Luke 24:44Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The things eaten seem also to contain another mystery. For in that He ate part of a broiled fish, He signifies that having burnt by the fire of His own divinity our nature swimming in the sea of this life, and dried up the moisture which it had contracted from the waves, He made it divine food; and that which was before abominable He prepared to be a sweet offering to God, which the honeycomb signifies. Or by the broiled fish He signifies the active life, drying up the moisture with the coals of labour, but by the honeycomb, the contemplative life on account of the sweetness of the oracles of God.

The Lord had shewn His disciples His hands and His feet, that He might certify to them that the same body which had suffered rose again. But to confirm them still more, He asked for something to eat.

Let those then who dream that Christ could have done such things by magical arts, and by the same art have consecrated His name to the nations to be converted to Him, consider whether He could by magical arts fill the Prophets with the Divine Spirit before He was born. For neither supposing that He caused Himself to be worshipped when dead, was He a magician before He was born, to whom one nation was assigned to prophesy His coming.

By the command of the law indeed the Passover was eaten with bitter herbs, because the bitterness of bondage still remained, but after the resurrection the food is sweetened with a honeycomb; as it follows, And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and a honeycomb.

He addressed them, saying, These are the statements I shared with you while I was still present among you. He called to their attention what He had previously declared regarding Himself, so they could recognize that it was Him. 'These are,' He proclaimed, 'the statements I have made to you. What do I mean by “these”? It refers to everything written about Me in the law of Moses, as well as in the prophets and psalms, which must be accomplished.

But some one will say, If we allow that our Lord ate after His resurrection, let us also grant that all men will after the resurrection take the nourishment of food. But these things which for a certain purpose are done by our Saviour, are not the rule and measure of nature, since in other things He has purposed differently. For He will raise our bodies, not defective but perfect and incorrupt, who yet left on His own body the prints which the nails had made, and the wound in His side, in order to shew that the nature of His body remained the same after the resurrection, and that He was not changed into another substance.

To convey therefore the truth of His resurrection, He condescends not only to be touched by His disciples, but to eat with them, that they might not suspect that His appearance was not actual, but only imaginary. Hence it follows, And when he had eaten before them, he took the remnant, and gave to them. He ate indeed by His power, not from necessity. The thirsty earth absorbs water in one way, the burning sun in another way, the one from want, the other from power.

This approach to demonstrating His resurrection emphasizes that glorification is achieved solely through resurrection and illustrates the manifestation of this glorification in Jesus Himself. It stands in contrast to the approach taken with Mary Magdalene and later with Thomas, which relied solely on the tangible recognition of His prior earthly form. At the moment when the travelers from Emmaus were recounting the Lord's appearance to the apostles and other brethren in their midst, the Lord entered their gathering, despite the doors being secured out of fear of the Jews. Confusion, fear, and joy intertwined within them.

After demonstrating to the apostles that it was not merely a spirit in their presence, but rather their Lord, Jesus began to articulate what He had previously conveyed to them, though they had failed to comprehend. He explained how the writings of Moses, the psalms, and the prophets had anticipated the arrival of Christ the Messiah, detailing how these prophecies indicated that the Messiah would endure suffering, face death, and resurrect on the third day, and He emphasized that all these foretold events were realized in Him.

The bustling, vibrant city was completely caught up in the rhythm of daily life. It found a sense of ease in the false reports disseminated by the soldiers, claiming that Jesus of Nazareth, who was dead, had been taken from the tomb by His followers. Meanwhile, the leaders, burdened by guilt, glanced around nervously, attuned to the whispers of the populace. They attempted to stifle the rising sparks of truth, obscuring it with fresh fabrications. Amid this city chaos, Christ's disciples convened in a modest upper room, their minds solely focused on waiting for their Lord. Suddenly, the familiar voice of their Master echoed, saying, “Peace be with you,” as He appeared among them.

This passage represents the realization of what I previously communicated to you, prior to my suffering and death, at a time when I was still fully with you, unlike now when I only appear periodically. The Lord recalls his earlier declarations regarding his suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection, fulfilling the ancient prophecies he had frequently discussed (Luke 18:31-33 and parallels).