This passage addresses the fact that Jesus was not merely a ghost. It also commissions the disciples to be witnesses to the resurrection.

Jesus’ resurrection gives us hope and a mission.

Earlier, Jesus met with two disciples at Emmaus, seven miles away. When they finally recognize him, he vanishes only some time later to suddenly appear in Jerusalem where the disciples were gathered. The other Gospels write that the doors were locked for fear. Not surprisingly, they “were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit” (v. 37). 

Jesus dispels their fear with two proofs that he was not a spirit. First, he shows his hands and feet and says, “Touch me, and see…flesh and bones” (v. 39). Secondly, he asked for food and eats a piece of broiled fish in their presence. Jesus’ body is resurrected, not merely resuscitated. It still resembled him and is physical, but can also disappear and reappear. The Apostle Paul calls his resurrection the “first fruits” of what is to come for all believers (see 1 Cor. 15:5). This is our future hope, a resurrected body in which to dwell with God forever.

Jesus also “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (v. 45). They had not yet been able to make the connections with all that was written about the Messiah in the Old Testament. Jesus is the fulfillment of the entire Bible. Now that they understood and had seen him, they were to tell everyone, everywhere, but they had to wait for the Holy Spirit’s power (v. 49).

Taking It Home: When you say the Creeds, which mention the resurrection, what do you think will actually happen? Read Questions 114-120 from “To Be a Christian,” our Anglican catechism. Download the PDF herefor free.   https://anglicanchurch.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/To-Be-a-Christian.pdf