Church Fathers Commentary Luke 24:36-40

"And as they spake these things, he himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace [be] unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they beheld a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and wherefore do questionings arise in your heart? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye behold me having. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet." — Luke 24:36-40 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: The report of Christ’s resurrection was being published everywhere by the Apostles. As the disciples grew anxious to see Christ, He who was so much desired came and was revealed to those who were seeking and expecting Him. He did not present Himself in a doubtful manner but with the clearest evidence, as it is said, And as they thus spoke, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them.

St. Augustine of Hippo: John also relates this manifestation of our Lord after His resurrection. But when John says that the Apostle Thomas was not with the rest, while according to Luke the two disciples on their return to Jerusalem found the eleven gathered together, we must undoubtedly understand that Thomas departed from them before our Lord appeared to them as they were speaking. For Luke’s narrative gives occasion for it to be understood that Thomas first went out from them while the others were saying these things, and that our Lord entered afterward. This is unless someone were to say that the eleven were not those who were then called Apostles, but were eleven disciples from the larger group. But since Luke added, And those that were with them, he has surely made it sufficiently evident that the eleven were the same as the Apostles, with whom the others were.

But let us see what mystery it was for which, according to Matthew and Mark, our Lord gave the following command when He rose again: I will go before you into Galilee; there you will see me. Although this was accomplished, it was not until after many other things had happened. Yet it was commanded in such a way that one might have expected it to take place by itself, or at least before other events.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Therefore, I think it most natural that our Lord did indeed instruct His disciples that they would see Him in Galilee, but that He first presented Himself to them while they remained in the assembly out of fear.

Greek Expositors: Nor was this a violation of His promise, but rather a mercifully hastened fulfillment because of the cowardice of the disciples.

St. Ambrose of Milan: But afterward, when their hearts were strengthened, the eleven set out for Galilee. Or, there is no difficulty in supposing that fewer were reported to be in the assembly, and a larger number on the mountain.

Eusebius of Caesarea: For the two Evangelists, Luke and John, write that He appeared to the eleven alone in Jerusalem. But those two disciples told not only the eleven, but all the disciples and brethren, that both the angel and the Savior had commanded them to hasten to Galilee. Paul also made mention of these, saying, Afterwards he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at once.

But the truer explanation is that at first, while they remained in secret at Jerusalem, He appeared once or twice for their comfort. But in Galilee, not in the assembly or just once or twice, He made a manifestation of Himself with great power, showing Himself alive to them after His Passion with many signs, as Luke testifies in the Acts.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But what was said by the Angel—that is, the Lord—must be taken prophetically. For by the word “Galilee,” according to its meaning of “transmigration,” it is to be understood that they were about to pass over from the people of Israel to the Gentiles. The Apostles, in their preaching, would not entrust the Gospel to them unless the Lord Himself first prepared His way in the hearts of men. This is what is meant by, He will go before you into Galilee; there you will see him.

But according to the other interpretation of “Galilee,” by which it means “manifestation,” we must understand that He will no longer be revealed in the form of a servant, but in that form in which He is equal to the Father—the form He has promised to His elect. That manifestation will be, as it were, the true Galilee, when we shall see Him as He is. This will also be that far more blessed transmigration from this world to eternity, from where, though coming to us, He did not depart, and to which, going before us, He has not deserted us.

Theophylact of Ohrid: The Lord, then, standing in the midst of the disciples, first calmed their restlessness with His accustomed salutation of “peace.” He showed that He is the same Master who delighted in the word with which He also fortified them when He sent them to preach. Hence it follows, And he said to them, “Peace be to you. It is I; do not be afraid.”

St. Gregory of Nazianzus: Let us then reverence the gift of peace, which Christ left to us when He departed from here. Peace is sweet, both in name and in reality. We have also heard that it is of God, as it is said, The peace of God, and that God is of peace, as He is our peace. Peace is a blessing commended by all, but observed by few.

What, then, is the cause? Perhaps it is the desire for dominion or riches, or the envy or hatred of our neighbor, or one of those vices into which we see people fall who do not know God. For peace is peculiarly of God, who binds all things together in one, and to whom nothing is so essential as the unity of His nature and a peaceful condition.

It is shared, indeed, by angels and divine powers, which are peacefully disposed toward God and one another. It is diffused throughout the whole creation, whose glory is tranquility.

But in us, it abides in our souls through the pursuit and sharing of the virtues, and in our bodies through the harmony of our limbs and organs—of which the one is called beauty, and the other health.

The Venerable Bede: The disciples had known Christ to be truly man, having been with Him for so long. But after He was dead, they did not believe that real flesh could rise again from the grave on the third day. They thought, then, that they were seeing the spirit which He gave up at His passion. Therefore it follows, But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. This mistake of the Apostles is the heresy of the Manicheans.

St. Ambrose of Milan: But persuaded by the example of their virtues, we cannot believe that Peter and John could have doubted. Why then does Luke relate that they were frightened? First, because the declaration of the majority includes the opinion of the few. Secondly, because although Peter believed in the resurrection, he still might have been amazed when, with the doors closed, Jesus suddenly presented Himself in His body.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Because the word of peace did not calm the agitation in the minds of the Apostles, He showed by another sign that He is the Son of God, in that He knew the secrets of their hearts. For it follows, And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?”

The Venerable Bede: What thoughts, indeed, but those that were false and dangerous? For Christ would have lost the fruit of His passion if He had not been the Truth of the resurrection. It is just as if a good farmer were to say, “What I have planted there, I will find”—that is, the faith that descends into the heart, because it is from above. But those thoughts did not descend from above; rather, they ascended from below into the heart like worthless plants.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Here, then, was a most evident sign that He whom they now saw was none other than the same one they had seen dead on the cross and laid in the tomb, who knew everything that was in man.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Let us then consider how it is that according to John, the Apostles believed and rejoiced, while according to Luke, they are reproved as unbelieving. John, it seems to me, being an Apostle, treated of greater and higher things; Luke treated of those things that relate and are closely akin to human experience.

The one follows a historical course; the other is content with an abridgment, because there could be no doubt about him who gives his testimony concerning those things at which he himself was present. And therefore we consider both to be true. For although Luke says that at first they did not believe, he explains that they afterward did believe.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Now our Lord, testifying that death was overcome and that human nature had now put on incorruption in Christ, first showed them His hands and His feet, and the print of the nails, as it follows: Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.

Theophylact of Ohrid: But He also adds another proof—namely, the handling of His hands and feet—when He says, Handle me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.

It is as if to say, “You think I am a spirit—that is, a ghost, as many of the dead are often seen around their graves. But know that a spirit has neither flesh nor bones, while I have flesh and bones.”

St. Ambrose of Milan: Our Lord said this to give us an image of our resurrection. For that which is handled is the body, and we will rise again in our bodies. But the former is more subtle, the latter more carnal, as it is still mixed with the qualities of earthly corruption. Therefore, it was not by an incorporeal nature, but by the quality of His resurrected body, that Christ passed through the shut doors.

St. Gregory the Great: For in the glory of the resurrection, our body will not be incapable of being handled and more subtle than the winds and the air (as Eutychius said). Instead, while it will indeed be subtle through the effect of spiritual power, it will also be tangible through the power of its nature.

It follows, And when he had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet, on which the prints of the nails were clearly marked. According to John, He also showed them His side, which had been pierced with the spear, so that by revealing the scar of His wounds He might heal the wound of their doubt.

From this, the Gentiles are fond of raising a slander, as if He was not able to cure the wound inflicted on Him. To them we must answer that it is not probable that He who is proven to have done the greater thing would be unable to do the lesser.

But for the sake of His definite purpose, He who destroyed death would not erase the signs of death. First, that He might thereby build up His disciples in the faith of His resurrection. Secondly, that in supplicating the Father for us, He might always show what kind of death He endured for many. Thirdly, that He might point out to those redeemed by His death—by setting before them the signs of that death—how mercifully they have been helped. Lastly, that He might declare in the judgment how justly the wicked are condemned.