Verse 21
The travelers, in contrast to Israel’s leaders, hoped that Jesus would prove to be their nation’s deliverer (cf. Luke 1:68; Luke 2:30; Luke 2:38; Luke 21:28), namely, the Messiah whom they evidently saw as a political liberator. Of course, Jesus did redeem Israel by His death on the cross, but they were speaking of physical deliverance from Rome and the establishment of the kingdom. Their reference to the third day since Jesus’ death implied that they had expected something important to happen by then. The fact that nothing had happened disappointed them.
Possibly these disciples were not yet believers. They appear not to have recognized that Jesus was more than a prophet or a political Messiah but the divine Son of God.
"Observe that the verb is ’hoped,’ not ’trusted’ (as in KJV); there is a big difference between trusting Jesus as our Deliverer and Savior and hoping that he will prove to be our Deliverer and Savior." [Note: Ibid.]
However another possibility is that they were believers who had simply become discouraged by Jesus’ death (cf. John the Baptist, Luke 7:19).
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