36 Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” 37 But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. 38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”
40 [a]When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. 41 But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?” 42 So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish [b]and some honeycomb. 43 And He took it and ate in their presence.
Luke 24:36-43
Jesus appears to His disciples. Now Jesus had appeared to a few folks by now, the tomb was empty and open, and all of His disciples were in discussion, attempting to reconcile all they had seen and heard. Suddenly Jesus appears amongst them, terrifying and frightening them. I definitely could see being startled here, but the terror and fright may need more explanation.
Factor in that Jesus was still in the body which had been crucified. His hands and feet were pierced, His side was punctured if not torn open, the damage from the beatings and scourging still evident. His beard was torn out. He could have healed Himself but chose to bear all of this evidence so His disciples would truly believe it was He.
Jesus asked why they were still troubled and doubting, but He knew the answers. So many times He had made clear what was coming and they still did not believe. They knew He was crucified and died. They knew the tomb was empty. Now He stands before them, His temple restored on the 3rd day. He knew they would need more.
Jesus tells them to see His state, pointing out that a spirit does not have flesh and bones. They still did not believe for joy, and marveled – this is a reference back to Genesis 45:26 where Jacob’s heart stood still because He couldn’t believe what he heard of Joseph. The disciples were in shock, it was too good to be true, a very human reaction to what they were witnessing.
26 And they told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt.” And Jacob’s heart stood still, because he did not believe them.
Genesis 45:26
Of course, Jesus followed up with a very human question… Do you have anything to eat?
