Luke 24 Bible Commentary

24:1  But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came unto the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared¹. ANGELS ANNOUNCE THE RESURRECTION TO CERTAIN WOMEN. PETER AND JOHN ENTER THE EMPTY TOMB. (Joseph's Garden. Sunday, very early.) Matthew 28:1-8; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-8,12; John 20:1-10
Bringing the spices which they had prepared. See Luke 23:56.

24:8  And they remembered his words¹,
And they remembered his words. For the words referred to, see Matthew 17:22,23.

24:9  and returned from the tomb, and told all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest. FIRST AND SECOND APPEARANCES OF THE RISEN CHRIST. THE RESURRECTION REPORTED TO THE APOSTLES. (Jerusalem. Sunday morning.) Matthew 28:9,10; Mark 16:9-11; Luke 24:9-11; John 20:11-18

¹24:10  Now they were Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the [mother] of James: and the other women with them told these things unto the apostles.
Now they were Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the [mother] of James: and the other women with them told these things unto the apostles. See Mark 16:11.

24:11  And these words appeared in their sight as idle talk; and they disbelieved them¹.
And they disbelieved them. See Mark 16:11.

24:12  But Peter arose, and ran unto the tomb¹; and stooping and looking in, he seeth the linen cloths by themselves; and he departed to his home, wondering at that which was come to pass.
But Peter arose, and ran unto the tomb. John shows that he and Peter started for the tomb as soon as they received the message of Mary Magdalene (John 20:2), but Luke is less exact, blending her message with that of the other women, as will be seen in the latter part of Section 135.

24:13  And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was threescore furlongs from Jerusalem². THIRD AND FOURTH APPEARANCES OF JESUS. (Sunday afternoon.) Mark 16:12,13; Luke 24:13-35; 1 Corinthians 15:5
To a village called Emmaus. Several sites have been suggested, but the village of Emmaus has not yet been identified beyond dispute. Its location is probably marked by the ruins called el Kubeibeh, which lies northwest of Jerusalem.
Which was threescore furlongs from Jerusalem. El Kubeibeh is distant 7.8 miles or 62.5 furlongs, from Jerusalem.

24:16  But their eyes were holden that they should not know him¹.
But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. Jesus himself designedly restrained their vision, that, unlike John (John 20:8,9), that might see the resurrection of Jesus in the Scriptures before they saw it in reality. Compare note at (John 20:14).

24:17  And he said unto them, What communications are these that ye have one with another, as ye walk¹? And they stood still, looking sad.
What communications are these that ye have one with another, as ye walk? Our Lord's abrupt question brought them to a standstill. We may well imagine that they considered his interruption very unwelcome. But his kindly mien won their confidence and they tell him all.

24:18  And one of them, named Cleopas¹, answering said unto him, Dost thou alone sojourn in Jerusalem and not know the things which are come to pass there in these days²?
And one of them, named Cleopas. Of Cleopas nothing further is known. It has been suggested that the other disciple was Luke himself. This is possible, for the other Evangelists mention themselves thus impersonally. The preface to Luke's Gospel in no way forbids us to think that he had a personal knowledge of parts of Christ's ministry. See Luke 1:1-4.
Dost thou alone sojourn in Jerusalem and not know the things which are come to pass there in these days? Cleopas marveled that there could be a single man in Jerusalem who had not heard concerning the crucifixion, etc.

24:21  But we hoped that it was he who should redeem Israel¹. Yea and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things came to pass.
But we hoped that it was he who should redeem Israel. To Cleopas, redeeming Israel meant freeing the nation from the Roman yoke.

24:22  Moreover certain women of our company amazed us, having been early at the tomb¹; Luke 24:22,23
Moreover certain women of our company amazed us, having been early at the tomb. Rationalists might see their own reflection in these two disciples, who suppressed the statement of the women that they had seen the Lord as too idle to be repeated, and told the least marvelous part of their story--that about the angels--as too visionary to be credited. Thus the renowned Renan held that the resurrection was a story or fabrication which grew out of the hallucination of Mary Magdalene. But these two men on the way to Emmaus had less use for feminine hallucinations than even M. Renan. But in the end they believed in the resurrection because they themselves had substantial evidence of it.

24:24  And certain of them that were with us went to the tomb, and found it even so as the women had said¹: but him they saw not².
And certain of them that were with us went to the tomb, and found it even so as the women had said. Peter and John (Luke 24:12; John 20:3).
But him they saw not. The last clause unconsciously suggests the omitted fact that the women had professed to see Christ.

24:27  And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets¹, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself².
And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets. The counsel of the Father revealed in the Scriptures shows that Jesus should enter into his glory through suffering. The books of Moses foretell Christ largely in types, such, as the passover, the rock in the wilderness, Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac, the day of atonement, etc. The prophets show him forth in clear-cut predictions and descriptions.
He interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. Jesus evidently applied both these divisions of Scripture to himself, making it plain to these two who were both thoughtless in mind and slow in heart. Those lacking in a knowledge of the Christology of the Old Testament are slow to believe in it. Those who know that Christology, and yet doubt the Old Testament, do so because they lack faith in the Christ therein portrayed.

24:29  And they constrained him, saying, Abide with us¹; for it is toward evening, and the day is now far spent. And he went in to abide with them.
And they constrained him, saying, Abide with us. They were loath to part with this delightful stranger who by his wonderful use of the Scriptures revived their failing faith and hope in Jesus.

24:31  And their eyes were opened¹, and they knew him²; and he vanished out of their sight.
Their eyes were opened. See Luke 24:16.
And they knew him. While he was breaking the bread to supply their bodies he opened their eyes and revealed to them that it was he also who had just been feeding their hungry hearts with the truth and consolation of the divine word. See Luke 24:35.

24:32  And they said one to another, Was not our heart burning within us, while he spake to us in the way, while he opened to us the scriptures¹?
Was not our heart burning within us, while he spake to us in the way, while he opened to us the scriptures? Thus they admit to each other that the joy of beholding the risen Lord was but the consummation of a joy already begun through a right understanding of the truth contained in Scripture. The sight of the Lord was sweeter because it was preceded by faith that he ought thus to rise.

24:33  And they rose up that very hour, and returned to Jerusalem¹, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them²,
And they rose up that very hour, and returned to Jerusalem. See Mark 16:13.
And found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them. The women and some of the "hundred and twenty" (Acts 1:15).

24:34  saying, The Lord is risen indeed¹, and hath appeared to Simon².
The Lord is risen indeed. His resurrection is not an hallucination of the women.
And hath appeared to Simon. Paul and Luke both mention this appearance, but we have none of the details of it (1 Corinthians 15:5).

24:35  And they rehearsed the things [that happened] in the way, and how he was known of them in the breaking of the bread.
And they rehearsed . . . how he was known of them in the breaking of the bread. This does not mean that they knew Jesus because of any peculiar way in which he broke the bread; it means that he was revealed at the time when he broke it (Luke 24:30,31).

24:36  And as they spake these things¹, he himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace [be] unto you. FIFTH APPEARANCE OF JESUS. (Jerusalem. Sunday evening.) Mark 16:14; Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-25
And as they spake these things. While the two from Emmaus were telling their story.

24:37  But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they beheld a spirit¹.
But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they beheld a spirit. Jesus' entrance through a bolted door (John 20:19) lent weight to their idea that he had no corporeal body. They knew nothing of the possibilities of a resurrected body.

24:40  And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet¹.
And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. These members not only showed that he was not a disembodied spirit, but they served to identify his body with that which they had seen crucified, and hence the person who now spoke was the Jesus whom they had known and lost. See also John 20:20.

24:43  And he took it, and ate before them¹.
And he took it, and ate before them. Thus at last satisfying them that he was not a ghost.

24:44  And he said unto them, These are my words which I spake unto you¹, while I was yet with you², that all things must needs be fulfilled, which are written in the law of Moses, and the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me. NINTH AND TENTH APPEARANCES OF JESUS. (Jerusalem.) Luke 24:44-49; Acts 1:3-8; 1 Corinthians 15:7
These are my words which I spake unto you, etc. That is, these recent events are simply what I told you should come to pass according to the Scriptures, but you did not understand.
While I was yet with you. In the mind of Jesus, he was already parted from them, and his presence was the exception and not the rule.

24:45  Then opened he their mind, that they might understand the scriptures¹;
Then opened he their mind, that they might understand the scriptures. Some think that this illumination was of a miraculous nature, and confound it with what the Lord is said to have done at just as he had done it already to the two on the way to Emmaus (Luke 24:27).

24:46  and he said unto them, Thus it is written¹, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day²; THE GREAT COMMISSION GIVEN. (Time and place same as last section.) Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-18; Luke 24:46,47
Thus it is written, etc. The verses from Luke are taken from a later conversation, which will be handled in our next section. They are inserted here because they are an indicative statement of the commission which Matthew and Mark give in the imperative, and a section professing to embrace the commission would be imperfect without them.

NINTH AND TENTH APPEARANCES OF JESUS (cont'd)
That the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day. Both the written prophecy and the unwritten nature of things required that Christ should do as he had done. The saying forms an important credential for the Book of Jonah; where else have we the period of three days fixed as the time between our Lord's burial and resurrection? (Matthew 12:38-40).

24:47  and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations¹, beginning from Jerusalem.
And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations. Luke sums up the whole commission by recording the words of Christ, wherein he states that he suffered that it might be preached to all nations that if men would repent, God could now forgive (Romans 3:26).
Beginning at Jerusalem. From Luke's record we also learn that the preaching of these glad tidings was to begin at Jerusalem.

24:50  And he led them out until [they were] over against Bethany: and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. THE ASCENSION. (Olivet, between Jerusalem and Bethany.) Mark 16:19,20; Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:9-12

24:51  And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he parted from them¹, and was carried up into heaven.
And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he parted from them,
and was carried up into heaven. It is significant that our Lord's gesture, when last seen of men, was one of blessing.