Easter Season · Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord · Year C
Afternoon or evening Mass: Luke 24:13-35
On the Road to Emmaus
April 16, 2028

Overview & Insights
“Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road?” (Luke 24:32)
Following the discovery of the empty tomb, Luke’s Gospel records only two occasions (and hints at another one [24:34]) when the risen Jesus appeared to his disciples, both on the evening of Easter day itself, and chapter 24 taken alone would suggest that Jesus’s ascension followed immediately that same night. But Luke will record in Acts 1:3 that in fact Jesus appeared to his disciples frequently over a forty-day period leading up to the ascension, so that the few appearances recorded in his Gospel must be taken as only selected examples. Their interlinking, along with the sequence leading up to the ascension, means that Luke’s postresurrection appearances, unlike those in Matthew and John, occur only in the immediate area of Jerusalem. The return to Galilee (Matt. 28:7, 10, 16–20; Mark 16:7; John 21) falls outside Luke’s deliberately selective scheme.
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Commentary
Commentary on Luke 24:13-35 Working Preacher
Lectionary commentary on the disciples' encounter with the risen Christ on the road.
Luke 24 Commentary Enduring Word
Verse-by-verse commentary on the resurrection appearances in Luke's final chapter.
Luke 24:13-35 Commentary Center for Excellence in Preaching
Reformed preaching commentary on the wider circle of disciples who first told the Emmaus story.
Luke 24 Commentary Precept Austin
Detailed study notes on the road to Emmaus and the disciples' eyes being opened.
Luke 24 - Haydock Commentary Online Haydock
Catholic verse-by-verse commentary on the Emmaus appearance and the breaking of the bread.
Commentary on Luke 24:13-35 workingpreacher.org
The one Lutheran voice on the road to Emmaus.
The Road to Emmaus and the Mass (Luke 24) catholicproductions.com
Catholic Productions on how the Emmaus scene mirrors the structure of the Mass.
Background & Word Study
Luke 24 parallel commentaries BibleHub
Aggregated interlinear and commentary tools for word-level study of the chapter.
Luke 24:13-49, Appearances of the Resurrected Jesus Enter the Bible
Background essay on the resurrection appearances including the Emmaus road.
Luke 24:13 Interlinear biblehub.com
Greek text and parsing for the journey's opening verse.
Sermons & Reflections
Recognition: Reading the Gospel of Luke Knowing How It Ends Enter the Bible
A reflection on recognizing the risen Christ, keyed to Luke's resurrection narrative.
Luke 24:13-35 Commentary cepreaching.org
Reformed preaching commentary on the Emmaus narrative.
Four Pages: The Incognito Christ: the Walking Partner cepreaching.org
A full written sermon on Christ walking unrecognized with the two disciples.
Luke 24:13-35 Commentary cepreaching.org
A second, differently dated preaching commentary on the same reading.
Worship & Prayers
Questions preachers ask
What happens on the road to Emmaus?
The risen Jesus walks unrecognized with two disciples, opens the Scriptures to them, and is made known in the breaking of the bread.
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