Jesus's Resurrection
The first people to learn of the resurrection of Jesus were the women who had been faithful in following Him. They found out about the Resurrection first because of their devotion to Him. For after His death they brought more spices for His burial on the first day of the week (cf. 23:55–56). They did not find the body they were looking for. Instead they saw two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning, an obvious reference to angelic beings. These men reminded them of the words Jesus had spoken about His crucifixion and resurrection (9:31; 18:31–34). The women went to report to the apostles and others what they had seen (24:9).
The apostles did not believe the report the women brought them because their words seemed … like nonsense. This was because they had seen Jesus’ death and had seen His body placed in the grave. But Peter ran to the tomb and found what the women had described. Still he did not understand what had happened.
JESUS’ APPEARANCES TO HIS FOLLOWERS
In these two appearances—to two men (vv. 13–35) and to the gathered disciples (vv. 36–49)—Jesus taught His followers from the Old Testament the things that had been accomplished among them. It was not until after Jesus had explained from the Old Testament that the Messiah had to die that His followers began to understand what had occurred the past few days.
Jesus’ appearance to the two men (24:13–35) (Mark 16:12–13).
24:13–16. Two of Jesus’ followers were walking to Emmaus, which is about seven miles (northwest) from Jerusalem. They were talking … about the things that had happened, that is, the report that Jesus had been resurrected (vv. 19–24). When Jesus joined them, they did not recognize Him.
24:17–24. When Jesus asked them to tell Him what they were discussing, the men related the view about Jesus that most of the nation believed at that time. The men, one of whom was Cleopas, said they were talking about Jesus of Nazareth. Cleopas commented that their fellow companion must be the only one living in all of Jerusalem who did not know what had happened. By this question Luke got across the point that Jesus’ ministry and death were known to everyone in the city and in most of the nation. The entire nation was responsible to accept the Messiah.
The two men added that the chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to … death. Along with many others these two men thought that Jesus was the One who was going to redeem Israel, that is, be the Messiah and bring in the kingdom (cf. Simeon’s words in 2:30 and Anna’s in 2:38). They even related that they had heard a report of the Resurrection directly from some … women. But despite all this, their faces were downcast (24:17).
24:25–27. Jesus chided them for not understanding and believing. He explained from Moses and all the Prophets what had been said about Him. He implied that these disciples should have understood from the Old Testament what had happened.
24:28–35. It was not until after Jesus had broken bread with them that their eyes were opened and they recognized Him. Their experience with Jesus caused them to hurry back to Jerusalem (seven miles) and affirm the Resurrection to the Eleven and others who were meeting together. The two men now acknowledged the truth of the reports about Jesus’ resurrection for they had recognized Him themselves. The disciples who were meeting together now had at least three reports of the Resurrection: the women, Peter, and Cleopas and his companion. But still they did not understand (cf. v. 38
Jesus’ appearance to the gathered followers (24:36–49) (Matt. 28:16–20; Mark 16:14–18; John 20:19–23)
In this appearance three things about Jesus are evident.
24:36–43. First, Jesus proved to His followers that He had really been resurrected. Not only did He stand in their presence so they could see Him and His wounds (vv. 39–40), but He also ate food (a piece of broiled fish) before them to show that He was not a ghost.
24:44–47. Second, Jesus showed His followers all the facts written … in the Old Testament about the Messiah. The Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms are the three divisions of the Old Testament sometimes referred to in Jesus’ day. (More often, however, Moses and the Prophets were said to comprise the OT; e.g., v. 27.) In other words He showed them from different parts of the Old Testament (e.g., Deut. 18:15; Pss. 2:7; 16:10; 22:14–18; Isa. 53; 61:1) that He is the Messiah and that He must suffer and rise from the dead (Luke 24:46; cf. v. 26). Because of His death and resurrection, the message of repentance and forgiveness of sins could be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem for they were witnesses of His death and His rising from the dead. This became the outline for Luke in his second book (cf. Acts 1:8).
24:48–49. Jesus commanded His followers to remain in the city of Jerusalem until they had received power from on high, a clear reference to the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 1:8), who was promised by the Father.
JESUS’ PARTING FROM HIS FOLLOWERS (24:50–53) (MARK 16:19–20).
24:50–53. In the vicinity of Bethany, that is, on the Mount of Olives, Jesus was taken up into heaven (cf. Acts 1:9–11). The disciples responded with worship and great joy and kept praising God in the temple. As seen frequently in Luke, believers repeatedly responded to Jesus with joy (cf. comments on Luke 2:18) and praise. This attitude set the stage for Luke’s next volume which began with Jesus’ followers remaining in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came (Acts 1:4–14).