Luke 24:36-53

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Luke 24:36 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2. Luke 24:36 tc The words “and said to them, ‘Peace be with you’” are lacking in some Western mss (D it). But the clause is otherwise well attested, being found in P⁷⁵ and the rest of the ms tradition, and should be considered an original part of Luke.
3. Luke 24:37 sn The disciples were still not comfortable at this point thinking that this could be Jesus raised from the dead. Instead they thought they saw a spirit.
4. Luke 24:37 tc This is not a reference to “a phantom” as read by the Western ms D. For πνεῦμα (pneuma) having the force of “ghost,” or “an independent noncorporeal being, in contrast to a being that can be perceived by the physical senses,” see BDAG 833-34 s.v. πνεῦμα 4.
5. Luke 24:38 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
6. Luke 24:38 tn Or “disturbed,” “troubled.”
7. Luke 24:38 tn The expression here is an idiom; see BDAG 58 s.v. ἀναβαίνω 2. Here καρδία (kardia) is a collective singular; the expression has been translated as plural in English.sn Jesus calls the disciples to faith with a gentle rebuke about doubts and a gracious invitation to see for themselves the evidence of his resurrection.
8. Luke 24:39 tn Grk “that it is I myself.”
9. Luke 24:39 tn See tc note on “ghost” in v. 37.
10. Luke 24:40 tc Some Western mss (D it) lack 24:40. However, it is present in all other mss, including P⁷⁵, and should thus be regarded as an original part of Luke’s Gospel.
11. Luke 24:41 sn They still could not believe it. Is this a continued statement of unbelief? Or is it a rhetorical expression of their amazement? They are being moved to faith, so a rhetorical force is more likely here.
12. Luke 24:41 sn Amazement is the common response to unusual activity: 1:63; 2:18; 4:22; 7:9; 8:25; 9:43; 11:14; 20:26.
13. Luke 24:41 sn Do you have anything here to eat? Eating would remove the idea that a phantom was present. Angelic spirits refused a meal in Judg 13:16 and Tob 12:19, but accepted it in Gen 18:8; 19:3 and Tob 6:6. (Tobit, a book of the OT Apocrypha, reflects views during the intertestamental period.)
14. Luke 24:42 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ request for food.
15. Luke 24:44 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
16. Luke 24:44 sn Everything written about me. The divine plan, events, and scripture itself are seen here as being one.
17. Luke 24:44 sn For a similar threefold division of the OT scriptures, see the prologue to Sirach, lines 8-10, and from Qumran, the epilogue to 4QMMT, line 10.
18. Luke 24:45 sn Luke does not mention specific texts here, but it is likely that many of the scriptures he mentioned elsewhere in Luke-Acts would have been among those he had in mind.
19. Luke 24:46 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
20. Luke 24:46 tn Three Greek infinitives are the key to this summary: (1) to suffer, (2) to rise, and (3) to be preached. The Christ (Messiah) would be slain, would be raised, and a message about repentance would go out into all the world as a result. All of this was recorded in the scripture. The remark shows the continuity between Jesus’ ministry, the scripture, and what disciples would be doing as they declared the Lord risen.
21. Luke 24:47 sn This repentance has its roots in declarations of the Old Testament. It is the Hebrew concept of a turning of direction.
22. Luke 24:47 tn Or “preached,” “announced.”
23. Luke 24:47 sn To all nations. The same Greek term (τὰ ἔθνη, ta ethnē) may be translated “the Gentiles” or “the nations.” The hope of God in Christ was for all the nations from the beginning.
24. Luke 24:47 sn Beginning from Jerusalem. See Acts 2, which is where it all starts.
25. Luke 24:48 sn You are witnesses. This becomes a key concept of testimony in Acts. See Acts 1:8.
26. Luke 24:49 tn Grk “sending on you.”
27. Luke 24:49 tn Grk “the promise of my Father,” with τοῦ πατρός (tou patros) translated as a subjective genitive. This is a reference to the Holy Spirit and looks back to how one could see Messiah had come with the promise of old (Luke 3:15-18). The promise is rooted in Jer 31:31 and Ezek 36:26.
28. Luke 24:49 sn The city refers to Jerusalem.
29. Luke 24:49 sn Until you have been clothed with power refers to the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. What the Spirit supplies is enablement. See Luke 12:11-12; 21:12-15. The difference the Spirit makes can be seen in Peter (compare Luke 22:54-62 with Acts 2:14-41).
30. Luke 24:50 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
31. Luke 24:50 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
32. Luke 24:50 sn Bethany was village on the Mount of Olives about 2 mi (3 km) from Jerusalem; see John 11:1, 18.
33. Luke 24:51 tn Grk “And it happened that while.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
34. Luke 24:51 tn Grk “while he blessed them.”
35. Luke 24:51 tn Grk “he departed from them.”
36. Luke 24:51 tc The reference to the ascension (“and was taken up into heaven”) is lacking in א* D it sy^s, but it is found in P⁷⁵ and the rest of the ms tradition. The authenticity of the statement here seems to be presupposed in Acts 1:2, for otherwise it is difficult to account for Luke’s reference to the ascension there. For a helpful discussion, see TCGNT 162-63.tn For the translation of ἀνεφέρετο (anephereto) as “was taken up” see BDAG 75 s.v. ἀναφέρω 1.sn There is great debate whether this event equals Acts 1:9-11 so that Luke has telescoped something here that he describes in more detail later. The text can be read in this way because the temporal marker in v. 50 is vague.
37. Luke 24:52 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of Jesus’ ascension and the concluding summary of Luke’s Gospel.
38. Luke 24:52 tc The reference to worship is lacking in the Western ms D, its last major omission in this Gospel.
39. Luke 24:52 sn Joy is another key theme for Luke: 1:14; 2:10; 8:13; 10:17; 15:7, 10; 24:41.
40. Luke 24:53 tn Grk “in the temple.”sn Luke’s gospel story proper ends where it began, in the temple courts (Luke 1:4-22). The conclusion is open-ended, because the story continues in Acts with what happened from Jerusalem onwards, once the promise of the Father (v. 49) came.
41. Luke 24:53 tc The Western text (D it) has αἰνοῦντες (ainountes, “praising”) here, while the Alexandrian mss (P⁷⁵ א B C* L) have εὐλογοῦντες (eulogountes, “blessing”). Most mss, especially the later Byzantine mss, evidently combine these two readings with αἰνοῦντες καὶ εὐλογοῦντες (A C² W Θ Ψ ƒ^1,13 33 M lat). It is more difficult to decide between the two earlier readings. Internal arguments can go either way, but what seems decisive in this instance are the superior witnesses for εὐλογοῦντες.
42. Luke 24:53 tc The majority of Greek mss, some of which are significant witnesses (A B C² Θ Ψ ƒ¹³ M lat), add “Amen” to note the Gospel’s end. Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, since significant witnesses lack the word (P⁷⁵ א C* D L W 1 33 it co), it is evidently not original.