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The Return of the Prodigal Son
The Return of the Prodigal Son, Rembrandt, about 1668. Public domain.

Lukechapter 24

53 verses · Luke · about AD 62 · The Gospels

Jesus said to them, “These are the words I spoke to 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.”

Introduction

Luke, The Gospels, Luke Overview.

Luke wrote this last chapter to give Theophilus the certainty his opening lines promised. It begins before dawn on the first day of the week and gathers several meetings into one account. The people in it are ordinary followers who did not expect what they found. Listen for how slowly belief comes, and for what finally opens the disciples' eyes. Listen also for the way the Scriptures of Israel are handled, since the chapter treats them as the key to everything that happened. The Gospel closes where it opened, in the temple at Jerusalem.

Context

Who
Theophilus, receiving the certainty the book was written to give him
What
The empty tomb, the walk to Emmaus, the appearance to the disciples in Jerusalem, and the Lord's parting from them near Bethany.
Where
A tomb near Jerusalem, the road to the village of Emmaus, a room in Jerusalem, and the area near Bethany.
When
The first day of the week after the Passover, about AD 30 or 33.
Why
To give the reader certainty that Jesus rose bodily and that the Scriptures had foretold both his suffering and his rising.

Historical context

The women come at first light on the first possible morning, since the Sabbath had blocked any work from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. They bring the spices they had prepared, which is the ordinary attention paid to a body that had been buried in haste.

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Their report is dismissed as nonsense by the apostles, and Luke says so. That is a strange thing to include in a persuasive account unless it is what happened, and it reflects the low weight given to women's testimony in that world, which makes their being the first witnesses harder to explain as invention.

Emmaus is placed about sixty stadia from Jerusalem, roughly seven miles, and the site is not certainly identified; several villages have been proposed and the manuscripts even vary on the distance. The walk would have taken a couple of hours, and pressing a traveller to stay because the day is far spent is ordinary hospitality on a road where nightfall meant danger.

The evening scene in the room is deliberately physical. He shows his hands and feet, invites them to touch, and asks for something to eat, and Luke specifies broiled fish. In a Greek world where educated readers might be more comfortable with a surviving spirit than a raised body, that detail is doing work.

Significance

On the road, the risen Christ does not begin with the empty tomb; he begins with Moses and all the Prophets and explains what was said about himself in all the Scriptures. Luke's readers, arguing from those same Scriptures in synagogues across the empire, were being handed the method.

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And the book closes by opening outward. Repentance and forgiveness are to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem, which is the exact sentence Luke will pick up and spend a second volume proving, as the message travels from that city to the capital of the world.

The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.

An Empty Tomb and Words They Would Not Believe

Luke 24:1-3

very early in the morning: The women who watched the burial at 23:55-56 find the tomb empty. By keeping the same witnesses at both scenes, Luke ties them together as eyewitness report, the method his preface promised at 1:1-4.

Luke 24:1

“Bringing the spices - To embalm the body of our Lord: but Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea had done this before the body was laid in the tomb. See Joh 19:39, Joh 19:40. But there was a second embalming found necessary: the first must have been hastily and imperfectly performed; the spices now brought by the women were intended to complete the preceding operation. And certain others with them - This clause is wanting in BCL, two others; Coptic, Ethiopic, Vulgate, and in all the Itala except two. Dionysius Alexandrinus, and Eusebius also omit it.”

They found the stone rolled away: Mark records that the women had asked on the way who would roll the stone back for them. John Gill notes that Joseph had set the stone there and that Matthew names an angel as the one who moved it. Eusebius reads the open tomb as life returning after death.

Luke 24:2

“The Instrument of the Word lay dead, but a great stone enclosed the sepulchre, as if death had led Him captive. But three days had not yet elapsed, when life again puts itself forth after a sufficient proof of death, as it follows, And they found the stone rolled away.”

Eusebius of Caesarea · written before 339 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic

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Luke 24:2

“And they found the stone rolled away the sepulchre. Which Joseph had laid there, security of the body, and in the sight of these women; and which gave them a concern, as they went along, seeing they were all women, who should roll away the stone for them, Mar 16:3 but when they came to the sepulchre, to their great surprise, they found it rolled away, which was done by an angel, Mat 28:2.”

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they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus: John Gill notes that the women knew the place, having watched where He was laid. Adam Clarke observes that Luke names the body in particular, since only the body died while the soul was in Paradise, as 23:43 promised. Tertullian heard a prophecy of Isaiah fulfilled in the empty grave.

Luke 24:3

“And they entered in,.... To the sepulchre, being invited, encouraged, and led on by the angel that sat upon the stone; for the Jews' sepulchres were built large enough for persons to go into; See Gill on Mar 16:5. and found not the body of the Lord Jesus; as they expected, having seen him put there, and had observed in what cave in the sepulchre, and in what form he was laid.”

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Luke 24:3

“For who can refuse to believe that these words often revolved in the thought of those women between the sorrow of that desertion with which at present they seemed to themselves to have been smitten by the Lord, and the hope of the resurrection itself, by which they rightly supposed that all would be restored to them? But when "they found not the body (of the Lord Jesus)," "His sepulture was removed from the midst of them," according to the prophecy of Isaiah.”

Tertullian · written before 220 · Against Marcion Book IVpatristic

Luke 24:3

“And found not the body of the Lord - His holy soul was in Paradise, Luk 23:43; and the evangelist mentions the body particularly, to show that this only was subject to death. It is, I think, evident enough, from these and other words of Luke, that the doctrine of the materiality of the soul, made no part of his creed.”

Luke 24:4-5

two men in radiant apparel: Luke calls them men, and the women later report a vision of angels at 24:23. John also has two angels, while Matthew and Mark speak of one, the one who speaks.

Luke 24:4

“When then they found not the body of Christ which was risen, they were distracted by various thoughts, and for their love of Christ and the tender care they had shown Him, were thought worthy of the vision of angels. For it follows, And it came to pass as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.”

Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic

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Luke 24:4

“And it came to pass as they were much perplexed thereabout,.... About the body of Christ, and its being gone, what should become of it, whither it was removed, and by what means, and by whom; whether by a friend, or foe, for they had no thought, nor expectation of a resurrection; behold, two men stood by them in shining garments; who were angels in the form of men; and as these were the first witnesses of Christs resurrection, there were two of them; for by the mouth of two or three witnesses every thing is established.”

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the living among the dead?: Adam Clarke reports that the question was a common Jewish saying for a search made in the wrong place. Burial grounds were unclean places for the living. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the angels call Him the Living One, as He names Himself in Revelation 1:18.

Luke 24:5

“Why seek ye the living among the dead? - This was a common form of speech among the Jews, and seems to be applied to those who were foolishly, impertinently, or absurdly employed. As places of burial were unclean, it was not reasonable to suppose that the living should frequent them; or that if any was missing he was likely to be found in such places.”

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Luke 24:5

“Witness is hereby given to Christ that he is living, of him it is witnessed that he liveth ( Heb. vii. 8 ), and it is the comfort of all the saints, I know that my Redeemer liveth; for because he lives we shall live also.”

Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan

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Luke 24:6-8

Remember how He told you: The angels answer the empty tomb with the promise He had already given in Galilee. Luke recorded that prediction at 9:22, 9:44 and 18:31-33.

Luke 24:6

“For the same thing was said by the angels to the women: "Remember how He spake unto you when He was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered up, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again." "Must be delivered up; "and why, except that it was so written by God the Creator?”

Tertullian · written before 220 · Against Marcion Book IVpatristic

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Luke 24:6

“Remember how he spake to you, saying, The Son of man must be delivered - This is only a repetition of the words which our Lord had spoken to them before his passion But it is observable, he never styles himself the Son of man after his resurrection.”

John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical

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delivered into the hands of sinful men: Adam Clarke takes the sinful men to be the Gentile Romans, since only the governor could put a man to death. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown marvel that angels quote a whole saying of Christ and name where He spoke it. The women had heard it in Galilee.

Luke 24:7

“The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again, &c. For on the day of the preparation at the ninth hour giving up the ghost, buried in the evening, early on the morning of the first day of the week He rose again.”

Bede · written before 735 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic

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Luke 24:7

“Sinful men - Or heathens, ανθρωπων ἁμαρτωλων, i.e. the Romans, by whom only he could be put to death; for the Jews themselves acknowledged that this power was now vested in the hands of the Roman governor alone. See Joh 19:15.”

Luke 24:7

“Saying, &c.--How remarkable it is to hear angels quoting a whole sentence of Christ's to the disciples, mentioning where it was uttered, and wondering it was not fresh in their memory, as doubtless it was in theirs! (1Ti 3:16, "seen of angels," and 1Pe 1:12).”

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed

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they remembered His words: Remembering turns the women from mourners into messengers, and the next verse sends them to the Eleven. Cyril of Alexandria saw a reversal in this. Woman, once the minister of death, became the first to receive and tell the mystery of the resurrection.

Luke 24:8

“Now the women, when they had received the sayings of the Angels, hastened to tell them to the disciples; as it follows, And they remembered his words, and returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest. For woman who was once the minister of death, is now the first to receive and tell the awful mystery of the resurrection. The female race has obtained therefore both deliverance from reproach, and the withdrawal of the curse.”

Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic

Luke 24:9-10

reported all these things: In the courts of the day a woman's testimony carried little legal weight. Yet Luke names the women, Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Mary the mother of James, as the first witnesses of the empty tomb.

Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James: Luke names the women after their report, as its witnesses. Ambrose of Milan tied their errand to the fall, reasoning that the woman who had passed sin to the man now passed grace to him. Joanna appeared earlier at 8:3 among the women who supported Jesus from their means.

Luke 24:10

“It is not allowed to women to teach in the church, but they shall ask their husbands at home. (1 Tim. 2:12, 1 Cor. 14:35.) To those then who are at home is the woman sent... For that the woman might not endure the everlasting reproach of guilt from men, she who had transfused sin into the man, now also transfuses grace.”

Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic

Luke 24:11-12

seemed like nonsense to them: The women's report meets disbelief, for their words seemed like nonsense. Peter ran to the tomb and went away wondering, still short of faith, which prepares for the appearance to him that verse 34 reports.

Luke 24:11

“And their words seemed to them as idle tales,.... As fabulous things, as mere whims, and the fancies of their brains: "as a dream", according to the Persic version; or, "as a jest", as the Arabic version renders it.”

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Luke 24:11

“The Spirit of truth would by no means have permitted this hesitation, wavering in human weakness, to enter the hearts of his preachers, if their trembling anxiety and questioning delay were not to have established the foundations of our faith. Consequently it was our doubts and our danger that was being considered in the apostles. We, in the guise of the apostles, were being instructed against the slanders of the wicked and the proofs of earthly wisdom. Their "seeing" instructed us, their "hearing" informed us, their "touching" strengthened us.”

Leo the Great · written before 461 · SERMON 73.1.2.444patristic

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seeing only the linen cloths: Peter runs though the others dismissed the report as nonsense in verse 11. Adam Clarke counts the linen cloths lying by themselves as no mean proof of the resurrection.

Luke 24:12

“Then arose Peter - John went with him, and got to the tomb before him. See Joh 20:2, Joh 20:3. The linen clothes laid by themselves - Or, The linen clothes only. This was the fine linen which Joseph of Arimathea bought, and wrapped the body in: Mar 15:46. Small as this circumstance may at first view appear, it is, nevertheless, no mean proof of the resurrection of our Lord.”

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Luke 24:12

“For he alone believed the women saying that they had seen Angels; and as he was of more ardent feelings than the rest, he anxiously put himself foremost, looking every where for the Lord; as it follows, And stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves.”

Eusebius of Caesarea · written before 339 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic

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The Road to Emmaus and the Breaking of Bread

Luke 24:13-14

a village called Emmaus: On the same day two disciples walk to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. The site of Emmaus is disputed among several candidate villages. On the road they talk about everything that had happened, two grieving and confused believers whom the risen Lord is about to meet.

Luke 24:13

“As two of the disciples walked to a village called Emmaus, they talked about Christ, regarding him as no longer living but mourning him as dead. As they conversed, Jesus drew near and went with them, without being recognized by them, for their eyes were restrained, so that they should not know him. You must know that these two disciples belonged to the number of the seventy, and that Cleopas's companion was Simon—not Peter or the one of Cana—but another Simon, of the seventy.”

Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24patristic

talking with each other: Everything that had happened covers the cross and the women's report, which they recount to Him in verses 19 to 24. Gregory the Dialogist observed that to those speaking about Him, the Lord showed His presence. Their talk is where He joins them.

Luke 24:14

“They "were talking with each other about all these events" not as believers, but as people perplexed and amazed by the extraordinary occurrences, and not quickly able to come to terms with such a wondrous phenomenon.”

Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Commentary on Lukepatristic

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Luke 24:14

“Note, It well becomes the disciples of Christ, when they are together, to talk of his death and resurrection; thus they may improve one another's knowledge, refresh one another's memory, and stir up one another's devout affections.”

Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan

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Luke 24:15-16

Jesus Himself came up: Jesus walked with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing Him. Luke states the restraint as fact and gives no cause for it, and the same eyes are opened at verse 31. Until then the two speak freely about their lost hope to the very man that hope concerns.

Luke 24:15

“Communed together - Talked together. And reasoned - They reasoned, doubtless, about the probability or improbability that Jesus was the Messiah; about the evidence of his resurrection; about what was to be done in the present state of things. Jesus himself drew near ... - The disciples were properly employed. Their minds were anxious about the state of things, and they endeavored to arrive at the truth.”

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Luke 24:15

“They in their communings and reasonings together were searching for Christ, comparing notes concerning him, that they might come to more knowledge of him; and now Christ comes to them. Note, They who seek Christ shall find him: he will manifest himself to those that enquire after him, and give knowledge to those who use the helps for knowledge which they have.”

Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan

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their eyes were kept from recognizing Him: Readers divide on the cause. Gregory the Dialogist held that the Lord hid His appearance outwardly because they loved and doubted Him inwardly. Adam Clarke saw nothing supernatural in it and pointed to Mark 16:12, where Christ appeared in another form.

Luke 24:16

“Therefore the Lord performed outwardly in the eyes of the body what was happening within them in the eyes of the heart. For they themselves within were both loving and doubting, while the Lord outwardly was both present to them and yet did not reveal who He was. To those speaking about Him He showed His presence, but from those doubting Him He hid the appearance of His recognition.”

Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 23patristic

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Luke 24:16

“Their eyes were holden - It does not appear that there was any thing supernatural here, for the reason why these persons (who were not apostles, see Luk 24:33) did not recollect our Lord is given by Mark, Mar 16:12, who says that Christ appeared to them in another form.”

Luke 24:16

THE Lord may be present with His people and yet they may not be conscious of it. They may be conscious of the effect produced thereby, but not of the fact itself. When the Lord visited Abraham in his tent on the plains of Mamre, at the first, at least, Abraham thought he was receiving a wayfaring man and so he entertained the Angel of the Covenant unawares. When the Lord appeared unto Jacob he rose up from the vision and said, "Surely God was in this place, and I knew it not."

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Luke 24:17-18

Cleopas is the only one of the two named. A later tradition, reported by Eusebius from Hegesippus, identifies him with the Clopas of John 19:25, a relative of Joseph.

Luke 24:17

“You heard just now that the Lord Jesus, after rising from the dead, found two of his disciples on the road, talking to each other about all that had happened, and said to them, "What is this conversation you are having with each other, and why are you so sad?" …So what is the benefit of this reading for us? A very considerable one, if we understand it rightly. Jesus appeared. They saw him with their eyes and did not recognize him. The Master was walking with them along the way, and he himself was the way.”

Augustine of Hippo · written before 430 · SERMON 235.1-2patristic

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Luke 24:17

“What manner of communications ... - What is the subject of your conversation? What is it that has so much affected your minds? They were deeply affected in the recollection of the death of Jesus; and, as became all Christians, they were conversing about him, and were sad at the overwhelming events that had come upon them.”

Luke 24:17

“Note, Christ's disciples are often sad and sorrowful even when they have reason to rejoice, but through the weakness of their faith they cannot take the comfort that is offered to them. [3.] Being sad, they had communications one with another concerning Christ. Note, First, It becomes Christians to talk of Christ.”

Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan

One of them, named Cleopas: John Gill and Adam Clarke identify Cleopas with Alphaeus, father of the apostle James, and Clarke links him to the Clopas of John 19:25. Eusebius, citing Hegesippus, names Symeon son of Clopas as the second bishop of Jerusalem. Clarke hears surprise that anyone could miss such public events.

Luke 24:18

“Cleopas - The same as Alpheus, father of the Apostle James, Mar 3:18, and husband of the sister of the virgin. Joh 19:25. Art thou only a stranger - As if he had said, What has been done it Jerusalem, within these few days, has been so public, so awful, and so universally known, that, if thou hadst been but a lodger in the city for a single night, I cannot conceive how thou couldst miss hearing of these things: indeed, thou appearest to be the only person unacquainted with them.”

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Luke 24:18

“And one of them, whose name was Cleophas,.... Or Alphaeus, for it is the same name; he was one of the seventy disciples, and father of the Apostles James and Jude, and brother to Joseph, the husband of Mary, the mother of Christ, as before observed: answering, said unto him, art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?”

Luke 24:18

“After Nero and Domitian … persecution was raised against us sporadically among the cities as a result of insurrection among the people. In this persecution we have learned that Simon [Symeon], the son of Clopas, whom we have shown to have been the second bishop of the church at Jerusalem, gave up his life by martyrdom. The witness of this is Hegisippus, whom we have already quoted.”

Eusebius of Caesarea · written before 339 · Ecclesiastical History 3.32patristic

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Luke 24:19-20

The two call Jesus of Nazareth a prophet, and their account stops at the cross. Their word echoes the coming prophet Moses promised at Deuteronomy 18:15, a link they cannot yet see.

Luke 24:19

“A prophet - A teacher sent from God. They did not now call him the “Messiah,” for his “death” had led them to doubt that, but they had no doubt that he was a distinguished “prophet.” The evidence of that was so clear that they “could” not call it in question. Mighty in deed - Powerful in working miracles, in raising the dead, healing the sick, etc. In word - In teaching. Before God and all the people - Manifestly; publicly. So that “God” owned him, and the people regarded him as a distinguished teacher.”

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Luke 24:19

“Now that he was entering upon his glory, see with what unconcernedness he looks back upon his sufferings: What things? He had reason to know what things; for to him they were bitter things, and heavy things, and yet he asks, What things? The sorrow was forgotten, for joy that the man-child of our salvation was born.”

Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan

Luke 24:19

“First comes deed, then word; for no word of teaching is approved unless first he who teaches shows himself to be a doer thereof. For acting goes before sight; for unless by thy works thou hast cleansed the glass of the understanding, the desired brightness does not appear. But still further it is added, Before God and all the people. For first of all we must please God, and then have regard as far as we can to honesty before men, that placing the honour of God first, we may live without offence to mankind.”

Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic

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Our chief priests and rulers delivered Him up: Pilate passed the sentence and Roman soldiers carried it out. John Gill explains why the travelers still say the rulers crucified Him, since it was done at their request and urging. Bede adds that the two walked in sorrow, partly blaming themselves for the hope they had held.

Luke 24:20

“And how the chief priests and our rulers,.... Civil and ecclesiastic: delivered him; to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor: to be condemned to death; the death of the cross, by the said governor, having first seized him and examined him before their sanhedrim, and pronounced him guilty of death: and have crucified him; for though Pilate passed the sentence, and the Roman soldiers executed it, yet these men are said to do it, because it was at their request, and through their instigation, that it was done; hence Peter charges the Jewish sanhedrim with it, Act 4:10.”

would redeem Israel: The travelers speak their hope in the past tense, as if it had died with him. They count the third day exactly, yet the day named in his predictions has not yet become a living hope for them.

Luke 24:21

“For as two of them were taking a walk, and when the Lord had joined their company, without its appearing that it was He, and whilst He dissembled His knowledge of what had just taken place, they say: "But we trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel," -meaning their own, that is, the Creator's Christ.”

Tertullian · written before 220 · Against Marcion Book IVpatristic

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Luke 24:21

“Nay, is he not by his death paying the price of their redemption? Was it not necessary, in order to his saving Israel from their sins, that he should suffer? Sop that now, since that most difficult part of his undertaking was got over, they had more reason than ever to trust that this was he that should deliver Israel; yet now they are ready to give up the cause.”

Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan

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Luke 24:22-24

some of our women astounded us: The report ends, But Him they did not see. That line sums up the company's state that day, an empty tomb and no one who has seen him. Jesus answers it first from the Scriptures.

Luke 24:22

“The disciples also mention the report of the resurrection which was brought by the women; adding, Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, &c. They say this indeed as if they did not believe it; wherefore they speak of themselves as frightened or astonished. For they did consider as established what was told them, or that there had been an angelic revelation, but derived from it reason for astonishment and alarm.”

Ancient Greek Expositor · written before 1274 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic

a vision of angels: The travelers pass on the women's report secondhand, and the phrase a vision of angels keeps it at a distance. John Gill notes that the Syriac and Persic versions add the word there, placing the angels at the tomb. The report said Jesus was alive, yet the speakers stay sad.

Theophylact of Ohrid takes the companions named here to mean Peter alone or Peter with John. Luke reported only Peter's visit in verse 12, and John's Gospel tells of both men going. Theophylact sees one writer abbreviating another.

Luke 24:25-26

how slow are your hearts: Jesus names the fault as slowness of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. His question names a divine necessity: suffering comes first and glory after, the order the prophets set for the Messiah.

Luke 24:25

“Therefore did the Lord also say to His disciples after the resurrection, "O thoughtless ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?" And again does He say to them: "These are the words which I spoke unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning Me.”

Irenaeus · written before 202 · Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 16), Section 5patristic

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Luke 24:25

“Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken."— Luke 24:25. THE TWO DISCIPLES who walked to Emmaus and conversed together, and were sad, were true believers. We may not judge men by their occasional feelings. The possession of gladness is no clear evidence of grace; and the existence of depression is no sure sign of insincerity. The brightest eyes that look for heaven have sometimes been holden so that they could not see their heart's true joy.”

Luke 24:25

“O fools - The word “fool” sometimes is a term of reproach denoting “wickedness.” In this sense we are forbidden to employ it in addressing another, Mat 5:22. That, however, is a different word in the Greek from the one which occurs here. The one there used implies contempt, but the one employed in this place denotes “weakness or dulness.” He reproached them for not seeing what he had himself so clearly predicted, and what had been foretold by the prophets. The word used in the original does not imply as much “reproach” as the word “fool” does among us.”

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The question answers verse 21, where the travelers' hope had died with the cross. Matthew Henry reasons that He could not have been a Saviour without being a sufferer. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown call suffering the gate into glory.

Luke 24:26

“He could not have been a Saviour, if he had not been a sufferer. Christ's undertaking our salvation was voluntary; but, having undertaken it, it was necessary that he should suffer and die. Secondly, That, when he had suffered these things, he should enter into his glory, which he did at his resurrection; that was his first step upward.”

Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan

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Luke 24:26

Ought not Christ--"the Christ," "the Messiah." to suffer . . . and enter--that is, through the gate of suffering (and suffering "these things," or such a death) to enter into His glory. "Ye believe in the glory; but these very sufferings are the predicted gate of entrance into it."

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed

Luke 24:26

“If any one, therefore, reads the Scriptures with attention, he will find in them an account of Christ, and a foreshadowing of the new calling (vocationis). For Christ is the treasure which was hid in the field, that is, in this world (for "the field is the world"); but the treasure hid in the Scriptures is Christ, since He was pointed out by means of types and parables. Hence His human nature could not be understood, prior to the consummation of those things which had been predicted, that is, the advent of Christ.”

Irenaeus · written before 202 · Against Heresies (Book IV, Chapter 26), Section 1patristic

Luke 24:26

“Ought not Christ to have suffered - Ουχι εδει παθειν τον Χριστον, Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer. This was the way in which sin must be expiated, and, without this, no soul could have been saved. The suffering Messiah is he alone by whom Israel and the world can be saved.”

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beginning with Moses: The range is the whole Hebrew canon, law and prophets together, read as one witness to him. Luke leaves the passages he opened unnamed, and Jesus restates the claim at verses 44-47.

Luke 24:27

“Beginning at Moses - At the “writings” of Moses, or at the beginning of the Old Testament; or rather the word “beginning” should be separated from what follows, denoting simply that he “commenced” his discourse, and not that he began at the prophets as well as at Moses; thus, “And commencing his discourse, or replying to them, he expounded from Moses and the prophets,” etc. All the prophets - The books of the Old Testament generally. He expounded - He explained or interpreted it to them.”

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Luke 24:27

“In this discourse the Lord shows that the law was necessary to make ready the way and the ministry of the prophets to prepare people for faith in this marvelous act, so that when the resurrection really took place, those who were troubled at its greatness might remember what was said of old and be induced to believe. He brings forward, therefore, Moses and the prophets, interpreting their hidden meaning and making plain to the worthy what to the unworthy was obscure.”

Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24patristic

Luke 24:27

“You cannot go far in any part of scripture but you meet with something that has reference to Christ, some prophecy, some promise, some prayer, some type or other; for he is the true treasure his in the field of the Old Testament. A golden thread of gospel grace runs through the whole web of the Old Testament. There is an eye of that white to be discerned in every place.”

Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan

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Luke 24:28-29

He seemed to be going farther: until the two pleaded with Him to stay. Their insistence is the hinge of the scene, because recognition comes at the table where they asked him to stay.

Luke 24:28

“He made as though he would have gone farther - That is, he was going on, as though he intended to go farther; and so he doubtless would had they not earnestly pressed him to lodge with them. His preaching had made a deep impression upon their hearts, Luk 24:32, and now they feel it their greatest privilege to entertain the preacher.”

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Luke 24:28

“Indeed He exchanged words with them, He rebuked the hardness of their understanding; He opened up the mysteries of Sacred Scripture that pertained to Himself, and yet because He was still a stranger to faith in their hearts, He pretended to go farther. For we say "fingere" means to fashion; hence we also call shapers of clay "figuli" [potters]. Therefore the simple Truth did nothing through duplicity, but showed Himself to them in body such as He was with them in mind.”

Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 23patristic

Luke 24:28

“When the day is far spent, and it is towards evening, we begin to think of retiring for our repose, and then it is proper to have our eye to Christ, and to beg of him to abide with us, to manifest himself to us and to fill our minds with good thoughts of him and good affections to him. Christ yielded to their importunity: He went in, to tarry with them.”

Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan

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Albert Barnes explains the urgency by their delight in His teaching on the road, though they still took Him for a stranger. John Gill says they would take no denial. Gregory the Dialogist drew from it that strangers should be pressed to accept lodging.

Luke 24:29

“But they constrained him,.... The Arabic version renders it, "they held him by force": but the meaning is not, that they laid hands on him, and held him in a forcible manner against his will; but they were very urgent and importunate with him, that he would stay with them; they would take no denial.”

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Luke 24:29

“But because those with whom Truth walked could not be strangers to charity, they invite Him to lodging as a stranger. But why do we say "invite," when it is written there "And they constrained Him"? From this example indeed it is gathered that strangers should not only be invited to lodging but even compelled.”

Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 23patristic

Luke 24:29

“Constrained him - They urged him, or pressingly invited him. They did not yet perceive that it was Jesus, but they had been charmed and delighted with his discourse, and they wished to hear him farther. Christians are delighted with communion with the Saviour. They seek it as the chief object of their desire, and they find their chief pleasure in fellowship with him.”

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Luke 24:30-31

He took bread: His actions at the table, taking bread, blessing, breaking and giving it, repeat the feeding of the crowd and the Last Supper. Then their eyes were opened, the restraint of verse 16 now lifted.

Luke 24:30

“He took bread - This was the office of the master and father of a family, and this was our Lord’s usual custom among his disciples. Those whom Christ lodges with he feeds, and feeds too with bread that himself hath blessed, and this feeding not only strengthens, but also enlightens the soul.”

their eyes were opened: This answers verse 16, where their eyes were kept. Gregory the Dialogist notes that He was unknown while He spoke and known while they fed Him. Matthew Henry reads the vanishing as a sign of a changed body, and Albert Barnes as a sudden departure with nothing miraculous in it.

Luke 24:31

“Their eyes were opened - The obscurity was removed. They saw him to be the Messiah. Their doubts were gone, and they saw clearly that he was risen, and was truly, as they had long hoped, the Saviour of people. It is not meant that they were before “blind,” but that they did not know until then who he was. He vanished out of their sight - He suddenly departed. It does not appear that there was anything miraculous in this, but, during their surprise, he took the opportunity suddenly to withdraw from them.”

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Luke 24:31

“Therefore, by hearing the precepts of God they were not enlightened; by doing them they were enlightened, because it is written: "Not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified." Whoever therefore wishes to understand what he has heard, let him hasten to fulfill in deed those things which he has already been able to understand. Behold, the Lord was not recognized while He was speaking, and He deigned to be recognized while He was being fed.”

Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 23patristic

Luke 24:31

“Or, he became not visible by them, was made inconspicuous by them. It should seem that though Christ's body, after his resurrection, was the very same body in which he suffered and died, as appeared by the marks in it, yet it was so far changed as to become either visible or not visible as he thought fit to make it, which was a step towards its being made a glorious body.”

Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan

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our hearts burning within us: Their hearts burned before they recognized him, while he was still opening the Scriptures. The burning is an inward witness alongside what he taught.

Luke 24:32

“Therefore, good charity having the wings of a burning fire, which flies through the chests and hearts of the saints, and consumes whatever is material and earthly: it tests whatever is sincere, and improves whatever it touches with its fire. This fire the Lord Jesus sent upon the earth, and faith shone forth, devotion was kindled, charity was illuminated, justice shone brightly. With this fire, he inflamed the hearts of his apostles, as Cleophas testifies, saying: Was not our heart burning within us, while he opened the Scriptures? Therefore, the flames of the scriptures are divine.”

Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Isaac, or the Soul 8.77patristic

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Luke 24:32

“Did not our heart burn within us - His word was in our heart as a burning fire, Jer 20:9. Our hearts waxed hot within us, and while we were musing the fire burned, Psa 39:3. In some such way as this the words of the disciples may be understood: but there is a very remarkable reading here in the Codex Bezae; instead of καιομενη, burned, it has κεκαλυμμενη, veiled; and one of the Itala has, fuit excaecatum, was blinded.”

Luke 24:32

“They find the eleven, but ere they have time to tell their tale, their ears are saluted with the thrilling news, "The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon." Most touching and precious intelligence this. The only one of the Eleven to whom He appeared alone was he, it seems, who had so shamefully denied Him.”

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed

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Luke 24:33-34

got up that very hour: The news that the Lord has appeared to Simon is the only mention in the four Gospels of an appearance to Peter alone. Paul confirms it independently at 1 Corinthians 15:5.

Luke 24:33

“Therefore were they so rejoiced, that without delay they returned to Jerusalem. And hence what follows, And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem. They rose up indeed the same hour, but they arrived after many hours, as they had to travel sixty stades.”

Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic

No Gospel narrates this meeting, and Paul lists it first in 1 Corinthians 15:5. John Wesley reads it as mercy to Peter after his denial, and Matthew Henry links it to the angel's message for Peter in Mark 16:7. Adam Clarke assigns the words to the gathered disciples.

Luke 24:34

“Saying, The Lord is risen indeed - The meaning here is, that these two disciples found the apostles, and those who were with them, unanimously testifying that Christ had risen from the dead. It is not the two disciples to whom we are to refer the word λεγοντας, saying; but to the body of the disciples. See the note on Mar 16:12.”

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Luke 24:34

“The Lord hath appeared to Simon - Before he was seen of the twelve apostles, 1 Cor. xv, 5. He had, in his wonderful condescension and grace, taken an opportunity on the former part of that day (though where, or in what manner, is not recorded) to show himself to Peter, that he might early relieve his distresses and fears, on account of having so shamefully denied his Master.”

John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical

Luke 24:34

“Cleopas, it says, and his companions rose up that same hour, the same of course in which Jesus had vanished out of their sight, and returned to Jerusalem. But it does not say that they found the Eleven gathered together that same hour and told them what had happened concerning Jesus. This took place on the fortieth day after his resurrection—the day on which he was also taken up. The Evangelist therefore has omitted the events which took place in the intervening time.”

Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24patristic

Luke 24:34

“5 , where it is said, He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve. The angel having ordered the women to tell Peter of it particularly ( Mark xvi. 7 ), for his comfort, it is highly probable that our Lord Jesus did himself presently the same day appear to Peter, though we have no particular narrative of it, to confirm the word of his messengers.”

Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan

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in the breaking of the bread: The two tell how they had recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread. Luke uses the phrase again at Acts 2:42 for the regular practice of the early church.

Luke 24:35

“The words that were spoken by Christ to them in the way, having a wonderful effect and influence upon them, are here called the things that were done in the way; for the words that Christ speaks are not an empty sound, but they are spirit and they are life, and wondrous things are done by them, done by the way, by the by as it were, where it is not expected.”

Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan

Peace Be Unto You: Flesh and Bones

Luke 24:36-37

Jesus Himself stood among them: His greeting, Peace be with you, is the ordinary Jewish shalom, spoken by the one whose death had seemed to end all peace. Yet they were startled and frightened, thinking they had seen a spirit. John's Gospel sets this appearance behind locked doors, a detail Luke leaves out.

Luke 24:36

“And as they thus spake - While the two disciples who were going to Emmaus were conversing about Christ, he joined himself to their company. Now, while they and the apostles are confirming each other in their belief of his resurrection, Jesus comes in, to remove every doubt, and to give them the fullest evidence of it. And it is ever true that, wherever two or three are gathered together in his name, he is in the midst of them. Peace be unto you - The usual salutation among the Jews.”

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Luke 24:36

“Jesus stood in the midst of them - It was just as easy to his Divine power to open a door undiscernibly, as it was to come in at a door opened by some other hand.”

John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical

Luke 24:36

“We should observe in this passage — the singularly gracious words with which our Lord introduced Himself to His disciples after His resurrection . We read that He suddenly stood in the midst of them and said, "Peace be with you." This was a wonderful saying, when we consider the men to whom it was addressed. It was addressed to eleven disciples, who three days before had shamefully forsaken their Master and fled. They had broken their promises. They had forgotten their professions of readiness to die for Jesus.”

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thinking they had seen a spirit: The fear comes just after the company had declared in verse 34 that He had risen. Ambrose of Milan traces it to His sudden appearing. Adam Clarke reasons that verse 39 grants that spirits exist while proving that this was His body.

Luke 24:37

“Therefore, we believe that Peter could not have doubted, having been convinced by so many examples of virtue. It is also clear that John believed when he saw the Savior, who believed at that moment, after he saw the empty tomb. So why does Luke mention that several were troubled? First of all, because the opinion of a few includes the sentiment of the majority; secondly, even though Peter believed in the resurrection, he could still be troubled when he saw the Lord suddenly appear with his body in a place that was locked and enclosed by walls.”

Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Exposition of the Gospel of Luke 10.179patristic

Luke 24:38-40

Jesus answers their fear with evidence: Look at My hands and My feet. He invites them to touch Him, since a spirit does not have flesh and bones.

Luke 24:38

“Why are ye troubled? - Why are you alarmed or frightened? And why do thoughts ... - The word “thoughts” here means “doubts” or suspicions. It is used in this sense also in 1Ti 2:8. The doubts which they had were whether he was the Christ. He reproves them for doubting this; for, 1. The Scriptures had foretold his death; 2. He had himself repeatedly done it; and, 3. They had now the testimony of Peter that he had seen Jesus alive, and of the angels that he was risen.”

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Luke 24:38

“To convince them firmly and absolutely that he is the same one who suffered, he immediately shows that being God by nature, he knows what is hidden. The tumultuous thoughts within them do not escape him. He said, "Why are you troubled?" This is a very clear proof that the one they see before them is not some other person. He is the same one whom they saw suffering death upon the cross and laid in the tomb, even the one who sees mind and heart and from whom nothing that is in us is hid.”

Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24patristic

Luke 24:38

“IT seems, from these questions of our Lord, that true Believers may come into a troubled state of mind. The eleven were truly Christ's disciples and even His Apostles, yet, when their faith failed them and they refused to believe the testimony that Christ was risen from the dead, they were troubled in their minds and tossed to and fro, as on a stormy sea. Unbelief is a great troubler.”

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Jesus answers their fear with sight and touch. Albert Barnes says no better evidence could have been given, since He appealed to their senses. John Gill adds that the prints of the nails prove He rose in the same body that suffered.

Luke 24:39

“Behold my hands ... - Jesus proceeds to give them evidence that he was truly the same person that had been crucified. He first showed them his hands and his feet - still, pierced, and with the wounds made by the nails still open. Compare Joh 20:27. He told them to handle him and see him. He ate before them. All this was to satisfy them that he was not, as they supposed, a spirit. Nor could better evidence have been given. He appealed to their senses, and performed acts which a disembodied spirit could not do.”

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Luke 24:39

“Behold my hands, and my feet,.... The Evangelist John adds, "and side"; that is, the prints of the nails and spear, in his hands, and feet, and side; and the wounds they made there, and the scars they left behind; by which they might be convinced he was not a spirit, and be assured of the truth of his resurrection, and that in the same numerical body in which he suffered; as well as that it might be observed by them how great was his love to them, to endure what he did for them.”

Luke 24:39

When, therefore, the mingled cup and the manufactured bread receives the Word of God, and the Eucharist of the blood and the body of Christ is made, from which things the substance of our flesh is increased and supported, how can they affirm that the flesh is incapable of receiving the gift of God, which is life eternal, which [flesh] is nourished from the body and blood of the Lord, and is a member of Him?—even as the blessed Paul declares in his Epistle to the Ephesians, that "we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His…

Irenaeus · written before 202 · Against Heresies (Book V, Chapter 2), Section 3patristic

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He showed them His hands and feet: The wounds tie the risen Lord to the crucified one. Gregory the Dialogist wrote that He showed the scars to heal the wound of their doubt, and that John adds the pierced side. Gregory also records a Gentile taunt that He could not cure His own wounds.

Luke 24:40

I HAVE selected this sentence as the text, although I shall not strictly adhere to it. What was to be seen on Christ’s hands and feet? We are taught that the prints of the nails were visible, and that in his side there was still the gash of the spear. For did he not say to Thomas? “Reach hither thy finger and behold my hands, and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into my side, and be not faithless, but believing.”

Luke 24:41-43

still in disbelief: for joy, they watch Him take a piece of broiled fish and eat it in front of them. The eating is a second proof beside the touching, since a spirit does not eat.

Luke 24:41

“They - believed not for joy - They were so overcome with the joy of his resurrection, that they did not, for some time, properly receive the evidence that was before them - as we phrase it, they thought the news too good to be true.”

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Luke 24:41

“But what need of so tortuous a construction, when He might have simply said, "A spirit hath not bones, even as you observe that I have not? "Why, moreover, does He offer His hands and His feet for their examination-limbs which consist of bones-if He had no bones? Why, too, does He add, "Know that it is I myself," when they had before known Him to be corporeal? Else, if He were altogether a phantom, why did He upbraid them for supposing Him to be a phantom?”

Tertullian · written before 220 · Against Marcion Book IVpatristic

Luke 24:41

“THE disciples were gathered together with the doors of the house fast closed, for they were afraid of the Jewish mob. Suddenly HE came, HE who was chief in their thoughts, the Christ whom they had seen dead upon the Cross, whom some of them had helped to bury! There He stood before them and, "they were terrified and frightened." As on a former occasion, on the Sea of Galilee, so now they said, "It is a spirit," and they cried out for fear. The Savior did His best to correct their minds of their mistake.”

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a piece of broiled fish: The fish was food the disciples had at hand. John Gill supposes it was left from the disciples' own supper, fit fare for men who were mostly fishermen. Gill's text adds a honeycomb, which he took as eaten after the fish.

Luke 24:42

“And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish,.... Which was left by them at supper, of which they had been eating; for being fishermen, most of them, this was agreeable food to them: and of an honeycomb; not to eat with the fish, but after it.”

ate it in front of them: Eating is a second proof beside the touch of verse 39. John Gill notes Peter's appeal to this in Acts 10:41: they ate and drank with Him after He rose. Gregory the Dialogist links it to the ascension, where He ate and then ascended, showing the truth of His flesh.

Luke 24:43

“And he took it, and did eat before them. That is, he took both the fish, and the honeycomb, and ate of them before them, they looking on all the while; and which was a proof of his being truly risen from the dead, and not a spectre, or apparition, and which they failed not afterwards to make use of; see Act 10:41. The Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions add, "he took the rest, or what remained, and gave it to them".”

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Luke 24:43

“To establish the truth of the Lord's resurrection, we should also note what Luke reports, saying: "Eating together with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem." And a little later: "While they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud received him from their sight." Note the words, mark the mysteries. Eating together he was lifted up. He ate, and he ascended, so that through the act of eating the truth of his flesh might be made evident.”

Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 29patristic

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The Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms match the three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings. The Psalms, the largest book of the Writings, stand for that division.

Luke 24:44

“The law - the prophets - the psalms - This was the Jewish division of the whole old covenant. The Law contained the five books of Moses; the Prophets, the Jews divided into former and latter; they were, according to Josephus, thirteen. “The Psalms included not only the book still so named, but also three other books, Proverbs, Job, and Canticles. These all,” says the above author, “contain hymns to God, and rules for the conduct of the lives of men.” Joseph. Cont. App. i.”

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Luke 24:44

“And he said - On the day of his ascension. In the law, and the prophets, and the Psalms - The prophecies as well as types, relating to the Messiah, are contained either in the books of Moses (usually called the law) in the Psalms, or in the writings of the prophets; little being said directly concerning him in the historical books.”

John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical

Luke 24:44

“Let us observe, firstly, in these verses — the gift which our Lord bestowed on His disciples immediately before He left the world. We read that He "opened their understanding — that they might understand the Scriptures." We must not misapprehend these words. We are not to suppose that the disciples knew nothing about the Old Testament up to this time, and that the Bible is a book which no ordinary person can expect to comprehend. We are simply to understand that Jesus showed His disciples the full meaning of many passages which had hitherto been hidden from their eyes.”

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Cross references

Luke 24:44

Luke 24:45-46

He opened their minds: Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, an act of Christ on their minds that goes with his teaching. The opening gives them the capacity to see what the text had said all along.

Cross references

Luke 24:45

rise from the dead on the third day: Jesus now states as written what He called necessary at verse 26 and the angels recalled at verse 7. For Bede, the Passion bears fruit through the resurrection. He notes that the next verse moves from the truth of the body to the unity of the Church among all nations.

Luke 24:46

“But Christ would have lost the fruit of His Passion had He not been the Truth of the resurrection, therefore it is said, And to rise from the dead. He then after having commended to them the truth of the body, commends the unity of the Church, adding, And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations.”

Bede · written before 735 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic

Luke 24:47-48

repentance and forgiveness of sins: The commission sends the message to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. That order sets the path Acts traces outward to Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth, as Acts 1:8 restates.

Luke 24:47

“Repentance - Sorrow for sin and forsaking of it. It was proper that the “necessity” of repentance should be preached among all nations, for all were sinners. See Act 17:30. Remission of sins - Pardon or forgiveness of sins. It should be proclaimed that all people should repent, and that those who are penitent may be pardoned. In my name - By my command it should be proclaimed that people should repent, and by my merit that they may be pardoned.”

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Luke 24:47

“Again, in the Pslams, David says: "Bring to God, ye countries of the nations"-undoubtedly because "unto every land" the preaching of the apostles had to "go out" -"bring to God fame and honour; bring to God the sacrifices of His name: take up victims and enter into His courts.”

Tertullian · written before 220 · An Answer to the Jewspatristic

Luke 24:47

“And that repentance and remission of sins,.... Which are the sum of the Gospel ministry; see Act 20:21 the doctrine of "repentance" is not of the law, which neither requires, nor admits of it, but of the Gospel.”

Luke 24:47

“IT SEEMS from these two texts that repentance was the first subject upon which the Redeemer dwelt, and that it was the last, which, with his departing breath, he commended to the earnestness of his disciples. He begins his mission crying, “Repent,” he ends it by saying to his successors the apostles, “Preach repentance and remission of sins among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” This seems to me to be a very interesting fact, and not simply interesting, but instructive. Jesus Christ opens his commission by preaching repentance. What then?”

Luke 24:47

“Beginning at Jerusalem - This was appointed most graciously and wisely: graciously, as it encouraged the, greatest sinners to repent, when they saw that even the murderers of Christ were not excepted from mercy: and wisely, as hereby Christianity was more abundantly attested; the facts being published first on the very spot where they happened.”

John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical

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You are witnesses: They had seen what they would report, as Acts 1:8 repeats. Adam Clarke widens their witness to the opened understanding, repentance and pardon Christ gives. Eusebius points to the apostles' ministry as the means by which His word was fulfilled across the world.

Luke 24:48

“But if those things which Christ foretold are already receiving their accomplishment, and His word is perceived by a seeing faith to be living and effectual throughout the whole world; it is time for men not to be unbelieving towards Him who uttered that word. For it is necessary that He should live a divine life, whose living works are shown to be agreeable to His words; and these indeed have been fulfilled by the ministry of the Apostles. Hence He adds, But ye are witnesses of these things, &c. that is, of My death and resurrection.”

Eusebius of Caesarea · written before 339 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic

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Luke 24:48

“Ye are witnesses of these things - He gave them a full commission to proclaim these glad tidings of peace and salvation to a lost world. The disciples were witnesses not only that Christ had suffered and rose again from the dead; but also that he opens the understanding by the inspiration of his Spirit, that he gives repentance, that he pardons sin, and purifies from all unrighteousness, and that he is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come unto the knowledge of the truth and be saved.”

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the promise of My Father: is kept at Pentecost, as Acts 1:4-5 and 2:1-4 show. His command for the meantime is to wait until they are clothed with power from on high. The word clothed pictures strength given from outside for a task beyond their own.

Luke 24:49

“But let us consider how according to John they received the Holy Spirit, while here they are ordered to stay in the city until they should be endued with power from on high. Either He breathed the Holy Spirit into the eleven, as being more perfect, and promised to give it to the rest afterwards; or to the same persons He breathed in the one place, He promised in the other. Nor does there seem to be any contradiction, since there are diversities of graces. Therefore one operation He breathed into them there, another He promised here.”

Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic

Blessed at Bethany and Carried Up

Luke 24:50-51

as far as Bethany: Jesus parts from them at Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, during the blessing. Some early manuscripts omit carried up into heaven, but Acts 1:9-11 tells the ascension again at the opening of Luke's second book.

Luke 24:50

“Having blessed them and gone ahead a little, he was carried up into heaven so that he might share the Father's throne even with the flesh that was united to him. The Word made this new pathway for us when he appeared in human form. After this, and in due time, he will come again in the glory of his Father with the angels and will take us up to be with him. Let us glorify him.Being God the Word, he became man for our sakes. He suffered willingly in the flesh, rose from the dead and abolished corruption.”

Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24patristic

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Luke 24:50

“OUR Lord Jesus, having spoiled the grave and so proved His power over things that are under the earth, tarried for 40 days among men and so claimed His power over the earth, itself, and then ascended through the air to show that the dominion of the Prince of the power of the air was broken and, finally, entered into the Heaven of Heavens to claim sovereignty there, so that, from the lowest depths up to the extreme heights, He might take possession of His vast domains.”

Luke 24:50

“The manner of the re-uniting of Christ's soul and body in his resurrection is a mystery, one of the secret things that belong not to us; but the infallible proofs of his resurrection, that he did indeed rise from the dead, and was thereby proved to be the Son of God, are things revealed, which belong to us and to our children.”

Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan

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carried up into heaven: Luke tells the ascension here and again in Acts 1:9-11. John Wesley reasons that the ascent needed eyewitnesses, while the resurrection was proved by seeing Him alive afterward. Adam Clarke places it forty days after the resurrection, citing Acts 1:3.

Luke 24:51

“And while he was blessing them, he was parted from them - It was much more proper that our Lord should ascend into heaven, than that he should rise from the dead, in the sight of the apostles. For his resurrection was proved when they saw him alive after his passion: but they could not see him in heaven while they continued on earth.”

John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical

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Luke 24:51

“And Elias indeed was seen, as it were, to be taken up into heaven, but the Saviour, the forerunner of all, Himself ascended into heaven to appear in the Divine sight in His sacred body; and already is our nature honoured in Christ by a certain Angelic power.”

Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic

Luke 24:51

“The brightness of the Father's glory, enshrined in our nature, hath won it well; for He poured out His soul unto death, and led captivity captive, receiving gifts for men, yea for the rebellious, that the Lord God might dwell among them. Thou art the King of glory, O Christ. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, be lifted up, ye everlasting doors, that the King of glory may come in!”

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed

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Luke 24:52-53

returned to Jerusalem with great joy: The Gospel ends with the disciples in the temple, returned to Jerusalem with great joy. The great joy closes the thread Luke opened at 2:10, where the angel announced good news of great joy.

Luke 24:52

“They worshipped him - Let it be observed that this worship was not given by way of civil respect, for it was after he was parted from them, and carried back into heaven, that they offered it to him; but acts of civil respect are always performed in the presence of the person. They adored him as their God, and were certainly too much enlightened to be capable of any species of idolatry.”

1 more voice on this verse

Luke 24:52

“And observe that among the four beasts in heaven, (Ezek. 1:10. Rev. 4:7) Luke is said to be represented by the calf, for by the sacrifice of a calf, they were ordered to be initiated who were chosen to the priesthood; (Exod. 29:1.) and Luke has undertaken to explain more fully than the rest the priesthood of Christ; and his Gospel, which he commenced with the ministry of the temple in the priesthood of Zacharias, he has finished with the devotion in the temple.”

Bede · written before 735 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic

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praising God continually in the temple: Luke ends in the temple, where the Gospel opened with Zechariah at the altar of incense in chapter 1. Albert Barnes sets the span at about ten days, until Pentecost. Bonaventure says spiritual joy led them to praise and prayer while they awaited the Holy Spirit.

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Sources for this chapter

The summary

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.

The exposition

Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Ambrose of Milan; Bede; Bonaventure, Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24; Charles Spurgeon, The Gospel of the Kingdom; Cyril of Alexandria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Eusebius of Caesarea; Gregory the Dialogist; J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Luke; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Tertullian, Against Marcion Book IV and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Luke.