Luke 24

²When they arrived at the tomb, they stopped and stared. The huge stone that had been blocking the entrance — it had been rolled away!

³The women stepped inside the tomb — and Jesus was not there. The place where His body had been laid was empty. He was gone.

⁴The women were completely confused, wondering what had happened — and then, suddenly, two men appeared beside them, wearing clothes that blazed and shone like lightning!

⁵The women were so frightened they bowed their faces to the ground. Then the angels said: 'Why are you looking for someone who is alive in a place for the dead?'

⁶The angels said: 'He is not here — He has risen from the dead! Don't you remember what He told you when you were all back in Galilee?'

⁷The angels reminded them of Jesus' own words: 'He said the Son of Man would be handed over to sinful people, crucified — and on the third day, rise again!'

⁸And then — it came back to them. They remembered. Jesus had told them this would happen.

⁹The women ran from the tomb and told everything to the eleven disciples and all the others who were waiting. They couldn't keep the news to themselves!

¹⁰The women who told this news were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and others. They told the apostles what had happened.

¹¹But the disciples didn't believe the women. The report sounded like nonsense to them — they thought the women were just imagining things.

¹²But Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to see for himself. He bent down and looked inside — and saw the linen cloths lying there, all by themselves, with no body. He walked away wondering what it all meant.

¹³That same day, two of Jesus' followers were walking away from Jerusalem toward a village called Emmaus, about seven miles away.

¹⁴As they walked, they talked about everything that had happened — the arrest, the crucifixion, the empty tomb, the women's story. Their hearts were heavy.

¹⁵While they were deep in conversation and trying to make sense of it all — Jesus Himself quietly came up beside them and began walking with them. He was right there!

¹⁶But something was preventing them from recognising who He was. They looked right at Jesus — and didn't know it was Him. Their eyes were somehow kept from seeing the truth.

¹⁷Jesus asked them: 'What is it you two are talking about as you walk along? You look so sad.' And they stopped, their faces full of grief.

¹⁸One of them, named Cleopas, answered: 'Are you the only person in Jerusalem who doesn't know what has been happening these past few days?'

¹⁹Jesus said: 'What things?' So they told Him: 'About Jesus of Nazareth — a prophet with mighty words and powerful deeds, loved by God and the people alike.'

²⁰They continued: 'But the chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death — and they crucified Him.'

²¹They said sadly: 'We had hoped He was the one who would rescue Israel. And now it's the third day since it all happened, and we just don't know what to think.'

²²They went on: 'And some women in our group astonished us — they went to the tomb very early this morning.'

²³They told the stranger: 'When the women found His body was gone, they came back saying they had seen angels — angels who said Jesus was alive!'

²⁴They said: 'Some of the others went to the tomb too and found everything just as the women described — but they didn't see Jesus.'

²⁵Then the stranger said: 'Oh, you are so slow to believe! Why is it so hard for your hearts to trust everything the prophets of God said?'

²⁶He said: 'Was it not necessary that the Christ — God's Chosen One — had to go through suffering first, and then enter into His glory?'

²⁷Then, starting all the way back with Moses and going through every prophet, He opened up the whole Bible for them — showing them how every part pointed to Him.

²⁸As they came close to the village of Emmaus, the stranger acted as though He was going to keep walking further down the road.

²⁹But they urged Him strongly: 'Stay with us! It's getting late and the day is nearly over.' And He went in to be with them.

³⁰As they sat down to eat together, the stranger took the bread, gave thanks to God, broke it, and gave it to them.

³¹And in that instant — their eyes were opened! They knew Him — it was Jesus! And just as they recognised Him, He vanished from their sight.

³²They looked at each other and said: 'Didn't our hearts feel like they were on fire when He talked to us on the road? When He opened the Scriptures to us?'

³³That very hour — even though it was night — they got up and walked all the way back to Jerusalem! They found the eleven disciples gathered together with the others.

³⁴When they arrived, the others were already saying: 'It is true! The Lord has really risen from the dead! And He appeared to Simon Peter!'

³⁵Then the two from Emmaus told the whole story — what happened on the road, and how Jesus was revealed to them when He broke the bread.

³⁶Right while they were all talking about Jesus — Jesus Himself suddenly appeared, standing right in the middle of the room! He said: 'Peace be with you.'

³⁷But they were terrified! They thought they were seeing a ghost — someone who had died appearing to them. Fear flooded the room.

³⁸Jesus said to them gently: 'Why are you so troubled? Why do doubts rise up in your hearts?'

³⁹Jesus said: 'Look at My hands and My feet! Touch Me and see! I am really here — a ghost doesn't have flesh and bones like you can see I have.'

⁴⁰As He spoke those words, He showed them His hands and His feet — the marks still there, proof of what He had been through and proof that it was truly Him.

⁴¹They were so overwhelmed with joy and wonder that they still couldn't quite believe it was real! Then Jesus said very simply: 'Do you have anything here to eat?'

⁴²They gave Him a piece of cooked fish and some honeycomb — ordinary food, the kind they ate every day.

⁴³And He took it — and He ate it, right there in front of them all. Real food. Real Jesus.

⁴⁴Then Jesus said: 'Remember what I told you when I was with you before — everything written about Me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms had to be fulfilled.' And it was all fulfilled.

⁴⁵Then Jesus did something remarkable: He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures — as if a key turned and the whole Bible suddenly made sense.

⁴⁶Jesus said: 'This is what was written: the Christ had to suffer, and then rise from the dead on the third day.'

⁴⁷Jesus said: 'And now this message must go out everywhere — forgiveness of sins through repentance in My name, starting from Jerusalem and spreading to every nation.'

⁴⁸Jesus looked at them and said simply: 'You are witnesses of everything that has happened.'

⁴⁹Jesus said: 'I am going to send you the gift My Father promised — but wait in Jerusalem until you receive power from heaven. Stay until that power comes to you.'

⁵⁰Jesus led His disciples out of the city all the way to Bethany. Then He lifted His hands — the nail-scarred hands — and He blessed them.

⁵¹While He was blessing them — right in that holy moment — He began to rise up from the earth and was carried up into heaven before their eyes.

⁵²The disciples bowed down and worshipped Him. Then they got up and walked back to Jerusalem — and they were filled with great joy. Everything had changed.

⁵³And from that day on, they were always at the temple, praising God and blessing His name. Amen — it is so, and it is wonderful.