Discovery BoxLuke 24:37-39 
Context24:37 But they were startled and terrified, thinking 1 they saw a ghost. 2 24:38 Then 3 he said to them, “Why are you frightened, 4 and why do doubts 5 arise in your hearts? 24:39 Look at my hands and my feet; it’s me! 6 Touch me and see; a ghost 7 does not have flesh and bones like you see I have.”
1 sn The disciples were still not comfortable at this point thinking that this could be Jesus raised from the dead. Instead they thought they saw a spirit.
2 tc This is not a reference to “a phantom” as read by the Western ms D. For πνεῦμα (pneuma) having the force of “ghost,” or “an independent noncorporeal being, in contrast to a being that can be perceived by the physical senses,” see BDAG 833-34 s.v. πνεῦμα 4.
3 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
4 tn Or “disturbed,” “troubled.”
5 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.
6 tn Grk “that it is I myself.”
