LUKE LESSON 58

    We will begin this lesson in Luke 24:1 "Now upon the first [day]
of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre,
bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain [others] with
them."

    One of the very last things in lesson 57 was that the women
prepared these spices to bring to the tomb at the very first moment
possible. This would be early Sunday morning when these women come to
the tomb.

    Luke 24:2 "And they found the stone rolled away from the
sepulchre."

    This was a very heavy stone that would have taken several men to
move. It has been opened.

    Luke 24:3 "And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord
Jesus."

    This part of the account of the resurrection is in all four
gospels. It is very important that He rose from the grave.

    Luke 24:4 "And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed
thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:"

    It really doesn't matter how many angels were there. Different
people see different things. These women were first disturbed that His
body was not there, and then they beheld the two heavenly beings.  By
two a thing shall be established.

    Luke 24:5 "And as they were afraid, and bowed down [their] faces
to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the
dead?"

    They said, also, in another account, He is risen. Both messages
mean the same. Jesus is alive. They were not sure at first what they
saw because of the shiny white clothes. They did know they were
heavenly beings and bowed their heads. This was wonderful news. Their
Lord is alive.

    Luke 24:6 "He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake
unto you when he was yet in Galilee," Luke 24:7 "Saying, The Son of
man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified,
and the third day rise again."

    He had told the twelve apostles over and over that this was to
happen to Him, but they (not wanting to believe it) had shut it out of
their minds. Now these angels are reminding them that Jesus had told
them this before, and now He is risen from the tomb.

    Luke 24:8 "And they remembered his words,"

    Now that they have been reminded, they do remember what He had
said, They are overjoyed.

    Luke 24:9 "And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these
things unto the eleven, and to all the rest."

    You know that they just could not get to the eleven fast enough.
The others here are Jesus' other followers.

    Luke 24:10 "It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary [the
mother] of James, and other [women that were] with them, which told
these things unto the apostles."

    These women had been faithful. They were the last at the cross and
first at the tomb. and now, the first to be told Jesus had risen.

    Luke 24:11 "And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they
believed them not."

    It is striking, to me, how little some of these disciples believe.
Perhaps, they didn't believe because the women brought the message.

    Luke 24:12 "Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and
stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and
departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass."

    Peter has an awful lot to reflect on. He possibly thinks Jesus
might not want him as an apostle any more, because he denied Him.
Peter must be thinking back to the things Jesus had said about His
death and resurrection.

    Luke 24:13  "And, behold, two of them went that same day to a
village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem [about] threescore
furlongs."

    This "two" here is speaking of two of the apostles. This town was
a little over six miles from Jerusalem. "Emmaus" means bath or wells.
It was probably a place where you could go, like to a hot springs for
your health. Jesus, Himself, had sent them out by twos on many
occasions.

    Luke 24:14 "And they talked together of all these things which had
happened."

    They had been among the group the women had told about Jesus'
resurrection, which they did not believe. Now they are talking it over
as they go down the road.

    Luke 24:15 "And it came to pass, that, while they communed
[together] and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them."
Luke 24:16 "But their eyes were holden that they should not know him."

    We see here a reality of the Scripture that says, "where two or
three are gathered, there He is in the midst of thee". Jesus had shed
His earthly body and was now walking in His heavenly body. In some
ways, like the holes in His hands, it was the same; but there was
enough difference in appearance, that they did not recognize Him.
Neither will the fishermen immediately recognize Him.

    Luke 24:17 "And he said unto them, What manner of communications
[are] these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?"

    It is apparent that they do not quickly recognize His voice, as
well. He asks why they are so sad.

    Luke 24:18 "And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering
said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not
known the things which are come to pass there in these days?"

    These two men are very much like many who proclaim to be
Christians today. They are walking with Him, looking on His face, and
still do not know who He is.

    Luke 24:19 "And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto
him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed
and word before God and all the people:"

    Their answer gives them away. they did not understand the person
of Jesus. They thought He was a man, a prophet like Isaiah. They did
not realize He was God the Son.

    Luke 24:20 "And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him
to be condemned to death, and have crucified him."  Luke 24:21 "But we
trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and
beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were
done." Luke 24:22 "Yea, and certain women also of our company made us
astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;"  Luke 24:23 "And when
they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a
vision of angels, which said that he was alive."

    The problem with these two, all along, was they had perceived
Jesus wrongly from the beginning. They had thought like so many other
that His reign would be political in nature. They had never seen Jesus
as God the Son who would redeem the whole world. Their vision of Jesus
had been way too small. They thought only Israel would be blessed.
They thought Jesus would take Jerusalem back from the Romans and rule
in David's stead. Now these women have seen a vision which indicates
this is a spiritual matter and not a physical, and they can't believe
it. They had known Jesus on the surface, but had really never truly
seen Him nor known Him.

    Luke 24:24 "And certain of them which were with us went to the
sepulchre, and found [it] even so as the women had said: but him they
saw not."

    How much evidence do they want? The women believed, but these
disciples did not believe even with all this evidence.

    Luke 24:25 "Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to
believe all that the prophets have spoken:"  Luke 24:26 "Ought not
Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?"

    Jesus reprimands them here for their unbelief. Without faith, it
is impossible to please God. He says why don't you read and understand
your Bible? All of this is in your Bible. Then He says this was right
for Christ to do. Now He, Christ, is in His glory.

    Luke 24:27 "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he
expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning
himself."

    He gives them a Bible lesson in the Old Testament of all of the
prophecies written about Him. They must have been like some
ministering today, who are not very familiar with His Word.

    Luke 24:28 "And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they
went: and he made as though he would have gone further." Luke 24:29
"But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward
evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them."

    It is almost unbelievable that they  could have been with Him this
long and not realized who this stranger is. Is Jesus a stranger to
you? Have you taken time to really get to know Him? The day is far
spent for all of us, as well. The thing that stands out in this, to
me, is if the Holy Spirit does not reveal the person of Jesus to us,
He is a stranger.

    Luke 24:30 "And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he
took bread, and blessed [it], and brake, and gave to them."  Luke
24:31 "And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished
out of their sight."

    Jesus must be our companion, and we must commune with Him to truly
have our eyes opened, that we might see Him for who He really is. They
had been with Him, and yet did not know Him, until they took of His
body. To truly know Jesus, we must partake of His body and His blood.
He must live within us.















                           Luke 58 Questions

1.  Who is the "they" in verse one?
2.  Where did they go?
3.  When did they go?
4.  What did they find in verse two?
5.  When they entered the tomb ________ ______ ________ _______.
6.  When they were much perplexed, who did they see?
7.  What were they wearing?
8.  What did the women do when they saw them?
9.  What did the angels say to the women?
10. What did the angels remind them of?
11. Where did the women go when they left the tomb?
12. Who were some of the women?
13. Did the men believe them?
14. What did Peter do?
15. Who was walking to Emmaus?
16. What were they talking about?
17. How far was Emmaus from Jerusalem?
18. Who came and walked with them?
19. Why did they not recognize Him?
20. What reality of Scripture do we see fulfilled in verse 15 and 16?
21. What question did Jesus ask them?
22. What was one of their names?
23. These two are like many who proclaim to be Christians today. they
    were walking with Him, looking on His face, and do not know what?
24. Who did they say Jesus of Nazareth was?
25. What had they believed He would do?
26. What reprimand did Jesus say to them?
27. What did Jesus expound from the Scriptures to them?
28. When were their eyes opened?
29. What can we learn from this?