Luke 24
1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared.
2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb.
3 They entered in, and didn’t find the Lord Jesus’ body.
4 While they were greatly perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling clothing.
5 Becoming terrified, they bowed their faces down to the earth.
The men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?
6 He isn’t here, but is risen. Remember what he told you when he was still in Galilee,
7 saying that the Son of Man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”
8 They remembered his words,
9 returned from the tomb, and told all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest.
10 Now they were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. The other women with them told these things to the apostles.
11 These words seemed to them to be nonsense, and they didn’t believe them.
12 But Peter arose and ran to the tomb. Stooping and looking in, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he departed to his home, wondering what had happened.
13 Behold, two of them were going that same day to a village named Emmaus, which was sixty stadia from Jerusalem.
14 They talked with each other about all of these things which had happened.
15 While they talked and questioned together, Jesus himself came near, and went with them.
16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
17 He said to them, “What are you talking about as you walk, and are sad?”
18 One of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things which have happened there in these days?”
19 He said to them, “What things?”
They said to him, “The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people;
20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him.
21 But we were hoping that it was he who would redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.
22 Also, certain women of our company amazed us, having been early at the tomb;
23 and when they didn’t find his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive.
24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found it just like the women had said, but him they didn’t see.”
25 He said to them, “Foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
26 Didn’t the Christ have to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?”
27 Beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he explained to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
28 They drew near to the village where they were going, and he acted like he would go further.
29 They urged him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is almost evening, and the day is almost over.” He went in to stay with them.
30 It happened, when he had sat down at the table with them, he took the bread and gave thanks. Breaking it, he gave to them.
31 Their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished out of their sight.
32 They said one to another, “Weren’t our hearts burning within us, while he spoke to us along the way, and while he opened the Scriptures to us?”
33 They rose up that very hour, returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and those who were with them,
34 saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”
35 They related the things that happened along the way, and how he was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.
36 As they said these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be to you.”
37 But they were terrified and filled with fear, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled? Why do doubts arise in your hearts?
39 See my hands and my feet, that it is truly me. Touch me and see, for a spirit doesn’t have flesh and bones, as you see that I have.”
40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.
41 While they still didn’t believe for joy, and wondered, he said to them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”
42 They gave him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb.
43 He took them, and ate in front of them.
44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you, that all things which are written in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me must be fulfilled.”
45 Then he opened their minds, that they might understand the Scriptures.
46 He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,
47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
48 You are witnesses of these things.
49 Behold, I send out the promise of my Father on you. But wait in the city of Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from on high.”
50 He led them out as far as Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.
51 While he blessed them, he withdrew from them, and was carried up into heaven.
52 They worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
53 and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.
Luke 24 Commentary
Chapter Overview
Luke 24 announces the resurrection and shows how Jesus transforms confusion into understanding, sorrow into joy, and frightened followers into witnesses. The women find the tomb open and empty, hear that Jesus has risen, and report the news. Two disciples meet him on the Emmaus road, though they recognize him only after Scripture is explained and bread is broken.
Jesus then appears among the gathered disciples and shows that he is not a ghost or an idea. He invites them to examine his hands and feet, speaks peace, and eats in their presence. The risen Christ is the crucified Jesus, now living beyond death. Luke grounds hope in a real tomb, witnesses, conversation, touch, and shared food.
The Gospel closes by looking forward. Jesus opens the Scriptures, commands that repentance and forgiveness be proclaimed to all nations, identifies the disciples as witnesses, and promises the Father’s power. His ascension is not abandonment. They worship, return to Jerusalem joyfully, and await the Spirit whose coming launches the mission narrated in Acts.
Key Themes
The women come at early dawn carrying spices prepared for Jesus’ body. Their purpose shows that they expect to find him dead; resurrection is not the result of their wishful anticipation. These women had watched the burial, knew the location, and now become the first people in Luke to encounter the empty tomb and carry its message to the wider group of disciples.
The rolled-away stone and missing body create perplexity, but Luke does not treat an empty tomb by itself as a complete explanation. The women need divine interpretation: two messengers announce that Jesus is living and remind them of his own prediction. Christian resurrection faith joins the physical absence of the body, Jesus’ prior words, the scriptural pattern, and appearances of the risen Lord.
The messengers ask, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” The question redirects the women from burial customs to resurrection reality. They are told to remember what Jesus said in Galilee about betrayal, crucifixion, and rising on the third day. Memory becomes an act of faith when past teaching is understood through God’s completed work.
Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other women tell the apostles what they have seen and heard. Their report is initially dismissed as nonsense. Luke’s inclusion of this embarrassing unbelief argues against a polished story invented to make the leaders look perceptive. The first witnesses speak faithfully even when respected hearers do not immediately accept their testimony.
Peter responds differently from the others by running to the tomb and investigating. He sees the linen cloths and leaves wondering. Wonder is not yet the same as settled faith, but it is more open than contemptuous dismissal. Luke allows evidence to confront assumptions gradually, showing that the disciples themselves had to be persuaded rather than expecting resurrection automatically.
The Emmaus disciples interpret the crucifixion as the collapse of their hope that Jesus would redeem Israel. They know important facts and have heard the women’s report, yet their framework cannot make sense of a suffering Messiah. Disappointment often comes not because God has done nothing, but because his action does not fit the form of deliverance people had imagined.
Jesus approaches the travelers before they recognize him and invites them to describe their grief. His questions are not requests for information he lacks; they draw out their interpretation of events. The risen Lord accompanies confused disciples patiently, allowing them to voice sorrow and partial understanding before correcting them through Scripture.
The words “we were hoping” reveal both genuine expectation and painful disillusionment. The disciples call Jesus a mighty prophet, but their description falls short of his full identity. They thought redemption had been prevented by the cross, while Jesus will show that the cross was central to redemption. God’s victory can be present precisely where human judgment sees final defeat.
Jesus says the Messiah had to suffer and then enter his glory. The word “had to” points to divine necessity, not an unavoidable accident or the triumph of evil over God. His suffering fulfills God’s saving purpose expressed throughout Scripture. Glory does not bypass sacrificial obedience; in Luke’s account, the path to exaltation runs through rejection, death, and resurrection.
Beginning with Moses and the prophets, Jesus explains the things concerning himself. Luke gives no complete passage list, so readers should resist making every biblical sentence a direct prediction. Israel’s whole story—promise, covenant, sacrifice, kingdom, exile, hope, and restoration—finds coherent fulfillment in the Messiah’s suffering and victory.
At Emmaus, Jesus appears ready to continue, and the disciples urge him to stay because evening is near. Their hospitality becomes the setting in which recognition is given. The episode echoes Luke’s repeated emphasis on receiving strangers and sharing meals. Ordinary acts of welcome can become places where God’s presence and truth are recognized more deeply.
Jesus takes bread, blesses and breaks it, and gives it to them; then their eyes are opened. The wording recalls earlier meals, including the feeding of the multitude and the Last Supper, but Luke does not explicitly call this a formal Communion service. The emphasis is recognition: their guest is the risen Lord who guided them all along.
The disciples describe their hearts as burning while Jesus opened the Scriptures. Emotional warmth alone is not the standard of truth; their response grows from Scripture correctly explained by Christ. The encounter immediately produces action. Though it is late, they return to Jerusalem to join the community and testify, showing that genuine illumination moves outward in fellowship and witness.
When Jesus appears, he speaks peace while the disciples fear they see a spirit. He shows his hands and feet, invites touch, and eats before them. His risen body is real yet transformed: he can appear and vanish, but his wounds identify him as the same crucified Jesus. God has defeated death, not merely helped the disciples cope with loss; Christian hope therefore includes embodied life redeemed.
Jesus opens the disciples’ minds to understand the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. Scripture requires neither rejection of reason nor private secret knowledge; it requires God-given understanding centered on the fulfilled work of Christ. The disciples’ future preaching will arise from both eyewitness encounter and a renewed reading of Israel’s Scriptures.
The content of the mission is repentance and forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ name, proclaimed to all nations beginning from Jerusalem. Repentance is a changed response to God, not mere regret, and forgiveness is the gracious removal of guilt made possible through Christ. Jerusalem, the city of rejection and resurrection, becomes the starting point rather than a place excluded from mercy.
Jesus calls the disciples witnesses but tells them to wait for power from on high. Personal experience and biblical knowledge are essential, yet the mission cannot be fulfilled by confidence or technique alone. The promised Spirit will equip their testimony. Jesus then ascends while blessing them, and they respond with worship, joy, obedience, and continual praise—forming the bridge from Luke’s Gospel to Acts.
Important Verses
Luke 24:5–7 announces the heart of the chapter: “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He isn’t here, but is risen.” The messengers connect the empty tomb with Jesus’ own prediction of suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection. The event is surprising to the disciples, but it is not disconnected from what Jesus had already taught.
Luke 24:11 says the apostles considered the women’s words nonsense and did not believe them. Their reaction reveals how unexpected resurrection was, even among Jesus’ closest followers. It also honors the women’s perseverance: they deliver the message entrusted to them without waiting for social approval or immediate acceptance.
Luke 24:21 captures shattered expectation: “We were hoping that it was he who would redeem Israel.” The disciples speak as though the cross disproved Jesus’ mission. Their mistake was not hoping for redemption, but defining redemption too narrowly. Jesus had accomplished a deeper deliverance through the very suffering they thought ended hope.
Luke 24:26–27 joins the Messiah’s suffering with his glory and presents Scripture as a unified witness to him. Jesus corrects the disciples not by ignoring Israel’s Scriptures but by explaining them more fully. Faith in the resurrection is therefore tied to God’s long story of promise rather than to an isolated spiritual experience.
Luke 24:30–32 describes recognition in the breaking of bread and hearts burning as Jesus opens the Scriptures. Word and table belong together in the scene: explanation prepares understanding, and shared fellowship becomes the moment of recognition. The disciples’ response is not passive admiration; they immediately return to tell others.
Luke 24:39–43 stresses the physical reality of the resurrection. Jesus says, “Touch me and see,” displays his wounds, and eats before the disciples. Luke directly opposes the idea that the appearance was merely a ghostly vision. The one alive before them is truly Jesus, raised bodily from death.
Luke 24:44–45 says everything written about Jesus in the Law, Prophets, and Psalms must be fulfilled, and then he opens the disciples’ minds. Understanding Scripture involves careful reading and divine illumination. Christ does not discard the Old Testament; he reveals the saving purpose toward which its history and promises move.
Luke 24:46–49 summarizes the gospel mission: the Messiah suffers and rises, repentance and forgiveness are proclaimed to all nations, the disciples bear witness, and the Father supplies power from on high. The church’s message, audience, authority, and dependence are all defined by Jesus rather than invented by later ambition.
Luke 24:50–53 closes with Jesus blessing his followers as he is carried into heaven. They worship him and return with great joy, continually praising God in the temple. The Gospel began in the temple with expectation and closes there with fulfilled praise, while the promised Spirit and worldwide mission point forward to Acts.
Application
Remember Jesus’ words when circumstances seem to contradict his promises. The women move from perplexity to understanding when they recall what he said, and the Emmaus disciples are corrected through Scripture. Faith does not deny confusing evidence; it brings that evidence into conversation with the trustworthy words and completed work of Christ.
Bring disappointed hopes honestly to Jesus. The travelers explain what they expected and why they are sad, and Jesus patiently reshapes their vision. When God’s action differs from your preferred outcome, resist concluding that he has failed. Allow Scripture to expose assumptions and reveal forms of redemption deeper than immediate success.
Make room for investigation as well as proclamation. The women testify, Peter examines the tomb, the travelers hear Scripture, and the gathered disciples receive tangible reassurance. Christian faith is not threatened by honest questions. Offer reasons with patience, distinguish evidence from exaggeration, and trust that understanding may develop through several faithful encounters.
Keep repentance and forgiveness together in the church’s message. Grace is not permission to remain unchanged, and repentance is not payment that earns mercy. In Jesus’ name, people are called to turn toward God and receive the forgiveness he provides. Proclamation should therefore be truthful about sin and equally clear about the availability of restoration.
Depend on the Holy Spirit for witness. Jesus’ followers have seen him and received instruction, yet he commands them to wait until they are clothed with power. Preparation, study, and courage matter, but Christian mission is not sustained by human energy alone. Pray for the Spirit’s help to speak faithfully, love people wisely, and endure opposition.
Live as people of resurrection joy. Luke does not end with escape from the world but with worship, community, waiting, and preparation for mission. Because Jesus lives and reigns, grief is not final, embodied life matters, forgiveness can be announced, and ordinary disciples can become witnesses. Let praise strengthen obedience rather than replace it.