The Bible — World English Bible

Luke 24

In brief

Luke 24 tells the story of Easter morning and the hours that follow. Women find the empty tomb, two discouraged disciples walk to Emmaus without recognizing Jesus, and then the risen Lord stands among all his gathered disciples. In every scene he opens the Scriptures, shares a meal and dispels doubt. The chapter ends with the promise of the Spirit and the ascension. Luke shows that the resurrection is a lived fact, understood through the Word and entrusted to witnesses.

The chapter in 6 parts

  1. v. 1-12The empty tomb and the women's announcement
  2. v. 13-27On the road to Emmaus: Jesus explains the Scriptures
  3. v. 28-35Recognized in the breaking of the bread
  4. v. 36-43Jesus stands among his disciples
  5. v. 44-49Minds opened to understand, and the mission entrusted
  6. v. 50-53The blessing and the ascension

1But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they and some others came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared.

2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb.

3They entered in, and didn’t find the Lord Jesus’ body.

4While they were greatly perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling clothing.

5Becoming terrified, they bowed their faces down to the earth. They said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?

6He isn’t here, but is risen. Remember what he told you when he was still in Galilee,

7saying that the Son of Man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and the third day rise again?”

8They remembered his words,

9returned from the tomb, and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.

10Now they were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. The other women with them told these things to the apostles.

11These words seemed to them to be nonsense, and they didn’t believe them.

12But Peter got up 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.

13Behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was sixty stadia from Jerusalem.

14They talked with each other about all of these things which had happened.

15While they talked and questioned together, Jesus himself came near, and went with them.

16But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.

17He said to them, “What are you talking about as you walk, and are sad?”

18One 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?”

19He 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;

20and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him.

21But 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.

22Also, certain women of our company amazed us, having arrived early at the tomb;

23and 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.

24Some of us went to the tomb, and found it just like the women had said, but they didn’t see him.”

25He said to them, “Foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!

26Didn’t the Christ have to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?”

27Beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he explained to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

28They came near to the village where they were going, and he acted like he would go further.

29They urged him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is almost evening, and the day is almost over.” He went in to stay with them.

30When he had sat down at the table with them, he took the bread and gave thanks. Breaking it, he gave it to them.

31Their eyes were opened and they recognized him, then he vanished out of their sight.

32They said to one another, “Weren’t our hearts burning within us, while he spoke to us along the way, and while he opened the Scriptures to us?”

33They rose up that very hour, returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and those who were with them,

34saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”

35They related the things that happened along the way, and how he was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.

36As they said these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be to you.”

37But they were terrified and filled with fear, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.

38He said to them, “Why are you troubled? Why do doubts arise in your hearts?

39See 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.”

40When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.

41While they still didn’t believe for joy, and wondered, he said to them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”

42They gave him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb.

43He took them, and ate in front of them.

44He 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.”

45Then he opened their minds, that they might understand the Scriptures.

46He 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,

47and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

48You are witnesses of these things.

49Behold, 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.”

50He led them out as far as Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.

51While he blessed them, he withdrew from them, and was carried up into heaven.

52They worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,

53and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

Key verses

Verse 5-6
Becoming terrified, they bowed their faces down to the earth. They said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He isn’t here, but is risen. Remember what he told you when he was still in Galilee,

The question from the two men in dazzling clothes overturns the women's logic: you do not look for the living among the dead. The central message of Easter fits in a few words, along with a call to remember what Jesus had said.

Verse 27
Beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he explained to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Jesus goes through the whole Bible, from Moses to the prophets, and shows that it speaks of him. It is a key for reading the Old Testament in the light of Christ.

Verse 32
They said to one another, “Weren’t our hearts burning within us, while he spoke to us along the way, and while he opened the Scriptures to us?”

The Emmaus disciples look back on their walk with Jesus: their hearts burned while he spoke to them. Listening to the Word often comes before recognizing his presence.

Verse 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.”

Jesus invites them to touch and see: the risen Lord is not a ghost. Luke insists on the physical reality of the resurrection.

Verse 47-48
and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.

The mission is announced: repentance and forgiveness of sins proclaimed to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. The disciples are the witnesses.

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Frequently asked questions about Luke 24

What is the main message of Luke 24?

Jesus is risen, and this good news is confirmed by the empty tomb, by the Scriptures he explains and by his appearances. The chapter also shows how crushed disciples move from doubt to joy and receive the mission to bear witness. The resurrection is presented as a fact, not as a symbol.

What happens on the road to Emmaus?

Two disciples leave Jerusalem, sad after the death of Jesus. He walks with them without being recognized and explains what the Scriptures said about the Christ. When they reach the village, they invite him to stay, and they recognize him when he breaks the bread. They return to Jerusalem at once to share the news.

Why does Jesus eat in front of his disciples?

The disciples think they are seeing a spirit. Jesus shows them his hands and feet, then asks for something to eat and takes a piece of fish in front of them. This ordinary act proves that his resurrection is bodily and that it is not an apparition or an illusion.

Articles quoting Luke 24

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World English Bible translation — public domain.