Caravaggio, 1571-1610
(Wikimedia CC; click to enlarge.)
Compare Matthew 16:19; 18:18; Mark 16:14
In the Lukan account, Jesus makes a deliberate effort to impress upon the disciples that his resurrection was truly physical. He tells them to touch him, and he eats before them — and not, presumably, because he’s suddenly famished, as if being resurrected creates a big appetite. Of course, this simply confirms what the fact that the tomb was empty has already indicated: His body has been resurrected, not merely his spirit.
John’s account adds the experience of Thomas, who is also given the opportunity of literally touching the body of the resurrected Lord.
But not everybody will have this privilege, and Jesus speaks to them, too: To believe without seeing is, in its way, more blessed than insisting (as Thomas had and as Jesus had granted) on physical proof.
Posted from Richmond, Virginia
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