Easter Season · Third Sunday of Easter · Year B
Luke 24:36b-48
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
April 11, 2027
Overview & Insights
“Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see.” (Luke 24:39)
This passage not only brings Luke’s Gospel narrative, and especially its developing resurrection motif, to a triumphant conclusion, but also prepares for the taking up of the story in Luke’s second volume, Acts. The summary of the gospel message in 24:46–48, the cryptic promise of “power from on high” in 24:49, Jesus’s ascension in 24:51 (more fully narrated in Acts 1:1–11), and the communal life of the believers in Jerusalem in 24:52–53) will be developed in the early chapters of Acts. The story of Jesus is now becoming the story of the Jesus movement. The most obvious difference between these verses and Acts is the lack here of any indication of the passage of time (forty days [Acts 1:3]) between Jesus’s resurrection and ascension. In bringing his Gospel to an appropriately “orderly” (1:3) literary conclusion, Luke apparently feels no need to be pedantic about the chronological data.
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Commentary
Commentary on Luke 24:36b-48 Working Preacher
Luther Seminary scholar reads the risen Jesus eating fish and opening the disciples' minds to Scripture, the day's exegetical anchor.
Luke 24 Commentary: The Resurrected Jesus, Verse by Verse Enduring Word · David Guzik
David Guzik walks the whole resurrection chapter verse by verse, giving preachers a running evangelical read of the appearance.
Luke 24:36 Commentaries BibleHub
Aggregates classic commentators (Barnes, Gill, Meyer, Ellicott) on the peace greeting and the physical resurrection.
Luke 24 Commentary Precept Austin
A deep verse-by-verse resource collating multiple commentators and word notes on the Emmaus aftermath and commissioning.
Faith and Doubt: SALT's Lectionary Commentary for Easter 3 SALT Project
An ecumenical reflection on how the resurrection stories move from wonder toward intimacy with God and mission.
Third Sunday of Easter, Cycle B Loyola Press · Sunday Connection
Catholic Sunday Connection with a homily starter and family reflection on Jesus' peace and the disciples' fear.
Background & Word Study
Luke 24:36 Interlinear BibleHub
Greek word-by-word view of the peace greeting and the terms for touch, flesh, and bones that ground the bodily resurrection.
Gospel of Luke Summary: Overview Video (Part 2) BibleProject
Animated overview of Luke chapters 10 to 24, placing the resurrection appearances within the book's larger design.
Luke Enter the Bible
Luther Seminary's introduction to Luke's authorship, themes, and structure for background (not used as a commentary voice).
Questions preachers ask
Why does the risen Jesus eat fish in front of the disciples?
To show that his resurrection is bodily and real, not a ghost or vision. He invites them to touch his wounded hands and feet, eats a piece of broiled fish before them, then opens their minds to understand the Scriptures and names them witnesses.
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