Jesus was not a ghost

JESUS WAS NOT A GHOST
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Luke 24:39 39Lookat 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."
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(39) Beholdmy hands and my feet.—The testthus offeredto the disciples, like
that afterwards given to Thomas, was to be to them a proof that they were not
looking on a spectre from the shadow-worldof the dead. The Resurrection
was a reality, not an appearance. In St. John’s words, “whichour hands have
handled” (1John 1:1), we have an interesting coincidence with the use of the
same word here. The conditions of the problem must remain, however,
transcendentaland mysterious. There is a realcorporeity, and yet there is a
manifest exemption from the common conditions of corporealexistence. St.
Luke’s narrative presents an undesigned coincidence with that of John 20:25.
What Thomas askedfor was the evidence which had, he heard, been given to
others. Without that evidence he could not, he felt, believe.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

24:36-49 Jesus appearedin a miraculous manner, assuring the disciples of his
peace, though they had so lately forsakenhim, and promising spiritual peace
with every blessing. Many troublesome thoughts which disquiet our minds,
rise from mistakes concerning Christ. All the troublesome thoughts which rise
in our hearts at any time, are knownto the Lord Jesus, and are displeasing to
him. He spake with them on their unreasonable unbelief. Nothing had passed
but what was foretoldby the prophets, and necessaryfor the salvationof
sinners. And now all men should be taught the nature and necessityof
repentance, in order to the forgiveness oftheir sins. And these blessings were
to be soughtfor, by faith in the name of Jesus. Christby his Spirit works on
the minds of men. Even goodmen need to have their understandings opened.
But that we may have right thoughts of Christ, there needs no more than to be
made to understand the Scriptures.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Behold my hands ... - Jesus proceeds to give them evidence that he was truly
the same personthat had been crucified. He first showedthem his hands and
his feet- still, pierced, and with the wounds made by the nails still open.
Compare John 20:27. He told them to handle him and see him. He ate before
them. All this was to satisfy them that he was not, as they supposed, a spirit.
Nor could better evidence have been given. He appealedto their senses, and
performed acts which a disembodied spirit could not do.
Handle me - Or touch me; feelof me. Compare John 20:27.
And see - Be convinced, for you could not thus handle a spirit. The object here
was to convince them that his body had really come to life.
For a spirit ... - He appeals here to what they well knew;and this implies that
the spirit may exist separate from the body. That was the view of the apostles,
and our Saviour distinctly countenances thatbelief.

Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
39-43. Behold, &c.—lovinglyoffering them both ocularand tangible
demonstration of the reality of His resurrection.
a spirit hath not—an important statementregarding "spirits."
flesh and bones—He says not "flesh and blood"; for the blood is the life of the
animal and corruptible body (Ge 9:4), which "cannotinherit the kingdom of
God" (1Co 15:50); but "fleshand bones," implying the identity, but with
diversity of laws, of the resurrectionbody. (See on [1748]Joh20:24-28).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
See Poole on"Luke 24:38"
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Behold my hands, and my feet,.... The EvangelistJohnadds, "and side"; that
is, the prints of the nails and spear, in his hands, and feet, and side; and the
wounds they made there, and the scars they left behind; by which they might
be convinced he was not a spirit, and be assuredof the truth of his
resurrection, and that in the same numerical body in which he suffered; as
well as that it might be observedby them how greatwas his love to them, to
endure what he did for them.
Handle me and see;or know by feeling, as well as by sight; so that if the one
was not sufficient, the other might confirm; sight might be deceived, but
feeling could not: Apollonius Tyaneus, to them that did not know whether he
was alive or dead, and who took him for a spirit, proposedhimself to be
touched, and handled, that they might be convinced(z):
for a spirit hath not flesh and bones; nothing but appearance, orair at most;
no solid substance to be felt and handled:

as ye see me have; or may perceive, both by sight and feeling.
(z) Philostratus de Vita Apollon. l. 8, c. 5.
Geneva Study Bible
Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see;for a
spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Luke 24:39. In the first half of the verse Jesus desires to remove from His
disciples their consternation, and that by means of their being required to
convince themselves that it is He Himself (no other); in the secondhalf He
desires to oppose the notion of a πνεῦμα, and that in such a way that they
should be persuaded that it is He bodily. The two parts of Luke 24:39
correspond, that is to say, to the two parts of Luke 24:38.
τὰς χεῖράς μου κ. τ. πόδας μ.] These, pointed to as a proof that it is He
Himself, must afford this proof by the traces of the crucifixion, namely, by the
wounds of the nails in the hands and feet(as to the nailing of the feet, see on
Matthew 27:35). Comp. John 20:20.[276]According to Paulus and de Wette,
Jesus pointed to His hands and feet as the uncoveredparts, in order to oppose
the notion of a spirit. In this way αὐτὸς ἐγώ would have to be understood of
the reality, not of the identity of His appearance. Butthe hands and the feet
were seeneven without specialpointing to them; the latter presupposes a
characteristic to be recognisedby closerinspection. Even this characteristic,
however, could not prove the reality (since it might appearas well in a
φάντασμα or εἴδωλον), but probably the identity though apart from the
reality, for which latter the conviction was to be added by means of touch.

ὅτι] is in both cases:that. On σάρκα κ. ὀστέα οὐκ ἔχει, comp. Hom. Od. xi.
219.
[276]Without reasonSchleiermachersays ofthese wounds: “they may have
been two or four” (p. 447). He has indeed takenup a position of great
indifference about the question whether Jesus was actuallyor only apparently
dead (in respectofwhich he sophisticallymisuses Acts 2:27); but still a merely
apparent death does not come to the same thing, and it is only opposedto the
(true) view of the resurrectionthat the disciples took internal for external
phenomena. See especiallyp. 471.
Expositor's Greek Testament
Luke 24:39. τὰς χεῖράς μου, etc.:Jesus shows His hands and feet with the
wounds to satisfy them of His identity (ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι αὐτός). Then He bids them
touch Him (ψηλαφήσατέ με) to satisfy themselves of His substantiality.—
ἴδετε, see with the mind; with the eye in case ofthe preceding ἴδετε.—ὅτι:
either that, or because.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
39. handle me, and see]Pselaphesate;“which we have lookedupon and our
hands have handled (epselaphesan)of the Word of Life,” 1 John 1:1; comp.
John 20:20; John 20:27. Forother uses of the word see Acts 17:27;Hebrews
12:18.
hath not flesh and bones] “I am not a bodiless spirit” are words attributed to
Him in Ignatius (ad Smyrn. 3). Clemens of Alexandria has preserveda
curious, but utterly baseless, legend, that St John, touching the body, found
that his hands passedthrough it. From the omissionof “blood” with “flesh
and bones” very precarious inferences have been drawn.
Bengel's Gnomen

Luke 24:39. Αὐτὸς) I Myself, Jesus.—πνεῦμα, a spirit) See Luke 24:37.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 39. - Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. "See,"he says,
inviting the terror-strickendisciples to a calm, unaffrighted contemplation -
"see my hands and my feet pierced with the nails which fastenedthem to the
cross;it is I myself." Handle me, and see;for a spirit hath not flesh and bones,
as ye see me have. The first words quietly told the awe-struck ones to look
closelyat him, and to ascertainfrom the dread marks he bore that what they
lookedupon was Jesus their Master. Thenhe proceededto bid them touch
him, handle him, and so assure themselves that it was no phantom, no bodiless
spirit, that stoodbefore them. These words of the Lord, and the invitation,
"handle me, and see," made the deepestimpression on the hearers. These,
then, were proofs of the Resurrectionthat admitted of no shadow of doubt.
These words, this sight, changedtheir lives. What caredthey afterwards for
men and men's threatenings? Death, life, to them were all one. They had seen
the Lord, they had handled with their hands "that which was flora the
beginning" (see 1 John 1:1). Browning forcibly puts this thought which so
influenced the first greatteachers. The dying St. John is dwelling on the
thought that when he is gone there will be none left with men who saw and
touched the Lord.
"If I live yet, it is for good, more love
Through me to men: be nought but ashes here
That keepawhile my semblance, who was John.
Still, when they seater, there is left on earth
No one alive who knew (consider this!),
Saw with his eyes, and handled with his hands,
That which was from the first, the Word of life.

How will it be when none more saith, 'I saw'?"
(A Death in the Desert.')
Vincent's Word Studies
Handle (ψηλαφήσατε)
Compare 1 John 1:1. The word occurs also Acts 17:27;Hebrews 12:18. "It
never expresses the so handling an object as to exercise a moulding, modifying
influence upon it, but at most a feeling of its surface; this, it may be, with the
intention of learning its composition(Genesis 27:12, Genesis27:21, Genesis
27:22); while, not seldom, it signifies no more than a feeling for or after an
object, without any actualcoming in contactwith it at all" (Trench,
"Synonyms"). Compare Acts 17:27. Used of groping in the dark, Job 5:14 :;
of the blind, Isaiah59:10; Deuteronomy28:29; Judges, Judges 16:26. See on
Hebrews 12:18.
STUDYLIGHTRESOURCES
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
Behold my hands, and my feet,.... The EvangelistJohnadds, "and side"; that
is, the prints of the nails and spear, in his hands, and feet, and side; and the
wounds they made there, and the scars they left behind; by which they might
be convinced he was not a spirit, and be assuredof the truth of his
resurrection, and that in the same numerical body in which he suffered; as
well as that it might be observedby them how greatwas his love to them, to
endure what he did for them.

Handle me and see;or know by feeling, as well as by sight; so that if the one
was not sufficient, the other might confirm; sight might be deceived, but
feeling could not: Apollonius Tyaneus, to them that did not know whether he
was alive or dead, and who took him for a spirit, proposedhimself to be
touched, and handled, that they might be convincedF26:
for a spirit hath not flesh and bones; nothing but appearance, orair at most;
no solid substance to be felt and handled:
as ye see me have; or may perceive, both by sight and feeling.
Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernisedand adapted
for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes Reserved,
Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
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Bibliography
Gill, John. "Commentary on Luke 24:39". "The New JohnGill Exposition of
the Entire Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/luke-
24.html. 1999.
Return to Jump List return to 'Jump List'
Robertson's WordPictures in the New Testament

Myself (αυτος — autos). Jesus is patient with his proof. They were convinced
before he came into the room, but that psychologicalshock hadunnerved
them all.
Handle (πσηλαπησατε — psēlaphēsate). This very word is used in 1 John 1:1
as proof of the actual human body of Jesus. It is an old verb for touching with
the hand.
Fleshand bones (σαρκα και οστεα — sarka kaiostea). At leastthis proves that
he is not just a ghostand that Jesus had a realhuman body againstthe
Docetic Gnosticswho denied it. But clearlywe are not to understand that our
resurrectionbodies will have “flesh and bones.” Jesuswas in a transition state
and had not yet been glorified. The mystery remains unsolved, but it was
proof to the disciples of the identity of the RisenChrist with Jesus of
Nazareth.
sa120
Copyright Statement
The Robertson's WordPictures of the New Testament. Copyright �
Broadman Press 1932,33,Renewal1960. All rights reserved. Used by
permission of Broadman Press (Southern BaptistSunday SchoolBoard)
Bibliography
Robertson, A.T. "Commentary on Luke 24:39". "Robertson's WordPictures
of the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/rwp/luke-24.html. Broadman
Press 1932,33. Renewal1960.

Vincent's Word Studies
Handle ( ψηλαφήσατε )
Compare 1 John 1:1. The word occurs also Acts 17:27;Hebrews 12:18. “It
never expresses the so handling an object as to exercise a moulding, modifying
influence upon it, but at most a feeling of its surface;this, it may be, with the
intention of learning its composition(Genesis 27:12, Genesis27:21, Genesis
27:22); while, not seldom, it signifies no more than a feeling for or after an
object, without any actualcoming in contactwith it at all” (Trench,
“Synonyms”). Compare Acts 17:27. Used of groping in the dark, Job 5:14:; of
the blind, Isaiah 59:10;Deuteronomy 28:29;Judges, Judges 16:26. See on
Hebrews 12:18.
Copyright Statement
The text of this work is public domain.
Bibliography
Vincent, Marvin R. DD. "Commentaryon Luke 24:39". "Vincent's Word
Studies in the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/vnt/luke-24.html. Charles
Schribner's Sons. New York, USA. 1887.
The Fourfold Gospel
But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they beheld a
spirit1.

But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they beheld a spirit.
Jesus'entrance through a bolted door (John 20:19) lent weightto their idea
that he had no corporealbody. They knew nothing of the possibilities of a
resurrectedbody.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website. These files
were made available by Mr. Ernie Stefanik. First published online in 1996 at
The RestorationMovementPages.
Bibliography
J. W. McGarveyand Philip Y. Pendleton. "Commentaryon Luke 24:39".
"The Fourfold Gospel".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tfg/luke-24.html. Standard
Publishing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. 1914.
Abbott's Illustrated New Testament
Behold my hands and my feet, with the marks of the wounds upon them.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography
Abbott, John S. C. & Abbott, Jacob. "Commentaryon Luke 24:39".
"Abbott's Illustrated New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ain/luke-24.html. 1878.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible
39.Look atmy hands and my feet. He calls upon their bodily sensesas
witnesses,that they may not suppose that a shadow is exhibited to them
instead of a body. And, first, he distinguishes betweena corporealman and a
spirit; as if he had said, “Sight and touch will prove that I am a real man, who
have formerly conversedwith you; for I am clothedwith that flesh which was
crucified, and which still bears the marks of it.” Again, when Christ declares
that his body may be touched, and that it has solid bones, this passage is justly
and appropriately adduced by those who adhere to us, for the purpose of
refuting the gross errorabout the transubstantiation of bread into the body,
or about the localpresence of the body, which men foolishly imagine to exist
in the Holy Supper. For they would have us to believe that the body of Christ
is in a place where no Mark of a body can be seen;and in this way it will
follow that it has changedits nature, so that it has ceasedto be what it was,
and from which Christ proves it to be a real body. If it be objected, on the
other hand, that his side was then pierced, and that his feet and hands were
pierced and wounded by the nails, but that now Christ is in heaven without
any vestige of wound or injury, it is easyto dispose of this objection;for the
present question is not merely in what form Christ appeared, but what he
declares as to the real nature of his flesh. Now he pronounces it to be, as it
were, a distinguishing characterof his body, that he may be handled, and
therefore differs from a spirit. We must therefore hold that the distinction
betweenflesh and spirit, which the words of Christ authorize us to regardas
perpetual, exists in the present day.
As to the wounds, we ought to look upon this as a proof by which it was
intended to prove to us all, that Christ rose rather for us them for himself;
since, after having vanquished death, and obtained a blessedand heavenly
immortality, yet, on our account, he continued for a time to bear some
remaining marks of the cross. It certainly was an astonishing act of

condescensiontowards the disciples, that he chose rather to want something
that was necessaryto render perfectthe glory of the resurrection, than to
deprive their faith of such a support. But it was a foolish and an old wife’s
dream, to imagine that he will still continue to bear the marks of the wounds,
when he shall come to judge the world.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Calvin, John. "Commentary on Luke 24:39". "Calvin's Commentary on the
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cal/luke-24.html.
1840-57.
James Nisbet's Church Pulpit Commentary
THE HANDS OF THE RISEN CHRIST
‘Behold My hands.’
Luke 24:39
No doubt the first reasonwhy Christ showedHis Hands was to prove that He
was the very same Jesus Who had been crucified.

I. They were pitiful Hands.—Those Hands had blessedthe children. Those
Hands had touched the leper. Those Hands had multiplied the loaves. Those
Hands had healed the sick.
II. They were powerful Hands.—The Good Shepherd says of His sheep, ‘No
one shall pluck them out of My Hand’ (John 10:28). May we live day by day
upheld by those Hands, and fall at last like tired children into those
Everlasting Arms, which are soft as love and stronger than death!
III. They were pierced Hands.—You can tell the true Christ by the holes in
His Hands. The true Christ is the Sin-bearer. ‘The sting of death is sin’ (1
Corinthians 15:56). The ‘Te Deum’ is a translation from the Latin, and in the
verse ‘When Thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, Thou didst open
the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers,’the Latin is, “When Thou hadst
overcome the sting of death,’ with a reference no doubt to the words of St.
Paul, ‘The sting of death is sin.’ And who cantell the exceeding sinfulness of
sin to pierce those sacredHands?
IV. They were pleading Hands.—His disciples would remember how those
Hands had been uplifted in intercessionallthrough His earthly life.
—Rev. F. Harper.
Illustration
‘Love is full of service. It is tireless in its ministry. It is always giving itself
away, expending itself on others. What will not the mother do for her child,
what the true wife for her husband? Let the recollectionofour childhood tell.

We have seenmany a pearly hand, whose whiteness rivalled the gems it wore,
but the hands that live most in our recollectionare the thin, worn, wrinkled
hands of a mother—the dear weariless hands—withoutornament, save the
one plain gold ring worn through all the years from marriage-day to burial-
day. What have these hands not done for us? They have lifted us up and laid
us down. They fed us, and dressedus, and soothedus, and caressedus. It was
love that made them active: it was love that made them tireless. And now that
they are folded in everlasting rest, they still live in vision with us till we clasp
them once more on the everlasting shore.’
Copyright Statement
Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography
Nisbet, James. "Commentaryon Luke 24:39". Church Pulpit Commentary.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cpc/luke-24.html. 1876.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see;for a
Ver. 39. Behold my hands, &c.]With those stamps of dishonour that the Jews
did me with wickedhands. These he retained even after his resurrection, as

for the confirmation of his apostles, so for our instruction, not to think much
to suffer loss of honour for our brethren’s goodand comfort.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Trapp, John. "Commentary on Luke 24:39". John Trapp Complete
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/luke-
24.html. 1865-1868.
Sermon Bible Commentary
Luke 24:39
The Resurrectionofthe Body.
I. We may learn from this text, first, that the Resurrectionwill be the
restorationof the whole man, in spirit and soul and body; a restorationof all
in which consists the integrity of our nature and the identity of our person.
And this is emphatically the hope of the Gospel. The light of nature could not
show this mystery. The heathen reachedonly to the immortality of the soul,
and even that they saw but dimly, and often doubted. It was seen, too, that
even the elder Church saw this mystery in broken and uncertain lights.
Without doubt, they saw, as it were, the refractedlight of the coming mystery;
but in some sense their eyes were holden, while they ministered to us greater

things than they themselves conceived, for St. Paul declares that life and
immortality are brought to light through the Gospel.
II. It is plain that, among those that are raisedfrom the dead, there shall be a
perfect recognition, and that not limited to the blessed, but, like the
Resurrectionitself, comprehending the wickedalso. It follows, inseparably
from the law of personalidentity, and the law of individual responsibility, that
it should be so.
III. This doctrine throws a greatlight upon the true doctrine of what the
Church is. It is not a form, or piece of mechanism, moulded by the human
will, or put togetherfor the uses and expedients of men and nations; but a
mystery, partaking of a sacramentalcharacter, framedand ordained by God
Himself. In a word, the Church is the root of the new creationwhich shall be
raisedin its fulness at the last day; it is in part earthly, in part heavenly; there
is one body and one spirit. And it is ever putting off its mortal shroud, casting
its sere leaves upon the earth, and withdrawing its vitality into its hidden
source. The earth is sowing with holy dust, and the world unseen replenishing
with the souls of the righteous. Even now already, in the clearforesightof the
Everlasting, to whom all things are present in their fulness, the Church is
complete in Christ. But to us who see only in part and by brokenaspects, and
on the outer surface, it is imperfect and to come; yet flowing on, and
continually unfolding itself from age to age.
H. E. Manning, Sermons, vol. i., p. 364.
References:Luke 24:39.—Clergyman's Magazine, vol. iv., p. 224;H. P.
Liddon, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxvii., p. 225;Ibid., EasterSermons, vol.
i., p. 103;W. Page Roberts, Liberalismin Religion, pp. 51, 64.

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Nicoll, William R. "Commentary on Luke 24:39". "SermonBible
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/sbc/luke-
24.html.
Greek TestamentCriticalExegeticalCommentary
39.]There seems to be some doubt whether the reference to His hands and
feet was on accountof the marks of the nails, to prove His identity,—or as
being the uncoveredparts of His body, and to prove His corporeity. Both
views seemsupported by the text, and I think both were united. The sight of
the Hands and Feet, which they recognizedas His, might at once convince
them of the reality of the appearance, and the identity of the Person. The
accountof John confirms the idea that He shewedthem the marks of the nails,
both by His side being added, and by the expressions ofThomas which
followed. The same seems also implied in our Luke 24:40.
The assertionofthe Lord must not be takenas representing merely ‘the
popular notion concerning spirits’ (Dr. Burton); He who is the Truth, does not
speak thus of that which He knows, and has created. He declares to us the
truth, that those appearancesto which He was now likened by the disciples,
and spirits in general, have not flesh and bones. Observe σάρκα κ. ὀστέα—but
not αἷμα. This the resurrectionBody probably had not,—as being the animal
life: see notes on John 6:51, and John 20:27.

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Alford, Henry. "Commentary on Luke 24:39". Greek TestamentCritical
ExegeticalCommentary.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hac/luke-24.html. 1863-1878.
Heinrich Meyer's Critical and ExegeticalCommentaryon the New Testament
Luke 24:39. In the first half of the verse Jesus desires to remove from His
disciples their consternation, and that by means of their being required to
convince themselves that it is He Himself (no other); in the secondhalf He
desires to oppose the notion of a πνεῦμα, and that in such a way that they
should be persuaded that it is He bodily. The two parts of Luke 24:39
correspond, that is to say, to the two parts of Luke 24:38.
τὰς χεῖράς μου κ. τ. πόδας μ.] These, pointed to as a proof that it is He
Himself, must afford this proof by the traces of the crucifixion, namely, by the
wounds of the nails in the hands and feet(as to the nailing of the feet, see on
Matthew 27:35). Comp. John 20:20.(276)According to Paulus and de Wette,
Jesus pointed to His hands and feet as the uncoveredparts, in order to oppose
the notion of a spirit. In this way αὐτὸς ἐγώ would have to be understood of
the reality, not of the identity of His appearance. Butthe hands and the feet
were seeneven without special pointing to them; the latter presupposes a
characteristic to be recognisedby closerinspection. Even this characteristic,

however, could not prove the reality (since it might appearas well in a
φάντασμα or εἴδωλον), but probably the identity though apart from the
reality, for which latter the conviction was to be added by means of touch.
ὅτι] is in both cases:that. On σάρκα κ. ὀστέα οὐκ ἔχει, comp. Hom. Od. xi.
219.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Meyer, Heinrich. "Commentary on Luke 24:39". Heinrich Meyer's Critical
and ExegeticalCommentaryon the New Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hmc/luke-24.html. 1832.
Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament
Luke 24:39. αὐτὸς)I Myself, Jesus.— πνεῦμα, a spirit) See Luke 24:37.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Bengel, JohannAlbrecht. "Commentary on Luke 24:39". Johann Albrecht
Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jab/luke-24.html. 1897.
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
See Poole on"Luke 24:38"
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Poole, Matthew, "Commentaryon Luke 24:39". Matthew Poole's English
Annotations on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/luke-24.html. 1685.
Justin Edwards' Family Bible New Testament
That it is I myself; that I have really arisenfrom the dead.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Edwards, Justin. "Commentary on Luke 24:39". "Family Bible New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/fam/luke-
24.html. American TractSociety. 1851.
Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools andColleges
39. ψηλαφήσατέ με. “Which we have lookedupon and our hands have
handled (ἐψηλάφησαν)of the Word of Life,” 1 John 1:1; comp. John 20:20;
John 20:27. For other uses of the word see Acts 17:27; Hebrews 12:18.
σάρκα καὶ ὀστέα. “I am not a bodiless spirit” are words attributed to Him in
Ignatius (ad Smyrn. 3). Clemens of Alexandria has preserveda curious, but
utterly baseless, legend, that St John, touching the body, found that his hands
passedthrough it. From the omissionof “blood” with “fleshand bones” very
precarious inferences have been drawn.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

"Commentary on Luke 24:39". "Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools
and Colleges".https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cgt/luke-
24.html. 1896.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
39. A spirit hath not flesh and bones—We have here, in oppositionto
materialism, the clearestpossible assertionof the independent existence of
spirit. There is no other explanation of these words which does not insult the
Saviour and abuse his language.
In regard to the nature of our Lord’s risen body previous to the ascension, we
may say that there are FOUR different opinions prevalent. The first supposes
a body in substance entirely new substituted for the previous body; the
second, a body the same in substance and attributes; just as Lazarus’s natural
unchanged body was raisedthe same as before death; the third, a body the
same in substance but endowedwith new properties and powers;the fourth,
the same body glorified as completely as after his ascension.
We rejectthe first as being no resurrectionat all, but a creation; and doubt
the fourth as not provable if true. That the third is preferable to the second
may thus appear.
Perhaps all will grant that our Lord’s ordinary stay or abode betweenhis
resurrectionand ascensionwas in the invisible; his visible appearances during
the forty days being only occasional.His body possessedthen normally, and
perhaps we may say naturally, in its risen nature, the power of invisibility, at
will. It possessed, also,a superiority to the controlof gravitation, to the need
of food, clothing, and other bodily necessities, and, probably, a superiority to

disease anda secondmortality. But these are all new powers;possible by
miracle, but not belonging to man or to Jesus corporeallyas a man. The third,
therefore, seems the preferable view.
This view assumes, thatalthough our Lord’s risen body had its own proper
form and substance, and its own proper outline and limitation, yet that he was
able, more or less, to modify it at will. so as to retain or resume traces,
constituent parts, or substantive properties of its former self, such as wounds,
limbs, flesh, and bones. However modified, temporarily or permanently, by
will or by nature, it would be the same body; able to prove itself such to
human eyes by resuming its old familiar peculiarities. So he could identify
himself to Thomas, John 20:25;he could be graspedby the women, John
20:29;could (like the angels in Genesis 18:8;Genesis 19:3)invest himself with
apparent garments, and eat and drink before his disciples. Luke 24:41-43.
By his self-modifying powerhe could not only enter the invisible
instantaneously, (Luke 24:31,)but could appear under another form, (Mark
16:12;) could pass through any material impediments, doubtless by those
interstices betweenparticles which science has so amply revealedas belonging
to solid bodies. John 20:19.* Norwas the rolling the stone from the tomb by
angels necessaryso far as his power was concerned;but necessaryto render
visible to the world’s perception, the external reality of the resurrection. So it
was, apparently, that our Lord after his resurrection(as at no previous time)
seemedoften times unrecognisable to the best acquainted eyes. John20:14;
John 21:4; John 21:7; John 21:12. So his ready presence (Luke 24:36) at
different places evincedhis powerof invisible and, probably, instantaneous
transference through space at will.
[* In the most solid bodies the ultimate particles are supposedto be immensely
smaller than the spaces betweenthem. In a body as dense as waterthey are,
proportionately, as “one hundred men distributed over the whole surface of

England.”—SirWilliam Armstrong’s PresidentialAddress before the British
Association, 1864.]All this involves not the idea either that his body was
properly glorified, as after his ascension;or, as some imagine, that it
underwent a gradual glorifying process through the forty days. The
endowment with the properties belonging to a resurrectionbody (properties
possessedevenby the risen wicked)is one thing; his investiture at his
enthronement with his full Mediatorialglories at God’s right hand is quite
another thing.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Whedon, Daniel. "Commentary on Luke 24:39". "Whedon's Commentary on
the Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/whe/luke-24.html.
1874-1909.
Expository Notes ofDr. Thomas Constable
Anyone wishing to prove his real presence might offer his hands and feet for
inspection, as Jesus did. Howeverthe Roman soldiers had pierced Jesus"
hands and feet with nails so the wounds would have identified Him as Jesus (
John 20:25-27). Jesus claimed, "Itis I Myself" (Gr. ego eimi autos, cf. ego
eimi, which John recordedJesus saying frequently in his Gospel). He
encouragedHis followers to touch Him as wellas to look at Him and to satisfy
their senses thatHis body was real. His human body had flesh and bones,
which ghosts do not have. The phrase "fleshand blood" is a similar
expressionthat also describes a physical body (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:50).

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Constable, Thomas. DD. "Commentaryon Luke 24:39". "ExpositoryNotes of
Dr. Thomas Constable".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dcc/luke-24.html. 2012.
Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Luke 24:39. See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. A comparisonwith
John’s accountleads us to find here a proof of His identity, from the wounds
in His hands and feet. Since these members were uncovered, there is possibly
even here a proof of the reality of the appearance.
Handle me, and see. The proof of the reality is the main thought here. The two
parts of this verse correspondtherefore to the two questions of Luke 24:38.
They are invited to do what Mary Magdalene was forbidden to do. Well may
John write (1 John 1:1): ‘which.... our hands have handled, of the Word of
life.’ Comp. John 20:27.
A spirit hath not flesh and bones. This is a direct assertionof our Lord. There
are disembodied spirits, without flesh and bones. Instead of ‘flesh and blood,’
our Lord says ‘flesh and bones.’Alford suggests thatthe ResurrectionBody
probably had no blood, since this was the animal life. The thought is not

without a bearing on the Roman Catholic view that the sacramentalwine
becomes the realblood of Christ.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Schaff, Philip. "Commentary on Luke 24:39". "Schaff's Popular
Commentary on the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/scn/luke-24.html. 1879-90.
The Expositor's Greek Testament
Luke 24:39. τὰς χεῖράς μου, etc.:Jesus shows His hands and feet with the
wounds to satisfy them of His identity ( ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι αὐτός). ThenHe bids
them touch Him ( ψηλαφήσατέ με) to satisfy themselves of His
substantiality.— ἴδετε, see with the mind; with the eye in case ofthe preceding
ἴδετε.— ὅτι: either that, or because.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

Nicol, W. Robertson, M.A., L.L.D. "Commentary on Luke 24:39". The
Expositor's Greek Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/egt/luke-24.html. 1897-1910.
George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary
A spirit hath not flesh and bones, as you see me to have. This was one
argument of a true and real body. We may take notice, that Christ brought
such proofs, as he knew were sufficient to convince them of his resurrection,
though they were not of themselves demonstrations. For when they imagined
they saw or touched a body, and that the eatwith them, these things might
apparently be done by a spirit. See Genesisxviii. ver. 9. and Genesis xix. ver.
3. and ver. 16. where we read that angels, in the shape of men, eat, and took
Lot and his wife, and his daughters, by the hand, and led them awayfrom
Sodom. Our senses, therefore, maysometimes be deceived, as may be shewn
by divers other instances. But the arguments which Christ made us of at this
time, to induce the apostles to believe his resurrection, are to be taken with all
the circumstances:as 1st, with the corroborating testimonies of the Holy
Scriptures, in which his resurrection was foretold; 2ndly, they called to their
minds what he himself had told them so often, that he would rise againthe
third day; 3rdly, concurred also the testimonies already given by the angels,
that he was risen; 4thly, the miracles at his death and resurrection;5thly,
Christ himself at the same time opened their understanding, to know and
believe this truth, that he was truly risen. (Witham)
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Haydock, George Leo. "Commentaryon Luke 24:39". "GeorgeHaydock's
Catholic Bible Commentary".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hcc/luke-24.html. 1859.
E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes
Behold. Greek. Plural of ide. App-133.:3.
see. Same as "behold".
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Bullinger, Ethelbert William. "Commentary on Luke 24:39". "E.W.
Bullinger's Companion bible Notes".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bul/luke-24.html. 1909-1922.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged
Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see;for a

Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see - lovingly
offering them both ocular and tangible demonstration of the reality of His
resurrection.
For a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have - an important
statementregarding 'spirits.' He says not "flesh and blood;" for the blood is
the life of the animal and corruptible body (Genesis 9:4) which "cannot
inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 15:50); but "fleshand bones" -
implying the identity, but with diversity of laws, of the resurrection-body.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on
Luke 24:39". "CommentaryCritical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -
Unabridged". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfu/luke-
24.html. 1871-8.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(39) Beholdmy hands and my feet.—The testthus offeredto the disciples, like
that afterwards given to Thomas, was to be to them a proof that they were not
looking on a spectre from the shadow-worldof the dead. The Resurrection
was a reality, not an appearance. In St. John’s words, “whichour hands have

handled” (1 John 1:1), we have an interesting coincidence with the use of the
same word here. The conditions of the problem must remain, however,
transcendentaland mysterious. There is a realcorporeity, and yet there is a
manifest exemption from the common conditions of corporealexistence. St.
Luke’s narrative presents an undesigned coincidence with that of John 20:25.
What Thomas askedfor was the evidence which had, he heard, been given to
others. Without that evidence he could not, he felt, believe.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Luke 24:39 "See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see,
for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."
Amplified See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself!Feeland handle Me
and see, fora spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have.
NET Luke 24:39 Look at my hands and my feet; it's me! Touch me and see;a
ghostdoes not have flesh and bones like you see I have."
NLT Luke 24:39 Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it's
really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts
don't have bodies, as you see that I do."

ESV Luke 24:39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touchme, and
see. Fora spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."
NIV Luke 24:39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and
see;a ghostdoes not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."
my hands: John 20:20,25,27 Ac 1:3 1Jn 1:1
for: Lu 23:46 Nu 16:22 Ec 12:7 1Th5:23 Heb 12:9
Luke 24:33-43 The Living Christ Dispels All Doubt - John MacArthur
Luke 24:36-43 Too Goodto be True, But True! - StevenCole
Luke 24:36-44 FirstAppearance of the Risen Lord to the Eleven - C H
Spurgeon
Luke 24:36-44 The First Appearance of the RisenLord to the Eleven
Luke 24 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
REACH OUT
AND TOUCH JESUS
There is an old 1987 commercialthat says "ReachOut and TouchSomeone."
The idea was that there was someone who cared. Here we see the Good
Shepherd calling His sheepto reachout and touch Him! Jesus caredenough
for them (and for us) that He died an agonizing death, so we might be able to
live an abundant life! (cf Jn 10:10b). We can't touch Him physically (not yet at
least), we can "stayin touch" with Him through His Word and prayer!

John adds that Jesus showedthem also his side (Jn 20:20), where the wound
that had been left by the soldier's spear(Jn 19:34).
See...touch...see - Here is a direct appealto two senses, touchand sight. All
three are commands in the aorist imperative calling for immediately response.
While Luke does not say they actually touched Him, we canassume that they
obeyed His clearcommands.
Lenski on hands...feet(and side) - Hands, feet, side—these bearthe five holy
wounds of his crucifixion. By them they know him to the exclusion of the least
doubt. Jesus makes the disciples learn what a resurrectionbody is like: it is
the body of the same person, the same body of that person, and yet both the
person and the body are in a new and wonderful state. (The Interpretation of
St. Luke's Gospel)
G Campbell Morgan- He distinctly denied that His resurrection was of His
Spirit only, for He invited them to touch His hands and His feet. The
evidences of a material body are abundant.”
See My hands and My feet - Jesus gives a command (perhaps they were
hesitant to touch Him). Notice Jesus draws their attention to His hands and
feet the very sites by which He was impaled to the old rugged cross (cf Ps
22:16)and where He now had scars from His crucifixion (I am making the
assumption these were scars but supposedly they could have been some other
type of identifying marks for the text is not clear). As an aside, as a physician
the factthat these sites were not still in the early stages ofhealing is also
evidence of a miracle for it takes a more than two weeks to developa scar!
Jesus showedthem "evidence that demands a verdict"! He died and He is
alive and healed, but with imprints on His hands and feet marking the
covenantwhich He cut with all who enter the New Covenantby grace through

faith (See also Covenantdefined; Hebrew word for covenant - Beriyth). The
imprints testify to the fact that once an individual enters into the New
Covenantin His blood, the covenantmarks on His hands "sealthe deal" for
eternity. So much for those who think you canlose your salvation! Jesus'
imprints will never be removed! In fact in the RevelationJohn sees Jesus in
glory and our Lord still has the evidence of His Crucifixion...
And I saw betweenthe throne (with the four living creatures)and the elders a
Lamb standing, as if slain (sphazo in the perfect tense), having sevenhorns
and seveneyes, which are the sevenSpirits of God, sent out into all the
earth.....12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
(sphazo in the perfecttense) to receive powerand riches and wisdom and
might and honor and glory and blessing.” (Rev5:6, 12+)
NET Note on "as if slain" - This phrase does not imply that the Lamb
"appearedto have been killed" but in reality was not, because the wider
context of the NT shows that in factthe Lamb, i.e., Jesus, was killed.
Comment - And to substantiate the NET Note interpretation, slain in Rev 5:12
has no "as if," but is statedas a fact. The use of the perfect tense in both
descriptions is significant because it conveys the fact that there has been a past
completed act[crucifixion] which has ongoing or permanent effect In other
words, the imprints (whether scars orsome other imprint) of Jesus crucifixion
will endure throughout eternity! In short there is a Man with imprints on His
body in Heaven today and throughout eternity Who was not presentin that
form in from eternity past!
One more point - Luke has a passagethat is mind boggling - Jesus declares
"Blessedare those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he
comes;truly I sayto you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them

recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them."(Lk 12:37)Many
(including myself) interpret this as a prophecy that Jesus Himself will gird
Himself and serve us one day in the future! Oh my! If this doesn't cause you to
bow down low, nothing will. And when He serves us the bread, guess whatwe
will see? Youguessedit, those imprints in His hands! Amazing grace indeed!
Spurgeonwrites "This always seems to me to be one of the most remarkable
of our Lord’s utterances while he was here upon the earth. His whole life was
one of condescension, whichwas never more clearly manifestedthan it was
when he, the Lord and Masterof all, took the position of servant of all, and
washedhis disciples’ feet; yet he here tells us that, if he finds us watching
when he comes again, he will once more take his place as our servitor."
Warren Wiersbe agrees that"the remarkable thing in this story is that the
master serves the servants!In Jewishweddings, the bride was treatedlike a
queen and the groomlike a king; so you would not expect the “king” to
minister to his staff. Our King will minister to His faithful servants when He
greets us at His return, and He will rewardus for our faithfulness." (BEC)
That it is I Myself - Jesus tells them plainly that He was the one that they had
ministered with for three years. Jesus'declarationthat "it is I Myself" (autos
egō eimi - see eimi for discussionof "ego eimi")is a Christologicalstatement
(cf. Lk 21:8; 22:70 ) that recalls for us the greatI AM declarationof the Old
Testament(Ex 3:14 which in the Septuagint is "ego eimi"; cf. also the "I am"
statements in John's Gospel). In Jn 8:58 when Jesus saidto the Jews who had
professedbelief in Him (Compare Jn 8:30, 31 with Jesus'ownassessmentof
their "professionofbelief" = Jn 8:45 - Point - There is a "belief" that DOES
NOT save a soul. cf 2 Cor 13:5+)
Henry Morris - It seems the Lord answers modern theologians who interpret
the resurrectionas spiritual, rather than physical. His spirit never died so
could not be resurrected. He also refutes those who argue that the
"appearances"to His disciples were "spiritual appearances,"oreven
hallucinations. Even they at first thought He was a spirit, but He then showed

them the scars ofthe spikes that had piercedHis hands and feet and even ate
part of a fish and a honeycomb before them (Luke 24:37,40,42). Theycould no
longerdoubt the reality of His bodily resurrection, nor did they ever doubt it
thereafter. (TNTC-Luke)
Robertsonon Myself - Jesus is patient with his proof. They were convinced
before he came into the room, but that psychologicalshock hadunnerved
them all.
Wiersbe - The next thing He did to calm them was to show them His wounded
hands and feet (Ps. 22:16) and assure them that He was not a ghost.
Songwriters sometimes mention His “scars,”but the record says nothing
about “scars.”The “prints” of Calvary were on His glorified body (John
20:24–29),and they are still there (Rev. 5:6, 9, 12+). It has wellbeen said that
the only work of man now in heaven is the marks of Calvary on the body of
the exaltedSaviour....Withour limited knowledge,we cannotexplain how a
human body can be solid flesh and bones and still pass through closeddoors
and appearand disappear, or how it canbe glorified and still carry the marks
of the cross. We do know that we shall one day be like Him and share His
glory (1 John 3:1–2-note). (Bible Exposition Commentary)
Spurgeon-Mark the loving familiarity which thus unveiled his scars, andnote
the full proofs of his identity which those wounds afforded them. Even now
the Lord reveals himself unto his chosenas he doth not unto the world. Oh,
for a view of him by faith.
Ryrie - The evidences that Jesus'appearance was notas a spirit's: (1) the
scars in His hands and feet, (2) His tangibleness in being handled, and (3) His
ability to eat(Lk 24:43;Acts 10:41).

Touch Me - This is the same challenge Jesus wouldlater make to Thomas,
who was not present on this occasionand who said "Unless I see in His hands
the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put
my hand into His side, I will not believe.” (John 20:24-28).
Touch Me - This would certainly remove their fear that He was a ghost! The
Apostle John reports in his first epistle
"What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seenwith
our eyes, whatwe have lookedat and touched (same verb with our hands,
concerning the Word of Life." (1John 1:1)
Touch (5584)(pselaphao from psallo = to pull from psao = to rub + haphao =
to handle) means to touch by feeling and handling. The other sense is to
"feeling around for" or "grope for" as when looking for something in an
uncertain fashion. In Lk 24:39 Jesus uses the aoristimperative a command
calling for them to touch and feeland handle Him now. Don't delay. We say
"seeing is believing," but the disciples not only saw but touchedthe physical
resurrectedbody of Jesus.
Friberg - (1) feel about, grope one's way, like a person who is blind or in the
dark; figuratively, of those who seek to know God through natural and moral
revelation apart from specialrevelationtry to find, want to know, feelone's
way toward (Acts 17:27, cp Lxx uses Dt 28:29, Job 5:14, 12:25, Isa 59:10)(2)
feel, touch, handle (Lk 24:39, 1Jn1:1); passive = be felt or touched in a
tangible way (Heb 12:18). (Analytical Greek Lexicon)
Pselaphao -14x in the Septuagint - Gen. 27:12; Gen. 27:21; Gen. 27:22; Deut.
28:29;Jda. 16:26;Jdg. 16:26;Ps. 113:15;Ps. 134:17;Job 5:14; Job12:25;
Nah. 3:1; Zech. 3:9; Zech. 9:13; Isa. 59:10.

In Ge 27:12 Jacobwas afraid Isaac might feel him and discoverhe was not
Esau, so Rebekahand Jacobduped nearly blind Isaac and "put the skins of
the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck." (Ge 27:16,
Ge 27:21,22)In the curses predicted to fall on disobedient Israel Mosessaid
"you will grope at noon, as the blind man gropes (both uses pselaphao)in
darkness, and you will not prosper in your ways;but you shall only be
oppressedand robbed continually, with none to save you." (Dt 28:29)
Pselaphao is used of blinded Samsonbeing led by a boy to "feelthe pillars."
(Jdg 16:26)It is used of idols that "have hands, but they cannotfeel." (Ps
115:7, cp similar use Ps 135:17)
Vincent on handle - Compare 1 John 1:1. The word occurs also Acts 17:27;
Heb. 12:18. “It never expresses the so handling an objectas to exercise a
moulding, modifying influence upon it, but at most a feeling of its surface;
this, it may be, with the intention of learning its composition(Gen. 27:12, 21,
22); while, not seldom, it signifies no more than a feeling for or after an object,
without any actualcoming in contactwith it at all” (Trench, “Synonyms”).
Compare Acts 17:27. Used of groping in the dark, Job 5:14; of the blind, Isa.
59:10;Deut. 28:29; Judges, 16:26. See onHeb. 12:18.
For (hoti) is a term of explanation.
A spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have - This refutes the
false notion that Jesus arose only in spirit.
J C Ryle has an interesting comment - Let it be noted that our Lord spoke
here of “a spirit,” and the qualities of “a spirit,” in such a manner that it is
impossible to deny the existence ofincorporealbeings. To believe every idle
story about ghosts and apparitions is foolishand unreasonable. But we must

take care that we do not go into the other extreme, and deny the existence of
spirits altogether. Our Lord’s words about them are clearand unmistakeable.
Morris on the phrase flesh and bones - It is significantthat Christ did not use
the more common phrase, "flesh and blood." His blood had been shed on the
cross as the price of our redemption (1 Peter1:18,19), and now "flesh and
blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 15:50). (Ibid)
Guzik on flesh and bones - Some make much of the fact that Jesus saidHis
body had flesh and bones and not the more normal phrasing of flesh and
blood. The idea is that perhaps the resurrectionbody of Jesus did not have
blood, and perhaps neither will ours. It is also possible that Jesus saidflesh
and bones because bloodcould not be felt, but bones canbe discernedby
touch. (Luke 24 Commentary)
Robertsonon Fleshand bones - At leastthis proves that he is not just a ghost
and that Jesus had a realhuman body againstthe Docetic Gnosticswho
denied it. But clearly we are not to understand that our resurrectionbodies
will have “fleshand bones.” Jesus was ina transition state and had not yet
been glorified. The mystery remains unsolved, but it was proof to the disciples
of the identity of the Risen Christ with Jesus of Nazareth.
You see (behold, observe)(2334)(theoreofrom theaomai= to look at closelyor
attentively or contemplatively - even with a sense ofwonder; cp theoros = a
spectator)(Gives us English = theater)usually refers to physical sight but can
also refer to perception and understanding.The inherent idea is to behold
attentively and thus carefully examine with attention to details. Our English
word scrutinize conveys this sense, for it means to examine closelyand
minutely. Theoreo in some contexts can include the idea of to behold with
amazement.

Vincent adds that theoreo "was more than simple seeing. The verb means
looking steadfastly, as one who has an interest in the object, and with a view to
searchinto and understand it: to look inquiringly and intently. (Ed Note:And
even with a sense ofamazement.)
John writes that "when He (Jesus)was in Jerusalemat the Passover, during
the feast, many believed in His name, beholding His signs which He was
doing." (John 2:24) Unfortunately Jesus did not "believe" in them, for He
knew their motives and that they were enthusiastic concerning His
spectacularmiracles. Jesusmakes itclear that enthusiasm is not necessary
associatedwith genuine faith, faith that results in salvation.
Spurgeon- They knew those signs, the marks of his crucifixion. They ought to
have been convinced at once that it was evenhe.
Beloved, this sectionof Scripture is important because it is a preview of what
awaits us in the future, for we as believers will have resurrectionbodies just
like Jesus'resurrectedbody (see Phil. 3:20-21;1 John 3:2; 1 Cor. 15:35-44).
RelatedResource:
Does Jesus have a physical body in heaven?
David Reed - Mormons AnsweredVerse by Verse
Luke 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and
see;for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.

LDS Apostle LeGrand Richards quotes this verse to refute the idea that Jesus
is “without body or form, so large that he fills the universe and so small that
he dwells in eachheart, as so many believe and as the churches teach” (A
Marvelous Work And A Wonder, 1979 edition, pp. 18–19). Butis that really
what the churches teach? Notthe Bible-believing ones.
The bodily resurrectionof Christ is one of the basic tenets of orthodox
Christianity. No sound Christian church would describe him as “without body
or form.” Rather, “in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godheadbodily”
(Col. 2:9).
Although he has a body of flesh and bones, the resurrectedChrist is able to
appear and disappear at will, with walls and lockeddoors serving as no
obstacle to him (Luke 24:31, 36; John 20:19, 26). Although “we shallbe like
him” in the resurrection, “it doth not yet appear what we shall be” (1 John
3:2). God has not furnished us, in advance, much information about the
resurrectionbody, exceptthat it is “changed” from and superior to what we
have now (1 Cor. 15:35–53).
Moreover, whenChristians believe “ThatChrist may dwell in your hearts by
faith” (Eph. 3:17), this does not require that he become so small that his body
can fit inside a human heart. Although the Bible speaks of“this mystery …
which is Christ in you” (Col. 1:27), it also explains that “God hath sent forth
the Spirit of his Soninto your hearts, crying, Abba, Father” (Gal. 4:6). He
does not enter bodily into our hearts.
While the Mormon argument presentedabove in connectionwith Luke 24:39
might shake someone with a nebulous conceptof Christ, it should not prove
troubling to Bible-believing Christians.
HYMNS RELATED TO LUKE 24:39
That Eastertide with JoyWas Bright

Luke 24:40 And when He had saidthis, He showedthem His hands and His
feet.
Does Jesus have a physical body in heaven?
Luke 24:33-43 The Living Christ Dispels All Doubt - John MacArthur
Luke 24:36-43 Too Goodto be True, But True! - StevenCole
Luke 24:40 The Wounds of Jesus - C H Spurgeon
Luke 24:36-44 FirstAppearance of the Risen Lord to the Eleven - C H
Spurgeon
Luke 24:36-44 The First Appearance of the RisenLord to the Eleven
Luke 24 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Amplified And when He had said this, He showedthem His hands and His
feet.
NET NOTE - Some WesternMSS (D it) lack Luke 24:40. However, it is
present in all other MSS, including î(75), and should thus be regardedas an
original part of Luke's Gospel.
And when He had said this, He showedthem His hands and His feet - The old
saying is "Seeing is believing," but notice the first part of the next verse
"while they still could not believe it." So seeing did not yet totally convince
them. Notice He had commanded them to touch Him, but Luke does not state
whether they actually did touch Him. In any case they were still not absolutely
certain He was not a "spirit."

In John 20:20 we read "And when He had said this (“Peace be with you.”- Jn
20:19), He showedthem both His hands and His side. The disciples then
rejoicedwhen they saw the Lord."
Clearly at some point they touched Jesus (but recall they were with Him 40
days before ascending - Acts 1:3). For example, John records "Whatwas from
the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seenwith our eyes, what we
have lookedat and touched with our hands (of course this could refer to the
preceding 3 years with Jesus), concerning the Word of Life." (1 Jn 1:1)
Show (1166)(deiknuo gives us English deictic)means to show something that
can be apprehended by the senses, making clearby evidence, in this case the
scars in His hands and feet.
John MacArthur - Christ’s resurrectionbody was capable of conforming to
any realty, physical or spiritual. It was a real, physical body with flesh and
bones, which could be seen, speak, be touched, and eat, yet it could also pass
through walls. Jesus couldone moment be absent and in the next present, at
one moment standing on the Mount of Olives conversing with the disciples,
and the next ascending into heaven. Resurrectedbelievers will have bodies
like His resurrectedbody (Phil. 3:20-21;1 John 3:2; 1 Cor. 15:35-44). (Luke
Commentary)
Gilbrant - At leastone of them, John, had been present at the Crucifixion.
John 19:25-27 tells of Jesus'asking "the disciple... whom he loved" to take
care of His mother. John had watchedas the Roman soldiers drove the
crucifixion nails through the hands and feetof his Master. Now he could
observe the fresh scars causedby His death on Calvary. The "hands" would
include the wrist area, through which the nails would have been driven,
attaching the hands to the woodof the cross. Some scholars believe the feet

were nailed separately;others, that the feet were crossed, and one nail put
through them. At any rate, both feet would bearthe scars. (The Complete
Biblical Library – Luke)
Constable - Docetism(see What is Docetism?)was a heresyin the early
history of the church that denied that Jesus'body was genuinely human.
These verses wouldhave helped the early Christians combat this error.
Howeverthese statements are not the strongestproofs of Jesus'humanity
since everyone agrees that Jesus'resurrectionbody was different from His
pre-resurrectionbody. Better proof consists ofthe evidences ofJesus'true
humanity before His resurrection. Luke gave his original Greek readers many
such proofs in this Gospel.
C H Spurgeon - Luke 24:40 The Wounds of Jesus
There are three things in Christ that death never met with before, all of which
are fatal to it. There was in Christ, innocence. Now, as long as man was
innocent, he could not die. Adam lived as long as he was innocent. Now, Christ
was about to die; but death suckedin innocent blood; he suckedin his own
poison and he died. Again, blessedness is that which takes awaythe sting of
death. Now Christ, even when he was dying, was “Godover all, blessedfor
ever.” All that death had ever killed before was under the curse;but this man
was never by nature under the curse, because forour sakeshe was not born
into this world a cursedman. He was the seedof woman it is true, but still not
of carnal generation. He did come under the curse when he took upon himself
our sins, but not for his own sins. He was in himself blessed. Deathsuckedin
blessedblood; he had never done that before—allothers have been under the
curse—andthat slew death. Yet another thing. Deathhad never met before
with any man who had life in himself. But when death drank Christ’s blood it
drank life. Forhis blood is the life of the soul, and is the seedof life eternal.
Wherever it goes,does it not give life to the dead? And death, finding that it

had drunk into its own veins life in the form of Jesus’blood, gave up the
ghost;and death itself is dead, for Christ has destroyed it, by the sacrifice of
himself; he has put it away;he has said, “Oh death, where is thy sting? Oh
grave, where is thy victory?”
ALBERT BARNES
Behold my hands … - Jesus proceeds to give them evidence that he was truly
the same personthat had been crucified. He first showedthem his hands and
his feet- still, pierced, and with the wounds made by the nails still open.
Compare John 20:27. He told them to handle him and see him. He ate before
them. All this was to satisfy them that he was not, as they supposed, a spirit.
Nor could better evidence have been given. He appealedto their senses, and
performed acts which a disembodied spirit could not do.
Handle me - Or touch me; feelof me. Compare John 20:27.
And see - Be convinced, for you could not thus handle a spirit. The object here
was to convince them that his body had really come to life.
For a spirit … - He appeals here to what they wellknew; and this implies that
the spirit may exist separate from the body. That was the view of the apostles,
and our Saviour distinctly countenances thatbelief.

BRIAN BELL
HIS PROOF!(38-43)
3.7. He offers a 2-fold proof, showing he’s not a ghostbut has a real body.
3.8. 1stPROOF – Shows Wounds!
3.8.1. Look carefully& touch me.
3.8.2. WhenPaul asked, “How are the dead raisedup? And with what body
do they come?” He answers his own question by going to nature
using the seedphenomenon.
3.8.3. 1 Cor.15:36-28(NLT)“Whenyou put a seedinto the ground, it doesn’t
grow into a plant unless it dies first. And what you put in the ground is
not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seedof wheat or whatever
you are planting. Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have.
A different plant grows from eachkind of seed.”
3.8.4. Personalityis not dependent on the identity of our material dwelling.
3.8.4.1. Think about this…None of us has the same body that we had 7
years ago(mostwishwe did). There is not a particle of us here now
that was us then!
3.8.5. Why did He keepappearing & disappearing?
3.8.5.1. He was getting them accustomedto the fact, that even when he
was not visible to the eyes of the earthly body, He was still
present & available!
3.9. 2nd PROOF – Eats Food!
3.9.1. He was capable of eating.

3.10. Having assuredthem of His physical resurrection, Jesus gave them His
final
instructions.
GENE BROOKS
Luke 24:39-42 – Look at my hands and feet: The disciples touch Him to see
that this is a realbody and that He is the same person (1 John 1:1), and He
eats fish in front of them, a powerful proof of resurrection(cf. Acts 10:41).
Jesus provides them with evidence that He is the same man who was crucified
a few days ago, whomthey watcheddie. Jesus’resurrectionwas neither a
simple resuscitationofhis body nor the appearance ofa disembodied spirit.
He has a new and glorified body (1 Cor. 15:20-23;35-49). This is resurrection.
Luke strongly emphasizes the bodily resurrectionof Jesus.
c. APPLICATION: In 1 John 3:2 we read that when Jesus returns we will be
“like Him.” Luke the physician tells us a gooddeal about the resurrection
body. It is real, made of flesh and bones (Luke 24:39). It resembles the
ordinary body, as Jesus’form still bore the scars ofthe cross. The
resurrectionbody is capable of eating (Luke 24:41). It is not limited by space:
Jesus suddenly appearedamong them in what another Gospelsays was a
closedand lockedroom (Luke 24:36). Wonders awaitthose of us who know
Jesus one day.
d. APPLICATION: You cantrust in the reality of Jesus’ bodily
Resurrection. Nothing is more central to Christianity. It is the assurance of
life after death. Jesus’ownfollowers did not expect Him to rise from the dead.
And they were fearful and shockedwhenHe did. The resurrectionwas

supposedto take place only at the end of time. It is because ofthe
Resurrectionthat we have hope. Paul wrote, “If Christ has not been raised,
your faith is worthless;you are still in your sins (1 Cor. 15:17). Paul made this
bold statementwhen there were people still living who were eyewitnessesof
Jesus’earthly ministry. In 1 Cor. 15:1-8, Paul listed Jesus’resurrection
appearances in order over forty days. The resurrectionwas significant
because:
i. It establishes Christianity as a faith that is basedin the
reality of history. The Resurrectiondid not happen in the disciples’ minds. It
happened in time and space with physical and historical evidence to support
it.
ii. It inaugurates the powerphase of Christ’s kingship.
ResurrectiongrantedHim “all authority” and His dominion now extends to
all peoples for all time (Matt. 28:18-20). Paulsays He was declaredthe Son of
God with powerby the Resurrectionfrom the dead (Rom. 1:4). He now sits
enthroned at God’s right hand (Heb. 1:3-4; 7:25; 12:2) where He makes
intercessionfor believers and the church (Rom 8:29), pouring out blessing on
His people (Eph 1:20-21), enabling the church to complete His kingdom goals
of disciples from every nation (Matt. 28:19; Rev. 7:9).
iii. It inaugurates a new creationand a new order. Jesus died in
an age dominated by sin, death, and the grave, but the Resurrectionopeneda
new era where He lives to God (Rom. 6:9-10).
iv. It is the ultimate vindication of the Son by the Father. The
sinless Messiahhas now been raised “according to the Spirit of holiness”
(Rom. 1:4), establishing Jesus as the righteous judge of all men, a Day God
has fixed “in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man
whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him
from the dead (Acts 17:31).
v. It assures the resurrections ofall persons – some to salvation
and others to perdition (1 Cor. 15:12-28).

HENRY BURTON
"Peace be to you," it did not calm the unrest and agitationof their soul; the
chill of a greatfear fell upon them, as the spectralShadow, as they thought it,
stoodbefore them. "Why are ye troubled?" asks Jesus, "andwherefore do
reasonings arise in your hearts?" for they fairly trembled with fear, as the
word would imply. "See Myhands 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." He
then extended His hands, drew back His robe from His feet, and, as St. John
says, uncoveredHis side, that they might see the wounds of the nails and the
spear, and that by these visible, tangible proofs they might be convinced of the
reality of His Resurrectionbody. It was enough; their hearts in an instant
swung round from an extreme of fearto an extreme of joy, a sort of wild joy,
in which Reasonfor the moment became confusedand Faith bewildered. But
whim the heavenly trance is yet upon them Jesus recalls them to earthly
things, asking if they have any meat; and when they give Him a piece of a
broiled fish, some of the remnants of their own repast, He takes and eats
before them all; not that now He needed the sustenance ofearthly food, in His
resurrectionlife, but that by this simple actHe might put another sealupon
His true humanity. It was a kind of sacrament, showing forth His oneness with
His own; that on the farther side of the grave, in His exaltation, as on this, in
His humiliation, He was still the "Sonof man," interested in all things, even
the commonplaces,ofhumanity.
THOMAS CONSTABLE
Verse 39

Anyone wishing to prove his real presence might offer his hands and feet for
inspection, as Jesus did. Howeverthe Roman soldiers had pierced Jesus"
hands and feet with nails so the wounds would have identified Him as Jesus (
John 20:25-27). Jesus claimed, "Itis I Myself" (Gr. ego eimi autos, cf. ego
eimi, which John recordedJesus saying frequently in his Gospel). He
encouragedHis followers to touch Him as wellas to look at Him and to satisfy
their senses thatHis body was real. His human body had flesh and bones,
which ghosts do not have. The phrase "fleshand blood" is a similar
expressionthat also describes a physical body (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:50).
JOY ABOUNDING
Dr. W. A. Criswell
Luke 24:36-43
11-2-69 7:30 p.m.
You are listening to the services ofthe First Baptist Church in Dallas. And
this is the pastor bringing the evening messagefrom the last chapter of the
Book ofLuke. It is entitled joy overflowing;Joy Abounding. Now in your
Bible turn with me to Luke 24, Luke 24. And we are going to read together
and out loud verses 36 through 43 [Luke 24:36-43]. And on the radio, on

WRR, the radio of the city of Dallas, if you are sharing the service, open your
Bible and read it out loud with us. Luke the last chapter, chapter 24, reading
togetherverses 36 through 43;now all of us reading together:
And as they thus spake, Jesus Himselfstoodin the midst of them, and saith
unto them, Peacebe unto you.
But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seena
spirit.
And He said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in
your hearts?
Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself:handle Me, and see;for a
spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have.
And when He had thus spoken, He showedthem His hands and His feet.
And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, He said unto them,
Have ye here any meat?
And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.
And He took it, and did eatbefore them.

[Luke 24:36-43]
This is one of the most astonishing things to be found in all of the Word of
God. This is the resurrected, glorified, immortalized Lord Jesus [Luke 24:26].
He is the same Lord Jesus that the apostle John saw in the first chapter of the
Book ofthe Revelation. And the descriptionthere is incomparably, celestially
glorious [Revelation1:9-18]. This is our risen Lord. Yet we find Him with the
disciples after His resurrectionfrom the dead and asking them for something
to eat [Luke 24:41]. And they could hardly believe for the joy that overflowed
their souls, and they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and of an honeycomb.
And He did eat before them [Luke 24:41-43].
In this life I believe in miracles. In this life it is a miracle to take food, inert,
lifeless food, and we eat it and it becomes you. It becomes heart, and soul, and
mind, and love, or hate, or anger, or peace, orresponse. Food, it is raised. It
is elevated. It is assimilated. It is humanized. It becomes you. And in this
thing that happened in the verse that we read tonight, that food is elevated
once more. It is raiseda step higher and it becomes spiritual. It becomes a
part of a spiritual body. And the Lord ate before them [Luke 24:43]. The
gladness and the joy that is shared in what Jesus did, and in a common meal,
is the most ancient of all of the approaches to God.
What was the ancientsacrifice? All of the religions of the ancientworld
approachedGod by a sacrifice. The temples were innumerable. And the
smoke rose from the altars on a thousand, thousand hills. Everywhere and in
every ancient religion the approach to God was by means of a sacrifice.
What is the meaning of that sacrifice? Whatwas it? Ah, there are many
theories and many attempted explanations. When Abel, and when Cain,
brought a sacrifice to God it is called a minchah, that is an offering [Genesis

4:24]; and there are those who suppose that the basic meaning of sacrifice was
a gift for God, a minchah for God. There are those who saythe greatbasic
meaning of sacrifice was atonement, expiation, propitiation, to make God
favorable.
But whateverthe theory, the sacrifice was actuallya shared meal. Once in a
while it was a whole burnt offering, but that was the exception and the
unusual exception, not the rule. The greatmajority of the sacrifices thatwere
brought to God were a shared meal. Godhad His part [Leviticus 3:16, 4:8-
10]. The etherealizedfood caughtup into the fire was God’s part. And the
man’s part, with his family and with his friends, he ate it in the presence of
the priest who also sharedthe bounties and the blessings of the Lord
[Deuteronomy 12:18, 14:23, 15:20].
Now in the sacrificialsystemof the ancientHebrew people recordedhere in
the Bible, you will find those sacrifices,outside of the exceptionalwhole burnt
offering, you will find them shared meals. Theywere eating togetherwith
God.
When Moses wentdown into the land of Egypt and said, “Thus saith Jehovah
God, Let My people go.” Go where? Go what? Go why? “LetMy people go,
because our greatJehovahhas commanded that we worship Him, and praise
Him with a feastout in the wilderness” [Exodus 5:1].
And when Pharaohfinally relented somewhatand he said, “The people may
go but your flocks and your herds must remain here” [Exodus 10:24]. And
Moses said, “Notso. Notso. ForGod hath commanded us a feastunto the
Lord, and we must have whereofto offer God our flocks and our herds”
[Exodus 10:25-26]. And they never left the land of Egypt until they walked
out without leaving a hoof of a cow behind [Exodus 12:31-32]. ForGodhad

commanded them to offer a feastunto the Lord, sacrifices,a shared meal
[Exodus 10:25-26].
The night of the deliverance out of the land of Egypt was a night of a shared
meal. They were to take the Passoverlamb, having identified it with a family
four days, and they were to slayit and sprinkle the blood on the lintel and the
lowerposts [Exodus 12:3-7]. But with the carcassofthe animal they were to
roastit and they were to eat it, all of the family together. The Passoverwas a
shared meal [Exodus 12:8-10]. It is called the Feastof the Passover[Exodus
12:11].
And in the story of the history of Israel, the sacrificialsystemwas a shared
meal. In the eighth chapter of 1 Kings, when the temple was dedicated
Solomonoffered unto God twenty-two thousand oxen and one hundred
twenty thousand sheep[1 Kings 8:63]. How was that offered? It was roasted
before the Lord, and the people and the priests ate it with God; His part
etherealizedin the fire, and their part shared in a common meal [Exodus
12:8-9].
All of the greatcelebrations of Israelwere feasts exceptone. It is the Feastof
the Passoverin the springtime [Exodus 12:1-28, 43-49;Leviticus 23:5;
Numbers 28:16; Deuteronomy16:1-8]. It is the Feastof Pentecostatthe
beginning of summertime [Leviticus 23:15-22;Deuteronomy 16:9-12;
Numbers 28:26-31]. It is the FeastofTabernacles,ofharvest in the fall time
[Leviticus 23:33-43;Numbers 29:12-38;Deuteronomy16:13-17]. It is the
Feastofthe New Year [Leviticus 23: 24-25]. It is the Feastofthe Dedication
in the wintertime [John 10:22]. It is the FeastofPurim in March, in the early
spring [Esther9:28-32]. Only one time is there a fastand that is Yom Kippur
[Leviticus 23:27]. Theycall it today the Day of Atonement, in the fall
[Leviticus 23:27]. All of the restof the parts and the pieces and the worship

and the approaches of Israelwere shared meals. Theywere feasts. Theywere
glorious and happy occasions.
Now when we turn the pages of the Book and we come to the institution of the
new dispensationand the new covenant in the blood of Christ [Matthew
26:28], the preaching of the grace ofthe gospelof the Lord, we find that same
pattern of worship and of life and of praise. At Pentecost, that Pentecostal
chapter closes withthese words. “And they, continuing daily with one accord
in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eattheir food with
gladness and singleness ofheart, praising God, and having favor with all the
people” [Acts 2:46-47].
When you see that phrase, breaking bread, in the New Testament, it always
refers to the Lord’s Supper that we observedthis morning; breaking bread
from house to house, the people, those first Christians in their abounding,
supernal, indescribable joy ate together. And usually closedthe meal with the
Lord’s Supper, blessing the bread and breaking it in His name, and sharing
the cup, drinking of it in His name [Matthew 26:26-28].
You will find the abuse of that restricted and interdicted in the eleventh
chapter of 1 Corinthians [1 Corinthians 11:21, 28-30]. Forin that church they
abused it, and some of them were gluttons and some of them were drunkards.
But the agápē, the love feast, of the church was a sign. It was an expressionof
the indescribable joy and gladness of the people as they broke bread together,
as they praised God together, as they rejoicedin the love of God in Christ
Jesus together.
The religion was a happy religion. It was an up religion. It was a God-ward,
Christ-ward, and heavenwardreligion. It moved your soul upward,
heavenward, God-ward. And they continuing daily, breaking bread, did eat

their meat with gladness and singleness ofheart [Acts 2:46]. Always, even
though Paul the apostle, who is writing the words, may be in prison, and he
may have been beat, and he may face execution[2 Corinthians 11;23-26], but
out of prison he will say, “Rejoicein the Lord always;and [again] I say rejoice
in the Lord” [Philippians 4:4]. Or as at Philippi, and at midnight he and Silas
prayed and sang praises to God and the whole earth shook [Acts 16:25-26].
No wonder. No wonder.
That is the Christian faith. That is the Christian life, one of glory, and of
victory, and of triumph, and of inexpressible joy [1 Thessalonians5:16-18].
Now we have removed our church for the most part, as such, we have
removed our churches from that glorious overflowing Bible, Old Testament,
New Testamentpattern. So much of church today is defined in terms of
getting down to a nitty-gritty; getting down to an iron endurance, sticking it
out. There is a part of respectability, and I’ve got to go. There is a part of
obligation, and I’ve gotto go. But looking upon the benediction like an
amnesty, just enduring the thing until we can getto a final amen. And there is
no gladness in it. There is no overflowing happiness in it. There is no feeling
of inexpressible joy in it. So much of modern religion is like that.
Ah, how different the plan and the program of Godfor His people. This is to
be the happiest day of the year, God’s day. This is to be the most glorious
moment of the Lord’s Day. We are togetherin the house that belongs to
Jesus, and every day is a glorious day, a happy day, a wonderful day for the
Christian, gathering together, loving one another and loving the Lord [John
13:34].
So much of our work and so much of the interest in the life of our people is
outside of the church. We look upon the entertainment world as the world of

happiness, and we look upon the amusement world as the world that glitters
and signs, and we look upon worldly people who are out there in the clubs,
and out there in a thousand cabarets, and out there in Las Vegas, and out
there in a thousand other ways. We look upon them as having the goodtime.
But the Christian people are lugubrious and melancholy, and they don’t have
joy and gladness and happiness.
My brother, it is the opposite! We have the glorious time, the goodtime and
there is no brown hangover from it. We are the ones who really rejoice. We
are the ones who are indescribably blessed. And when God’s people come
together, it ought to be in the rejoicing and thanksgiving and glorifying that
God has brought us to this present holy moment. Ah, that is the religion of
the Book.
Could I speak of our coming, for example, to the house of the Lord? Could I
speak of it in the terms of the Old TestamentHebrew, God’s chosenpeople, as
they went up to the house of the Lord?
I’ve turned in my Bible here in the Book of Psalms to those fifteen Songs of
Degrees, from 120 to 134;the Songs of Degrees, fifteenof them [Psalms 120-
134]. There are some people that saythat they are calledsongs ofdegrees
because as the people went up to Jerusalem—andyou always go up to the
house of the Lord, you go up to Jerusalem, and always down from Jerusalem
to Samaria or down to Hebron, or down to Antioch, or down to Joppa. But
you go up to Jerusalem.
And as the pilgrims went up to Jerusalemthey sang these fifteen songs. Or
there are others who say they are called “songsofsteps,” literally steps; songs
of degrees becauseofthe fifteen steps from the Court of the Gentiles to the
Court of Israel. And as the pilgrims went up into the house of the Lord, first

they stoodon this step and sang, then they went to this step and sang, then to
the next step and sang, and the fifteen songs as they went up into the house of
the Lord.
Now whateveris correct? Look at these Songs ofDegrees. I’m going to read
the first verse of just some of them:
One hundred twenty-one, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence
cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, who made heaven and
earth” [Psalm121:1-2].
The next one, 122:“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go up into the
house of the Lord” [Psalm122:1]; not lookedatas a duty to perform, or a
gesture of respectability, or something to endure like iron. No, I was glad.
My heart overflowedwhen they said unto me, “Let us go up into the house of
the Lord” [Psalm 122:1]
Look at the next one: “Unto Thee lift I up my eyes, O Thou that dwelleth in
the heavens” [Psalm123:1].
Look at 126:“When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like
them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue
with singing: then said they among the nations, The Lord hath done great
things for them. The Lord hath done great things for us; whereofwe are
glad” [Psalm 126:1-3].
I turn the page, look at 128: “Blessedis every one that fearestthe Lord; that
walkethin His ways” [Psalm128:1].
Look at 133: “Behold, how goodand how pleasantit is for brethren to dwell
togetherin unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran
down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that ran down to the skirts of his
garments” [Psalm133:1-2].

Don’t you feel, as I just read the first verses ofthose fifteen songs, don’t you
feel the gladness and the overflowing joy in the hearts of the people as they
turn their faces God-wardand heavenward, church-ward, praising the name
of the Lord? Now that is the kind of religion Jesus gave to us, and that is the
kind of religion, if you’ve got it, if it’s the real thing, that’s the kind of religion
that God delights in and that Jesus blesses. Praising God, loving the Lord,
happy in Him, victorious, triumphant in His blessedname. That’s the faith.
That’s the faith.
We have a professorhere from the seminary. Long time before his day, back
in the day when I was in the seminary, there was a missionary. Oh, I’ll never
forgetthat man and how he lookedand the tone of his voice and how he
spake. Ah, that man. One of the most glorious Christian emissaries and
ambassadors Iever heard in my life.
He had spent his life in India and just capsulating it, the story: there was a
tribe, a large, large tribe in the northern part of India, in the mountainous
part of India. Many thousands in that tribe, they were fierce and they were
wild. And no white man, no foreignerhad ever been able to live through it
who visited that tribe, much less a missionary. One after another had lost
their lives.
He announced one day that he was on his way, he and his wife, to enter that
tribe and to tell them the goodnews of God in Christ Jesus. All of them
predicted their massacre. Theywould die. They wouldn’t escape withtheir
lives. But God had calledhim. And then he told the story of the miracle of
God’s grace upon him. Ah, it was wonderful. It was wonderful.
And then he closedwith this. He said, “Upon a day I was seatedon a hill that
sloped down to the greatriver. And as I sat there on the top of that hill,

looking down the slope toward the river, I saw three thousand of those fierce
tribesmen coming up the hill toward me.” Oh, I could just feel the danger of
the situation and the awesomenessofthe threat. Three thousand of those
fierce tribesmen coming up that hill toward him.
But he said, “As I sat there on the top of that hill and lookeddown, back of me
was the church. And in front of me, coming from the river were those three
thousand tribesmen.” He said, “Theywere all dressedin white robes and they
were coming from a baptismal service. And as they came up the hill to where
I satin front of the church, they were singing,” and I thought, how unusual. I
said nothing to Lee Roy about it. And they were singing,
Happy day, happy day,
When Jesus washedmy sins away!
He taught me how to watchand pray
And live rejoicing every day.
Happy day, happy day,
When Jesus washedmy sins away!
[“O Happy Day, That Fixed My Choice,” Philip Doddridge]

How do you like that? No wonder I didn’t forget it. Oh, glory, glory, glory!
That’s the faith. That’s the religion. It’s one of triumph, and victory, and joy,
and gladness in the Lord. And they wondered and believed not for joy, as
they with the risen, glorified, blessedJesus broke bread together[Luke 24:41].
Ah, it’s a way to go. It’s a way to live. It’s a way to come. It’s a way to be. In
the faith, in the love [John 13:16] and mercy of God [Titus 3:5], in the circle of
His precious church, in the heart of the fellowship with God’s people.
That’s our prayerful and earnestinvitation to you tonight: you, to give your
heart to the Lord [Romans 10:8-13]: you, to come into the fellowshipof His
church [Hebrews 10:24-25];you, coming down that aisle, down that stairway
on either side, at the front and the back, and down here to the pastor. I’ll be
standing right here.
A family you: “Pastor,my wife, my children, we are all coming tonight.” A
family you, a couple you, or one somebodyyou, while we sing the appeal,
while we wait, make that decisionnow and come now. There is time and to
spare. If you are on the last row on the top of that balcony, come. Come.
Make the decisionnow. On this lower floor, into the aisle and down here to
the front, “Here I am, pastor. I have decided.” And when you stand up in a
minute, stand up coming, “Here I am. I give you my hand. I’ve given my
heart to God.” As the Spirit shall press the appeal to your heart, respond
now. Answerwith your life. Come now. Do it now, while we stand and while
we sing.

STEVEN COLE
Too Goodto be True, But True! (Luke 24:36-43)
RelatedMedia
The phone rings. “Another telemarketer,” I grumble to myself. “Hello, Mr.
Cole?” “Yes.”“This is Robert Jones with the Reader’s Digest. I’m calling to
tell you that you have just won our $5 million sweepstakes!” “Yeah, sure!”
Click!
I’ve never had a call telling me that I won a lot of money, but if I did, I
wouldn’t believe it. Even if they rang my doorbell and handed me the check, I
would be skeptical. I probably wouldn’t believe it until the check had cleared
my bank, and even then I would often have to pinch myself and say, “It really
is true! I really did win all that money!”
Some news seems too goodto be true and, usually, it is not true. Whether to
protect ourselves from disappointment or because it happens so rarely, we are
prone to disbelieve really goodnews.
Even so, the disciples were all prone to doubt the reports that Jesus was risen
from the dead. First, the womencame telling them that the tomb was empty
and that they had seenthe risen Lord Jesus. “Nonsense,”they said(Luke
24:11). Then, Peterand John went and lookedinto the empty tomb. Peter
went awaymarveling, but not yet believing. Then the Lord appearedto the
two men on the road to Emmaus. Late on that first Sunday, they burst into
the room where the disciples were gatheredand excitedly told about their
encounter with the Lord. But the apostles did not at first believe these men
(Mark 16:12). Maybe they were thinking, “Why would the Lord appearto
them? They aren’t even apostles!They must have just seena vision!”

Sometime during that day, the Lord had appearedto Peter, forgiving and
restoring him, but the others still had not seenthe Lord firsthand, and they
still doubted.
Then, while they were still discussing all of these strange happenings, the Lord
Himself stoodin their midst. He hadn’t opened the door. Can you imagine the
chill of horror that would run down your spine if suddenly someone appeared
in a closedroom where you were standing? They thought that they were
seeing a ghost. But it was no ghost. It was the risen Lord Jesus. He greeted
them with words of comfort, He gently rebuked their doubts, and He offered
them assurancesto strengthen their faith. But even so, “they still could not
believe it for joy” (24:41). It just seemedtoo goodto be true. But it was true,
and they neededto believe it. This first resurrectionappearance ofChrist to
the whole group of disciples (Thomas was absent;John 20:19-24)teachesus:
Though we are prone to unbelief and though Christ’s death and resurrection
on our behalf seems too goodto be true, it is true and we must believe it.
1. Our fallen nature makes us all prone toward unbelief concerning the things
of God.
One of the strongestproofs of the resurrectionis the fact that the disciples
were so prone not to believe it at first. If they had immediately jumped to the
conclusionthat Jesus was risen, we could think that their testimony to the
resurrectionwas just wish fulfillment. They wanted it so badly that they
convinced themselves that it was true, apart from solid evidence. But the
gospelnarratives show clearly how slow all of the disciples were to believe that
Jesus really was risen. They were not gullible men, prone to superstitious
ideas, who were easilypersuaded to believe. Even though, just before Jesus
appeared, they were saying, “The Lord has really risen” (24:34), when they
see Him in their midst they immediately conclude, not that He is risen, but
that they are seeing a ghost. And when the Lord confronts them regarding

their doubts, “they still could not believe it for joy” (24:41). They were not
prone to believe.
Neither are we! Some may be more gullible by nature than others, but
gullibility is not saving faith. A gullible person easilybelieves something
without much factual data. A personwith saving faith believes on the basis of
credible evidence. But no one is prone to saving faith. Saving faith does not
originate in the fallen human heart; it comes from God as His gift (Eph. 2:8-9;
Phil. 1:30; Acts 11:18;Rom. 12:3). But even as believers (the eleven apostles
had all believed unto salvation), two things canget us into trouble with regard
to faith:
A. OUR FALLEN THOUGHTS AND REASONINGS MAKE US PRONE TO
UNBELIEF.
Jesus asksthe disciples, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in
your hearts?” (24:38). I can understand why they were troubled. It would be
startling to have someone instantly appearin a room without walking in
through the door! Jesus, however, is trying to calm their hearts so that they
can think more clearly. But they weren’t just troubled; they also were
doubting. The Greek wordfor “doubts” refers to inward reasoning and
disputing. Becauseofour fallen human nature, we all are prone to doubt the
things of God, revealedto us in His Word.
God does not expect us blindly to believe without thinking matters through.
He gave us the capacityto reasonand He expects us to use our minds. But we
need to be careful, because ofour sinfulness, not to go to excess and to
demand unreasonable proof for that which Godhas plainly revealed. To
continue raising objections and disputing about matters that God has made
reasonablyclearis to yield to our fallen nature, not to rise above it by faith.

John Calvin gives the right balance: “We have a right, indeed, when any
appearance ofabsurdity presents itself, to inquire by weighing the arguments
on both sides; and, indeed, so long as matters are doubtful, our minds must
inevitably be driven about in every direction: but we must observe sobriety
and moderation, lest the flesh exalt itself more highly than it ought, and throw
out its thoughts far and wide againstheaven” (Calvin’s Commentaries
[Baker], “Harmony of the Gospels,”[3:369-370]).
As a college student, I used to wrestle with doubts over the doctrine of
predestination, especiallyas Paulpresents it in Romans 9. I would think, “It’s
not fair that God predetermines who will believe and yet He holds us
responsible for unbelief.” That is preciselywhere Paul takes the argument:
“You will say to me then, ‘Why does He still find fault? Forwho resists His
will?’” (Rom. 9:19). I used to think, “Yeah, Paul, answerthat question for
me!” But then, I thought, he cops out: “On the contrary, who are you, O man,
who answers back to God?” (Rom. 9:20). I would go around and around with
my doubts, like a catchasing its tail.
Then one day as I was in this cycle of doubt, Paul’s point hit me: The
questions I was asking reflectedmy arrogance and impudence toward
Almighty God! At that point, I laid aside my reasonings and submitted to
God’s plain revelation, that He sovereignlyhas mercy on whom He desires,
and He hardens whom He desires (Rom. 9:18), and I am not permitted to
question His right to do as He pleases!Whenever doubts try to creepback in,
I must control my thoughts by believing and submitting to the clearrevelation
of God’s Word.
You are responsible to controlyour thought life! God knows your every
thought, and you must seek to glorify Him in your thoughts, just as you
should glorify Him with your words and deeds. If you allow your thought life
to run rampant, you will be troubled and battered about by all sorts of

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