Luke 24:43Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Moreover, I interpret the ‘baked fish’ as symbolizing the active life, which, through solitude and the quiet heat of coals, eliminates the excess dampness and weightiness within us. The ‘honeycomb honey’ signifies knowledge or contemplation, as the words of God are indeed sweet (Psalms 18:11). There exists both the honey of the honeycomb—representing secular wisdom—and the honey of the bee—representing divine wisdom, with Christ as the bee. Although small in stature, for His message may seem brief and lacking in might, as Paul claims he does not preach with eloquence lest the cross lose its power (1 Cor. 1:17), it remains precious to both rulers and the common man, who harness its work for the salvation of their souls.

He ate a piece of fish because of the Resurrection, yet the usual effects of consumption did not apply in His case, despite what skeptics might assert, knowing well that ‘whatever enters the mouth must necessarily be spewed out and fall into the draught.’ However, the faithful will dismiss such doubts and entrust the situation to the omnipotence of God.

Thus, He sits at the right hand of the Father, divinely and humanly yearning for our salvation while executing the divine orchestration of all creation as well as its sustenance and governance. He also recalls His earthly mission, observing the worship offered by every rational creature. His holy soul knows that it is united in hypostatic union with the Word of God and that together they receive worship, signifying its divine nature rather than being merely a soul.

The Lord addressed them with a greeting of peace, confirmed the reality of His resurrection by presenting the wounds in His hands, feet, and side, and sharing in a meal with them. He then articulated the necessity of His sufferings and glorification through resurrection, drawing from the Scriptures as He had done when enlightening the Emmaus travelers.

Having reassured His apostles of the truth of His resurrection—excluding Thomas—the Lord departed, reiterating His blessing of ‘Peace be with you,’ which signified their mission. Having fulfilled His earthly ministry, He entrusted the continuation of His work to them. To equip them for this task, He bestowed upon them a share of the powers essential for their future ministry—powers that He had uniquely secured for humanity through His ultimate act of redemption. They were granted the privilege to wield these powers with the same authority He would have exercised. This marked the conclusion of the significant day of Christ’s resurrection. The apostles then grasped that their Lord was sovereign over life and death; the truths He proclaimed about Himself were irrefutable. Such a remarkable event—where one had risen from the dead—had never been heard of before, reaffirming that their previous experiences with Jesus still held profound meaning: they were reinstated as His apostles.

Yet, as the Risen Lord appeared and then withdrew, not remaining with them as He had previously, they were meant to understand that a new, distinct relationship was to form. His presence was now predominantly spiritual rather than physical (as His flesh was transformed), indicating a gradual transition from a tangible connection to a purely spiritual and invisible relationship that would deepen at the time of His ascension. It is likely that on the same day, the Lord also appeared to James (1 Cor. 15:7).

The gravity of the Apostles’ skepticism regarding the resurrection was profound, and the substantial evidence they sought to alleviate their doubts was significant. Yet some claim that the Apostles believed so naively in their Master’s resurrection and wished so fervently to witness Him alive that they allowed their minds to deceive them, perceiving nothing more than a phantom conjured by their desires. How can one suggest that the Apostles were deluded when they dismissed the testimonies of the women and the two disciples who had encountered the risen Christ? They did not even trust their own eyes but were convinced of His resurrection only when they touched His tangible body, His bones, and His wounds. The reality of Jesus eating fish and honey in their sight further reinforced their certainty.

This disbelief, along with their demand for concrete evidence, underscores God’s divine plan in this moment. It was God’s intention for the Apostles to gradually arrive at a conscious and profound faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God; to venture forth into the world, proclaiming His teachings, possessing unshakeable faith, which was meant to be embraced by all humanity through them and their successors. Present-day believers may hold onto blind faith since doubts have been addressed and the truth of Christ’s divine humanity established. However, during the time of the Apostles, when the message of the cross was a stumbling block for both Jews and Greeks, mere blind faith would not have enabled them to achieve such extraordinary feats. They required a deliberate faith, one that engaged both their hearts and minds, forged through their earlier doubts and ongoing skepticism.