RSV ~ Luke 24 Notes
Lk 24:1-53 | ISB Notes
Jesusâ Resurrection crowns the story of all four Gospels (Mt 28:1-10; Mk 16:1-8; Jn 20:1-18). In Luke, Jesusâ disappearance from the tomb is only the initial evidence of his rising. He soon appears to his disciples (24:31, 36), eats in their presence (24:42), and invites them to touch his risen body (24:39). There are some of the âmany proofsâ that testify to the miracle of Easter (Acts 1:3) (CCC 640-44).
Lk 24:1 | ISB Notes
first day: Sunday. The Sabbath day (Saturday) is the final day of the Jewish week (Gen 2:1-3). The early Christians called Sunday the âLordâs dayâ to commemorate Christâs Resurrection and celebrate the Eucharist (see Acts 20:7; Rev 1:10; CCC 1166, 2174).
Lk 24:4 | ISB Notes
two men: They are angels, according to 24:23 (Mt 28:2; Acts 1:10).
Lk 24:10 | ISB Notes
Mary Magdalene: The first person on record to see the risen Jesus (Mk 16:9; Jn 20:11-18). She had long been a disciple (Lk 8:2).
Lk 24:12 | ISB Notes
Peter rose: Simon rushes to the empty tomb, accompanied by the Apostle John (Jn 20:3-9). His inspection confirms the report of Jesusâ disappearance.
Lk 24:13 | ISB Notes
Emmaus: A Judean village of uncertain location (1 Mac 9:50).
Lk 24:18 | ISB Notes
Cleopas: Probably the same person as the one called âClopasâ in Jn 19:25. Early Christian tradition identifies him as the brother of Joseph, the legal father of Jesus (3:23), and the father of Simon/Simeon, the second bishop of Jerusalem (see Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3, 11, and 4, 22).
Lk 24:19 | ISB Notes
mighty in deed and word: Moses is described in these terms in Acts 7:22. The implication is that Jesus is the awaited prophet-like-Moses announced in Deut 18:15 (Acts 3:22-23; 7:37). Jesus was often viewed as a prophet by his contemporaries (Lk 7:16; Mt 16:14; 21:46; Jn 6:14). See note on Lk 9:35.
Lk 24:21 | ISB Notes
redeem Israel: The discouraged travelers had hoped that Jesus would reign as king in Jerusalem and rescue their nation from Roman oppression (19:11; Mk 11:10; Acts 1:6). Their expectations are out of step with Godâs plan to free Israel from sin and death, not from political subjugation (Mt 1:21; Jn 1:29; CCC 439). See note on Lk 4:18-19.
Lk 24:27 | ISB Notes
all the Scriptures: Jesus gives an overview of salvation history from the OT. His entire life was foreordained in Scripture, including his birth (Mt 1:23; 2:6), ministry (4:1819), death (20:17; Acts 8:32-33), and Resurrection (Mt 12:40; Acts 2:24-28) (CCC 601, 652).
Lk 24:30 | ISB Notes
took ⌠blessed ⌠broke ⌠gave: A sequence kilkJ of actions recalling the Last Supper accounts (22:19; Mt 26:26). Here the disciples encounter Christ in a spiritual way, discerning his presence in the meal (24:35). See note on Mt 14:13-21.
⢠The structure of the Emmaus episode reflects the structure of the eucharistic liturgy, where Jesus gives himself to the Church in word and sacrament, in the proclamation of Scripture (24:27) and in the eucharistic Bread of Life (24:30, 35) (CCC 1346-47).
Lk 24:35 | ISB Notes
breaking of the bread: Among Jews this was a ceremonial gesture that commenced the celebration of an ordinary meal. Among Christians it was used as a description of the eucharistic liturgy (Acts 2:42; 20:7; CCC 1329).
Lk 24:39 | ISB Notes
my hands ⌠my feet: The nail marks demonstrate that Jesusâ risen body is the same body that was crucified only days earlier (CCC 645). The evidence for his rising becomes incontrovertible as it mounts from his disappearance (empty tomb), to his various appearances (24:34; 1 Cor 15:4-8), and now to a direct examination of his wounds (Jn 20:27).
⢠Analogically (St. Ambrose, In Lucam): Jesusâ risen body prefigures the resurrected bodies of the saints. By convincing us of his own Resurrection, he likewise assures us of the physical nature of our own resurrection on the Last Day.
⢠Jesusâ risen body is truly physical but no longer earthly, since his humanity is now incorruptible and endowed with spiritual qualities. He for ever reigns in a human body, but one that can pass through locked doors (Jn 20:19), vanish at will (Lk 24:31), and is no longer subject to the limitations of time, space, and the laws of nature (CCC 646, 659). .
Lk 24:44 | ISB Notes
Moses ⌠prophets ⌠psalms: Reflects a classical division of the OT into three parts. The third division is sometimes called the âwritingsâ, or the âother booksâ, as in the prologue to the Book of Sirach.
Lk 24:46 | ISB Notes
Christ should suffer: A mystery fore
told in the OT (Acts 3:18; 17:3).
⢠Jesusâ mockery and rejection recall Ps 31, 69, 118, and Is 50:6. His agony and Crucifixion are depicted in Ps 22 and Is 53. on the third day rise: An emphasis in Jesusâ own predictions (9:22; 18:33; 24:6-7).
⢠The OT background is diverse. (1) Isaac was for three days under a death sentence until God intervened to give him back alive to Abraham on the third day (Gen 22:4, 13). This was a historical preview of Jesus rising to new life after obeying his Father unto death (Heb 11:17-19). (2) The experience of Jonah coming forth from a whale after three days in its stomach foreshadows Christ emerging from the grave after three days in the earth (Jon 1:17; Mt 12:40). (3) Hosea depicts Israelâs restoration from exile as a third-day resurrection (Hos 6:2). Since the Messiah represents Israel in the fullest sense, embodying both its vocation and destiny, Christâs own Resurrection initiates the resurrection of Israel from a state of spiritual death (Rom 11:15, 25-27). (4) More generally, the âthree daysâ motif is linked with a prelude to divine liberation (Ex 10:21-23) and a period of preparation before meeting the Lord (Ex 19:10-11) (CCC 702, 1094).
⢠Allegorically (St. Bede, Homilies 2, 10): Christ lay two nights in the tomb to rescue man from the twofold death of sin. For souls die spiritually on account of sin, and bodies die physically as a penalty for sin. Victorious on the third day, Christ now raises our souls to new life in grace and will later raise our bodies in glory.
Lk 24:47 | ISB Notes
forgiveness: The Church dispenses the blessings of the New Covenant through the preaching of the gospel and the administration of the sacraments (Mt 28:19-20; Jn 20:23; Acts 2:38). Salvation now extends beyond Israel to encompass all nations (Acts 1:8) (CCC 981, 1122).
Lk 24:49 | ISB Notes
the promise: i.e., the Holy Spirit (Gal 3:14; Eph 1:13). The outpouring of Godâs Spirit was long promised in the OT (Is 44:3; Ezek 36:26; Joel 2:28-29).
Lk 24:50 | ISB Notes
Bethany: A village within two miles of Jerusalem to the east (Jn 11:18).
Lk 24:51 | ISB Notes
up into heaven: Jesusâ Ascension is the only episode that overlaps with Lukeâs second book, the Acts of the Apostles. No mention is made here of the âforty daysâ that intervened between Easter Sunday and the day of his ascent (Acts 1:3, 9). The event culminates in Jesusâ royal enthronement at the Fatherâs right hand (Mk 16:19; Acts 2:32-35; CCC 659-64).
Lk 24:53 | ISB Notes
Luke both opens and closes his Gospel in the Jerusalem temple (1:9).