Luke 24:22-24 22But also some women from among us amazed us, who were at the tomb early in the morning, 23and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it thus just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”
In the next part of the discussion, the two disciples shift to the resurrection account of the women. This statement confirms that these two were part of the group that was together on Sunday morning in verse 9. The account gets right to the point and summarizes verses 1-12. The disciples confirm the witness of the women at the tomb. They found this testimony amazing, but they still lacked understanding. They could not yet put everything together. The testimony of the women is briefly summarized. They found the tomb empty and no body present. The first thing someone would assume in a situation like this is that someone took Jesus’ body away. The women had seen Joseph and Nicodemus lay Jesus’ body in the tomb, and they assumed that the body would be there when they got there on Sunday morning. As soon as they could see what they were doing, they were at the tomb. But to their surprise, the tomb was empty.
The women’s vision of the angels helped them mentally comprehend that Jesus arose, but they still lacked the heart understanding that comes with experience. It is one thing to be told of resurrection; it is another to experience it. The two disciples on the road could only understand at the intellectual level; they needed to experience the resurrected Jesus in a physical and emotional way. People today cannot experience Jesus’ resurrection like any of these disciples, either the women or the two walking on the road. However, we have the help of the Holy Spirit to give us an emotional and spiritual experience of his resurrection. Our faith has to increase even beyond what these disciples had.
The some of those who went to the tomb to check it out mentioned in verse 24 were Peter and John. Verse 12 only mentions Peter, but John 20:2-10 mentions the other person whom tradition has identified as the Apostle John. Other disciples could have also gone to check out the tomb, but no one is mentioned specifically. The witness of Peter and John adds authenticity to the women’s testimony. The facts were piling up, but experiential faith was still lacking. Jesus would help these two disciples with this aspect of faith.
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