But Peter gets up and runs to the tomb, stoops and sees the linen cloths by themselves, and goes home wondering. That same day two of them are going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, talking about all that had happened. Jesus himself draws near and walks with them, but their eyes are kept from recognizing him. "What are you talking about?" One of them, named Cleopas, says, "Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who doesn't know the things which have happened there in these days?" They tell him about Jesus of Nazareth, "a prophet mighty in deed and word," whom the chief priests and rulers delivered up to be condemned and crucified: "But we were hoping that it was he who would redeem Israel." It is the third day, and some women of their company astonished them, saying they had not found the body and had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. "Some of us went to the tomb, and found it just like the women had said, but they didn't see him." He says, "Foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Didn't the Christ have to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?" Beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he explains to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. As they draw near the village he acts as if he would go further, but they urge him, "Stay with us, for it is almost evening, and the day is almost over." At the table he takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them, and their eyes are opened, and they recognize him, and he vanishes from their sight. They say to one another, "Weren't our hearts burning within us, while he spoke to us along the way, and while he opened the Scriptures to us?" They rise that very hour and return to Jerusalem, where they find the eleven and those with them saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" They tell what happened on the road and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. As they speak, Jesus himself stands among them: "Peace be to you." They are terrified, thinking they see a spirit. "Why are you troubled? ... See my hands and my feet, that it is truly me. Touch me and see, for a spirit doesn't have flesh and bones, as you see that I have." While they still disbelieve for joy and wonder, he asks, "Do you have anything here to eat?" They give him a piece of broiled fish, and he takes it and eats in front of them. He says, "These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that all things which are written in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me must be fulfilled." Then he opens their minds to understand the Scriptures: "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send out the promise of my Father on you. But wait in the city of Jerusalem, until you are clothed with power from on high." He leads them out as far as Bethany, lifts up his hands, and blesses them, and while he blesses them he is parted from them and carried up into heaven. They worship him and return to Jerusalem with great joy, and are continually in the temple, blessing God.
Why the setting matters
Luke's resurrection chapter is built around Scripture and a meal. The Emmaus story has two disciples, one named Cleopas, walking away from Jerusalem, and the risen Jesus joins them and does what the whole Gospel has been doing: opens the Scriptures and breaks bread. Emmaus was about seven miles (sixty stadia) from Jerusalem, but where it was is debated, since several sites have been proposed. Their statement, "We were hoping he would redeem Israel," gives voice to what many expected, a national rescue. Jesus' reply about the Christ's necessary suffering and glory points back to the passages like Isaiah 53 and the Psalms, and he names the three parts of the Hebrew Scriptures: the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms (24:44). That the women are first to tell, and are not believed, would have been striking in a world where women's testimony was given less weight; Luke notes it without softening. Jesus' eating the fish answers the disciples' fear that he is a ghost. "The promise of my Father" is the Holy Spirit, who comes in Acts 2, and "beginning from Jerusalem" to "all nations" sets up the structure of Acts. Luke's ending, with joy and blessing in the temple, returns to where the Gospel began: the temple, a priest, and praise.
Who’s in this chapter
Jesus
Risen; opens the Scriptures, breaks bread, and sends them.
Mary Magdalene
One of the women at the tomb.
Joanna
One of the women at the tomb.
Mary, mother of James
One of the women at the tomb.
Two men in dazzling clothes
In dazzling clothes; announce the resurrection.
Simon Peter
Runs to the tomb, and is the one the Lord appeared to.
Cleopas
One of the two on the Emmaus road.
The eleven
Gathered in Jerusalem; first disbelieving, then worshiping.
The disciples
Hear the news and see him.
Talk it through
- The women are not believed. How does Luke want us to hear that, and how did they hear it?
- "Weren't our hearts burning within us?" What was it about how Jesus explained the Scriptures?
- They recognize him in the breaking of bread. Why that moment?
- Jesus tells them to wait until they are clothed with power. What does Luke seem to say that the disciples need next?
Read Luke 24
World English Bible
1But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they and some others came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3They entered in, and didn’t find the Lord Jesus’ body. 4While they were greatly perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling clothing. 5Becoming terrified, they bowed their faces down to the earth.
They said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6He isn’t here, but is risen. Remember what he told you when he was still in Galilee, 7saying that the Son of Man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and the third day rise again?”
8They remembered his words, 9returned from the tomb, and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10Now they were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. The other women with them told these things to the apostles. 11These words seemed to them to be nonsense, and they didn’t believe them. 12But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. Stooping and looking in, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he departed to his home, wondering what had happened.
13Behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was sixty stadia from Jerusalem. 14They talked with each other about all of these things which had happened. 15While they talked and questioned together, Jesus himself came near, and went with them. 16But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17He said to them, “What are you talking about as you walk, and are sad?”
18One of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things which have happened there in these days?”
19He said to them, “What things?”
They said to him, “The things concerning Jesus, the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people; 20and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21But we were hoping that it was he who would redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22Also, certain women of our company amazed us, having arrived early at the tomb; 23and when they didn’t find his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24Some of us went to the tomb, and found it just like the women had said, but they didn’t see him.”
25He said to them, “Foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26Didn’t the Christ have to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?” 27Beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he explained to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. 28They came near to the village where they were going, and he acted like he would go further.
29They urged him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is almost evening, and the day is almost over.”
He went in to stay with them. 30When he had sat down at the table with them, he took the bread and gave thanks. Breaking it, he gave it to them. 31Their eyes were opened and they recognized him, then he vanished out of their sight. 32They said to one another, “Weren’t our hearts burning within us, while he spoke to us along the way, and while he opened the Scriptures to us?” 33They rose up that very hour, returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and those who were with them, 34saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35They related the things that happened along the way, and how he was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.
36As they said these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be to you.”
37But they were terrified and filled with fear, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
38He said to them, “Why are you troubled? Why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39See my hands and my feet, that it is truly me. Touch me and see, for a spirit doesn’t have flesh and bones, as you see that I have.” 40When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41While they still didn’t believe for joy, and wondered, he said to them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”
42They gave him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. 43He took them, and ate in front of them. 44He said to them, “This is what I told you, while I was still with you, that all things which are written in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me must be fulfilled.”
45Then he opened their minds, that they might understand the Scriptures. 46He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49Behold, I send out the promise of my Father on you. But wait in the city of Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from on high.”
50He led them out as far as Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. 51While he blessed them, he withdrew from them, and was carried up into heaven. 52They worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.
Text: World English Bible, Public domain. About our sources