Limitless Word
Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!
Luke 24:31 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB Their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished out of their sight.
  • KJV And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
  • BSB Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus—and He disappeared from their sight.
  • NKJV Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.
  • NASB And then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Their eyes are opened, they recognize Jesus, and he vanishes. The revelation is God's gift, given at the appointed moment.

Overview

Having been kept from recognizing him, the disciples now see clearly, then Jesus disappears. The opening of their eyes is divinely granted, paralleling the opening of the Scriptures. His vanishing signals a new mode of resurrection presence, no longer bound by ordinary sight, teaching that the risen Christ is known by faith through word and sacrament.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 4

  • Luke 24:16But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
  • John 8:59Therefore they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus was hidden, and went out of the temple, having gone through the middle of them, and so passed by.
  • Luke 4:30But he, passing through the middle of them, went his way.
  • John 20:13–16They told her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they have laid him.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Luke videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Luke 24:31YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LukeMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.

How Luke 24:31 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.