Luke 24:36-4936And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. 37But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. 38And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? 39Behold 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. 40And when he had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? 42And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. 43And he took it, and did eat before them. 44And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. 45Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, 46And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48And ye are witnesses of these things. 49And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. (Luke 24:36‑49)
While the disciples and others who loved the Lord Jesus were in a house in Jerusalem, and those who had seen Him alive that day were telling the rest of Him, suddenly He stood among them.
He said, “Peace be unto you!” Yet they were very frightened; those who had seen Him that day could not have been afraid as the others, who thought Him a spirit.
He asked them, “Why are ye troubled?... 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.”
He showed them His hands and His feet where the nails had been so cruelly put through (Ps. 22:16; John 20:25, 2725The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. (John 20:25)
27Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. (John 20:27)). Yet they could not think Him real, and He asked for food, and ate before them.
By those plain ways they learned He was the One they loved: by His voice, by seeing His wounds, by touching Him, talking to Him, seeing Him eat, and by His same tender care for them.
His body was not just as before, but a real body. He spoke of His “flesh and bones”, not flesh and blood, as people say of a living person. He had been flesh and blood (Heb. 2:1414Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; (Hebrews 2:14)), but His blood flowed out from the wounds in His hands and feet, and when the soldier thrust the spear into His side.
God had said when an animal was offered in sacrifice for sins, the blood was to be poured out on the altar (Deut. 12:2727And thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the Lord thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the Lord thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh. (Deuteronomy 12:27)). That showed the life had been taken, as natural life is in the blood. So Christ, the holy sacrifice for sinners, gave His blood, His life. But He had also a far greater life though different: He appeared without opening the door and could vanish from them, yet He said, “It is I Myself.”
We do not understand this, but we can wonder and believe and joy as those people then did in the great fact that the Lord Jesus arose. It was not to stay long on earth, but to have those who had known Him before, certain that He was alive again.
He showed them that evening, the same as He did the two on the walk to the village, that all these things had been written of Him in the scriptures. He said, “Thus it is written, and thus it behooved (necessary and right for) Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day.”
We might think angels would be sent to tell of the One who came to die for men, but the Lord told His disciples who had believed and loved Him, had seen Him die, then alive again, to “preach” (tell forth) this story to all nations. They did go to all people, and some of them also wrote all these things, so now when anyone tells the story of Christ they speak from the words of those men.
Next time we will have words which were written of Christ long before.
ML 04/07/1946