Luke 24:36-49
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
36While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."
37They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."
40When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" 42They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43and he took it and ate it in their presence.
44He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."
45Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."
Jesus after He died He was resurrected by God...He appeared first to the women followers of Jesus...Then St. Luke writes about Him appearing to Cleopas and another gentleman on the road to Emmaus...He then appears to His disciples...After His suffering on the cross, He showed Himself to His disciples and gave them many convincing proofs that He was still alive and not dead..He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3)...After He appears to His disciples, He then appears to more than five hundred more men at the same time (1 Corinthians 15:6)...His resurrection was not done in a hidden corner...God had Jesus appear, after His death, to a perfect number of people to exercise our faith...
After Jesus' death, Cleopas and the other gentleman told the Eleven that Jesus had risen...His disciples were talking about Him and his resurrection...Jesus appears out of the blue to His disciples...His appearance is a miracle... His sudden appearance startles and frightens the Eleven...They think He is a ghost...His post death appearance and His new spiritual body is harder for even His followers to recognize...But He is no ghost...He asks them why are they troubled...He tells them to look at His hands and feet...He tells them, it is Myself...Touch Me and see, He tells them...A ghost does not have flesh and bones, like He has...He shows His disciples His feet and hands...They still, even though seeing Him, have a hard time believing Him and that He is alive...This is not logical...He died...He now is alive...He was with them (now alive) and they had a hard time understanding this...Then He ask them for something to eat...He ate broiled fish with His disciples...Jesus love to eat with His friends, and to eat with others (He had just earlier broke bread with Cleopas and the other gentleman)...He ate broiled fish with the Eleven...Ghosts do not eat...
He then explained to His disciples that everything had to be fulfilled that was written about Him in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms...While explaining this to them, He opened their minds so they could understand...He told them this is what was written: He had to suffer and rise from the dead on the third day...Repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem...You (the disciples) are witnesses of these things...Jesus promised to send them the Holy Spirit, which is what is promised by God....He told them to stay in Jerusalem until they had been clothed with the Holy Spirit...
Sometimes it is difficult for us to believe in things that we do not understand...The fact can be right there, in front of us, and fully explained, and we still do not believe...It was important for His disciples to know He had risen...The disciples seeing Jesus after His death is where reason and faith meet...It is very difficult for these two things (reason and faith) to converge for us...Our minds are limited...This is one reason we struggle with our faith...We have a hard time understanding things that are more faith based than reason based, just like the disciples did and they were staring at Him...The disciples who cowardly deserted Him before His death, are after their contact with Him are growing much, much stronger in faith and reason and their understanding...These maybe the most important forty days in our history...Jesus giving them the insight of the Old Testament Scripture culminates their three years of being eyewitnesses to and with Him....His explaining the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms would now be read in a new light...Each time they read the Scriptures going forward, they would benefit greatly from Jesus' insight and discover He fulfilled all the Old Testament prophecies...The disciples and His followers could now go out and do the Great Commission, armed with the Holy Spirit, of spreading His gospel...