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And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
Luke 24:46 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,
  • BSB And He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,
  • NKJV Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,
  • NASB and He said to them, “So it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,
  • NLT And he said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day.

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

Jesus summarizes Scripture's witness: the Christ must suffer and rise on the third day. The cross and resurrection are the heart of God's revealed plan.

Overview

Jesus draws together the Scriptures into a concise gospel summary: the Messiah's suffering and his rising on the third day were written and necessary. This declares the death and resurrection of Christ to be the fulfillment of the whole Old Testament. It forms the bedrock of apostolic preaching and Christian confession.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Isa 53:2–12For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
  • Isa 50:6I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
  • Luke 24:44And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
  • Luke 24:26–27Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
  • Luke 24:7Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
  • Acts 17:3Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.
  • Ps 22:1–31My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
  • 1 Pet 1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
  • Acts 4:12Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

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 24:46YouTube · 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 24:46 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.