³⁰ When Jesus ·was at the table [^Lreclined; ^Cthe posture of a formal meal] with them, he took some bread, ·gave thanks [blessed it], ·divided [broke] it, and gave it to them [^CJesus, the guest, functions like the host in a Eucharist-like meal]. ³¹ And then, ·they were allowed to recognize Jesus [^Ltheir eyes were opened]. But when they saw who he was, he disappeared. ³² They said to each other, “·It felt like a fire burning in [^LDidn’t our hearts burn within…?] us when Jesus talked to us on the road and ·explained [opened] the Scriptures to us.”

³³ So ·the two followers [^Lthey] got up ·at once [^Lthe same hour] and went back to Jerusalem. There they found ·the eleven apostles [^Lthe Eleven] and others gathered. ³⁴ They were saying, “The Lord really has risen from the dead! He showed himself to Simon.”

³⁵ Then ·the two followers [^Lthey] told what had happened on the road and how they recognized Jesus when he ·divided [broke] the bread.

Jesus Appears to His Followers^(A)

³⁶ While ·the two followers [they] were telling this, Jesus himself stood right in the middle of them and said, “Peace be with you.”

³⁷ They were ·fearful [startled] and terrified and thought they were seeing a ·ghost [spirit]. ³⁸ But Jesus said, “Why are you ·troubled [frightened]? Why do ·you doubt what you see [^Ldoubts rise in your heart]? ³⁹ Look at my hands and my feet. It is ·I myself [really me]! Touch me and see, because a ·ghost [spirit] does not have ·a living body [^Lflesh and bones] as you see I have.”

⁴⁰ After Jesus said this, he showed them his hands and feet. ⁴¹ While they still could not believe it because they were happy [joyful] and amazed, Jesus said to them, “Do you have any food here?” ⁴² They gave him a piece of broiled fish. ⁴³ ·While the followers watched [In their presence; ^LIn front of them], Jesus took the fish and ate it.

⁴⁴ He said to them, “·Remember [^LThis is what I said….] when I was with you before? I said that everything written about me must ·happen [be fulfilled]—everything in the law of Moses, the books of the prophets, and the Psalms [^Ca way of referring to the whole Old Testament; see v. 27].”

⁴⁵ Then Jesus opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶ He said to them, “It is written that the ·Christ [Messiah] would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day ⁴⁷ and that ·a change of hearts and lives and [^Lrepentance for the] forgiveness of sins would be preached in his name to all nations, starting at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things.

Jesus Is Rejected

²² The time came for the ·Feast of Dedication [^Calso called Hanukkah or the Feast of Lights, recalling the rededication of the Temple in 164 bc] at Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³ and Jesus was walking in the Temple in Solomon’s ·Porch [Portico; Colonnade; ^Con the eastern side of the Temple area; at a later time Christians gathered there to worship; Acts 3:11; 5:12]. ²⁴ ·Some people [The Jewish leaders; ^LThe Jews] gathered around him and said, “How long will you ·make us wonder [keep us in suspense] about you? If you are the ·Christ [Messiah], tell us plainly.”

²⁵ Jesus answered them, “I told you already, but you did not believe. The ·miracles [^Lworks] I do in my Father’s name ·show who I am [testify/bear witness about me].

¹³ When they went there a second time [Gen. 43—45], Joseph ·told his brothers who he was [made himself known to his brothers], and ·the king [^LPharaoh] learned about Joseph’s family. ¹⁴ Then Joseph sent messengers to ·invite [summon; call] Jacob, his father, to come to Egypt along with all his relatives (seventy-five persons altogether). ¹⁵ So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and ·his sons [^Lour fathers] died.

We Now Have Life

2 In the past you were ·spiritually dead [^Ldead] ·because of [or in] your sins and ·the things you did against God [transgressions]. ² Yes, in the past you ·lived [walked] ·the way the world lives [^Laccording to the course/ways/age of this world], following the ruler [^CSatan] of the ·evil powers that are above the earth [^Ldominion/authority of the air; ^Cprobably demonic forces]. That same spirit is now working in ·those who refuse to obey God [^Lthe children/sons of disobedience]. ³ In the past all of us lived ·like [or among] them, ·trying to please [or giving in to the cravings of] our ·sinful selves [sinful nature; flesh] and doing all the things our ·bodies [flesh] and minds wanted. We ·should have suffered God’s anger because we were sinful by nature [^Lwere by nature children/sons of wrath]. ·We were the same as all other people [^L…just like the rest; ^Cof mankind].

⁴ But ·God’s mercy is great [^LGod is rich in mercy], and he loved us very much. ⁵ Though we were spiritually dead because of ·the things we did against God [our transgressions], he ·gave us new life [brought us to life] with Christ. You have been saved by God’s grace. ⁶ And he raised us up with Christ and gave us a seat with him in the ·heavens [heavenly places/realms]. He did this for those in Christ Jesus ⁷ so that ·for all future time [^Lin the ages to come] he could show the ·very great [exceeding; overwhelming] riches of his grace by being kind to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ ·I mean that [or For; Because] you have been saved by grace through ·believing [faith]. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. ⁹ It was not the result of ·your own efforts [works], so ·you cannot [no one can] ·brag about it [boast]. ¹⁰ ·God has made us what we are [^LFor we are his handiwork/workmanship/work of art]. In Christ Jesus, God ·made [created] us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.

¹¹ Then I saw another beast ·coming up [rising] out of the earth [Dan. 7:17]. It [or He] had two horns like a ·lamb [or ram; Dan. 8:3], but it spoke like a dragon [^Cacting like a prophetic spokesperson for the dragon (see 16:13); along with the dragon and the first beast, this second beast forms an evil trinity]. ¹² This beast ·stands before the first beast and uses the same power the first beast has [or uses all the authority of the first beast on its behalf]. By this ·power [authority] it makes ·everyone living on earth [^Lthe earth and its inhabitants] worship the first beast, who had the ·death wound [fatal/mortal wound; ^Lwound of its death] that was healed. ¹³ And the second beast ·does great miracles [performs great signs] so that it even makes fire come down from heaven to earth [1 Kin. 18:38; 2 Kin. 1:10, 12] ·while people are watching [^Lbefore people]. ¹⁴ It ·fools [deceives; tricks] those who live on earth by the ·miracles [signs; ^Cthese are counterfeit miracles] it has been given the power to do. It does these ·miracles [signs] ·to serve the first beast [^Lbefore/in the presence of the first beast]. The second beast orders [tells] people to make an ·idol [image] to honor the first beast, the one that ·was wounded by the deadly [^Lhas the wound of the] sword but ·sprang to life again [lives]. ¹⁵ The second beast was ·given power [or allowed] to give ·life [breath; a spirit] to the idol of the first one so that the idol could speak. And the second beast was ·given power [allowed] to ·command [cause; make] all who will not worship the ·image [idol] of the beast to be killed. ¹⁶ The second beast also ·forced [caused; made] all people, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to have a ·mark [brand; stamp; ^Cto show allegiance to the first beast] on their right hand or on their forehead [compare 7:2–4; 14:1]. ¹⁷ [^LSo that] No one could buy or sell without this mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name [^CGreek and Hebrew letters had a numerical equivalent, and so could represent names—a practice known as gematria]. ¹⁸ This ·takes [calls for; ^Lis] wisdom [Dan. 12:10]. Let the one who has understanding ·find the meaning of [calculate; figure out] the number [^Lof the beast], which is the number of a ·person [or man]. Its number is 666^[a] [^Ca symbolic number signifying imperfection and sin; some speculate it represents the name of a Roman emperor, perhaps Nero or Domitian].