Luke 24:26Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

We are called to have faith in the prophets regarding both the time of His humiliation and the time of His glorification. Christ was destined to endure suffering, which reflects His state of humiliation. However, it was equally required for Him to enter into His glory, representing His glorification. Yet, it seems unreasonable that when you listen to Isaiah referring to both conditions — stating, “He was led to the slaughter,” and “the Lord wills to show Him light” (Isaiah 53:7, 11) — you accept the first but overlook the second. You acknowledge that He was “scarred,” but fail to contemplate that “the Lord wants to cleanse Him from the plague” (Isaiah 53:5, 10).

The words of the Lord highlight the path of the law and the prophetic ministry before the Resurrection, which set the stage for belief in this extraordinary event. Consequently, after the Resurrection, those who were bewildered by the grandeur of the occurrence could recall the ancient prophecies and turn to faith. Thus, Jesus refers to the testimonies of Moses and the prophets, unveiling what had been concealed and elucidating to the deserving what remained unclear to the undeserving, imparting to them the timeless and paternal faith found in the sacred Scriptures. For with God, nothing is meaningless; rather, there is order and purpose in all things.

In the Scriptures, Jesus begins to explain their meaning to His followers, guiding them to a deeper understanding of Christ, whom they had initially abandoned. Their faith had faltered because they witnessed His death, causing them to lose hope. Jesus clarifies through the Scriptures that, had He not died, He could not fulfill the role of the Messiah. He taught from Moses and the subsequent writings, emphasizing the prophets' messages that foretold the necessity of Christ's suffering before entering into His glory (Lk 24:26). As they listened, they experienced joy, longing, and a burning within, yet they failed to recognize the divine presence among them.

This is not how things ought to be, as the prophets have proclaimed. The discourse presented here takes on an interrogative form.

In response to your inquiry regarding the punishment of those who crucified Christ, despite the statement that it was appropriate for Him to endure suffering, I offer the following clarification. The phrase "It is fitting to suffer" highlights the voluntary nature of Christ's suffering and the Divine plan, yet it does not imply that the actions of His persecutors were justified. Their malevolence was in direct opposition to God's design, as they sought to undermine what the Lord had established. Thus, while evil operated in their hearts, the wisdom of God was at work in the construction of salvation for humanity. The treachery of the crucifiers ultimately served to benefit mankind, transforming their deceit into the very means through which healing is provided.

Everyone desires to reign alongside Christ, yet not all are willing to endure tribulation with Him. Consider the words concerning Christ: Is it not necessary for Him to suffer in order to enter into His glory? (Luke 24:26). Likewise, it is also written regarding believers: We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). Christians are called not to theaters, dances, feasts, or worldly pleasures, but to repentance, trials, and to take up their crosses. Each individual must carry their own cross and follow Christ, who has borne the cross, thus entering the kingdom of God through Him. Glory, honor, wealth, inheritance, bliss, comfort, joy, and a magnificent banquet await them in the age to come, although even now they experience comfort.

However, there remained those who did not believe (Mark 16:13). Additionally, not all of His followers fully comprehended His current state. It was essential for the Lord to provide them with spiritual nourishment following their distressing days, in alignment with their future mission, while also reinforcing His prior connections with them. To achieve this, the Lord planned to reveal Himself to them collectively. At that time, their wavering faith would result in a temporary departure of the Holy Spirit from them, which would not return until it was fully bestowed upon them on Pentecost (and reintroduced through the coming of the Spirit).

As Cleopas and his companion relayed the message from the angels who had visited them, declaring that Jesus had risen, they found it hard to believe in the prospect of His resurrection. They remarked that the women had left them in astonishment, saying, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and then enter into His glory?” Jesus then spoke to them and began to elucidate everything written about Him in the Scriptures, starting with the law of Moses.

The notion of a suffering Messiah was so foreign to the prevailing beliefs that it became essential for Christ to clarify to His apostles the impending tragedy in Jerusalem, which He had foreseen from the outset and was now nearing its fulfillment. He sought to convey that this tragic event was integral to God’s divine wisdom in establishing a new spiritual kingdom. While some scribes during Christ's time acknowledged that the Messiah would endure suffering and death—drawing from the well-known prophecies of Isaiah regarding the servant of God bearing our transgressions—this concept failed to gain widespread acceptance and was often met with skepticism.

Did not Christ (the Anointed One) have to endure suffering in this manner? The Lord emphasizes the necessity of the Messiah's sufferings, which is central to the faith of believers, as it aligns with the predictions made by the prophets. The trials they faced were unavoidable according to the divine plan, and had they fully understood the prophets’ messages, they would not have faltered. 'And enter (through suffering) into His glory': what appeared to them to contradict the glory of the Messiah was, in fact, the destined journey toward that glory. This glory signifies the majesty of the King of the new spiritual realm of God, both on earth and in heaven, contrasting sharply with their earthly expectations of Israel's liberation through the Messiah (see Luke 24:21).