Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Luke 24:25

"And he said unto them, O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!" — Luke 24:25 (ASV)

Jesus himself now speaks, though still unrecognized. He, who in his transfiguration was superior to Moses and Elijah (9:28–36), now invokes Moses and the Prophets to substantiate the divine plan of his path from suffering to glory (v.27). The word “all” (v.25) is a warning not to treat the Scriptures selectively. Such selectivity could lead to the omission of the Messiah’s suffering (v.26). But “the Christ” (Messiah) did “have to” suffer (“had to” or “must” is one of Luke’s key ideas; cf. 2:49; 4:43; 9:22; 13:16, 33; 15:32; 18:1; 19:5; 21:9; 22:7, 37; 24: 7, 44). The future glory of the Christ (v.26) was mentioned in the context of the passion prediction, ascribed there to the “Son of Man” (9:26; cf. 21:27). Here it refers to the honor anticipated in the OT for the Messiah, including the Resurrection. Paul quoted the OT to prove the necessity of both the suffering and the resurrection of the Messiah (Acts 17:2–3).

For several reasons vv.25–27 are vitally important. With great clarity they show that the sufferings of Christ, as well as his glory, were predicted in the OT and that all the OT Scriptures are important. They also show that the way the writers of the NT used the OT had its origin, not in their own creativity, but in the postresurrection teachings of Jesus, of which this passage is a paradigm. The passage also exemplifies the role of the OT in Luke’s own theology. Although he does not directly quote the OT Scriptures as many times as Matthew does, nevertheless he alludes frequently to the OT, demonstrating that what God has promised must take place and employing a “proof-from-prophecy” apologetic for the truth of the Gospel.