Jesus Appears to His Disciples
36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence.
44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
Weymouth: 11th May 2024
This may be a familiar story. Too often we read it on its own, without engaging with the wider context. It’s part of a sequence of supernatural events on that first day of resurrection.
If we follow Luke’s account, the two followers of Jesus who had met the resurrected Christ on the road to Emmaus, return to Jerusalem with their extraordinary news. They go straight to the safe house where Peter and the remaining disciples are hiding behind locked doors. They are welcomed in, and greeted with the news that Jesus has also appeared to Peter. Then, almost immediately, Christ is in the room with them.
His appearance is so sudden that they think they are seeing a ghost. ‘Peace be with you..’ Don’t be afraid… Easily said. They’re terrified. His hands. His feet. His side. There is no doubt that it is Jesus. He eats with them. He consumes a piece of fish, not because he is hungry but to convince them of the reality of his resurrection. Then, as he had done on the road to Emmaus, he uses Scripture to show that he is the Son of God – that the Messiah must die and be raised again to life. That there is a mission to take the Gospel of repentance and the forgiveness of sins is to all nations. They are to stay in Jerusalem and await the outpouring of power from on high.
The disbelief is understandable. These men were with Jesus when he was arrested. Some of them saw him in custody at the house of Caiaphas, Some will have seen him beaten mercilessly. Several will have seen him, broken and badly injured, paraded through the streets on his way to execution. They know that he was killed. Mary had seen him buried. Yet by now, this same Mary has seen him raised. Peter has seen him. The two witnesses from Emmaus have seen him.
Yet still the disciples struggle to believe. Who can blame them? The dead do not rise and return. Yet here is Jesus, in the room with them, eating a piece of fish. Their initial disbelief is tangible and understandable. It echoes through the generations and the centuries even to the present age.
End Piece
Taken literally, this story is explosive. It speaks of the reality of the resurrection of Jesus. It speaks of the extraordinary, supernatural power of God through Christ in his resurrection. It speaks of the mind bending power of the risen Jesus. This story speaks of the anticipation of a new chapter of supernatural power from on high. It speaks of a small group of followers of Jesus who struggled to believe their own senses. In context with the wider account of Peter and the road to Emmaus, why would you not take this story literally? This story is explosive.
Of course, you may still be unimpressed. You may think it’s just a story, made up by a bunch of grieving friends. You may not believe it. After all, you weren’t there.
The Apostle Thomas wasn’t there either. Neither was the Apostle called Thomas. He didn’t believe them either. He had been one of the closest followers of Jesus. One of the twelve. He went through so much with Jesus, yet he is most commonly remembered because of this. When they told him what happened, he didn’t believe them either.
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” John 21:25
Richard Jackson: Horsham,West Sussex