Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 24:34
saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.
34. hath appeared to Simon ] The same appearance, to Simon alone, is mentioned in 1Co 15:5, but there is not even a tradition as to the details. (The passage in 1Co 15:4-8 is the earliest written allusion to the facts of the Resurrection.)
Saying – The eleven said this. Hath appeared to Simon – To Peter. It is not known precisely when this happened, as the time and place are not mentioned. Paul has referred to it in 1Co 15:5, from which it appears that he appeared to Cephas or Peter before he did to any other of the apostles. This was a mark of special love and favor, and particularly, after Peters denial, it showed how ready he was to pardon, and how willing to impart comfort to those who are penitent, though their sins are great. Verse 34. Saying, The Lord is risen indeed] The meaning here is, that these two disciples found the apostles, and those who were with them, unanimously testifying that Christ had risen from the dead. It is not the two disciples to whom we are to refer the word , saying; but to the body of the disciples. See the note on Mr 16:12. Saying,…. The following words; and which are not the words of the two disciples, but of the apostles, whom they found gathered together; and who, just as these two entered the room, said to one another, or rather to these two disciples, to whom at once, and as soon as ever they saw them, not being able to hold it in, they communicated the good news they had just heard, and which; perhaps, Peter had been just telling them:
the Lord is risen indeed; it is certainly matter of fact: for though the women were not credited, but their accounts were as idle tales, and, at most, only occasioned some thoughts and reflections, which they could not settle; yet now they were satisfied of the reality of his resurrection, and speak of it with the greatest assurance and joy:
and hath appeared unto Simon; he appeared to him first, before he did to any of the rest, though he had denied him in so shameful a manner: which is an instance of great grace and goodness: and he appeared to him, on purpose, no doubt, to comfort him under his distress; as well as being the oldest, disciple, and a man of figure and credit among them, his report would be believed. None of the writers of the New Testament take notice of this appearance besides, only the Apostle Paul, 1Co 15:5. It is certain that it was the same day Christ rose from the dead; and was after the women had seen him, and after Peter had, been at the sepulchre; and before the return of the two disciples from Emmaus, and before he showed himself to the rest of the apostles.
Saying (). Accusative present active participle agreeing with “the eleven and those with them” in verse 33. Indeed (). Really, because “he has appeared to Simon” ( ). First aorist passive indicative of . This is the crucial evidence that turned the scales with the disciples and explains “indeed.” Paul also mentions it (1Co 15:5). Is risen [] – appeared [] . Both aorists. The Lord rose and appeared. So Wyc. See on appeared, ch. 22 43.
1) “Saying, The Lord is risen indeed,” (legontas hoti ontos egerthe ho kurios) “Repeatedly affirming that the Lord was really raised up,” from the dead; For the disciples as yet, still did not know, understand that He was really risen, Joh 20:9.
2) “And hath appeared to Simon.” (kai pohthe Simoni) “And he has appeared to Simon,” to Simon Peter, as also affirmed 1Co 15:5. It is likely that at this appearance Peter made his denial of the Lord right with the Lord. Only Luke and Paul tell of this post-resurrection appearance of Jesus, and no word is recorded of what happened between the two at the meeting.
34. Saying, The Lord is actually risen. By these words Luke means that those persons who had brought to the apostles joyful intelligence to confirm their minds, were informed by the disciples respecting another appearance. Nor can it be doubled that this mutual confirmation was the reward which God bestowed on them for their holy diligence. By a comparison of the time, we may conclude that Peter, after having returned from the sepulcher, was in a state of great perplexity and uncertainty, until Christ showed himself to him, and that, on the very day that he had visited the sepulcher, he obtained his wish. Hence arose that mutual congratulation among the eleven, that there was now no reason to doubt, because the Lord had appeared to Simon.
But this appears to disagree with the words of Mark, who says, that the eleven did not even believe those two persons; for how could it be that those who were already certain now rejected additional witnesses, and remained in their former hesitation? By saying that he is actually risen, they acknowledge that the matter is beyond all doubt. First, I reply, that the general phrase contains a synecdoche; for some were harder or less ready to believe, and Thomas was more obstinate than all the rest, (Joh 20:25.) Secondly, We may easily infer that they were convinced in the same way as usually happens to persons who are astonished, and who do not consider the matter calmly; and we know that such persons are continually falling into various doubts. However that may be, it is evident from Luke, that the greater part of them, in the midst of that overpowering amazement, not, only embraced willingly what was told them, but contended with their own distrust; for by the word actually they cut off all ground for doubt. And yet we shall soon afterwards see that, a second and a third time, in consequence of their astonishment, they fell back into their former doubts.
(34) The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.Of the manifestation thus referred to, we have no other record in the Gospels. It occupies, however, a prominent place in those which St. Paul enumerates (1Co. 15:5), and takes its place among the phenomena which indicates St. Pauls acquaintance with the substance of St. Lukes Gospel. What passed at the meeting we can only reverently imagine. Before the Passion, the Lord had turned and looked on Peter with a glance of tender and sorrowful reproof (Luk. 22:61). Now, we may believe, He met the repentant eager disciple with the full assurance of pardon.
34. Saying This word refers to the eleven and them that were with them. Hath appeared to Simon Of this appearance to Peter we have no narrative. But that the fact was known to the apostolic Church is evident from 1Co 15:5-7.
Luk 24:34. The Lord is risen indeed, Our Lord appeared to St. Peter the same day as he did to the disciples, in their way to Emmaus; but whether, before he conversed with the disciples, or after, is not certain. It was not till after the two disciples had left Jerusalem, and set out for Emmaus; for it appears from the account which they give our Lord of what had come to their knowledge, that they knew nothing of any appearance to St. Peter: and yet it must have been before they returned to Jerusalem; for they found the eleven discoursing of this appearance to Simon. It is doubtful therefore which of these two appearances should be placed first; but they both happened on the day of Christ’s resurrection. As neither the time nor the particulars of this appearance are recorded by the evangelists, though St. Paul expressly refers to it, 1Co 15:5 we shall not pretend to say any thing more about it, than that the apostles seem to have laid greater stress upon that alone, than upon all those related by the women; for upon the two disciples coming into the chamber, they accost them immediately, without waiting to hear their relation, with the Lord it risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon, but make no mention of any of his appearances to the women. Probably Peter was the first man, as Mary Magdalene was the first woman, favoured with a sight of our Saviour after his resurrection. St. Peter’s report of his being risen may have been supposed less subject to suspicion, after his having denied him; and therefore our Lord’s first appearance to him might have been designed to establish this important circumstance upon the most unexceptionable evidence. Peter had denied his Master; and had his Master shewn himself to any other disciple before he shewed himself to him, might not Peter have thought his repentance ineffectual, his reconciliation impossible, and consequently have been plunged in despair? but what greater consolation could be afforded to this penitent sinner, and through him to all other penitents, than to find that his Lord was entirely reconciled to him, by the peculiar honour paid him; that thoughhe had denied him, he was not rejected by him; and though his fall wasattended with inconceivable aggravations, the magnanimity and mercy of his Saviour was still greater. As the faith of the disciples was much strengthened by the report of St. Peter, so must it have been greatly confirmed by the arrival of these two disciples, who declared that the Lord had appeared to them also. St. Mark, however, represents the reception which their report met with somewhat differently, ch. Luk 16:12-13. They went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. But there is no inconsistency between the evangelists; for though the greatest part of the apostles believed that Jesus was risen, as St. Luke affirms, some, who had not given credit either to the women nor to Simon, continued obstinately to disbelieve, in spite of all that the two disciples or the rest could say. This seems to be a better method of reconciling the evangelists, than to suppose that on St. Peter’s information the apostles believed Jesus was risen, but did not believe that he had appeared to the two disciples; because, according to their own account of the matter, they did not know him at first, and because at parting he had vanished out of their sight: for surely it is natural to think that the disciples, who, on this occasion, were more than twentyin number, would divide in their opinions upon such a subject as the resurrection of their Master from the dead. We know from St. Luke himself, that a few did not believe after they had seen Jesus with their own eyes. See Luk 24:41 and compare Mat 28:17. It is therefore no straining of the text to suppose, that by the eleven saying, the Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon, St. Luke means only some of the eleven; perhaps the greatest part of them said so. Besides, we must understand the evangelist’s words in a limited sense, because St. Peter, of whom he speaks, was himself one of the eleven.
Luk 24:34-35 . ] belongs to , who in a body met them as they arrived with the cry: . . . On the discrepancy with Mar 16:13 , see on the passage.
and are placed first with triumphant emphasis, as contrasted with what is narrated at Luk 24:11-12 . The appearance to Peter , which Luke has not related further (but see 1Co 15:5 ), took place in the interval, after what is contained in Luk 24:12 . “Apparitiones utrimque factae, quibus se invicem confirmabant illi, quibus obtigerant,” Bengel.
] at that time the name which was still the general favourite in the circle of the disciples. According to Lange’s fancy, the apostle after his fall laid aside his name of Peter, as a priest his consecrated robe, and an officer his sword. Jesus Himself named him, indeed, before and after his fall, almost exclusively Simon (Mat 17:25 ; Mar 14:37 ; Luk 22:31 ; Joh 21:15 ). In Luk 22:34 , has a special significance.
Moreover, Luk 24:34 ought to have forbidden the assumption that Luke distinguishes the two disciples who went to Emmaus above the apostles (Hilgenfeld).
Luk 24:35 . ] and they on their part, as contrasted with those who were assembled.
] not: in the breaking, but at the time of the breaking. See on Luk 24:31 .
34 Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.
Ver. 34. Appeared to Simon ] 1Co 15:5 . To Peter Christ appeared individually; because as he offended more heinously than the rest of the disciples, so he was more grievously troubled.
34. ] This appearance to Simon (i.e. Peter the other Simon would not be thus named without explanation: see ch. Luk 5:3 ff.) is only hinted at here, but is asserted again, 1Co 15:5 , in immediate connexion with that which here follows. It is not clear whether it took place before or after that on the way to Emmaus.
Luk 24:34 . : the apostolic company have their story to tell: a risen Lord seen by one of their number. The two from Emmaus would not be sorry that they had been forestalled. It would be a welcome confirmation of their own experience. On the other hand, the company in Jerusalem would be glad to hear their tale for the same reason. So they told it circumstantially ( , Luk 24:35 ).
Luke
PETER ALONE WITH JESUS
Luk 24:34 The other appearances of the risen Lord to individuals on the day of Resurrection are narrated with much particularity, and at considerable length. John gives us the lovely account of our Lord’s conversation with Mary Magdalene, Luke gives us in full detail the story of the interview with the two travellers on the road to Emmaus. Here is another appearance, known to ‘the eleven, and them that were with them’ on the Resurrection evening, and enumerated by Paul in his list of the appearances of the Lord, the account of which was the common gospel of himself and all the others, and yet deep silence is preserved in regard to it. No word escaped Peter’s lips as to what passed in the conversation between the denier and his Lord. That is very significant.
The other appearances of the risen Lord to individuals on the day of Resurrection suggest their own reasons. He appeared first to Mary Magdalene because she loved much. The love that made a timid woman brave, and the sorrow that filled her heart, to the exclusion of everything else, drew Jesus to her. The two on the road to Emmaus were puzzled, honest, painful seekers after truth. It was worth Christ’s while to spend hours of that day of Resurrection in clearing, questioning, and confirming sincere minds. Does not this other appearance explain itself? The brief spasm of cowardice and denial had changed into penitence when the Lord looked, and the bitter tears that fell were not only because of the denial, but because of the wound of that sharp arrow, the poisoned barb of which we are happy if we have not felt the thought-’He will never know how ashamed and miserable I am; and His last look was reproach, and I shall never see His face any more.’ To respond to, and to satisfy, love, to clear and to steady thought, to soothe the agony of a penitent, were worthy works for the risen Lord. I venture to think that such a record of the use of such a day bears historical truth on its very face, because it is so absolutely unlike what myth-making or hallucination, or the excited imagination of enthusiasts would have produced, if these had been the sources of the story of the Resurrection. But apart from that, I wish in this sermon to try to gather the suggestions that come to us from this interview, and from the silence which is observed concerning them.
With regard to-
I. The fact of the appearance itself.
What did that appearance say to the penitent man? Of course, it said to him what it said to all the rest, that death was conquered. It lifted his thoughts of his Master. It changed his whole atmosphere from gloom to sunshine, but it had a special message for him. It said that no fault, no denial, bars or diverts Christ’s love. Peter, no doubt, as soon as the hope of the Resurrection began to dawn upon him, felt fear contending with his hope, and asked himself, ‘If He is risen, will He ever speak to me again?’ And now here He is with a quiet look on His face that says, ‘Notwithstanding thy denial, see, I have come to thee.’
Ah, brethren! the impulsive fault of a moment, so soon repented of, so largely excusable, is far more venial than many of our denials. For a continuous life in contradiction to our profession is a blacker crime than a momentary fall, and they who, year in and year out, call themselves Christians, and deny their profession by the whole tenor of their lives, are more deeply guilty than was the Apostle, But Jesus Christ comes to us, and no sin of ours, no denial of ours, can bar out His lingering, His reproachful, and yet His restoring, love and grace. All sin is inconsistent with the Christian profession. Blessed be God; we can venture to say that no sin is incompatible with it, and none bars off wholly the love that pours upon us all. True; we may shut it out. True; so long as the smallest or the greatest transgression is unacknowledged and unrepented, it forms a non-conducting medium around us, and isolates us from the electric touch of that gracious love. But also true; it is there hovering around us, seeking an entrance. If the door be shut, still the knocking finger is upon it, and the great heart of the Knocker is waiting to enter. Though Peter had been a denier, because he was a penitent the Master came to him. No fault, no sin, cuts us off from the love of our Lord.
And then the other great lesson, closely connected with this, but yet capable of being treated separately for a moment, which we gather from the fact of the interview, is that Jesus Christ is always near the sorrowing heart that confesses its evil. He knew of Peter’s penitence, if I might so say, in the grave; and, therefore, risen, His feet hasted to comfort and to soothe him. As surely as the shepherd hears the bleat of the lost sheep in the snowdrift, as surely as the mother hears the cry of her child, so surely is a penitent heart a magnet which draws Christ, in all His potent fullness and tenderness, to itself. He that heard and knew the tears of the denier, and his repentance, when in the dim regions of the dead, no less hears and knows the first faint beginnings of sorrow for sin, and bends down from His seat on the right hand of God, saying, ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a humble and contrite spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.’ No fault bars Christ’s love. Christ is ever near the penitent spirit; and whilst he is yet a great way off, He has compassion, and runs and falls on his neck and kisses him.
Now let us look at-
II. The interview of which we know nothing.
One is that the consciousness of Christ’s love, uninterrupted by our transgression, is the mightiest power to deepen penitence and the consciousness of unworthiness. Do you not think that when the Apostle saw in Christ’s face, and heard from His lips, the full assurance of forgiveness, he was far more ashamed of himself than he had ever been in the hours of bitterest remorse? So long as there blends with the sense of my unworthiness any doubt about the free, full, unbroken flow of the divine love to me, my sense of my own unworthiness is disturbed. So long as with the consciousness of demerit there blends that thought-which often is used to produce the consciousness, viz., the dread of consequences, the fear of punishment-my consciousness of sin is disturbed. But sweep away fear of penalty, sweep away hesitation as to the divine love, then I am left face to face with the unmingled vision of my own evil, and ten thousand times more than ever before do I recognise how black my transgression has been; as the prophet puts it with profound truth, ‘Thou shalt be ashamed and confounded, and never open thy mouth any more, because of thy sins, when I am pacified towards thee for all that thou hast done.’ If you would bring a man to know how bad he is, do not brandish a whip before his face, or talk to him about an angry God. You may bray a fool in a mortar, and his foolishness will not depart from him. You may break a man down with these violent pestles, and you will do little more. But get him, if I may continue the metaphor, not into the mortar, but set him in the sunshine of the divine love, and that will do more than break, it will melt the hardest heart that no pestle would do anything but triturate. The great evangelical doctrine of full and free forgiveness through Jesus Christ produces a far more vital, vigorous, transforming recoil from transgression than anything besides. ‘Do we make void the law through faith? God forbid! Yea, we establish the law.’
Then, further, another consideration may be suggested, and that is that the acknowledgment of sin is followed by immediate forgiveness. Do you think that when Peter turned to his Lord, who had come from the grave to soothe him, and said, ‘I have sinned,’ there was any pause before He said, ‘and thou art forgiven’? The only thing that keeps the divine love from flowing into a man’s heart is the barrier of unforgiven, because unrepented, sin. So soon as the acknowledgment of sin takes away the barrier-of course, by a force as natural as gravitation-the river of God’s love flows into the heart. The consciousness of forgiveness may be gradual; the fact of forgiveness is instantaneous. And the consciousness may be as instantaneous as the fact, though it often is not. ‘I believe in the forgiveness of sins’; and I believe that a man, that you, may at one moment be held and bound by the chains of sin, and that at the next moment, as when the angel touched the limbs of this very Apostle in prison, the chains may drop from off ankles and wrists, and the prisoner may be free to follow the angel into light and liberty. Sometimes the change is instantaneous, and there is no reason why it should not be an instantaneous change, experienced at this moment, by any man or woman among us. Sometimes it is gradual. The Arctic spring comes with a leap, and one day there is thick-ribbed ice, and a few days after there are grass and flowers. A like swift transformation is within the limits of possibility for any of us, and-blessed be God! within the experience of a good many of us. There is no reason why it should not be that of each of us, as well as of this Apostle.
Then there is one other thought that I would suggest, viz., that the man who is led through consciousness of sin and experience of uninterrupted love which is forgiveness, is thereby led into a higher and a nobler life. Peter’s bitter fall, Peter’s gracious restoration, were no small part of the equipment which made him what we see him in the days after Pentecost-when the coward that had been ashamed to acknowledge his Master, and all whose impulsive and self-reliant devotion passed away before a flippant servant-girl’s tongue, stood before the rulers of Israel, and said: ‘Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye!’ The sense of sin, the assurance of pardon, shatter a man’s unwholesome self-confidence, and develop his self-reliance based upon his trust in Jesus Christ. The consciousness of sin, and the experience of pardon, deepen and make more operative in life the power of the divine love. Thus, the publicans and the harlots do go into the Kingdom of God many a time before the Pharisees. So let us all be sure that even our sins and faults may be converted into stepping stones to higher things.
III. Lastly, notice the deep silence in which this interview is shrouded.
But why did not Peter say anything about it? Because nobody had anything to do with it but himself and his Master. It was his business, and no one else’s. The other scene by the lake reinstated him in his office, and it was public because it concerned others also; but what passed when he was restored to his faith was of no concern to any one but the Restorer and the restored. And so, dear friends, a religion which has a great deal to say about its individual experiences is in very slippery places. The less you think about your emotions, and eminently the less you talk about them, the sounder, the truer, and the purer they will be. Goods in a shop-window get fly-blown very quickly, and lose their lustre. All the deep secrets of a man’s life, his love for his Lord, the way by which he came to Him, his penitence for his sin, like his love for his wife, had better speak in deeds than in words to others. Of course while that is true on one side, we are not to forget the other side. Reticence as to the secret things of my own personal experience is never to be extended so as to include silence as to the fact of my Christian profession. Sometimes it is needful, wise, and Christlike for a man to lift the corner of the bridal curtain, and let in the day to some extent, and to say, ‘Of whom I am chief, but I obtained mercy.’ Sometimes there is no such mighty power to draw others to the faith which we would fain impart, as to say, ‘Whether this Man be a sinner or no, I know not; but one thing I know, that whereas I was blind now I see.’ Sometimes-always-a man must use his own personal experience, cast into general forms, to emphasise his profession, and to enforce his appeals. So very touchingly, if you will turn to Peter’s sermons in the Acts, you will find that he describes himself there though he does not hint that it is himself when he appeals to his countrymen, and says, ‘Ye denied the Holy One and the Just.’ The personal allusion would make his voice vibrate as he spoke, and give force to the charge. Similarly, in the letter which goes by his name-the second of the two Epistles of Peter-there is one little morsel of evidence that makes one inclined to think that it is his, notwithstanding the difficulties in the way, viz., that he sums up all the sins of the false teachers whom he is denouncing in this: ‘Denying the Lord that bought them.’ But with these limitations, and remembering that the statement is not one to be unconditionally and absolutely put, let the silence with regard to this interview teach us to guard the depths of our own Christian lives.
Now, dear brethren, have you ever gone apart with Jesus Christ, as if He and you were alone in the world? Have you ever spread out all your denials and faults before Him? Have you ever felt the swift assurance of His forgiving love, covering over the whole heap, which dwindles as His hand lies upon it? Have you ever felt the increased loathing of yourselves which comes with the certainty that He has passed by all your sins? If you have not, you know very little about Christ, or about Christianity if I may use the abstract word or about yourselves; and your religion, or what you call your religion, is a very shallow and superficial and inoperative thing. Do not shrink from being alone with Jesus Christ. There is no better place for a guilty man, just as there is no better place for an erring child than its mother’s bosom. When Peter had caught a dim glimpse of what Jesus Christ was, he cried: ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’ When he knew his Saviour and himself better, he clung to Him because he was so sinful. Do the same, and He will say to you: ‘Son, thy sins be forgiven thee; Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole. Go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.’
Saying: i.e. the eleven and those with them, being the speakers.
The Lord. App-98. A.
is risen = has risen. Greek. egeiro. App-178.
hath appeared. Greek. optomai. App-106.
34.] This appearance to Simon (i.e. Peter-the other Simon would not be thus named without explanation: see ch. Luk 5:3 ff.) is only hinted at here,-but is asserted again, 1Co 15:5, in immediate connexion with that which here follows. It is not clear whether it took place before or after that on the way to Emmaus.
Luk 24:34. , saying) Appearances had taken place on both sides, whereby they to whom they had been vouchsafed mutually confirmed one another. So the distinct appearances to Paul on the one hand, and to Ananias on the other, mutually confirmed one another, Act 9:10; Act 9:12; and to Cornelius and Peter respectively, Luk 10:3; Luk 10:10; and to Moses and to Aaron, Exo 4:27-28.-, in very deed) They cast away their former doubt, but not completely; for in Luk 24:37, they are affrighted at His appearance as if they had seen a ghost. Mar 16:13 [They (the two) went, and told it to the residue; neither believed they them].
Saying: From Mar 16:13, we learn that the apostles did not believe the testimony even of the two disciples from Emmaus, while it is here asserted they were saying, when they entered the room, “The Lord is risen” etc. This difficulty is removed by rendering interrogatively, “Has the Lord risen,” etc?
hath: Luk 22:54-62, Mar 16:7, 1Co 15:5
Reciprocal: Gen 45:26 – Joseph Mat 14:31 – and caught Mat 28:7 – go Joh 20:25 – We
RISEN INDEED
The Lord is risen indeed.
Luk 24:34
I. The fact.The Christian Church is founded on the definite historic fact of Christs Resurrection. Socrates hesitates and confesses he does not know, Christ solves the problems of the ages and says He has the keys of death and of Hades.
II. The power.Facts are the greatest of all powers. The power of His Resurrection is a wonder-working power. It created the Christian Church. We know certain men lived and wrought because of the power they exercised in the world. By the same evidence we know Christ died and rose again by the power He exercises on earth to-day. Knowledge is power. But the knowledge that Christ is risen is the greatest power of all.
III. The surprise.Christs life was full of surprises. His Resurrection was a surprise. It was just what His disciples did not expect (Joh 20:9). Some people say, I know what I believe. That is very desirable. But I can tell you something betterto be able to say, I know Whom I trust.
Rev. F. Harper.
Illustration
It is of no use, says John Stuart Mill, to say that Christ, as exhibited in these Gospels, is not historical. Who could have invented such a character and such a history as that of the Christ given us by the four Evangelists?
4
The two disciples arriving from Emmaus found this group talking about the great subject of the hour, namely, the resurrection of Jesus. They related to the two new arrivals the same news they had themselves heard from the report of the women.
Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.
[Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.] I. That these are the words of the Eleven appears from the case in which the word the eleven is put. They found the eleven and them that were with them, saying. They having returned from Emmaus, found the eleven and the rest, saying to them, when they came into their presence, “The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared unto Simon.” But do they speak these things amongst themselves as certain and believed? Or do they tell them to the two disciples that were come from Emmaus, as things true and unquestionable? It is plain from St. Mark, that the eleven did not believe the resurrection of our Saviour, till he himself had shewed himself in the midst of them. They could not, therefore, say these words, “The Lord is risen, and hath appeared unto Simon,” as if they were confidently assured of the truth of them: but when they saw Simon so suddenly and unexpectedly returning, whom they knew to have taken a journey towards Galilee, to try if he could there meet with Jesus, they conclude hence, “Oh! Surely the Lord is risen, and hath appeared to Simon,” otherwise he would not have returned back so soon.
Which brings to mind that of the messenger of the death of Maximin: “The messenger that was sent from Aquileia to Rome, changing his horses often, came with so great speed that he got to Rome in four days. It chanced to be a day wherein some games were celebrating, when on a sudden, as Balbinus and Gordianus were sitting in the theatre, the messenger came in; and before it could be told, all the people cry out, ‘Maximin is slain’; and so prevented him in the news he brought,” etc.
We cannot well think that any worldly affairs could have called away these two from the feast before the appointed time, nor indeed from the company of their fellow-disciples, but something greater and more urgent than any worldly occasions. And now imagine with what anguish and perplexity poor Peter’s thoughts were harassed for having denied his Master: what emotions of mind he felt, when the women had told him, that they were commanded by angels to let Peter particularly know that the Lord was risen, and went before them into Galilee, and they might see him there, Mar 16:7; that it seems to me beyond all question, that one of these disciples going towards Emmaus was Peter, who as soon as he had heard this from the women, taking Alpheus as a companion of his journey, makes towards Galilee, not without communicating beforehand to his fellow-disciples the design of that progress: they, therefore, finding him so suddenly and unexpectedly returned, make the conjecture amongst themselves, that certainly the Lord had appeared to him, else he would never have come back so soon. Compare but that of the apostle, 1Co 15:5, he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve; and nothing can seem expressed more clearly in the confirmation of this matter.
Object. But it may be objected, that those two returning from Emmaus found the eleven apostles gathered and sitting together. Now if Simon was not amongst them, they were not eleven. Therefore he was not one of those two.
Ans. I. If it should be granted that Peter was there and sat amongst them, yet were they not exactly eleven then; for Thomas was absent, Joh 20:24. II. When the eleven are mentioned, we must not suppose it exactly meant of the number of apostles then present, but the present number of the apostles.
Luk 24:34. The Lord is risen indeed. The emphasis rests on indeed; they had half hoped so, but had now good evidence. Notice the two came with good tidings to strengthen their brethren, and themselves are strengthened.
And appeared to Simon. Undoubtedly Peter is meant; no other Simon would be thus indefinitely mentioned. This appearance was doubtless like the others in character. What occurred is nowhere detailed. The prominence of Peter, the fact that the disciples in Jerusalem speak first on this occasion, as well as 1Co 15:5, suggests that this took place before the appearance at Emmaus; though it may have occurred after the two disciples left Jerusalem. Peter was probably the first (male) disciple who saw the risen Lord.
Verse 34
Saying; that is, the eleven were saying.–Simon; Peter.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament