Luke 24:38-53

Context
24:38 Then¹ he said to them, “Why are you frightened,² and why do doubts³ arise in your hearts? 24:39 Look at my hands and my feet; it’s me!⁴ Touch me and see; a ghost⁵ does not have flesh and bones like you see I have.” 24:40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.⁶ 24:41 And while they still could not believe it⁷ (because of their joy) and were amazed,⁸ he said to them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”⁹ 24:42 So¹⁰ they gave him a piece of broiled fish, 24:43 and he took it and ate it in front of them.

Jesus’ Final Commission

24:44 Then¹¹ he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me¹² in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms¹³ must be fulfilled.” 24:45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures,¹⁴ 24:46 and said to them, “Thus it stands written that the Christ¹⁵ would suffer¹⁶ and would rise from the dead on the third day, 24:47 and repentance¹⁷ for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed¹⁸ in his name to all nations,¹⁹ beginning from Jerusalem.²⁰ 24:48 You are witnesses²¹ of these things. 24:49 And look, I am sending you²² what my Father promised.²³ But stay in the city²⁴ until you have been clothed with power²⁵ from on high.”

Jesus’ Departure

24:50 Then²⁶ Jesus²⁷ led them out as far as Bethany,²⁸ and lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 24:51 Now²⁹ during the blessing³⁰ he departed³¹ and was taken up into heaven.³² 24:52 So³³ they worshiped³⁴ him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,³⁵ 24:53 and were continually in the temple courts³⁶ blessing³⁷ God.³⁸

[24:38] ¹tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[24:38] ²tn Or “disturbed,” “troubled.”

[24:38] ³tn The expression here is an idiom; see BDAG 58 s.v. ἀναβαίνω 2. Here καρδία (kardia) is a collective singular; the expression has been translated as plural in English.

[24:39] ⁴tn Grk “that it is I myself.”

[24:39] ⁵tn See tc note on “ghost” in v. 37.

[24:40] ⁶tc Some Western mss (D it) lack 24:40. However, it is present in all other mss, including Ì⁷⁵, and should thus be regarded as an original part of Luke’s Gospel.

[24:41] ⁷sn They still could not believe it. Is this a continued statement of unbelief? Or is it a rhetorical expression of their amazement? They are being moved to faith, so a rhetorical force is more likely here.

[24:41] ⁸sn Amazement is the common response to unusual activity: 1:63; 2:18; 4:22; 7:9; 8:25; 9:43; 11:14; 20:26.

[24:41] ⁹sn Do you have anything here to eat? Eating would remove the idea that a phantom was present. Angelic spirits refused a meal in Jdt 13:16 and Tob 12:19, but accepted it in Gen 18:8; 19:3 and Tob 6:6.

[24:42] ¹⁰tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ request for food.

[24:44] ¹¹tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[24:44] ¹²sn Everything written about me. The divine plan, events, and scripture itself are seen here as being one.

[24:44] ¹³sn For a similar threefold division of the OT scriptures, see the prologue to Sirach, lines 8-10, and from Qumran, the epilogue to 4QMMT, line 10.

[24:45] ¹⁴sn Luke does not mention specific texts here, but it is likely that many of the scriptures he mentioned elsewhere in Luke-Acts would have been among those he had in mind.

[24:46] ¹⁵tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[24:46] ¹⁶tn Three Greek infinitives are the key to this summary: (1) to suffer, (2) to rise, and (3) to be preached. The Christ (Messiah) would be slain, would be raised, and a message about repentance would go out into all the world as a result. All of this was recorded in the scripture. The remark shows the continuity between Jesus’ ministry, the scripture, and what disciples would be doing as they declared the Lord risen.

[24:47] ¹⁷sn This repentance has its roots in declarations of the Old Testament. It is the Hebrew concept of a turning of direction.

[24:47] ¹⁸tn Or “preached,” “announced.”

[24:47] ¹⁹sn To all nations. The same Greek term (τὰ ἔθνη, ta eqnh) may be translated “the Gentiles” or “the nations.” The hope of God in Christ was for all the nations from the beginning.

[24:47] ²⁰sn Beginning from Jerusalem. See Acts 2, which is where it all starts.

[24:48] ²¹sn You are witnesses. This becomes a key concept of testimony in Acts. See Acts 1:8.

[24:49] ²²tn Grk “sending on you.”

[24:49] ²³tn Grk “the promise of my Father,” with τοῦ πατρός (tou patros) translated as a subjective genitive. This is a reference to the Holy Spirit and looks back to how one could see Messiah had come with the promise of old (Luke 3:15-18). The promise is rooted in Jer 31:31 and Ezek 36:26.

[24:49] ²⁴sn The city refers to Jerusalem.

[24:49] ²⁵sn Until you have been clothed with power refers to the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. What the Spirit supplies is enablement. See Luke 12:11-12; 21:12-15. The difference the Spirit makes can be seen in Peter (compare Luke 22:54-62 with Acts 2:14-41).

[24:50] ²⁶tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[24:50] ²⁷tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:50] ²⁸sn Bethany was village on the Mount of Olives about 2 mi (3 km) from Jerusalem; see John 11:1, 18.

[24:51] ²⁹tn Grk “And it happened that while.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[24:51] ³⁰tn Grk “while he blessed them.”

[24:51] ³¹tn Grk “he departed from them.”

[24:51] ³²tc The reference to the ascension (“and was taken up into heaven”) is lacking in א* D it sy^s, but it is found in Ì⁷⁵ and the rest of the ms tradition. The authenticity of the statement here seems to be presupposed in Acts 1:2, for otherwise it is difficult to account for Luke’s reference to the ascension there. For a helpful discussion, see TCGNT 162-63.

[24:52] ³³tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of Jesus’ ascension and the concluding summary of Luke’s Gospel.

[24:52] ³⁴tc The reference to worship is lacking in the Western ms D, its last major omission in this Gospel.

[24:52] ³⁵sn Joy is another key theme for Luke: 1:14; 2:10; 8:13; 10:17; 15:7, 10; 24:41.

[24:53] ³⁶tn Grk “in the temple.”

[24:53] ³⁷tc The Western text (D it) has αἰνοῦντες (ainounte", “praising”) here, while the Alexandrian mss (Ì⁷⁵ א B C* L) have εὐλογοῦντες (eulogounte", “blessing”). Most mss, especially the later Byzantine mss, evidently combine these two readings with αἰνοῦντες καὶ εὐλογοῦντες (A C² W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat). It is more difficult to decide between the two earlier readings. Internal arguments can go either way, but what seems decisive in this instance are the superior witnesses for εὐλογοῦντες.

[24:53] ³⁸tc The majority of Greek mss, some of which are important witnesses (A B C² Θ Ψ Ë¹³ Ï lat), add “Amen” to note the Gospel’s end. Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, since significant witnesses lack the word (Ì⁷⁵ א C* D L W 1 33 pc it co ), it is evidently not original.