March 7, 2014: Luke Chapter 24

The Gospel According to Luke Chapter 24

Originally posted Wednesday, April 2, 2008 

Luke Chapter 24:1-12 The Resurrection [see MT 28:1-10; MK 16:1-8

Luke makes a natural transition from the previous passage in 23:56. The Sabbath is about to start and the unnamed women cannot prepare the body until the next day. It is now Sunday at dawn and the women go to the tomb with the ointments and spices. As with Matthew and Mark, the women find the stone rolled away, enter the tomb but find no body. In Matthew an earthquake occurs, an angel descends from heaven and rolls the stone away from the tomb entrance.

At this point Luke's version differs. There are two angels in dazzling clothes (the required two witnesses) suddenly standing next to the women. The angels do not say they know why the women are at the tomb. They bluntly ask why they are looking for the living among the dead. Don't they remember what Jesus told them in Galilee about his being handed over to be crucified and then be raised on the third day? That is the end of the angels' message. There are no instructions to go tell the disciples. The women do remember Jesus' words and return to the city to tell the Eleven and other followers all they had experienced. It is only at this point in the story we learn the names of the women: Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Mary the mother of James. There were a number of other unnamed women witnesses at the tomb as well. Since John is not mentioned along with James as a son of Mary, she may be Jesus' mother and this James would be his brother who plays a significant role in Luke's second volume, the Book of Acts.

The response to the women's story is mostly disbelief. It was all just some idle tale as far as they were concerned. We should not miss Luke's comment about these women. They went to the tomb expecting to find a dead body. This means they did not expect a resurrection any more than these disciples did. Regardless of the angels' words we are not left with the impression that the women actually believed Jesus had been raised. In fact in 18:31-34, we are told that the understanding of Jesus' third prediction of death and resurrection had not been understood by the disciples. They did not grasp what Jesus said because it was "hidden from them."  When the women return to tell everyone their experience at the empty tomb no one believes them. However, Peter wanted to see for himself so he ran to the empty tomb and found it to be as the women had said. He, too, now remembered what Jesus had said on three occasions. Luke ends with an element of suspense. Did Peter believe or was he just amazed that something had occurred he still could not quite understand? 

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Vs. 12 has been the subject of a division in the scholarly debate over whether or not it was part of the earliest copies (and the original manuscript) of the Gospel. It has all the appearance of having been added in order to keep Peter in the forefront of the Apostles. Its later addition may have served as something of a rehabilitation of Peter after his earlier denials of Jesus. That the verse ends in a report of Peter going home is strange on two points: his home is in Capernaum of Galilee and in the next passage he is reported to be in Jerusalem. The verse does serve these two purposes and it is much easier to explain why a word or verse is added in later copying than removed.

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Luke Chapter 24:13-35 The Walk to Emmaus

Luke has developed this artful narrative which can be read as a summary of the earliest understanding of Jesus up to the empty tomb. This could be called a pre-resurrection point of view, a snapshot of the followers of Jesus before any experience of the ongoing presence of Jesus. Luke couples this early tradition with the developed preaching content of the passion story and proclamation of the resurrection. The form of the passage is built around an epiphany experienced by two travelers  who encounter a stranger along the road. This is a common structure found in the Old Testament as well as in Greek and Roman literature.

The story is based on two followers of Jesus, one named Cleopas, who had left Jerusalem soon after the women reported their empty tomb experience. The two were on the way to their home in Emmaus, about seven miles (60 stadia) from Jerusalem. As they were discussing the events of the last few days in Jerusalem a stranger began to walk with them. The stranger asks, "What are these words you are pitching back and forth with one another walking along?" The travelers "stood with a sad face" and asked if the stranger was the only person in Jerusalem who didn't know what had been happening. The stranger wants to know what he is talking about. Cleopas goes on to explain the basic details: It is about Jesus the Nazarene, a prophet mighty in word and deed before God; handed over by the authorities to be crucified; we hoped he was the one to redeem Israel. Cleopas goes on to relate the empty tomb report of the women, confirmed by several disciples who also went to the tomb but saw no one.

The center of attention now shifts to the stranger who chastises their lack of understanding of the Scripture, and how it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and enter into his glory (read Isaiah 53), and how Moses and the Prophets wrote about this Jesus as the one who would redeem Israel.

The next section of the passage may be the most important for our understanding of table fellowship and the Eucharist as a unit in the earliest years of the Church when it was little more than a collection of small communities spread throughout Palestine, the Decapolis, Syria and Asia Minor. The scene of the travelers inviting the wise stranger to table fellowship is representative of the villagers welcoming the traveling disciples or Christian prophets to enjoy their hospitality and tell them more about this Jesus and the Kingdom he preaches. In our story the trio arrives at Emmaus and the stranger whose interpretation of Scripture had stirred their hearts is invited to stay with them because it is already near sundown. The stranger accepts their invitation and at table he does something quite odd. He assumes the role of host, takes the loaf of bread, breaks it and gives it to Cleopas and his companion. From somewhere within, from a place they did not know existed, they could see with the eyes of the soul. This is the one. As quickly as the inspiration had flashed across their consciousness, the stranger, now known for who he was, disappeared. In the breaking of the bread they remembered.

The journey back to Jerusalem was quicker than from there to Emmaus. With a degree of urgency they found the Eleven and others gathered together. They shared the story of the visitation on the road to Emmaus. Those present celebrated with the two from Emmaus and added their own good news. Jesus has indeed been raised and has appeared to Simon Peter. This is not in Luke's text, but we can almost hear them saying in unison, "Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.'"

Luke Chapter 24:36-53 Appearances and Ascension

Resurrection stories vary from Gospel to Gospel, all the way from simply the hint of resurrection in Mark's empty tomb, to John's extensive two full chapters. Matthew includes a brief appearance of Jesus to the women near the tomb and the commissioning of the disciples in Galilee. Luke combines the empty tomb story with the extended appearance on the road to Emmaus followed by an appearance to all the disciples.

The first part of this passage serves to assure Luke's community of the resurrection as a physical event. Jesus is not a ghost. The disciples can touch him and see the wounds in his hands and feet. To add to the assurance Jesus eats a piece of broiled fish "in their presence."

The second part restates many of the sayings of Jesus in the Emmaus Road passage: the law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms are fulfilled in Jesus - meaning they all point to Jesus' experience in life and death. As with his fellow travelers to Emmaus, he opens the minds of the disciples to the Scriptures. He commissions the Apostles to be his witnesses and to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins to all the nations (Gentiles and Jews). They will be empowered in this mission by the Holy Spirit that Jesus will send upon them in Jerusalem.

Luke's ascension scene is unique in the Gospels although it is implied in John and is part of the non-canonical long ending of Mark. The ascension bears some resemblance to Jewish folklore about Moses and Enoch and the Old Testament story of Elijah. It is a bodily ascension into heaven. In Christian thought it is Jesus' glorification to the right hand of God.