Luke 24:1-53
Jesus Has Risen
1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his words.
9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
On the Road to Emmaus
13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
19 “What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence.
44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
The Ascension of Jesus
50 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.
While the Gospels primarily focus on the momentous events of the first Easter Sunday, as vividly recounted in Luke 24, the "very first day after the very first Easter," which would logically be the Monday following that Sunday, offers a glimpse into the immediate aftermath and the disciples' evolving understanding...Luke's Gospel begins on that first day of the week with the women going to the tomb, finding the stone rolled away and the body of Jesus gone (Luke 24:1-3)...Their encounter with the two men in gleaming clothes brought the astounding message: "He is not here; He has risen!" (Luke 24:5-6)...Returning to the Eleven and the others, they shared this incredible news (Luke 24:9-10), but initially, "they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense" (Luke 24:11)...I believe this would be the initial reaction on almost everyone...This initial disbelief and the subsequent processing of these earth-shattering events would have significantly shaped the atmosphere of the very first day after Easter...
Initially, on Easter morning, the disciples were distraught, emotionally spent, and skeptical upon hearing the women's incredible news of Jesus' resurrection (Luke 24:11)...This disbelief would have likely carried into Monday as they grappled with the seemingly impossible...However, amidst this doubt, the testimonies of those who had encountered the risen LORD began to circulate and take root...And grow it would...
We know from Luke's account in Acts that Jesus appeared to His apostles over a period of forty days, providing "many convincing proofs that He was alive" and speaking about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:2-3)...While the exact timing of each appearance isn't always specified, it's highly probable that some of these crucial encounters occurred very early on, including that first Monday...
Significantly, Luke 24:34 records the disciples in Jerusalem saying, "The LORD has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" ...This indicates that Jesus appeared to Peter (Cephas) sometime on Easter Sunday or very shortly thereafter...Paul also emphasizes this early appearance to Peter in 1 Corinthians 15:5, listing it as a foundational event before Jesus appeared to the Twelve and then to the larger group of over five hundred believers...
The impact of the Easter Sunday evening appearance on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) would have also significantly influenced the events of Monday...The two disciples, their hearts burning within them as Jesus explained the Scriptures, returned to Jerusalem to share their powerful encounter, further fueling the growing belief among the others...
Therefore, while the Bible doesn't give us a precise hour-by-hour account of that first Monday, we can infer that it was a crucial day of transition...The initial shock of disbelief were gradually being overcome by the weight of eyewitness testimonies – including Peter's encounter and the spreading news of the Emmaus disciples – laying the groundwork for the firm conviction that would define the early church...He Had Risen...It was a time of processing the unbelievable, sharing nascent experiences, and moving from the darkness of Good Friday towards the radiant reality of the resurrected LORD...