Luke 24:17-28

24:17 Then ¹  he said to them, “What are these matters ²  you are discussing so intently ³  as you walk along?” And they stood still, looking sad. 24:18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, ⁴  “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who doesn’t know ⁵  the things that have happened there ⁶  in these days?” 24:19 He ⁷  said to them, “What things?” “The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied, “a man ⁸  who, with his powerful deeds and words, proved to be a prophet ⁹  before God and all the people; 24:20 and how our chief priests and rulers handed him over ¹⁰  to be condemned to death, and crucified ¹¹  him. 24:21 But we had hoped ¹²  that he was the one who was going to redeem ¹³  Israel. Not only this, but it is now the third day since these things happened. 24:22 Furthermore, some women of our group amazed us. ¹⁴  They ¹⁵  were at the tomb early this morning, 24:23 and when they did not find his body, they came back and said they had seen a vision of angels, ¹⁶  who said he was alive. 24:24 Then ¹⁷  some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see him.” ¹⁸  24:25 So ¹⁹  he said to them, “You ²⁰  foolish people ²¹  – how slow of heart ²²  to believe ²³  all that the prophets have spoken! 24:26 Wasn’t ²⁴  it necessary ²⁵  for the Christ ²⁶  to suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 24:27 Then ²⁷  beginning with Moses and all the prophets, ²⁸  he interpreted to them the things written about ²⁹  himself in all the scriptures.

24:28 So they approached the village where they were going. He acted as though he wanted to go farther, ³⁰ 

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

² tn Grk “words,” but the term λόγος (logos) can refer to “matters” rather than only “words” (BDAG 600 s.v. 1.a.ε).

³ tn “Discussing so intently” translates the reciprocal idea conveyed by πρὸς ἀλλήλους (pro" allhlou"). The term ἀντιβάλλω (antiballw), used only here in the NT, has the nuance of “arguing” or “debating” a point (the English idiom “to exchange words” also comes close).

⁴ tn Grk “answering him, said.” This is redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

⁵ sn There is irony and almost a sense of mocking disbelief as the question “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that have happened there in these days?” comes to Jesus; but, of course, the readers know what the travelers do not.

⁶ tn Grk “in it” (referring to the city of Jerusalem).

⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁸ tn This translates the Greek term ἀνήρ (anhr).

⁹ sn The role of Jesus as prophet is a function Luke frequently mentions: 4:25-27; 9:35; 13:31-35.

¹⁰ sn Handed him over is another summary of the passion like Luke 9:22.

¹¹ sn See the note on crucify in 23:21.

¹³ tn The imperfect verb looks back to the view that they held during Jesus’ past ministry.

¹⁴ sn Their messianic hope concerning Jesus is expressed by the phrase who was going to redeem Israel.

¹⁶ sn The account in 24:1-12 is repeated here, and it is clear that the other disciples were not convinced by the women, but could not explain the events either.

¹⁷ tn In the Greek text this is a continuation of the previous sentence, but because of the length and complexity of the construction a new sentence was started here in the translation.

¹⁹ sn The men in dazzling attire mentioned in v. 4 are identified as angels here.

²² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

²³ tn Here the pronoun αὐτόν (auton), referring to Jesus, is in an emphatic position. The one thing they lacked was solid evidence that he was alive.

²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the disciples’ inability to believe in Jesus’ resurrection.

²⁶ tn Grk “O,” an interjection used both in address and emotion (BDAG 1101 s.v. 1).

²⁷ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to complete the interjection.

²⁸ sn The rebuke is for failure to believe the promise of scripture, a theme that will appear in vv. 43-47 as well.

²⁹ tn On the syntax of this infinitival construction, see BDAG 364-65 s.v. ἐπί 6.b.

²⁸ tn This Greek particle (οὐχί, ouci) expects a positive reply.

²⁹ sn The statement Wasn’t it necessary is a reference to the design of God’s plan (see Luke 24:7). Suffering must precede glory (see Luke 17:25).

³⁰ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

³² sn The reference to Moses and all the prophets is a way to say the promise of Messiah runs throughout OT scripture from first to last.

³³ tn Or “regarding,” “concerning.” “Written” is implied by the mention of the scriptures in context; “said” could also be used here, referring to the original utterances, but by now these things had been committed to writing.

³⁴ sn He acted as though he wanted to go farther. This is written in a way that gives the impression Jesus knew they would ask him to stay.