And
how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But 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. Also, certain women of our company amazed us, having arrived early at the tomb; and 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. Some of us went to the tomb, and found it just like the women had said, but they didn’t see him.
Luke 24:20-24
Luke 24 [18.] One 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?”
Luke 24 [19.] He 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; and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But 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. Also, certain women of our company amazed us, having arrived early at the tomb; and 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. Some of us went to the tomb, and found it just like the women had said, but they didn’t see him.”
Luke 24 [25.] He said to them, “Foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Didn’t the Christ have to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?” Beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he explained to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. They came near to the village, where they were going, and he acted like he would go further.
Meaning:
On the road to Emmaus the stranger asked, “What things?” and the two disciples poured out their story. They began by describing Jesus as “a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people” (Luke 24:19). In these verses they go on to tell how he died, what they had hoped, and the puzzling reports of that morning. Without knowing it, they are giving a summary of the gospel to the risen Lord himself, while missing its meaning.
- “The chief priests and our rulers delivered him up”
The disciples place the responsibility for the death of Jesus on their own leaders, who handed him over to the Romans to be condemned and crucified (Luke 23:24-25). They tell the facts accurately. What they cannot see is that this was the path God had planned for the Messiah, as Jesus will explain to them in a moment (Luke 24:26).
- “But we were hoping that it was he who would redeem Israel”
This is one of the saddest sentences in the Gospels. “We were hoping” speaks of a hope that has died. To redeem means to set free by paying a price. Many Jews longed for the day when God would rescue Israel from its enemies and restore the kingdom. At the beginning of Luke’s Gospel, Zechariah praised God because “he has visited and redeemed his people” (Luke 1:68), and the prophetess Anna spoke of the child Jesus “to all those who were looking for redemption in Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38). The two travellers had believed that Jesus was the one. The cross seemed to prove them wrong. In fact the cross was the very means of redemption. Peter later wrote that believers were redeemed “not with corruptible things, with silver or gold,” “but with precious blood, as of a faultless and pure lamb, the blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19).
- “It is now the third day since these things happened”
The disciples mention the third day almost in passing, perhaps as a measure of how long their sorrow had lasted. But Jesus had repeatedly said that he would rise on the third day (Luke 9:22). The very detail that marked the end of their hope was the sign that his promise was being fulfilled.
- “Certain women of our company amazed us”
They had heard the news of the empty tomb and of angels who said that Jesus was alive (Luke 24:1-10). Some had gone to check, probably including Peter (Luke 24:12), and found the tomb just as the women had described. “But they didn’t see him.” The facts were in front of them, yet they could not put them together. Without the living Jesus himself, an empty tomb only produced confusion.
The Significance of Luke 24:20-24
- When hope seems dead
Every believer has known moments when God’s plan seems to have failed. The Emmaus disciples felt that way at the very moment God was doing his greatest work. Disappointment is not the end of the story when Jesus is risen.
- Knowing facts is not the same as faith
These disciples knew all the key facts: the death, the third day, the empty tomb, the angels’ message. What they lacked was understanding and trust. Faith comes when the risen Christ opens the Scriptures and reveals himself.
Cross-References:
Luke 1:68: “he has visited and redeemed his people.” The redemption that Israel longed for.
1 Peter 1:18-19: “but with precious blood, as of a faultless and pure lamb, the blood of Christ.” The true price of redemption.
Luke 9:22: “the third day be raised up.” Jesus foretold the third day.
Conclusion: In Luke 24:20-24 the two disciples tell the stranger how their leaders had Jesus crucified, how they had hoped he would redeem Israel, and how the women’s report of an empty tomb and angels had only puzzled them. They describe the facts of the gospel while believing their hope has died. The passage shows that redemption came through the very cross that seemed to end it.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible