Luke 24:36-44

Jesus Makes a Final Appearance

24:36 While they were saying these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 24:37 But they were startled and terrified, thinking they saw a ghost. 24:38 Then he said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 24:39 Look at my hands and my feet; it’s me! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones like you see I have.” 24:40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 10  24:41 And while they still could not believe it 11  (because of their joy) and were amazed, 12  he said to them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 13  24:42 So 14  they gave him a piece of broiled fish, 24:43 and he took it and ate it in front of them.

Jesus’ Final Commission

24:44 Then 15  he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me 16  in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms 17  must be fulfilled.”


tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

tc The words “and said to them, ‘Peace be with you’” are lacking in some Western mss (D it). But the clause is otherwise well attested, being found in Ì75 and the rest of the ms tradition, and should be considered an original part of Luke.

sn The disciples were still not comfortable at this point thinking that this could be Jesus raised from the dead. Instead they thought they saw a spirit.

tc This is not a reference to “a phantom” as read by the Western ms D. For πνεῦμα (pneuma) having the force of “ghost,” or “an independent noncorporeal being, in contrast to a being that can be perceived by the physical senses,” see BDAG 833-34 s.v. πνεῦμα 4.

tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

tn Or “disturbed,” “troubled.”

tn The expression here is an idiom; see BDAG 58 s.v. ἀναβαίνω 2. Here καρδία (kardia) is a collective singular; the expression has been translated as plural in English.

tn Grk “that it is I myself.”

tn See tc note on “ghost” in v. 37.

10 tc Some Western mss (D it) lack 24:40. However, it is present in all other mss, including Ì75, and should thus be regarded as an original part of Luke’s Gospel.

11 sn They still could not believe it. Is this a continued statement of unbelief? Or is it a rhetorical expression of their amazement? They are being moved to faith, so a rhetorical force is more likely here.

12 sn Amazement is the common response to unusual activity: 1:63; 2:18; 4:22; 7:9; 8:25; 9:43; 11:14; 20:26.

13 sn Do you have anything here to eat? Eating would remove the idea that a phantom was present. Angelic spirits refused a meal in Jdt 13:16 and Tob 12:19, but accepted it in Gen 18:8; 19:3 and Tob 6:6.

14 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ request for food.

15 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

16 sn Everything written about me. The divine plan, events, and scripture itself are seen here as being one.

17 sn For a similar threefold division of the OT scriptures, see the prologue to Sirach, lines 8-10, and from Qumran, the epilogue to 4QMMT, line 10.