Charles Ellicott Commentary Luke 24:21

"But we hoped that it was he who should redeem Israel. Yea and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things came to pass." — Luke 24:21 (ASV)

But we trusted.—The pronoun is emphatic. “We, the disciples, were hoping . . . ,” whatever might be the judgment of others.

Which should have redeemed Israel.—More exactly, He that is about to redeem . . . The two travelers belonged apparently to those who now, as at the time of the Nativity, were waiting for redemption in Jerusalem (Luke 2:38).

To day is the third day.—We note how naturally the disciples fall, from the first, into this method of describing the interval since the Crucifixion.