Luke
At dawn on the first day of the week, the women went to the tomb,
carrying the spices they had prepared.
They discovered that the stone had
been rolled away from the tomb entrance,
so they went in, but they did not
find the body of the lord Jesus.
As they were bewildered about this, suddenly
two men in dazzling white clothes appeared.
The women were terrified and
bowed down with their faces to the ground. They said to the women, “Why
are you looking for the living among the dead?
He is not here, but he has
been raised. Remember that he told you, while he was still in Galilee,
that
the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of evil men, be crucified, and
on the third day rise again.”
And they remembered Jesus’ words.
They
returned from the tomb and reported everything to the eleven and all the
others.
It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the
other women with them who told the Apostles what had happened.
But it
seemed like nonsense to them, and the Apostles would not believe them.
But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. He bent down and looked in and saw only the linen wrappings. So he went home, wondering what had happened.
That same day two of the disciples were going to a village named
Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.
They were discussing with
each other everything that had happened.
As they were talking and
discussing, Jesus himself came up and began walking together with them.
But their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.
He asked them,
“What are you talking about as you walk along?” They stopped in their
tracks, their faces sad.
One of them, named Cleopas, answered, “Are you
just a visitor to Jerusalem? You must be the only person not to know what
has happened there lately.”
Jesus asked them, “What has happened?” They
said to him, “It is about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in
actions and words before God and all the people.
The chief priests and our leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and crucified him.
But we
were hoping he was the one who was going to rescue Israel.
And, what is
more, today is the third day since these things happened.
In addition,
some of the women in our group amazed us.
They went to the tomb at dawn
and did not find his body there. They came back saying they had seen a
vision of angels who said that he was alive.
Some of those who were with
us went to the tomb, and found it just as the women said, but they did not see
him.”
Jesus said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all
that the prophets have said!
Was it not necessary for the Messiah to suffer
these things
and to enter into his glory?”
Then beginning with Moses
and all the prophets, he explained to them everything in Scripture about
himself.
As they approached the village where they were going, he acted as if he were going farther.
But they urged him, “Please stay with us, because it is nearly
evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
When
he sat down to eat with them, he took the bread and blessed it, broke it, and
gave it to them.
At that point their eyes were opened and they recognized
him. Then he vanished.
They said to each other, “Were not our hearts
burning within us
as he was speaking to us on the road, as he opened up
the Scriptures to us?”
They got up that very hour and went back to
Jerusalem. There they found the eleven and the others gathered together.
They were saying, “The lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.”
Then the two disciples related what had happened on the road, and how they
recognized him when he broke the bread.
While they were telling these things, Jesus himself stood among them
and said, “Peace to you.”
Startled and afraid, they thought they were seeing
a spirit.
“Why are you afraid, and why do you doubt?” he asked them.
“Look at my hands and my feet; you can see it is I myself. Touch me and look, because a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.
Since they
still could not believe because of their joy and amazement, he asked them,
“Do you have anything here to eat?”
They gave him a piece of cooked fish,
which he took and ate in front of them.
He said to them, “These were my words while I was still with you —that everything which is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets,
and the Psalms
must be fulfilled.”
Then he opened their minds so that
they could understand the Scriptures.
He said to them, “It is written that
the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,
and that
repentance for the forgiveness of sins
would be proclaimed in his name
to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.
I
am about to send you the promise of my Father, but wait in the city until you
are empowered from on high.”
He led them as far as Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed
them.
While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven.
They bowed in worship to him, and then returned to Jerusalem with great
joy.
There they were praising God all the time in the Temple.
Luke