Chapter

Luke 24:46

ESV and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,
NIV He told them, "This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,
NASB and He said to them, 'So it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,
CSB He also said to them, "This is what is written: The Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead the third day,
NLT And he said, 'Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day.
KJV And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
NKJV Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,

What does Luke 24:46 mean?

Luke is giving an overview of how Jesus revealed His fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Likely Jesus taught this multiple times between His resurrection and ascension, perhaps unfolding more with each teaching. Jesus is showing how the Old Testament prophesied the suffering and resurrection of the Jewish Messiah. The passages that cover His suffering are common in the Psalms and Isaiah. A small selection includes Isaiah 52:14, Psalm 69:20–21, Psalm 22:14, 18, and Isaiah 53:7–9. There are fewer prophecies about the Christ's resurrection. Yet they include Psalm 118:17–18 and Isaiah 53:10–12.

What Jesus gives as definitive proof is the "sign of Jonah." He says, "For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40).

As Jesus speaks, those old passages gain new meaning in the hearts of the disciples. They begin to see how obvious it all seems. While building the church, contextualizing Jesus within Jewish Scriptures becomes the primary introduction to the gospel. Peter uses this method on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:17–21, 25–28, 34–35). Paul uses it in every town he enters that has a synagogue (Acts 13:13–47; 17:2–3).

Luke uses it, too. Even though Theophilus is probably not Jewish, Luke has shown how Jesus fulfills Jewish prophecy.
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