Daily Scripture Reading Luke 24:1-27
The normal progression of human life is we are born, we live, and then we die. Once a person dies, he does not come back to life.
Luke 24 tells us Jesus rose from the dead. At first the apostles did not believe it. Their skepticism illustrates one of the fundamental problems we have doing evangelism in the 21st century. People have to believe Jesus rose from the dead in order to be saved. However, it is difficult to get people to accept the truth of the resurrection because that is not how life normally works.
After Jesus died on the cross, a man named Joseph, a Council member from the city of Arimathea, asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. After receiving it, he wrapped the body and laid it in a tomb. The women who had followed Jesus from Galilee noted the location of the tomb and went home to prepare spices and perfumes. Then they rested on the Sabbath.
Luke 24:1 ¶ Now on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.
The pronoun “they” refers to the women who had followed Jesus from Galilee.
Luke 24:2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
Luke 24:3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
Luke 24:4 And it happened that while they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing,
The word “dazzling” indicates these were not ordinary men.
Luke 24:5 and when the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead?
The word “terrified” also communicates that these were not ordinary men because if they were ordinary men, the women would not have been so afraid.
Notice the phrase “bowed their faces to the ground”. That was how the women responded when they saw what they saw. This was a frequent reaction in Bible times.
For most of human history, people have lived under kings and bowing down to their king was a common act. It was normal. Bowing was also how people responded to God.
In a democracy, people do not have to bow down to a king. I believe in democracy and freedom. I think it is good not to have to bow down to an earthly king.
However, people like me who grow up in democracy without the tradition of bowing to a king also grow up without a tradition of bowing down to God. That is a loss. We should express the same humility and subservience to God that the women expressed to the men in the tomb. We should bow down to God both literally and in our hearts.
Luke 24:6 He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee,
Luke 24:7 saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”
Luke 24:8 And they remembered His words,
Luke 24:9 and when they returned from the tomb, they reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
Take note of the expression “all the rest”. It was more than just the eleven who heard the women tell what they saw.
Luke 24:10 Now Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the rest of the women with them were there; they were telling these things to the apostles.
Luke 24:11 But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they were not believing them.
Think about the words “nonsense” and “not believing”. Jesus had told the apostles that He would die and rise from the dead. When it actually happened, they did not believe it.
In some ways this is understandable. Men do not normally rise from the dead. The apostles watched Jesus die, so they normally would have thought His existence was over. Eventually, they came to believe, and then they preached the gospel boldly and without fear.
There are multiple verses in the Bible which indicated the importance of the resurrection. Romans 10:9-10 tells us we need to believe Jesus rose from the dead in order to be saved. 1Co 15:14 tells us if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then our faith is vain.
Just as it was difficult for the apostles to believe Jesus rose from the dead, so too in all ages, including today, it is difficult for people to believe that Jesus rose from the dead. However, the resurrection is crucial. People have to believe Jesus rose from the dead in order to be saved. We need to preach the resurrection consistently, boldly, and without fear.
Luke 24:12 But Peter stood up and ran to the tomb; and stooping to look in, he saw the linen wrappings only. And he went away by himself, marveling at what had happened.
Luke 24:13 ¶ And behold, two of them were going that same day to a village named Emmaus, which was sixty stadia from Jerusalem.
The pronoun “them” refers to verse 9 and all the people who heard the women give the account of what they saw at the tomb. The people who were with the eleven would have been eyewitnesses of many of the miracles and healings of Jesus. They would have heard many of His teachings.
This verse tells us two people out of that large group were walking to Emmaus.
Luke 24:14 And they were conversing with each other about all these things which had happened.
Luke 24:15 And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus Himself approached and was going with them.
Luke 24:16 But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.
Observe the word “prevented”. These two were eyewitnesses of Jesus and should have recognized Him, but God prevented them from recognizing Him.
Luke 24:17 And He said to them, “What are these words that you are discussing with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad.
Luke 24:18 And one of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?”
The crucifixion of Jesus was such a big event, everyone in Jerusalem knew about it.
Luke 24:19 And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a mighty prophet in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people,
Luke 24:20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him.
This indicates the common man’s understanding of what had taken place. They thought Jesus was a mighty prophet. It was known that it was the Jewish leaders who delivered Jesus to death.
Luke 24:21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened.
They were hoping Jesus would redeem Israel. Desiring redemption implies Israel was bound by something.
The Jewish people probably hoped Jesus would redeem them from bondage to the Roman Empire. Jesus did indeed redeem Israel, but He redeemed them, and us, from sin, not from any human government.
Luke 24:22 But also some women among us astounded us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning,
Luke 24:23 and not finding His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive.
Luke 24:24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also said, but Him they did not see.”
Luke 24:25 And He said to them, “O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
Consider the words “foolish” and “slow of heart”. This is another example of Jesus not living by the philosophy that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything.
Luke 24:26 Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”
Luke 24:27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He interpreted to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
The terms “Moses” and “the prophets” refers to the Old Testament. Jesus used the Old Testament to teach what the scriptures say about the Christ.
It is common for modern Christians to ignore the Old Testament. Sometimes there is a mindset among Bible translators that if they translate the New Testament, then they have completed their task.
The reality is the Old Testament is just as important as the New Testament. Both testaments are valuable and profitable.
The Old Testament foreshadowed Christ. The New Testament tells us about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Coming back from the dead is not normal. It is hard to believe Jesus did so, as illustrated by the skepticism of the apostles.
Nevertheless, believing in the resurrection is a requirement for salvation. We need to preach the resurrection boldly and persistently.
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”