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Luke 24

The Resurrection, the Road to Emmaus, and the Ascension

The empty tomb, the encounter on the road to Emmaus, the appearances in Jerusalem, and the ascension to heaven

🛤️ The Road to Emmaus (24:13-35)

Luke 24:13-27
"And behold, on that same day, two of them were going to a village called Emmaus... And it happened that while they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him... And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself."
View the Greek text (Koine)

13Καὶ ἰδού, δύο ἐξ αὐτῶν ἦσαν πορευόμενοι ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ εἰς κώμην ἀπέχουσαν σταδίους ἑξήκοντα ἀπὸ Ἰερουσαλήμ, ᾗ ὄνομα Ἐμμαούς.

14καὶ αὐτοὶ ὡμίλουν πρὸς ἀλλήλους περὶ πάντων τῶν συμβεβηκότων τούτων.

15καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ ὁμιλεῖν αὐτοὺς καὶ συζητεῖν, καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐγγίσας συνεπορεύετο αὐτοῖς

16οἱ δὲ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτῶν ἐκρατοῦντο τοῦ μὴ ἐπιγνῶναι αὐτόν.

17εἶπε δὲ πρὸς αὐτούς, Τίνες οἱ λόγοι οὗτοι οὓς ἀντιβάλλετε πρὸς ἀλλήλους περιπατοῦντες, καὶ ἐστὲ σκυθρωποί;

18ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ εἷς ᾧ ὄνομα Κλεόπας, εἶπε πρὸς αὐτόν, Σὺ μόνος παροικεῖς ἐν Ἰερουσαλήμ, καὶ οὐκ ἔγνως τὰ γενόμενα ἐν αὐτῇ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ταύταις;

19καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Ποῖα; οἱ δὲ εἶπον αὐτῷ, Τὰ περὶ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Ναζωραίου, ὃς ἐγένετο ἀνὴρ προφήτης δυνατὸς ἐν ἔργῳ καὶ λόγῳ ἐναντίον τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ παντὸς τοῦ λαοῦ·

20ὅπως τε παρέδωκαν αὐτὸν οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες ἡμῶν εἰς κρίμα θανάτου, καὶ ἐσταύρωσαν αὐτόν.

21ἡμεῖς δὲ ἠλπίζομεν ὅτι αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ μέλλων λυτροῦσθαι τὸν Ἰσραήλ. ἀλλά γε σὺν πᾶσι τούτοις τρίτην ταύτην ἡμέραν ἄγει σήμερον ἀφ’ οὗ ταῦτα ἐγένετο.

22ἀλλὰ καὶ γυναῖκές τινες ἐξ ἡμῶν ἐξέστησαν ἡμᾶς, γενόμεναι ὀρθριαὶ ἐπὶ τὸ μνημεῖον·

23καὶ μὴ εὑροῦσαι τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ, ἦλθον λέγουσαι καὶ ὀπτασίαν ἀγγέλων ἑωρακέναι, οἳ λέγουσιν αὐτὸν ζῇν.

24καὶ ἀπῆλθόν τινες τῶν σὺν ἡμῖν ἐπὶ τὸ μνημεῖον, καὶ εὗρον οὕτω καθὼς καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες εἶπον· αὐτὸν δὲ οὐκ εἶδον.

25καὶ αὐτὸς εἶπε πρὸς αὐτούς, Ὦ ἀνόητοι καὶ βραδεῖς τῇ καρδίᾳ τοῦ πιστεύειν ἐπὶ πᾶσιν οἷς ἐλάλησαν οἱ προφῆται·

26οὐχὶ ταῦτα ἔδει παθεῖν τὸν Χριστόν, καὶ εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ;

27καὶ ἀρξάμενος ἀπὸ Μωσέως καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν προφητῶν, διηρμήνευεν αὐτοῖς ἐν πάσαις ταῖς γραφαῖς τὰ περὶ ἑαυτοῦ.

Greek text: Textus Receptus 1894 Scrivener, Door43 World Missions Community, with Scriptorium and Dr. Maurice A. Robinson, under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Adapted: text only, without the morphology, Strong's and lemma tags. This Greek layer is shared under the same license.

The Emmaus episode is one of the most beautiful narratives in the NT. Two disciples walk away from Jerusalem—the place of the resurrection—discouraged. Jesus joins them incognito and lets them speak. Then 'beginning with Moses and all the Prophets'—a Christological hermeneutic of the entire OT—he explains how all Scripture points to him. The disciples' hearts 'burned' while he spoke. Recognition occurs 'in the breaking of the bread'—the Lord's Supper is the privileged place of encounter with the Risen One.
Luke 24:32-35
"And they said to one another, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?’ And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem... and they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread."
View the Greek text (Koine)

32καὶ εἶπον πρὸς ἀλλήλους, Οὐχὶ ἡ καρδία ἡμῶν καιομένη ἦν ἐν ἡμῖν, ὡς ἐλάλει ἡμῖν ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ, καὶ ὡς διήνοιγεν ἡμῖν τὰς γραφάς;

33καὶ ἀναστάντες αὐτῇ τῇ ὥρᾳ, ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς Ἰερουσαλήμ, καὶ εὗρον συνηθροισμένους τοὺς ἕνδεκα καὶ τοὺς σὺν αὐτοῖς,

34λέγοντας, ὅτι Ἠγέρθη ὀ Κύριος ὄντως, καὶ ὤφθη Σίμωνι.

35καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐξηγοῦντο τὰ ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ, καὶ ὡς ἐγνώσθη αὐτοῖς ἐν τῇ κλάσει τοῦ ἄρτου.

Greek text: Textus Receptus 1894 Scrivener, Door43 World Missions Community, with Scriptorium and Dr. Maurice A. Robinson, under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Adapted: text only, without the morphology, Strong's and lemma tags. This Greek layer is shared under the same license.

The turning point at Emmaus is the turning point of discipleship: from distancing to return, from discouragement to joy, from blindness to recognition. The encounter with the Risen One transforms the direction of life. They 'returned to Jerusalem'—the place they had fled. The Christian community is the place of testimony: 'they told what had happened.' The resurrection is not a private experience—it is news that must be shared.

🌤️ The Ascension (24:50-53)

Luke 24:50-53
"And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God."
View the Greek text (Koine)

50Ἐξήγαγε δὲ αὐτοὺς ἔξω ἕως εἰς Βηθανίαν· καὶ ἐπάρας τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ εὐλόγησεν αὐτούς.

51καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ εὐλογεῖν αὐτὸν αὐτούς, διέστη ἀπ’ αὐτῶν, καὶ ἀνεφέρετο εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν.

52καὶ αὐτοὶ προσκυνήσαντες αὐτόν, ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ μετὰ χαρᾶς μεγάλης·

53καὶ ἦσαν δια παντὸς ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ, αἰνοῦντες καὶ εὐλογοῦντες τὸν Θεόν. Ἀμήν.

Greek text: Textus Receptus 1894 Scrivener, Door43 World Missions Community, with Scriptorium and Dr. Maurice A. Robinson, under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Adapted: text only, without the morphology, Strong's and lemma tags. This Greek layer is shared under the same license.

Luke is the only Gospel that records the Ascension (and narrates it again in Acts 1). The Ascension is not the end of Jesus' story—it is his enthronement. Jesus ascends to heaven not to be absent but to reign at the right hand of the Father (Ps 110:1; Acts 2:33-36). The final blessing with raised hands echoes the priestly blessing (Lev 9:22; Num 6:24-26)—Jesus is the eternal high priest who blesses his people. The disciples' reaction is remarkable: 'great joy.' They do not mourn his departure—they celebrate the victory. Luke's Gospel ends where it began: in the temple, praising God.