See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jesus doesn't just invite them to look, but to "handle" – a word that suggests a tactile, investigative touch, not just a casual brush. This emphasis on physical interaction highlights that His resurrection wasn't an illusion, but a tangible reality to be experienced, proving He was truly Himself, not a disembodied spirit.
See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
The disciples are terrified, convinced they are seeing a ghost after Jesus suddenly appears to them. Jesus immediately seeks to calm their fear by assuring them of his identity and offering tangible proof, pointing to the wounds on his hands and feet from the crucifixion and inviting them to touch him. This encounter aims to convince them that His resurrection is a physical reality, not an apparition.
The disciples were terrified, thinking they saw a ghost. Jesus immediately offered them irrefutable proof.
Jesus knew their fear and confusion. To dispel their terror and the notion that He was a mere spirit, He didn't just speak; He invited them to use their senses. He pointed to His hands and feet, the very places bearing the marks of the crucifixion. "See... touch me and see," He commanded. This wasn't just a suggestion; it was an invitation to engage directly with His physical reality. This act highlights that the resurrection wasn't a dream or a hallucination, but a tangible, physical event. The scars were evidence of His suffering, but also proof of His victory over death in His very body.
What's the difference between a living person and a spirit? Jesus provides the answer, and it has profound implications.
Jesus explicitly states, 'For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.' This crucial distinction serves two purposes. First, it directly counters the disciples' fear that they were seeing a phantom. Second, it establishes the nature of His resurrected body. It wasn't just a spiritual manifestation or an ethereal presence; it was a real, physical body, albeit transformed. He emphasizes 'flesh and bones,' pointing to solid, tangible substance. This doesn't mean His resurrected body was identical in every way to His pre-crucifixion body – the 'flesh and blood' that corrupts, as Paul later explains – but it was undeniably real and physical, possessing the continuity of His identity.
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sarx · Greek Noun
Physical matter; the bodily substance that constitutes human nature, emphasizing the reality and physical continuity of Christ's resurrected body.
The disciples' fear and confusion upon seeing Jesus after his crucifixion highlight the shock of the resurrection. Jesus's appeal to their senses—to see and touch his physical body, wounds and all—was crucial for convincing them he was not a spirit but truly resurrected in a tangible form.
c. AD 30
Crucifixion and Burial of Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth is crucified by Roman authorities and buried in a tomb. This event is the central tragedy for his followers.
c. AD 30 (Sunday morning)
Resurrection of Jesus
Jesus is raised from the dead. Accounts vary, but his body is no longer in the tomb, and he begins appearing to his disciples.
c. AD 30 (Sunday evening)— this verse
Jesus Appears to Disciples in Jerusalem
Jesus suddenly appears to his disciples in a locked room in Jerusalem, causing fear and confusion. He shows them his hands and feet, demonstrating his physical reality.
c. AD 30 (Later in the week)
Jesus Appears to Thomas
Jesus appears again, this time to the disciple Thomas who had previously doubted his resurrection. Jesus invites Thomas to touch his wounds.
c. AD 40s-50s
Early Church Preaching and Teaching
The apostles begin proclaiming Jesus' resurrection and its implications for humanity, emphasizing his bodily resurrection as central to their message.
c. AD 60-65
Writing of Luke's Gospel
Luke, a physician and companion of Paul, compiles his account of Jesus' life, ministry, death, and resurrection, including this appearance to the disciples.
This passage echoes Luke's emphasis on tangible reality, stating 'concerning that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and our hands have touched...' This reinforces the idea that Jesus wanted His disciples to experience Him physically, not just as a spiritual apparition.
John 20:27Jesus directly invites Thomas to 'put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side.' This is a parallel to Luke 24:39, showing Jesus' repeated emphasis on physical evidence to prove the reality of His resurrected body.
1 Corinthians 15:44Paul discusses the resurrection body as being 'raised a spiritual body.' While Jesus in Luke emphasizes His physical, tangible nature (flesh and bones), Paul explains that the resurrected body is transformed, differing from the earthly body in its properties, thus bridging the gap between the physical and spiritual.
Acts 1:3Luke himself records in Acts that after His resurrection, Jesus 'presented himself alive to them after his passion by many proofs.' This further validates the 'many proofs' Jesus offered in Luke 24, including the tangible evidence of His hands and feet, to convince His followers of His bodily resurrection.
vincentLuke 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."
Handle (ψηλαφήσατε)Compare 1 John 1:1. The word occurs also Acts 17:27; Hebrews 12:18. "It never expresses the so handling an object as to exercise a moulding, modifying influence upon it, but at most a feeling of its surface; this, it may be, with the intention of learning its composition (Genesis 27:12, Genesis 27:21, Genesis 27:22); while, not seldom,…
ellicottLuke 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."
(39) Behold my hands and my feet. —The test thus offered to the disciples, like that afterwards given to Thomas, was to be to them a proof that they were not looking on a spectre from the shadow-world of the dead. The Resurrection was a reality, not an appearance. In St. John’s words, “which our hands have handled” ( 1John 1:1 ), we have an interesting co…
Jesus doesn't just invite them to look, but to "handle" – a word that suggests a tactile, investigative touch, not just a casual brush. This emphasis on physical interaction highlights that His resurrection wasn't an illusion, but a tangible reality to be experienced, proving He was truly Himself, not a disembodied spirit.
The disciples are terrified, convinced they are seeing a ghost after Jesus suddenly appears to them. Jesus immediately seeks to calm their fear by assuring them of his identity and offering tangible proof, pointing to the wounds on his hands and feet from the crucifixion and inviting them to touch him. This encounter aims to convince them that His resurrection is a physical reality, not an apparition.
The disciples are terrified, convinced they are seeing a ghost after Jesus suddenly appears to them. Jesus immediately seeks to calm their fear by assuring them of his identity and offering tangible proof, pointing to the wounds on his hands and feet from the crucifixion and inviting them to touch him. This encounter aims to convince them that His resurrection is a physical reality, not an apparition.
"See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”" — Jesus doesn't just invite them to look, but to "handle" – a word that suggests a tactile, investigative touch, not just a casual brush. This emphasis on physical interaction highlights that His resur…
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Last reviewed October 2026