58: Jesus’s resurrection & the walk to Emmaus – Luke 24:1-35

24 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. ² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they went in, they did not find the body. ⁴ While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. ⁵ The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. ⁶ Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, ⁷ that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” ⁸ Then they remembered his words, ⁹ and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰ Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. ¹¹ But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.
¹² But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened. 

¹³ Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, ¹⁴ and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. ¹⁵ While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, ¹⁶ but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. ¹⁷ And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸ Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” ¹⁹ He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,
²⁰ and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. ²¹ But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. ²² Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, ²³ and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed 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 as the women had said; but they did not see him.” ²⁵ Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! ²⁶ Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” ²⁷ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. 

²⁸ As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. ²⁹ But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. ³⁰ When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. ³² They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” ³³ That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. ³⁴ They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread. NRSV

Get into the Word

1. What is the setting for this incident? Who is involved? What did they plan to do? What did they find? What didn’t they find? How did they respond to the situation?

2. Who enters the scene? What do they say to the women? Why is this important? How do the women react to this information? What do they do next? Who do they tell about the incident? How do these people respond? Who goes back to the tomb? How does he react to what he finds?

3. What does Luke present next? Who is involved in this situation? Where are they going? What are they talking about? Who joins them? How do they respond to his question? What events do they mention?

4. How does Jesus respond to their comment? What does he do to help them understand what really happened?

5. What does Jesus do when they reach the destination? What do the disciples do when they realize it is Jesus? Who do they tell? How is the news received this time?

Get Personal

How does God “open the scriptures to you?” How does God help you understand the importance of the resurrection in your walk with Jesus?

24:1. First day of the week — the sabbath ended at sundown, but no one traveled at night.
They — the women from the previous chapter (they are named in v. 10, although the Gospels differ on who was present).
24:2. Stone rolled away — the stone was roughly circular and would have been in a trough in front of the cave; it would have been difficult to move.
24:4. Two men in dazzling clothes — in the Old Testament angels appeared as humans dressed in very bright clothes [check Josh 5:13, 2 Kings 6:17 or Dan 10:5-6].
24:6. Remember — Jesus had told his followers about his death and resurrection [as in 9:22 and 18:31-34].
24:11. Idle tale — even though the disciples had seen Jesus restore life to Lazarus [John 11:17-37], the idea was still so far outside their view of reality they could not believe it happened as the women said.
24:12. Peter — evidently he checked for himself and confirmed the women’s report, but he did not understand what had taken place.

24:13. Same day — as the women discovered the empty tomb: Sunday.
24:16. Kept from recognizing — by their lack of spiritual vision; Jesus still looked basically as he had before his death.
24:18. Does not know — evidently the news of Jesus’s death and burial had spread quickly among his followers.
24:21. We had hoped — these disciples still hoped for a military/political redeemer – and they did not believe the women’s report [v. 23-24].
24:27. Beginning with Moses — Jesus probably started with Deut 18:15: the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people.
24:29. Stay with us — both Jesus and the disciples are following the hospitality code.
24:31. Their eyes were opened — when Jesus broke the bread the disciples finally “saw” who Jesus really is.
24:34. Appeared to Simon — Paul reports that Jesus did appear to Peter before he appeared to the disciples as a group [1 Cor 15:5].