Luke 24:25 kjv
Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
Luke 24:25 nkjv
Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
Luke 24:25 niv
He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
Luke 24:25 esv
And he said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
Luke 24:25 nlt
Then Jesus said to them, "You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures.
Luke 24 25 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Lk 24:26-27 | "Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?... he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." | Jesus explains prophetic necessity of suffering. |
| Lk 24:44-45 | "These are my words... all things written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled... He opened their minds to understand the Scrip." | Jesus opens understanding of fulfilled prophecy. |
| Jn 5:39 | "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me." | Scriptures bear witness to Jesus. |
| Acts 3:18 | "But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled." | God fulfilled prophecy of Christ's suffering. |
| Acts 17:2-3 | "Paul entered according to his custom, and for three Sabbaths he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suf." | Paul reasoned from Scriptures about Christ's suffering. |
| 1 Pet 1:10-11 | "Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace... inquired and searched... foretold the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories." | Prophets foretold Christ's sufferings and glory. |
| Isa 53:3-5 | "He was despised and rejected... a man of sorrows... He was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities." | Prophecy of Messiah's suffering. |
| Ps 22:6-8 | "But I am a worm and not a man... All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads..." | Prophecy of Messiah's ridicule. |
| Gen 3:15 | "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." | Earliest prophecy of redemptive suffering. |
| Deut 18:15 | "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—him you shall listen." | Prophecy of a greater Prophet. |
| Matt 16:21 | "From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things... and be killed, and on the third day be raised." | Jesus explicitly predicted His suffering and resurrection. |
| Mk 9:31-32 | "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men... kill him, and after three days he will rise. But they did not understand the saying." | Disciples struggled to understand suffering prophecies. |
| Heb 11:6 | "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would approach God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." | Necessity of faith for God's approval. |
| Rom 10:17 | "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." | Importance of hearing the Word for faith. |
| Jn 12:37-40 | "Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe... blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they should see." | Spiritual blindness due to unbelief. |
| Hos 14:9 | "Whoever is wise, let him understand these things... The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them." | Wisdom needed for spiritual understanding. |
| Jer 5:21 | "Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not; who have ears, but hear not." | Critique of Israel's spiritual dullness. |
| Prov 1:7 | "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction." | Folly linked to despising wisdom. |
| Gal 3:1 | "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified." | Paul's similar rebuke of "foolishness." |
| 2 Cor 3:14-16 | "Their minds were hardened. For to this day... the same veil remains unlifted... until this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart. But when one turns to L." | Veil over understanding, removed by turning to Christ. |
| 1 Cor 1:23-24 | "But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called... Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." | Cross as a stumbling block to understanding. |
| Eph 4:17-18 | "They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart." | Ignorance and hardness of heart leading to darkness. |
Luke 24 verses
Luke 24 25 Meaning
Luke 24:25 is Jesus' gentle yet firm rebuke to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, expressing His disappointment in their lack of spiritual comprehension. He calls them "foolish" and "slow of heart" because they had failed to grasp the consistent message of the Old Testament prophets concerning the necessity of the Messiah's suffering and resurrection, even after hearing the eyewitness accounts of His resurrection. It signifies a profound challenge to their preconceived notions and an invitation to see the divine plan revealed through Scripture.
Luke 24 25 Context
Luke 24:25 occurs during Jesus' first day after His resurrection. Two of His disciples, Cleopas and another unnamed companion, are walking seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus, despairing over Jesus' death, which they understood as the end of their hope for Israel's redemption. They are discussing the recent events when Jesus, incognito, joins them. They tell Him of the reports of an empty tomb and angelic visions but admit their continued confusion and lack of belief, unable to reconcile these events with their expectation of a conquering Messiah. The historical context reflects a prevalent Jewish Messianic expectation that largely overlooked or misinterpreted the prophetic passages foretelling the Messiah's suffering and humiliation, focusing instead on political liberation and glory. This predisposed the disciples to reject any notion of a suffering Savior, leading to their profound despondency and spiritual blindness, even after having encountered resurrected accounts.
Luke 24 25 Word analysis
- And he said (Eipen de - Εἶπεν δέ): This marks Jesus taking the initiative to speak, transitioning from listening to teaching. It implies divine authority and a critical moment of revelation.
- to them (pros autous - πρὸς αὐτούς): Directly addressing their personal understanding and spiritual state.
- “O (Ō - Ὦ): An interjection indicating lament, pity, or surprise, here expressing a mixture of tender concern and gentle rebuke for their dullness. It's a lamentation over their spiritual blindness.
- foolish (anoētoi - ἀνόητοι): Lit. "without mind" or "unperceiving." Not an insult questioning their intelligence, but a critique of their spiritual obtuseness. They failed to use their intellect to understand the revealed truth. It implies a lack of spiritual discernment despite ample information, rather than moral depravity. This reflects a state where one's intellect is sluggish in perceiving divine truth, perhaps due to pre-set expectations.
- ones, (implicit from plural anoētoi): Emphasizes that both individuals share this spiritual deficiency.
- and (kai - καί): Connects "foolish" with "slow of heart," showing two intertwined aspects of their spiritual state.
- slow (bradeis - βραδεῖς): "Sluggish," "tardy," "dull." It implies a lack of readiness or quickness, a resistance to accepting truth that is evident.
- of heart (tē kardia - τῇ καρδίᾳ): In Hebrew thought, the "heart" (kardia) is not merely the seat of emotions, but the center of intellect, will, and conscience—the whole inner person. Their slowness wasn't just intellectual deficiency (anoētoi) but an unwillingness or inability of their deepest being to receive and internalize the divine truth. It suggests a lack of spiritual receptivity or perhaps an attachment to their own ideas.
- to believe (tou pisteuein - τοῦ πιστεύειν): "The act of believing" or "in believing." This isn't merely intellectual assent but trust, adherence, and commitment. Their slowness manifested in their inability to actually embrace the reality that was being revealed. They were slow to move from intellectual knowledge of prophets to actual, living faith in the events of Christ.
- all (pasin - πᾶσιν): Emphasizes the entirety and consistency of the prophetic message, indicating no selective picking of verses was appropriate. The prophetic word was a unified witness.
- that (implied from context)
- the prophets (hoi prophētai - οἱ προφῆται): Referring to the Old Testament prophets and their written words. This emphasizes the continuous, God-inspired witness throughout Israel's history that anticipated Christ.
- have spoken (elalēsan - ἐλάλησαν): Perfect tense, implying that what the prophets said stands as enduring, divinely revealed truth, fully authoritative and relevant for their present circumstances.
Words-group analysis:
- "O foolish ones, and slow of heart": This is a chiding not based on sin, but on their cognitive and spiritual dullness. Their "foolishness" is an intellectual failing to grasp divine truths, while "slowness of heart" speaks to their reluctance or inability in their inner being to fully process and internalize what they knew. Their established worldview about the Messiah had made them impervious to clear prophetic signs and even eyewitness reports.
- "to believe all that the prophets have spoken": The core issue is a lack of belief concerning the prophetic word's full scope, particularly the Messiah's suffering (which was offensive to many) before glory. Jesus highlights the coherence and comprehensiveness of the Old Testament witness as pointing entirely to Him, specifically regarding aspects the disciples found difficult to accept. Their inability to "believe" stems from a combination of intellectual oversight and an unready "heart" to embrace a truth contrary to their expectations.
Luke 24 25 Bonus section
The incident described in Luke 24:25-27 showcases Jesus' post-resurrection pedagogy. Instead of simply revealing Himself in power or explaining with divine fiat, He meticulously uses the Scriptures, beginning "from Moses and all the Prophets," to expound the necessity of His suffering and glory. This approach highlights that biblical literacy, informed by the Holy Spirit (as He would later "open their minds" in v.45), is the primary means for understanding divine truth, even after a miraculous event like the resurrection. It’s a powerful lesson that knowledge of the facts of Jesus' life and resurrection is insufficient without proper scriptural interpretation. Their "foolishness" and "slowness" also illustrate the human tendency to selectively interpret Scripture based on preconceived ideas rather than letting the entirety of God's Word reshape one's worldview.
Luke 24 25 Commentary
Luke 24:25 serves as a profound interpretive key, revealing Jesus' disappointment with spiritual dullness and His method of clarifying truth through Scripture. The disciples' sorrow stemmed from their limited understanding, particularly their inability to synthesize the suffering of the Messiah with His victory, despite the extensive prophetic testimony. Jesus’ use of "foolish" and "slow of heart" is a gentle but firm corrective, underscoring that their problem wasn't merely a lack of information, but a cognitive and spiritual resistance to accepting the entirety of God’s revealed plan, especially the unexpected necessity of His suffering. He identifies the root of their despair as an inability to "believe all that the prophets have spoken." This highlights the continuous and unified message of the Old Testament concerning Himself, functioning as a comprehensive prophecy of His mission. The verse is a powerful assertion of the Bible's inherent unity and the essential role of faith in unlocking its full meaning. It also implies a subtle polemic against the narrow, nationalist Messianic expectations prevalent among some first-century Jews, which obscured the deeper, redemptive suffering aspects of prophecy. Jesus implies that if they had properly absorbed all the prophets, they would have not been so confounded.