Third Sunday of Easter, Year B (Luke 24: 35-48)

³⁵ Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. ³⁶ While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ³⁷ They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. ³⁸ He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? ³⁹ Look 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.” ⁴⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. ⁴¹ And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” ⁴² They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³ and he took it and ate it in their presence. ⁴⁴ He 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.” ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶ He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. 

This passage follows the famous story of the two disciples who met Jesus (although they did not recognize him at first) on the road to Emmaus. Here they have returned to Jerusalem after this meeting and informed the other disciples of their experience. Although they met Jesus on the road, they only realized who he was “when he broke the bread”.

This revelation is immediately followed by another appearance by Jesus. He suddenly appears among them, leaving the disciples terrified, worried that they are seeing a ghost. Jesus first criticizes them for not accepting the truth of his resurrection and then invites them to look at his hands and feet which still bear the marks of crucifixion. Finally, he asks for food and eats in front of them – thus proving that he has a physical body. Jesus is a real human being of flesh, bones and blood and not a ghost. He has truly defeated death and entered “into his glory”, his new authority over the universe.

As in the appearance to Thomas in John’s gospel, Jesus first greets people by saying “Peace be with you”, then displays his wounds. The disciples respond with a mixture of joy and disbelief, demonstrating again that they still have not completely accepted the resurrection. So Jesus proceeds to educate them: he opens their minds so they can understand scripture. They need to fully comprehend Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection as necessary elements in God’s plan to save humanity and that this has been laid out for centuries by God in scripture, in the Law of Moses, the prophets and the psalms. Once they have understood this, Jesus can give them a mission. They are to be witnesses to God’s saving plan and how it has been put into effect so that others will repent and believe. And they are to begin immediately in Jerusalem. This mission, of course, is not just limited to those first disciples, for each generation of Christians must take up the challenge again and witness to what happened in Jerusalem so many years ago.