Luke's account of the events following Jesus' resurrection stresses the reality of that event and the reactions of the witnesses to it. All these people felt depressed because of Jesus' death, but when they learned of His resurrection they became joyful and praised God. Thus the book concludes as it began with joy and rejoicing because of a miracle involving the salvation of humankind (cf. chs. 1-2).
"Luke 24 and Acts 1, which partly overlap, bridge the important transition from the story of Jesus to the story of his witnesses. The narrator's concern to build a strong bridge, unifying the story rather than permitting it to disintegrate into two stories, is shown by the amount of material in these chapters which either reviews what has already happened or previews what is going to happen."514
24:1 Saturday was a day of rest, but when Sunday came the women went into action.515Luke dated their arrival at the tomb at early dawn. Dawn has obvious symbolic connotations. This day would signal the beginning of something entirely new, a new day in human history. They brought spices and perfume (23:56) to anoint the body of Jesus. They were the first to learn of the resurrection because their devotion to Jesus moved them to seek Him out. Their example has challenged believers ever since to emulate their love for the Savior.
24:2-3 Luke stressed the absence of Jesus' body more than the moving of the stone that sealed the tomb. All four evangelists mentioned the removal of the stone probably because of its apologetic value. It was not just the spirit of Jesus that had departed but His body as well. Luke contrasted what the women found, the stone rolled away, with what they did not find, the body. The title "Lord Jesus"is new in Luke. It indicates the new status of the risen Christ. The early Christians used this title often (Acts 1:21; 4:33; 8:16).
24:4-5a Only Luke mentioned that there were two angels. Probably God sent two to convince the women that Jesus really had risen (Deut. 17:6; 19:15; cf. Luke 2:25-38; 24:48; Acts 1:8, 22; 2:32; 3:15; 5:32; et al.). They appeared to be men, but they were angels (v. 23; Matt. 28:5) as their dazzling apparel (Gr. astraptouse, cf. 9:29; Matt. 28:3; Acts 1:10) undoubtedly indicated to the women. The women responded to these "men"as to divine messengers (cf. 1:12, 29; 2:9; 9:34).
24:5b-7 The angels' words stressed the fact that Jesus was alive. It was inappropriate to look for a living person in a tomb (cf. Acts 2:24). They then flatly declared that Jesus had risen from the dead and reminded the women of Jesus' prophecy that He would rise after three days (9:22, 43-45; 18:31-33). Luke wrote that the meaning of Jesus' prediction was incomprehensible to the disciples when He gave it (18:34; cf. 24:16). However now God's messenger clarified it. Note the recurrence of the divine necessity behind Jesus' death and resurrection in verse 7 indicated by the word "must"(Gr. dei, cf. 2:49; 4:43; 13:33; 17:25; 19:5, 22; 22:37; 24:25-27, 44-46; Acts 2:23-24).
24:8-9 The women now remembered the predictions they had heard but had not understood. The Resurrection had begun to clarify many things that Jesus had previously taught His disciples (cf. Acts 11:16). The women then returned to the Eleven and the other disciples with their news. The angels had been witnesses of the Resurrection to the women, and now the women were witnesses of it to the rest of the disciples. They in turn would be witnesses of it to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Luke probably wanted his readers to note this beginning of the Christian mission here.
24:10-11 Luke now introduced the identity of these female witnesses whose names he evidently omitted earlier to focus attention on the Resurrection itself.
Salome was apparently the mother of Zebedee's sons (i.e., James and John, Matt. 27:56) and the sister of Jesus' mother (John 19:25). Joanna was the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and was one of Jesus' companions in Galilee (8:3).
The rest of the disciples could not imagine that Jesus was alive (cf. vv. 12, 22-24). This is amazing since Jesus had predicted His resurrection, and they had seen Him raise at least three people from the dead (cf. 7:11-17; 8:49-56; John 11:38-44). However their reluctance to believe is a strong argument for the Resurrection. They knew that Jesus had died and been placed in the tomb. They did not expect the Resurrection so they would hardly have dreamed it up. Perhaps Luke called these disciples "apostles"because that is what Jesus intended them to be, namely messengers sent with a message. They were not ready to go yet though.
24:12 Some ancient manuscripts omit this verse, but the evidence is good that it was part of Luke's original Gospel. Luke reported that Peter ran to the tomb to check out the women's story. He did not mention the other disciple who accompanied Peter (John 20:6-7) probably because Luke regarded Peter as the leader of the disciples in His Gospel (cf. 5:1-11). He, too, found it empty of Jesus' body. Only the linen strips of cloth with which Joseph of Arimathea had wrapped Jesus' corpse remained.
Peter's reaction of returning to his home (i.e., lodging place) may indicate that he did not understand what had happened. If he had understood, he would have returned to the other disciples, assuming they were not all staying in the same house. Luke used the Greek word thaumazon("marvelling"or "wondering") to express his lack of comprehension. He neither believed nor disbelieved that Jesus had risen yet. Peter was Luke's second witness to the resurrection following the women.
