Luke 24

1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 'The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " 8 Then they remembered his words.
9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
17 He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?"
They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?"
19 "What things?" he asked.
"About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."
25 He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them.
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"
33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."
37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."
40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence.
44 He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, "This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."
50 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

Points of Interest:

• ‘very early in the morning’—they go to visit the body as soon as is practical after the Sabbath ends. They’re bringing embalming spices to slow the decay of the body and hide the smell; but Jesus isn’t even dead long enough for them to do the embalming. It somehow seems fitting to me that, with one of the primary complaints against Jesus and his followers being Sabbath-breaking, these women miss their window to anoint Jesus’ body because they are observing the Sabbath.

• ‘suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them’—when Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah on the mountain, Jesus’ clothes ‘became as a bright as a flash of lightning’ (9:29), just like the clothes of these two men do now. I assume the two men are angels, because they’re fulfilling the usual angelic role of passing along an important message from God, like Gabriel did in chapter 1 (1:11,26). Then again, it might be Moses and Elijah again—or Abraham, or Isaac, or Jacob or some other long-dead person. After all, what they’re testifying to is life after death. The prayer meeting on the mountain and this heavenly encounter at the empty tomb serve as bookends for Jesus’ experience in Jerusalem. In his prayer time on the mountain, Jesus talked with two resurrected people about his own impending departure from the world (9:31). Here, the women talk with two heavenly or resurrected men about the fact that Jesus has indeed risen.

• ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead?’—As Jesus told the Sadducees, ‘God is not the God of the dead, but of the living’ (20:38). God is certainly Jesus’ God; therefore, Jesus is alive.

• ‘Then they remembered his words’—again and again, Jesus has told his followers these things, but they haven’t been able to understand. Finally, this thing that’s remained a mystery is unveiled: ‘No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in may see the light’ (8:16).

• ‘the Eleven’—Judas, of course, is no longer counted with the apostles.

• ‘Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James’—these are some of the same women who have been traveling with Jesus since chapter 8 (8:2-3). Luke mentions their names to show that he is relying on the eyewitness testimony of specific people, not on rumor, hearsay, or anonymous tips. The testimony of women was considered less reliable than that of men (IVP Bible Background Commentary 256); nonetheless, Jesus gives the first news of his resurrection to these faithful women who have been following him and who have come to do honor to his body.

• ‘their words seemed to them like nonsense’—the women were able to hear the words and have them bear fruit, but the men are still somewhat poor soil (8:12).

• ‘Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb’—Peter doesn’t quite believe the women, but he takes what they say seriously. He moves from unbelief to curiosity, which is a good step. If he sticks with it, his perseverance will eventually pay off (8:15).

• ‘it is the third day since all this took place’—they’re practically repeating Jesus’ own words, about being rejected by the chief priests, being crucified, and rising on the third day; but they don’t put it all together.

• ‘and then enter his glory?’—Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53, which so vividly portray Jesus’ suffering, don’t stop there. They go on to describe the sufferer’s glorious future even after death. Psalm 22 starts with, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ but it ends with,
Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it! (Psalm 22:30-31).
And Isaiah 53 says,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied . . . (Isaiah 53:10-11).
What his followers thought of as Jesus’ tragic end is only his glorious beginning.

• ‘Jesus continued on as if he were going farther’—Jesus waits to see if they are interested in hearing more. When they invite him to eat with them, he accepts, just like he commanded them to do when they went to the villages to share his good news (10:8).

• ‘Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him’—the broken bread, the symbol of his broken body, finally cures them of their blindness to who he is.

• ‘Peace be with you’—I think this would be a standard greeting, but it’s particularly meaningful here. He knows that seeing someone they think is dead all of a sudden pop up in the middle of them might be a bit scary. The first thing he wants them to know is that they have no reason to be afraid; he has good intentions toward them.

• ‘they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement’—they go from overwhelmingly scared to overwhelmingly happy.

• ‘he took it and ate it in their presence’—I think eating the fish both proves that he’s not a ghost and brings some normality to the situation.

• ‘he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures’—Jesus walks his followers through some of the very passages we’ve been looking at the past few days, opening their eyes to the fact that what looked terribly wrong was actually going exactly according to the script.

• ‘forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations’—Jesus isn’t just the sin doctor for a few people in a room, or even just for one nation. He has the power and the desire to cure the whole world of sin. Isaiah speaks of this as well:
And now the Lord says—
he who formed me in the womb to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
and gather Israel to himself,
for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord
and my God has been my strength—
he says:
‘It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will make you a light for the Gentiles,
That my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth’ (Isaiah 49:6)
Jesus is indeed Israel’s Messiah, just as Mary and Zechariah foresaw at the beginning of our story (1:54-55, 68-69). But he is so much more than that: he’s a Savior for the whole world.

• ‘beginning at Jerusalem’—this rescue from sin is even available to Jerusalem, the city that killed him. In fact, Jerusalem will get the offer before anyone else.

• ‘I am going to send you what my Father has promised’—that would be the Holy Spirit: ‘how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him’ (6:13). Before Jesus began his work, the Father sent him the Holy Spirit. Jesus is now sending his followers out to continue his work: the work of healing the sick, of casting out demons, of bringing forgiveness, or freeing people who are bound up, and of spreading good news. To do these things, they will need the same source of power Jesus relied on.
For some reason, Jesus’ command here not to leave until they’ve been equipped with heavenly power reminds me of his cryptic saying at the Passover supper about taking their purses, bags, and swords (22:36). Perhaps Jesus didn’t mean those things literally, but as a sort of parable about the Holy Spirit: they don’t want to find themselves naked or unprepared in the task he now has for them.

• ‘he left them and was taken up into heaven’—just like in the story where the servants are given the money to invest (19:11-27), Jesus goes away to get real royal power for himself. His followers are left behind to put what he’s given them to work, until he returns.

Taking it home:

• For you and your family: Just as you prayed for a greater understanding of the meaning of Jesus’ death yesterday, ask God to give you a deeper appreciation of the significance of his resurrection today. Ask God to fill you today with wonder and praise.

• For your friends: Ask Jesus to show himself to your friends. Ask him to give them whatever explanation or demonstration they need to believe in his death and his resurrection.

• For our city: Pray for God’s forgiveness and his salvation to be poured out on our city. That’s what Jesus came for.