LUKE 24:38-43 JESUS IN THE FLESH, EATING FISH

JESUS IN THE FLESH,

EATING FISH

LUKE 24:38-43

Luke 24:38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?

Susan: We know from earlier lessons that as God, Jesus is omniscient (all-knowing). He knew their hearts were tormented by the possibility that what they were seeing was a ghost, or perhaps that Jesus might have been angry with them for their doubts, fears, and unbelief after His crucifixion.

Susie: I imagine Jesus speaking this in a firm but kind tone, a mild rebuke.

Luke 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.

Susan: Jesus invited them to check Him out thoroughly. He offered to let them not only examine his hands and feet closely but to physically touch His wounds to know that He truly existed in the flesh. To know that “I AM.”

Susie: He pointed out that phantoms would not have flesh and bones as He did. The Apostle John testified to having “handled” the Lord.

1 John 1:1-3  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

Luke 24:40 And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.

Susie: Some manuscripts omit verse 40, but it is logical that after offering them the opportunity to examine His wounds, He would show them to them.

Susan: Sometime later, on another occasion, Jesus gave Thomas the same opportunity to examine all His wounds, including His side that was pierced by the Roman soldier’s spear:

John 20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

Luke 24:41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?

Susan: The fact that Jesus was standing before them in the flesh was still too overwhelming to comprehend.

Susie: They were ecstatic with the possibility that Jesus was alive, but on the other hand, it seemed too good to be true. . .

Susan: . . . too fantastic to be real. Jesus, determined to remove all questions, asked them for some food. What He wanted them to see, know, and realize by His eating food that in all ways, He was not an apparition.

Luke 24:42-43 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it and did eat before them.

Susie: They handed Him the staple foods of their meal, fish and honeycomb.

Susan: I am sure the disciples gawked in wonder as Jesus consumed the food before their eyes.

Susie: The Apostle Peter included the fact that the resurrected Jesus ate with them in His testimony to Cornelius:

Acts 10:39-41 And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.

Ponder this and Apply it: Jesus had to prove Himself to the ones with whom He had the closest earthly relationships—the Eleven. Even with the facts before them, they couldn’t take in that Jesus was physically risen from the dead. We have the benefit of their writings about Jesus. Do we sometimes doubt what we read in the New Testament? We may say to ourselves that had we walked and talked with Jesus on earth, it would be easier to believe; but we see how difficult it was for the disciples. He had to prove His divinity to them for them to believe He was the Messiah, and then He had to prove His humanity to them after He rose. Our minds still have difficulty reconciling the fact that Jesus was completely God and completely man at the same time. This is where faith comes in. The Holy Spirit draws us to God and gives us the faith to believe and trust in Jesus. Praise the Lord that it does not depend on our ability to completely, intellectually comprehend all of His majesty!