Study Guides

← Back to Study Guides

A Day in the Life of Jesus | The Day Jesus Defeated Death

April 5, 2026
Luke 24:36-49

³⁶As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” ³⁷But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. ³⁸And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? ³⁹See 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.” ⁴⁰And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. ⁴¹And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” ⁴²They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³and he took it and ate before them.

⁴⁴Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, ⁴⁶and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, ⁴⁷and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Download .pdf

Purpose

To discover and experience Jesus Christ in our midst
To cultivate mutually encouraging relationships
To participate in God’s mission to the world

Opening Prayer

Responsive Prayer — 1 Corinthians 15

Christ has been raised from the dead,
The first fruits of those who have died.
For since death came through a man,
The resurrection of the dead has also come through a man.
For as all die in Adam,
So all will be made alive in Christ.

Summary

This first week of Eastertide, we continue our series entitled A Day in the Life of Jesus during which we are exploring brief vignettes from the Gospels seeking a realistic glimpse into a typical day in Jesus’ earthly ministry. In our passage for this week, the risen Christ appears to his disciples and emphasizes the physical reality of his resurrection. In Luke’s Gospel especially, the disciples are not portrayed as credulous but as fearful and confused, thinking they see a spirit (verses 37-39), which assures the reader that they were not naive, ready to believe anything, or even particularly predisposed to believe in the resurrection at all. Jesus counters their doubts by inviting them to see and touch his hands and feet, and even by eating before them (vv. 39-43), demonstrating that the same body that was crucified has been raised, though now glorified (cf. John 20:27; Acts 10:41). This is not a collective hallucination of the disciples, but a true, bodily resurrection, fulfilling the consistent biblical hope of life after death (Job 19:25-27; Daniel 12:2). In this moment, the disciples experience what the Scriptures have promised and what the saints of old longed to see (1 Peter 1:10-12). Significantly, Jesus greets them with “Peace to you” (verse 36), intimating in general that it was a visit of love and friendship. The disciples had not believed those who had reported seeing him, therefore Jesus came himself to them. He did not come in anger to chastise Peter for his denial or the other disciples for fleeing the scene, but he came peaceably to indicate that he had forgiven them, further indicating that through his death and resurrection he has secured peace for his people (Isaiah 53:5; Romans 5:1; cf. Westminster Larger Catechism 52).

Luke not only affirms the physical reality of the resurrection but also unfolds its meaning through the fulfillment of Scripture. Jesus explains that “everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (verse 44), stressing the divine necessity of his suffering and resurrection (cf. Luke 9:22; Acts 17:2-3). Jesus is not thinking of one or two verses but rather the totality of the Old Testament Scriptures bearing witness to him. From the promises of a suffering servant (Isaiah 52:13-53:12) to the hope of resurrection (Psalm 16:10), the entire Old Testament anticipates Christ, and in him these expectations have reached their appointed fulfillment. Indeed, the fulfillment of all things in Christ reveals that the whole of history is nothing less than the history of redemption. From the first promise in Eden (Genesis 3:15) through the long witness of patriarchs, kings, and prophets, creation itself has been moving toward and is now ordered around the person and work of the Redeemer (Ephesians 1:9-10; Westminster Confession of Faith [WCF] 7.5-6). When Jesus opens the disciples’ minds to understand the Scriptures (verse 45), he reveals that God’s redemptive plan is unified and purposeful, encompassing past promise, present fulfillment, and future hope (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:20; Hebrews 1:1-2). The necessity of these events reflects the eternal counsel of God, according to which Christ was ordained from the foundation of the world to accomplish redemption through his obedience and sacrifice (Acts 2:23; WCF 8.1, 8.4).

Finally, the passage establishes the ongoing mission of the Church as one grounded in the reality of the resurrection. The disciples are commissioned as witnesses to “these things” (verse 48) — contextually referring to the suffering, resurrection, and saving significance of Christ — and are therefore called to proclaim “repentance for the forgiveness of sins” in his name to all nations (verse 47), beginning from Jerusalem. This nicely sets up Luke’s sequel to his gospel, the book of Acts, which will follow the disciples as they begin the Church’s proclamation of this message to the ends of the earth. Their proclamation is not something that is self-generated but rather that solely relies on divine enabling. First, their understanding has been transformed, as their eyes are opened to grasp the whole of Scripture in light of Christ. Second, they are promised the gift of the Spirit, being “clothed with power from on high” (verse 49), which equips them for their calling (Joel 2:28-32; Acts 2:1-4). In this way, the risen Christ not only secures redemption but also ensures its proclamation and extension, gathering a people to himself through the ordinary means of the Word accompanied by the power of the Spirit (Romans 10:14-17; WCF 10.1). Just as the risen Christ transformed his disciples from fearful fugitives into bold witnesses by opening their minds to the Scriptures and clothing them with his Spirit, so the church in every age is called and equipped in precisely the same way: grounded in the same Word, dependent on the same Spirit, and sent on the same mission to the ends of the earth.

Discussion Questions

1. Looking at the Bible

• Share with the group some key phrases or ideas that stood out to you from the passage.

2. Looking at Jesus

• The disciples abandoned Jesus in his final hours, and one openly denied him. What does it reveal about the heart of Christ that he greets these same men with "peace" rather than with judgment?

3. Looking at Our Hearts

• Even after encountering the risen Jesus, some disciples still struggled with doubt. Where in your own life do you find it hardest to trust Christ's power, even when you have already seen him work?
• Commentator Matthew Henry observed that the purpose of Jesus confronting his disciples for their doubts was to teach us to confront ourselves for ours. What would it look like for you to take your doubts seriously enough to actually push back on them rather than simply sitting with them, excusing them, or dismissing them?

4. Looking at Our World

• We live in a culture that is broadly skeptical of miracles and often assumes that the physical world is all there is. How might the bodily resurrection of Jesus confront that assumption?
• How might you commend the reality and necessity of the resurrection to someone in your life who holds that skepticism?

Prayer

• View Study Guide Notes