Lucas 24

BLIVRE · Chapter 24/24

1E no primeiro [dia] da semana, de madrugada bem cedo, foram ao sepulcro, levando [consigo] os materiais aromáticos que tinham preparado; e algumas [outras] junto delas.

2E acharam a pedra já revolvida do sepulcro.

3E entrando, não acharam o corpo do Senhor Jesus.

4E aconteceu, que estando elas perplexas, eis que dois homens apareceram junto a elas, com roupas luminosas.

5E estando elas com muito medo, e abaixando o rosto para o chão, eles lhes disseram: Por que buscam entre os mortos aquele que vive?

6Ele não está aqui, mas já ressuscitou. Lembrai-vos de como ele vos falou, quando ainda estava na Galileia,

7Dizendo: É necessário que o Filho do homem seja entregue nas mãos de homens pecadores, e [que] seja crucificado, e ressuscite ao terceiro dia.

8E se lembraram das palavras dele.

9E, voltando do sepulcro, anunciaram todas estas coisas aos onze, e a todos os outros.

10E eram Maria Madalena, e Joana, e Maria [mãe] de Tiago, e as outras [que estavam] com elas, que diziam estas coisas aos apóstolos.

11E para eles, as palavras delas pareciam não ter sentido; e não creram nelas.

12Porém Pedro, levantando-se, correu ao sepulcro; e abaixando-se, viu os tecidos postos separadamente; e saiu maravilhado com o que tinha acontecido.

13E eis que dois deles iam naquele mesmo dia a uma aldeia, cujo nome era Emaús, que estava a sessenta estádios [de distância] de Jerusalém.

14E iam falando entre si de todas aquelas coisas que tinham acontecido.

15E aconteceu que, enquanto eles estavam conversando entre si, e perguntando um ao outro, Jesus se aproximou, e foi junto deles.

16Mas seus olhos foram retidos, para que não o reconhecessem.

17E disse-lhes: Que conversas são essas, que vós discutis enquanto andam, e ficais tristes?

18E um [deles] ,cujo nome era Cleofas, respondendo-o, disse-lhe: És tu o único viajante em Jerusalém que não sabe as coisas que nela tem acontecido nestes dias?

19E ele lhes disse: Quais?E eles lhe disseram: As sobre Jesus de Nazaré, a qual foi um homem profeta, poderoso em obras e em palavras, diante de Deus, e de todo o povo.

20E como os chefes dos sacerdotes, e nossos líderes o entregaram à condenação de morte, e o crucificaram.

21E nós esperávamos que ele fosse aquele que libertar a Israel; porém além de tudo isto, hoje é o terceiro dia desde que estas coisas aconteceram.

22Ainda que também algumas mulheres dentre nós nos deixaram surpresos, as quais de madrugada foram ao sepulcro;

23E não achando seu corpo, vieram, dizendo que também tinham visto uma aparição de anjos, que disseram que ele vive.

24E alguns do que estão conosco foram ao sepulcro, e [o] acharam assim como as mulheres tinham dito; porém não o viram.

25E ele lhes disse: Ó tolos, e que demoram no coração para crerem em tudo o que os profetas falaram!

26Por acaso não era necessário que o Cristo sofresse estas coisas, e [então] entrar em sua glória?

27E começando de Moisés, e por todos os profetas, lhes declarava em todas as Escrituras o que estava [escrito] sobre ele.

28E chegaram à aldeia para onde estavam indo; e ele agiu como se fosse para [um lugar] mais distante.

29E eles lhe rogaram, dizendo: Fica conosco, porque já é tarde, e o dia está entardecendo;E ele entrou para ficar com eles.

30E aconteceu que, estando sentado com eles [à mesa] ,tomou o pão, o benzeu, [o] partiu, e o deu a eles.

31E os olhos deles se abriram, e o reconheceram, e ele lhes desapareceu.

32E diziam um ao outro: Por acaso não estava nosso coração ardendo em nós, quando ele falava conosco pelo caminho, e quando nos desvendava as Escrituras?

33E levantando-se na mesma hora, voltaram para Jerusalém, e acharam reunidos aos onze, e aos que estavam com eles,

34Que diziam: Verdadeiramente o Senhor ressuscitou, e já apareceu a Simão.

35E eles contaram as coisas que [lhes aconteceram] no caminho; e como foi reconhecido por eles quando partiu o pão.

36E enquanto eles falavam disto, o próprio Jesus se pôs no meio deles, e lhes disse: Paz [seja] convosco.

37E eles, espantados, e muito atemorizados, pensavam que viam algum espírito.

38E ele lhes disse: Por que estais perturbados, e por que sobem dúvidas em vossos corações?

39Vede minhas mãos, e os meus pés, que sou em mesmo. Tocai-me, e vede, porque um espírito não tem carne nem ossos, como vós vedes que eu tenho.

40E dizendo isto, lhes mostrou as mãos e os pés.

41E eles, não crendo ainda, por causa da alegria, e maravilhados, [Jesus] disse-lhes: Tendes aqui alguma coisa para comer?

42Então eles lhe apresentaram parte de um peixe assado e de um favo de mel.

43Ele pegou, e comeu diante deles.

44E disse-lhes: Estas são as palavras que eu vos disse, enquanto ainda estava convosco, que era necessário que se cumprissem todas as coisas que estão escritas sobre mim na Lei de Moisés, [nos] profetas, e [nos] Salmos.

45Então ele lhes abriu o entendimento, para que entendessem as Escrituras.

46E disse-lhes: Assim está escrito, e assim era necessário que o Cristo sofresse, e que ao terceiro dia ressuscitasse dos mortos;

47E que em seu nome fosse pregado arrependimento e perdão de pecados em todas as nações, começando de Jerusalém.

48E destas coisas vós sois testemunhas.

49E eis que eu envio a promessa de meu Pai sobre vós; porém ficai vós na cidade de Jerusalém, até que vos seja dado poder do alto.

50E os levou para fora até Betânia, e levantando suas mãos, os abençoou.

51E aconteceu que, enquanto os abençoava, ele se afastou deles, e foi conduzido para cima ao céu.

52E eles, adorando-o, voltaram para Jerusalém com grande alegria;

53E estavam sempre no Templo, louvando e bendizendo a Deus. Amém.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Women find the tomb empty, and angels announce that Jesus has risen. He appears to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, then to the eleven apostles in Jerusalem, eating with them and explaining the Scriptures. Finally, he blesses them and is taken up into heaven.

Explanation

The empty tomb and the angelic message ('why seek ye the living among the dead?' v.5) confirm the resurrection, the central event of the Christian faith. The Emmaus episode shows Jesus explaining how all of Scripture pointed to his suffering and glory, and the disciples only recognize him in the breaking of the bread. His appearance to the eleven, where he eats fish in front of them, proves that the resurrection was physical and real, not merely a spiritual vision. The final command to preach repentance and forgiveness to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem, establishes the mission the church would carry forward. The application today is that the Christian faith rests on a verifiable historical fact, not a legend, and that this good news is for all peoples.

Fun facts

  • Emmaus, the village mentioned in the journey of the two disciples (v.13), lies about 11 km (7 miles) from Jerusalem, but its exact location is still debated by archaeologists, with at least three candidate sites identified.
  • The Jewish custom of breaking bread with a blessing before meals (v.30) was so characteristic of the way Jesus acted that the disciples recognized him by that specific gesture, even without recognizing him by his face.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Lucas 24:1The Jewish week ran from Sunday to Saturday, with Saturday as the mandatory day of rest — the first day of the week is what we call Sunday today. The women wait for the Sabbath rest to end before tending to the body, which explains why they arrive at the tomb right on that morning.
  2. Lucas 24:2The stone already rolled away from the tomb is the first visible sign that something unusual happened there.
  3. Lucas 24:3Going in, they do not find the body of the Lord Jesus — His absence confirms the strangeness of the scene and sets up the confusion that follows.
  4. Lucas 24:4While they are perplexed, two men in dazzling clothes suddenly appear beside them — the same way of describing angels used earlier, with the shepherds in chapter 2.
  5. Lucas 24:5Terrified, they bow their faces to the ground, and the men ask why they are looking for the living among the dead — a question that exposes the absurdity of searching a tomb for someone who is no longer dead.
  6. Lucas 24:6The statement is direct: ‘He is not here, but is risen’ — and the reminder that follows points back to what Jesus had already said before, back in Galilee, not brand-new information.
  7. Lucas 24:7The wording repeats the same pattern of the passion predictions Jesus had already made — handed over, crucified, risen on the third day — confirming that everything happened exactly as foretold.
  8. Lucas 24:8The angels’ reminder works: the women recall Jesus’ words, matching what they see with what they had already heard before.
  9. Lucas 24:9Returning from the tomb, they announce everything to the eleven and to all the rest — the first witnesses of the resurrection carrying the news, despite the cultural devaluation of women’s testimony at the time.
  10. Lucas 24:10Luke takes care to name these women specifically — Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others — giving weight and identity to those who carried such important news.
  11. Lucas 24:11Under the Jewish legal custom of the time, a woman’s testimony normally did not count as legal proof on equal footing with a man’s. It is notable that news of the resurrection reaches people first precisely through women — and the disciples’ initial disbelief reflects that broader cultural bias about the value of their testimony.
  12. Lucas 24:12Unlike the general disbelief just mentioned, Peter personally runs to the tomb, sees only the linen cloths, and goes back home amazed, in an individual and curious check of his own.
  13. Lucas 24:13A stadion was a Greco-Roman unit of distance of about 185 meters, so sixty stadia add up to roughly 11 kilometers — a real distance, walkable in a day, but far from short. The detail places the scene concretely, not as some vague, undefined location.
  14. Lucas 24:14The two travelers are talking with each other about everything that had happened — the setting that sets up the encounter on the road to Emmaus.
  15. Lucas 24:15Jesus draws near and starts walking with them, without them realizing who He really is — a sudden appearance in the middle of their conversation.
  16. Lucas 24:16The text describes this failure to recognize Jesus as something deliberate and temporary — their eyes ‘were holden that they should not know him’ — not just confusion on their part or some physical disguise. This detail sets up the dramatic revelation that only happens during the meal, a device Luke uses deliberately in the narrative.
  17. Lucas 24:17Jesus asks what they are discussing and why they look sad — engaging them without revealing Himself, letting them voice their own confusion and grief.
  18. Lucas 24:18Cleopas is surprised that this apparent stranger seems to be the only one in Jerusalem who doesn’t know about the recent events — an irony, since He is exactly the subject of it all.
  19. Lucas 24:19When asked ‘What things?’, they sum up Jesus as ‘a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people’ — the way ordinary followers understood His ministry, focused on prophetic power.
  20. Lucas 24:20They describe how the chief priests and the rulers handed Him over to be condemned to death and crucified Him — the outward facts, told from their own point of view.
  21. Lucas 24:21Their hope had been that He was the one who would redeem Israel, an expectation of national liberation — and they note that it is now the third day since it happened, a detail that lines up with the resurrection prediction without them yet seeing the connection.
  22. Lucas 24:22They mention women from their own group who astonished them, having gone to the tomb at dawn — introducing the resurrection report as an element still unresolved in their confusion.
  23. Lucas 24:23The women reported not finding the body and having seen a vision of angels saying He was alive — a report still treated with uncertainty by the ones telling the story.
  24. Lucas 24:24Some from the group went to check and found everything just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus Himself — ironically, He is right there, walking beside them, as they say this.
  25. Lucas 24:25Jesus’ response is a direct correction: He calls them foolish and slow of heart to believe everything the prophets had already said.
  26. Lucas 24:26He reframes the supposed contradiction: was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things before entering into His own glory? Suffering does not cancel out the messianic identity — it is part of it.
  27. Lucas 24:27Starting with Moses and moving through all the prophets, Jesus goes through the whole of Scripture, showing how His story fits the prophetic pattern, not just one isolated text here or there.
  28. Lucas 24:28As they approach the village, Jesus acts as if He is going farther — a gesture of social courtesy at the time, waiting to be invited to stay rather than assuming hospitality.
  29. Lucas 24:29They urge Him to stay, since the day is nearly over — the custom of not traveling at night is what creates the occasion for the meal that follows.
  30. Lucas 24:30At the table, Jesus takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them — repeating the exact same gestures from the Last Supper, in chapter 22.
  31. Lucas 24:31This moment of recognition echoes that same gesture from the Last Supper, blessing and breaking the bread. Everything suggests there was something distinctive in the way Jesus performed this specific gesture that these two disciples recognized, more than suddenly recognizing His face.
  32. Lucas 24:32Only after recognizing Him do they realize, in hindsight, that their hearts were burning while He talked with them and opened the Scriptures on the road — an inner reaction that only made sense after the revelation.
  33. Lucas 24:33They get up that very hour and go back to Jerusalem, finding the eleven and the others gathered together — an urgency to share the news despite the late hour and the distance already covered that day.
  34. Lucas 24:34On arriving, they hear that the Lord really has risen and has already appeared to Simon — a separate appearance to Peter, mentioned here only in passing, without being narrated directly anywhere else in Luke’s Gospel.
  35. Lucas 24:35The two travelers tell their own experience, pointing out that they recognized Jesus specifically at the moment He broke the bread.
  36. Lucas 24:36While they are still talking about this, Jesus Himself appears among them and says ‘Peace be unto you’ — a common Jewish greeting, carrying a deeper meaning given the context.
  37. Lucas 24:37They are startled and afraid, thinking they are seeing a spirit — the natural reaction to an unexplainable appearance.
  38. Lucas 24:38Jesus asks directly why they are troubled and why doubts are rising in their hearts.
  39. Lucas 24:39He invites them to see and touch His hands and feet, because a spirit does not have flesh and bones the way He demonstrably does — a direct appeal to physical proof against the idea that they are seeing a ghost.
  40. Lucas 24:40Jesus shows them His hands and feet — the physical demonstration that backs up the verbal invitation He just gave.
  41. Lucas 24:41Even so, still unable to believe for sheer joy and amazement, not out of stubbornness but because they are simply stunned, He asks for something to eat — one more practical test of His physical reality.
  42. Lucas 24:42Eating in front of witnesses was, in this context, concrete and verifiable proof that this body was real and physical, not a vision or a ghost, as the text itself explains just before. It is not a symbolic gesture: it is a very practical demonstration, open for anyone right there to check.
  43. Lucas 24:43He takes the food and eats it in front of them — visible, verifiable proof, since a spirit or a vision could not eat.
  44. Lucas 24:44Jesus recalls His own words spoken before the crucifixion, about the fulfillment of everything written in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms — the three traditional major divisions of Jewish Scripture.
  45. Lucas 24:45He opens their minds to understand the Scriptures — a supernatural act of enabling correct interpretation, similar to what He did with the two travelers on the road to Emmaus.
  46. Lucas 24:46It repeats the central pattern: it was written, and it was necessary, that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day.
  47. Lucas 24:47And that repentance and forgiveness of sins would be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem — expanding the scope of the message from a resurrection account into a universal mission, starting in the very place where it all happened.
  48. Lucas 24:48This statement commissions the disciples specifically as witnesses of everything they had seen.
  49. Lucas 24:49This promise points ahead to what Luke will narrate later, in the book of Acts, about Pentecost — though here He does not yet name what is about to happen. It is the bridge linking the end of this book to the sequel Luke himself would write afterward.
  50. Lucas 24:50Jesus leads them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up His hands, He blesses them — a gesture of priestly blessing before the final departure.
  51. Lucas 24:51While He is blessing them, He parts from them and is carried up into heaven — the ascension, narrated here briefly, with more detail given later in the book of Acts, also written by Luke.
  52. Lucas 24:52They worship Him and return to Jerusalem with great joy — a reaction that is surprising, since one might expect sadness over His departure, but joy prevails, likely because they now grasp the full meaning of the resurrection and ascension.
  53. Lucas 24:53They remain continually in the temple, praising God — the Gospel ends in worship, maintaining continuity with Jewish practice while laying the groundwork for the story to continue in Acts.

Chapters

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.