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Luke 24:3

in Luke 24

but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

KJV

And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

This verse in Luke 24

Commentary

14 notes on this verse

A commentator

Tertullian

Against Marcion Book IV · Written before 220.

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.

This site's exposition

very early in the morning

on Luke 24:1-3

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.

This site's exposition

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.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers3 voices

A commentator

Athanasius of Alexandria

296–373

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 373.

(Lib. de Inc. Fil. Dei.) He might indeed at once have raised His body from the dead. But some one would have said that He was never dead, or that death plainly had never existed in Him. And perhaps if the resurrection of our Lord had been delayed beyond the third day, the glory of incorruption had been concealed. In order therefore to show His body to be dead, He suffered the interval of one day, and on the third day manifested His body to be without corruption.

A commentator

Cyril of Alexandria

COMMENTARY ON LUKE, CHAPTER 24 · Written before 444.

proposed

The women came to the sepulcher, and when they could not find the body of Christ—for he had risen—they were quite perplexed. And what followed? For the sake of their love and zeal for Christ, they were counted worthy of seeing holy angels who then told them the joyful news as the heralds of the resurrection, saying, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!" The Word of God ever lives and by his own nature is life. Yet, when he humbled and emptied himself, submitting to be made like us, he tasted death. But this proved to be the death of death, for he rose from the dead to be the way by which not so much he himself but rather we could return to incorruption. Let no one seek among the dead him who ever lives. But if he is not here, with mortality and in the tomb, where then is he? Obviously, in heaven and in godlike glory.

A commentator

John Chrysostom

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 407.

proposed

(Hom. 90. in Matt.) But the stone was rolled away after the resurrection, on account of the women, that they might believe that the Lord had risen again, seeing indeed the grave without the body. Hence it follows, And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

The Medieval Church2 voices

A commentator

Bede

Homilies on the Gospels 11.10 · Written before 735.

proposed

Mystically, the rolling away of the stone implies the disclosure of the divine sacraments, which were formerly hidden and closed up by the letter of the law. The law was written on stone. Indeed, in the case of each of us, when we acknowledge our …

A commentator

Bede

On the Gospel of Luke · Written before 735.

proposed

And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, and upon entering, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. How the stone was rolled away by the angel, Matthew has sufficiently explained. But the rolling away of the stone mystically signifies …
6 more voices on this verse

The Medieval Church2 voices

A commentator

Bede

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 735.

proposed

The rolling back of the stone alludes to the unclosing of the Sacraments which were concealed by the veil of the letter of the law which was written on stone, the covering of which being taken away, the dead body of the Lord is not found, but the living body is preached; for although we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more. (2 Cor. 5:16.)

A commentator

Bonaventure

Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24 · Written in the 13th century.

proposed

Now he did this as the one manifesting the resurrection of Christ; whence he adds: And entering in, they found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And note that significantly, whereas he had previously called him Christ Jesus, he now calls him Lord Jesus, …

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

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.

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

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.
The resurrection of Christ is one of the great foundation-stones of the Christian religion. In practical importance, it is second only to the crucifixion. The chapter we have now begun, directs our mind to the evidence of the resurrection. It contains unanswerable proof that Jesus not only died, but rose again. We see, in the verses before us — the reality of Christ's resurrection . We read, that upon "the first day of the week" certain women came to the tomb in which the body of Jesus had been laid, in order to anoint Him.
The resurrection of Christ is one of the great foundation-stones of the Christian religion. In practical importance, it is second only to the crucifixion. The chapter we have now begun, directs our mind to the evidence of the resurrection. It contains unanswerable proof that Jesus not only died, but rose again. We see, in the verses before us — the reality of Christ's resurrection . We read, that upon "the first day of the week" certain women came to the tomb in which the body of Jesus had been laid, in order to anoint Him. But when they came to the place, "they found the stone rolled away. When they entered in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus." This simple fact is the starting-point in the history of the resurrection of Christ. On Friday morning His body was safe in the tomb. On Sunday morning His body was gone. By whose hands had it been taken away? Who had removed it? Not surely the priests and scribes and other enemies of Christ! If they had had Christ's body to show in disproof of His resurrection — then they would gladly have shown it. Not the apostles and other disciples of our Lord! They were far too much frightened and dispirited to attempt such an action, and the more so when they had nothing to gain by it. One explanation, and one only, can meet the circumstance of the case. That explanation is the one supplied by the angels in the verse before us. Christ "had risen" from the grave. To seek Him in the sepulcher was seeking "the living among the dead." He had arisen, and was soon seen alive and conversing, by many credible witnesses. The fact of our Lord's resurrection rests on evidence which no infidel can ever explain away. It is confirmed by testimony of every kind, sort, and description. The plain unvarnished story which the Gospel writers tell about it — is one which cannot be overthrown.

The words behind it

9 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

2 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Matthew 16:5

    When they crossed to the other side, the disciples forgot to take bread.

    it leads to

    • Mark 8:13–14

      And He left them, got back into the boat, and crossed to the other side.

    • Matthew 15:39

      After Jesus had dismissed the crowds, He got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

Where this verse is studied

About Luke

The Return of the Prodigal Son, Rembrandt, about 1668. Public domain.
The Return of the Prodigal Son, Rembrandt, about 1668. Public domain.
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Gospels; Athanasius of Alexandria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bede, Homilies on the Gospels 11.10; Bede, On the Gospel of Luke; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bonaventure, Commentary on Luke, Chapter 24; Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON LUKE, CHAPTER 24; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); John Chrysostom, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Tertullian, Against Marcion Book IV.