This Tuesday, we will be completing our journey through Luke’s Gospel with a reading of Luke 24 and Acts 1:1-14.
The Tomb: (vv. 1-12)
Luke’s account of the Resurrection begins the same way as in Mark and Matthew – the three women come to the tomb at dawn on the first day of the week, find it empty, and are addressed by an angelic-like person. Luke, however, brings out additional details. First, the angelic being does not simply tell the women that Jesus is not here but reminds them of Jesus’ teaching that “the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinners, be crucified, and rise again on the third day.” v.7. This teaching will be repeated to Cleopas in v.26 and to the disciples in v.46. This is the central teaching of the early church. See, 1 Cor. 2:2. Here, Luke emphasizes the importance of the church community to remember the teachings that are being passed down beginning with Jesus. See, 2 Thess. 2:15.
In giving the three women this gospel formulation, the angelic being also instructs them as to the meaning of what occurred. Earlier in his gospel, Luke had previously told us that these women were disciples of Jesus who also received his teachings. Luke 8:1-3, 10:39. Unlike the other gospels, Luke writes that the male disciples did not believe the women. v.12. Luke doesn’t tell us whether this disbelief in the Resurrection was because the messengers were women or because the message itself was unbelievable.
The Road to Emmaus: (vv.13-25)
Luke is the only Gospel that gives us this story. In the story, an unrecognized Jesus begins to walk beside two of his followers – Cleopas and his companion – on their journey out of Jerusalem on Sunday morning. As they journey together towards the town of Emmaus, Jesus walks them through the Scriptures (the Hebrew Bible), showing how the Scriptures speak about himself. He remains unrecognized until he sits at the table with them, takes bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them. Their eyes are opened at that moment, and they recognize Jesus for who he is. (This is also a reversal of the Fall, where eating led Adam and Eve’s eyes to be opened.)
This story of the Road to Emmaus is the story of almost every Christian’s faith journey. We are all on the road with Jesus, walking through the Scriptures with him and reaching our final destination when we recognize Jesus in the Eucharistic celebration.
What Jesus is giving to Cleopas, the other disciples, and us is the primary lens through which we should interpret the Old Testament. (The technical term for this is hermeneutics.) Jesus tells us that when we read the Old Testament, we must first read it Christologically – as speaking about himself. Scriptures are intended to be read as a witness to Jesus. John 5:39, 2 Cor. 3:14. Before Tuesday, think through the Old Testament stories that Jesus would have told about himself.
The Disciples: (vv.36-53)
The final section of this Resurrection narrative is Jesus’ appearance to the disciples. As we will see in John, Luke is equivocal as to the nature of the resurrected body. It is unrecognizable (v.16) and can vanish (v.31) but yet is described not as a ghost but as flesh and bones (v.39). The Resurrected body defies easy characterization because Jesus’ Resurrected body is the first fruits of the new creation. (Paul has the best discussion of the nature of the Resurrected body in 1 Corinthians 15:35-50.)
Like the other Gospels and Paul, Luke describes the disciples as doubtful and disbelieving, even in the presence of the Risen Christ. v.41. But this is a “joyful disbelief and wonderment.” Like the Road to Emmaus, this, too, is part of our common Christian experience.
As with Cleopas, Jesus “opens the minds” of his disciples to appropriately understand the Old Testament. With their minds opened, Jesus tells them that they are the witnesses to the fulfillment of the Scriptures and that once the power from on high comes (i.e., Pentecost), they will be the ones to bear witness to him throughout the world. The best example of this witness is Peter’s speech on Solomon’s Portico in Acts 3:11-26, where he, like Jesus, takes his audience through the Scriptures to point out where they continuously speak of the Crucified and Risen Lord.
Finally, unlike Mark and Mathew, Jesus appears to the disciples in Jerusalem and instructs them to stay in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the key in Luke’s Gospel – it is where the Gospel ends and Acts begins.
Luke ends his Gospel with a brief Ascension narrative and with the disciples praising God in the Temple. The center of the worship of God is now the center of the proclamation of Jesus. And from this starting place, the proclamation will spread throughout the known world.
Dinner is at 6. The menu is spaghetti and meatballs a la Kim Perl. Discussion about 6:45. Hope to see you here! We start Richard Beck’s Reviving Old Scratch Tuesday-week.
I myself have set my king *
upon my holy hill of Zion.
Let me announce the decree of the Lord: *
he said to me, “You are my Son;
this day have I begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for
your inheritance *
and the ends of the earth for your possession
Psalm 2:6-8