The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (81 page)

39
 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!"
⁴⁰
But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
⁴¹
And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong."
⁴²
And he said, "Jesus,
remember me
when you come in your kingly power."
^p
43
And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

The Death of Jesus

44
 It was now about the
sixth hour
, and there was darkness over the whole land
^q
until the ninth hour,
⁴⁵
while the sun's light failed;
^r
and the
curtain
of the temple was torn in two.
⁴⁶
Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, "
Father, into your hands
I commit my spirit!" And having said this he breathed his last.
⁴⁷
Now when the
centurion
saw what had taken place, he praised God, and said, "Certainly this man was innocent!"
⁴⁸
And all the multitudes who assembled to see the sight, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts.
⁴⁹
And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance and saw these things.

The Burial of Jesus

50
 Now there was a man named Joseph from the Jewish town of Arimathe'a. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man,
⁵¹
who had not consented to their purpose and deed, and he was
looking for the kingdom
of God.
⁵²
This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
⁵³
Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud, and laid him in a
rock-hewn tomb
, where no one had ever yet been laid.
⁵⁴
It was the
day of Preparation
, and the sabbath was beginning.
^s
55
The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and saw the tomb, and how his body was laid;
⁵⁶
then they returned, and prepared
spices and ointments
.

On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

The Resurrection of Jesus

24
  
But on the
first day
of the week, at early dawn, they went to
the tomb
, taking the spices which they had prepared.
²
And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
³
but when they went in they did not find the body.
^t
4
While they were perplexed about this, behold,
two men
stood by them in dazzling apparel;
^5
5
and as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.
^u
6
Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,
⁷
that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise."
⁸
And they remembered his words,
⁹
and returning from the tomb they told all this to the Eleven and to all the rest.
¹⁰
Now it was
Mary Mag'dalene
and Jo-an'na and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told this to the apostles;
¹¹
but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.
¹²
But
Peter rose
and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home wondering at what had happened.
^v

The Walk to Emmaus

13
 That very day two of them were going to a village named
Emma'us
, about seven miles
^w
from Jerusalem,
¹⁴
and talking with each other about all these things that had happened.
¹⁵
While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.
¹⁶
But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
¹⁷
And he said to them, "What is this conversation which you are holding with each other as you walk?" And they stood still, looking sad.
¹⁸
Then one of them, named
Cle'opas
, answered him, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?"
¹⁹
And he said to them, "What things?" And they said to him, "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet
mighty in deed and word
before God and all the people,
²⁰
and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him.
²¹
But we had hoped that he was the one to
redeem Israel
. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since this happened.
²²
Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning
²³
and did not find his body; and they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive.
²⁴
Some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found it just as the women had said; but him they did not see."
²⁵
And he said to them, "O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
²⁶
Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?"
²⁷
And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in
all the Scriptures
the things concerning himself.

28
 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He appeared to be going further,
²⁹
but they constrained him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent." So he went in to stay with them.
³⁰
When he was at table with them, he
took the bread and blessed and broke it, and gave it
to them.
³¹
And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight.
³²
They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?"
³³
And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the Eleven gathered together and those who were with them,
³⁴
who said, "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"
³⁵
Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the
breaking of the bread
.

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

36
 As they were saying this, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, "Peace to you."
^x
37
But they were startled and frightened, and supposed that they saw a spirit.
³⁸
And he said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do questionings rise in your hearts?
 
*
³⁹
See
my hands and my feet
, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have."
⁴⁰
And when he had said this he showed them his hands and his feet.
^y
41
And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?"
⁴²
They gave him a piece of broiled fish,
⁴³
and he took it and ate before them.

44
 Then he said to them, "These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of
Moses and the prophets and the psalms
must be fulfilled."
⁴⁵
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
⁴⁶
and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the
Christ should suffer
and on the third day rise from the dead,
⁴⁷
and that repentance and
forgiveness
of sins should be preached in his name to all nations,
^z
beginning from Jerusalem.
⁴⁸
You are witnesses of these things.
⁴⁹
And behold, I send
the promise
of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high."

The Ascension of Jesus

50
 Then he led them out as far as
Beth'any
, and lifting up his hands he blessed them.
⁵¹
While he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried
up into heaven
.
^a
52
And they worshiped him, and
^b
returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
⁵³
and were continually in the
temple
blessing God.

Commentary on the Gospel of Luke

1:1-4
Luke opens with a prologue and personal dedication. Stylistically, he follows a conventional format that was used to preface historical works in the Hellenistic world. Luke likewise sets out to record history, not as a stale collection of facts and figures, but as an evangelistic presentation of Jesus' life and mission. 
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1:2 delivered to us:
Luke is probably a second-generation Christian. His work is heavily indebted to the testimony of
eyewitnesses
and
ministers
of the gospel in the early Church. Three points follow from this:
(1)
Luke is a careful historian who has sifted relevant sources to obtain accurate information;
(2)
he transmits, not private opinions, but apostolic traditions; and
(3)
he writes to strengthen the faith of fellow Christians. 
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1:3 most excellent Theophilus:
Otherwise unknown in early sources. He may be a distinguished figure or high-ranking official of the Roman government. The formal designation,
most excellent,
appears elsewhere as an honorific title (Acts 23:26; 24:2; 26:25). A similar dedication serves to preface Luke's second volume, the Book of Acts (Acts 1:1). 
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1:5-2:52
Luke's Infancy Narrative recounts the births of John the Baptist and Jesus. Stylistically, he makes a transition from the classical format of his prologue (1:1-4) to a biblical style of writing used in the Greek OT. For Luke, the OT is an unfinished book whose concluding notes resonate with expectation and unfulfilled promise. He thus weaves numerous allusions to the OT into his narrative, implying that the story he now tells is a continuation of biblical revelation and, indeed, its awaited climax. 
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1:5 In the days of:
Luke situates his narrative within the broader framework of world history (2:1-2; 3:1-2).
Herod:
Herod the Great, who was appointed
king
over Palestine by the Roman Senate in 40
B.C.
and reigned in Jerusalem from 37
B.C.
until his death in 4/1
B.C.
See note on Mt 2:1
.
Zechariah:
A Hebrew name meaning "Yahweh has remembered."
division of Abijah:
Israel's Levitical priesthood was comprised of 24 divisions of priests (1 Chron 24:7-19). Each division served at the Jerusalem Temple two different weeks each year, and those represented by Abijah were the eighth group in the priestly rotation.
Elizabeth:
A Greek form of the Hebrew name meaning "My God's oath". Being a daughter of
Aaron,
she was a Levite (1 Chron 6:1-3). 
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1:6 righteous before God:
Zechariah and Elizabeth live in faithful observance of the Old Covenant (Deut 6:25; Is 48:18). See word study:
Righteousness
at Mt 3. • Luke places the couple in an OT stream of righteous figures: Noah (Gen 6:9), Abraham (Gen 15:6), Phineas (Ps 106:30-31), David (2 Sam 22:21-25), and others had exemplified similar devotion to the Lord. •
Mystically
(St. Bede,
In Lucam):
Zechariah and Elizabeth represent the priesthood and Law of the Old Covenant. Both were righteous, as the priesthood was holy and the Law was good; but together they were unable to bear children for God or bring forth the grace of Christ. The couple thus signifies the aging Old Covenant awaiting the blessings of the New. 
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