Luke 24

At dawn on the first day of the week the women arrive at the tomb with the prepared spices and find the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. Two men in dazzling clothes appear and remind them of the predictions of death and resurrection; the women remember and report to the eleven and to all the others. Their words seem to be idle talk and are not believed; Peter alone runs to the tomb, sees the linen cloths lying by themselves, and goes away marveling at what has happened. Luke then shifts to mid-afternoon and to two disciples walking to Emmaus, conversing about the events of the past three days. A stranger joins them — presented from their perspective as unknown — and asks what they are discussing. They stop, looking sad. Cleopas answers with amazement: do you not know what has happened? They describe Jesus as a prophet mighty in deed and word who was crucified, the women's report of the empty tomb and the angels, and the confirmed empty tomb, and add the most revealing phrase: we had hoped he was the one to redeem Israel.

The stranger opens the scriptures to them as they walk, explaining from Moses and all the prophets the things concerning himself; Luke reports the content of this exposition only as everything written about him in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled. They reach Emmaus; he acts as though going further; they press him to stay; he enters. At table he takes bread, blesses it, breaks it, gives it to them. Their eyes are opened and they recognize him, and he vanishes. They return to Jerusalem the same hour, reporting to the gathered eleven that the Lord has appeared to Simon. While they are still speaking, he stands among them and says peace to you. Terrified, thinking it is a ghost, they are shown his hands and feet — a body with wounds. He asks for food and eats broiled fish in front of them. He opens their minds to understand the scriptures, commissions them as witnesses of his death and resurrection to all nations beginning from Jerusalem, and instructs them to wait in the city until they are clothed with power from on high. He leads them out to Bethany, lifts his hands, blesses them, and while blessing them is carried up into heaven. They worship, return to Jerusalem with great joy, and are continually in the temple blessing God. The gospel ends where it began — in the temple — with the disciples waiting for the second volume to begin.