Luke 24:36 - Meaning and Application

Five times Christ was seen on the very day he rose from the dead: by Mary Magdalene alone in the garden (John 20:14), by the women as they went to tell the disciples (Matthew 28:9), by Peter alone, by the two disciples traveling to Emmaus, and now at night by the eleven disciples. We read about this here, and also in John 20:19.

Notice first the great surprise his appearance gave them. He came in at just the right time, while they were talking over the evidence for his resurrection. As they were speaking, and perhaps wondering whether the proofs were enough to settle the matter, Jesus himself stood among them and ended the question. Those who make the best use of the evidence they have for comfort may expect further assurance. The Spirit of Christ will bear witness with their spirits, as Christ here bore witness with the disciples and confirmed their testimony, that they are God’s children and have risen with Christ.

Notice also the comfort Christ spoke to them: “Peace be with you.” This shows, in general, that his visit was kind and full of love and friendship. Though they had deserted him badly in his suffering, he took the first chance to appear to them together. He does not treat us as we deserve. They had not believed those who had seen him, so he came himself, so they would not stay in their sad unbelief. He had promised to see them in Galilee after his resurrection, but he was so eager to see them and assure them that he came to them sooner, in Jerusalem. Christ is often better than his word, but never worse.

His first word to them was “Peace be with you,” not as a mere greeting, but as comfort. It was a common Jewish greeting, and Christ used it to show his usual closeness to them, even though he had now entered his glory. Many people, once they rise in honor, forget old friends and act above them. Christ was as open and familiar with them as before. At the same time, he made it clear that he had not come to rebuke Peter for denying him or the others for abandoning him. He came in peace, showing that he had forgiven them and was reconciled to them.

They were thrown into fear by his appearance. They were terrified, thinking they had seen a spirit, because he came among them without noise and was suddenly in their midst before they knew it. The word used here means a spirit, not a body. They thought they were seeing a spirit without real flesh and bones. Though we belong to the world of spirits and are moving toward it, while we live in this world of sight and matter, it still frightens us when a spirit seems to cross over into our world and appear to us. That suggests something very unusual.

Next comes the great comfort his words gave them. He first rebuked their needless fear: “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your hearts?” When we are troubled, bad thoughts often rise in our hearts. Sometimes our trouble comes from those thoughts. Sometimes the thoughts are born from the trouble already inside us. People who are sad and distressed often think thoughts that dishonor God and upset themselves. They may say, “I am cut off from your sight,” or “The Lord has forgotten me.”

Many of the troubling thoughts that disturb us come from misunderstandings about Christ. They thought they had seen a spirit when they saw Christ, and that filled them with fear. We forget that Christ is our elder brother, and we think of him as far away from us as the spirit world is from this world. That makes us afraid. When Christ, by his Spirit, convicts and humbles us, or when his providence tests and changes us, we may misunderstand him and think he means to harm us, and that troubles us.

Christ knows every troubling thought the moment it rises in our hearts, and he is displeased by it. He corrected his disciples for such thoughts to teach us to correct ourselves. Why should we be cast down, or troubled? Why should thoughts rise in us that are neither true nor good, that have no solid base and bring no fruit, but only steal our joy in God, weaken us for duty, help Satan, and keep us from the comfort God has prepared for us?

He then gave them proof of his resurrection, both to quiet their fear by showing that he was not a spirit and to strengthen their faith in the message they would preach to the world. He gave them two proofs. First, he showed them his body, especially his hands and feet. They saw the shape and look of their Master, but was it his ghost? No, Christ said, “Look at my hands and my feet. You can see I have hands and feet, so I have a real body. You can see I can move them, so I have a living body. And you can see the marks of the nails, so this is my own body, the same one you saw crucified, not another one.” He adds the truth that a spirit does not have flesh and bones. A spirit is not made of solid matter, joined into different parts as our bodies are. He does not explain what a spirit is, because that can be learned when we enter the world of spirits. He tells them what a spirit is not, it does not have flesh and bones. From this he concludes, “It is I myself, the same one you have known so well, the one you have spoken with so often. It is I myself, and you have reason to rejoice in me, not be afraid of me.”

He appealed to their sight and showed them the hands and feet pierced by nails. Christ kept the marks of his wounds in his glorified body so they could know it was truly he. He was willing for them to see those marks. He later showed them to Thomas, because he is not ashamed of his suffering for us. If he is not ashamed of that, then we have little reason to be ashamed of it, or of any suffering we bear for him.

As he showed his wounds to his disciples to strengthen his teaching, so he showed them to his Father to strengthen his intercession, that is, his prayer on our behalf. In heaven he appears as a Lamb that had been slain (Revelation 5:6), and his blood still speaks for us (Hebrews 12:24). He asks the Father on the basis of his saving sacrifice, as he said to the disciples here, “See my hands and my feet” (Zechariah 13:6, 13:7).

He also called them to touch him: “Touch me and see.” He would not let Mary Magdalene touch him at that time (John 20:17), but he did let the disciples do it here. He wanted those who would preach his resurrection, and suffer for that message, to be fully convinced of it themselves. He told them to handle him so they would know he was not a spirit. The disciples clearly believed that spirits or apparitions could appear, and Christ seems to speak in a way that assumes that possibility.

This also answers old false teaching. Some early heretics, who were really unbelievers, said Christ never had a real human body, only an appearance that was never truly born or truly suffered. The Valentinians, the Manichees, and the followers of Simon Magus spread such ideas. They were called Docetists and Phantasiasts. God be praised, those errors have long been buried. We know for sure that Jesus Christ was not a spirit or apparition, but had a true and real body after his resurrection.

He also ate with them to show that he had a real body, and that he was glad to speak with his disciples openly and warmly, as a friend with friends. Peter later placed great weight on this fact: “We ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead” (Acts 10:41).

When they saw his hands and feet, they still did not know what to say. They believed not for joy, and they wondered (Luke 24:41). Their unbelief was a weakness, though one that can be understood. It did not come from rejecting the evidence. Rather, they were so overwhelmed with joy that they could hardly accept it. Like Jacob when he heard that Joseph was alive, they thought the news was too good to be true. When faith grows weak because love and desire are strong, that weak faith should be helped, not cast aside.

They also wondered because they thought the truth was too great to be possible, and they forgot both Scripture and God’s power. For their fuller proof and encouragement, Jesus asked for food. At Emmaus he ate with the two disciples, though Scripture does not say so clearly there. Here, to remove any objection, he actually ate with them and the others. This showed that his body had truly come back to life. He did not keep eating and drinking with them in the same way as before, because that did not fit the new state of his risen life. Lazarus, by contrast, came back to his old life and died again.

They gave him a piece of broiled fish and some honeycomb (Luke 24:42). The honeycomb may have been used with the fish, since Canaan was a land flowing with honey. This was plain food, but if it is the fare of the disciples, their Master will eat as they do. In his Father’s kingdom, they will eat and drink with him.

He also gave them light from the Word of God, which they had already heard and read. By this he worked faith in his resurrection and cleared away their doubts. First, he reminded them of the words he had spoken while he was with them: “These are the words I said to you” (Luke 24:44). We would understand more of what Christ does if we remembered better what he has said, and learned to compare his words and his works.

Then he pointed them to the Old Testament, to which his own words had already directed them: “All things must be fulfilled that were written.” Christ had already taught them this general rule for their expectations, that everything written about the Messiah in the Old Testament must come true in him, both what was written about his suffering and what was written about his kingdom. God had joined those things together in prophecy, and they could not be separated in fulfillment. Everything had to be fulfilled, even the hardest and heaviest parts, even the vinegar, because he could not die until he could say, “It is finished.”

The different parts of the Old Testament are named here as containing things about Christ. The law of Moses means the Pentateuch, the five books written by Moses. The prophets include not only the strictly prophetic books, but also the historical books written by prophetical men. The Psalms include the other writings, which they called the Hagiographa, meaning the sacred writings. We see how many different ways God used to reveal his will in the past, yet all of it came from one and the same Spirit, who gave witness beforehand to the coming and kingdom of the Messiah. All the prophets bore witness to him.

Then, by a direct work on their minds, which they could clearly feel, he helped them understand the true meaning of the Old Testament prophecies about Christ, and see them fulfilled in him. “Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45). In his talk with the two disciples, he removed the veil from the text by opening the Scriptures. Here he removed the veil from their hearts by opening their understanding.

Notice here that Jesus Christ, by his Spirit, works on the minds of people, on the minds of all who belong to him. He has access to our spirits, and can influence them directly.

It is worth noticing how Christ, after his resurrection, gave a clear example of the two great ways his Spirit works in people. He gives light to the mind when he opened his disciples’ understanding, and he warms the heart when he made their hearts burn within them.

Even good people still need their understanding opened, because though they are not in the darkness they were born in, they still do not see everything clearly. David prayed, “Open my eyes. Give me understanding.” Paul, who knew so much about Christ, still knew he needed to learn more. Christ works faith in the soul, and gains rule there, by opening the mind to see the proof of what must be believed. In this way, he enters the soul through the door, while Satan, like a thief and robber, tries to climb in some other way.

The purpose of opening the understanding is that we may understand the Scriptures. It is not so we become wise beyond what is written, but wiser in what is written, and made wise for salvation through it. The Spirit in the Word and the Spirit in the heart say the same thing. Christ’s students never outgrow their Bibles in this world, but they must keep learning more and more from them and become more skilled and strong in the Scriptures. If we want right thoughts about Christ and want our mistakes about him corrected, we need nothing more than a true understanding of the Scriptures.

He also gave them instructions as apostles, since they were to help set up his kingdom in the world. While their Master was with them, they had expected positions of honor, and they thought they had lost them when he died. But now he tells them they are about to enter into them. They are to be witnesses of these things (Luke 24:48), carrying the news to the whole world. They were not to report them as casual news, but to present them as evidence in the great case long being tried between God and Satan, whose outcome would be the overthrow of the prince of this world. They were fully assured of these things themselves, as eye-witnesses and ear-witnesses, and they were to go and assure the world of them. The same Spirit who had enlightened them would go with them to enlighten others.

Now they are told what they must preach. They must preach the gospel, the New Testament as the full fulfillment of the Old, and as the continuation and ending of God’s revelation. They must carry their Bibles with them, especially when preaching to the Jews. Peter even did this in his first sermon to the Gentiles, directing them to the prophets (Acts 10:43). They were to show people what had long before been written about the Messiah, his kingdom, its glory, and its grace, and then tell them how all of it had been fulfilled in the Lord Jesus.

The great gospel truth about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ must be published to all people (Luke 24:46). This was written in God’s hidden plan from eternity, in the book of redemption, and it was also written in the open book of the Old Testament. So Christ had to suffer, because God’s plan had to be carried out and no word of God could fail. They were to tell the world, first, that Christ suffered as it was written of him. They were to preach Christ crucified and not be ashamed of his cross or of a suffering Jesus. They were to tell what he suffered, why he suffered, and how all the Old Testament Scriptures were fulfilled in his sufferings. They were to show that it was necessary for him to suffer, because this was the way to take away the sin of the world and rescue mankind from death and ruin. Indeed, it was fitting that he should be made complete through sufferings (Hebrews 2:10).

Second, they were to tell the world that he rose from the dead on the third day. This removed the shame of the cross, proved him to be the Son of God with power, and fulfilled the Scriptures in this as well (see 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4). They were to tell how often they had seen him after he rose and how closely they had spoken with him. “Your eyes see,” as Joseph said to his brothers when he showed himself to them, “that it is my mouth speaking to you” (Genesis 45:12). So they were to tell people that the one who had died was alive, lives forever, and holds the keys of death and the grave.

The great gospel duty of repentance must also be pressed on all people. Repentance for sin must be preached in Christ’s name and by his authority (Luke 24:47). All people everywhere must be called and commanded to repent (Acts 17:30). They were to tell everyone that the God who made them, and the Lord who bought them, requires that, as soon as they hear this message, they turn from worshiping the gods they have made to worshiping the God who made them. They must also turn from serving the world and the flesh. They must give themselves to the service of God in Christ, put sinful habits to death, and leave sinful practices behind. Their hearts and lives must be changed. They must be renewed and reformed in every part.

The great gospel privilege of forgiveness of sins must be offered to all, and assured to all who repent and believe the gospel. They were to tell a guilty world, standing condemned before God, that an act of pardon had received the king’s approval. All who repent and believe would receive its benefit, and not only be pardoned, but also accepted and favored. They were to tell people that there is hope for them.

They are also told whom they must preach to, and how far their commission extends. They must preach among all nations. They were to spread out, like Noah’s sons after the flood, some going one way and some another, carrying this light wherever they went. The prophets had preached repentance and forgiveness to the Jews, but the apostles were to preach them to the whole world. No one is excluded from the gospel’s call to repent, and no one is shut out from its priceless benefits except those who block the way by their own unbelief and stubborn refusal.

They must begin at Jerusalem. There they were to preach their first gospel sermon, there the gospel church was to be formed first, there the gospel day was to begin, and from there the light would go out to the ends of the earth. Why must they begin there? First, because that is what had been written, and they were bound to follow that path. The word of the Lord was to go out from Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:3). See also Joel 2:32, Joel 3:16, Obadiah 1:21, and Zechariah 14:8.

Second, because the main events on which the gospel rests took place there. So Jerusalem was the first place where those events were publicly proved, and it was the best place to test and challenge them if there had been any good reason to do so. The first blaze of the risen Redeemer’s glory was so strong and bright that it boldly confronted the very enemies who had put him to a shameful death, and it challenged them to do their worst. “Begin at Jerusalem,” as if to say, let the chief priests try their strength to crush the gospel, and let them rage when they find themselves defeated.

Third, because Christ wanted to give us another example of forgiving enemies. Jerusalem had shown him the worst insults, both the rulers and the crowd, and by human justice that city might have been left out of any offer of pardon. But it was just the opposite. The first offer of gospel grace was made to Jerusalem, and in a short time thousands there were brought to share in that grace.

As for the help they would need in preaching, this was a huge task. They were being sent into a large and difficult field, especially because of the opposition they would face and the suffering that would come with it. So if they asked, “Who is enough for these things?” they had a ready answer, “I am sending what my Father promised; you will be clothed with power from above” (Luke 24:49). Christ assured them that soon the Holy Spirit would be poured out on them in greater measure than ever before, and that through him they would receive all the gifts and graces needed for this great work. For that reason, they had to wait in Jerusalem and not begin until this had happened.

Those who receive the Holy Spirit are given power from above, a supernatural power that goes beyond their own strength. It comes from heaven, and it lifts the soul upward, helping it aim higher. Christ’s apostles could never have planted his gospel and established his kingdom in the world as they did unless they had been given this power, and their amazing success proves that power was with them.

This power from above was the promise of the Father, the great promise of the New Testament, just as the promise of Christ’s coming was the great promise of the Old Testament. And if it is the Father’s promise, we can be sure it will never fail, and that what is promised is beyond price. Christ would not leave his disciples until the time was very near for this promise to be fulfilled. Only ten days after his ascension came the descent of the Spirit.

Christ’s messengers must wait until they have their authority, and they must not go out on their mission until they have received full instructions and credentials. Even though there seemed to be great urgency to preach the gospel, they still had to wait for power from above, and they had to wait in Jerusalem, a place of danger, because that was where the Father’s promise was to meet them (Joel 2:28).