Luke 24:38-41

24:38 Then 1  he said to them, “Why are you frightened, 2  and why do doubts 3  arise in your hearts? 24:39 Look at my hands and my feet; it’s me! 4  Touch me and see; a ghost 5  does not have flesh and bones like you see I have.” 24:40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 6  24:41 And while they still could not believe it 7  (because of their joy) and were amazed, 8  he said to them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 9 

1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

2 tn Or “disturbed,” “troubled.”

3 tn The expression here is an idiom; see BDAG 58 s.v. ἀναβαίνω 2. Here καρδία (kardia) is a collective singular; the expression has been translated as plural in English.

sn Jesus calls the disciples to faith with a gentle rebuke about doubts and a gracious invitation to see for themselves the evidence of his resurrection.

4 tn Grk “that it is I myself.”

5 tn See tc note on “ghost” in v. 37.

6 tc Some Western mss (D it) lack 24:40. However, it is present in all other mss, including Ì75, and should thus be regarded as an original part of Luke’s Gospel.

7 sn They still could not believe it. Is this a continued statement of unbelief? Or is it a rhetorical expression of their amazement? They are being moved to faith, so a rhetorical force is more likely here.

8 sn Amazement is the common response to unusual activity: 1:63; 2:18; 4:22; 7:9; 8:25; 9:43; 11:14; 20:26.

9 sn Do you have anything here to eat? Eating would remove the idea that a phantom was present. Angelic spirits refused a meal in Jdt 13:16 and Tob 12:19, but accepted it in Gen 18:8; 19:3 and Tob 6:6.