The news of Jesus’ Resurrection threw both the Cenacle and the Sanhedrin into turmoil. Their themes were the same, but the witnesses—and even more, those who heard the reports—were very different. The dogma of the Resurrection would be absolutely fundamental to the future of Religion and it was indispensable that several witnesses solidly testify to having seen Jesus alive during the days following His death.
Gospel for the Third Sunday of Easter
“Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, ‘Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.’ And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them. 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 in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.’”
Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. And he said to them, ‘Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.’” (Lk 24:35-48).
I – The Apostles and the Sanhedrin in face of the Resurrection
The hypothesis that, after Jesus’ death, His disciples stole and hid His body in order to spread the rumour of His Resurrection, has often reappeared throughout the course of history. It originated moments after the Saviour had performed the great miracle of resuming His human life in a glorious body. His adversaries, the same ones as had plotted and demanded His death, had bribed the corrupt soldiers for their testimony and begun to spread this hypothesis, out of fear and hatred (cf. Mt 28:11–15). To this day, it is not uncommon to hear echoes of this insolent mockery.
Clearly not fanatical or delusional
On the other hand, the idea of considering the Resurrection of Our Lord as a myth based on the hallucination of a few was not foreign to the Apostles themselves. This was precisely their reaction when they heard the Holy Women’s report of their encounter with Jesus on that “first day” (cf. Lk 24:1–11).
This fact proves that the disciples could not have been the authors of a tall tale concerning this miracle, as precedents show that mirages are seen by persons hallucinating in connection with either a great desire, or a great fear. Nonetheless, the theory that the Apostles produced the “myth” of the Lord’s Resurrection—out of sheer hallucination—continued to circulate by the mouths and pens of heretics, in diverse epochs.
In reality, the Apostles had not understood the scope of the Divine Master’s words concerning what would happen on the third day after His death; so they neither feared nor desired the Resurrection. This was true to such a point that they did not hesitate to deny the truth of the Holy Women’s story. In other words, they showed themselves to be far from the hallucinating fanatics they were accused of being in relation to the Resurrection, since they did not even accept the mere possibility that it might occur. St. Thomas offers the paramount example of this mindset, only surrendering his disbelief in face of an irrefutable experience: touching Jesus’ adorable wounds with his finger.
Moreover, to deny the truth of the Resurrection, spreading the calumny that it had been a mere invention of delusional persons, would be, ipso facto, an acknowledgment of an almost equally impressive miracle: the conquest and reformation of the world carried out by a handful of madmen.
Easter in the Cenacle
History relates the sadness and distress of the Apostles on that Sunday morning (cf. Mk 16:10). They were devoid of hope because none of them had believed in the possibility that the Master would return to life.
Events unfolded, but even though the Holy Women had entered the Cenacle excitedly telling how they found the tomb empty and the Angel within, no one was inclined to presume that the Resurrection had taken place. Nevertheless, Peter and John quickly set out toward the sepulchre with Mary Magdalene. Upon returning, the two Apostles said that what the Holy Women had told was accurate: the sepulchre was empty (cf. Lk 24:1-12). Those who lived in Emmaus headed home quite dejected and disconsolate, discussing the exaggerations—as they regarded them—of the feminine imagination.
Meanwhile, Mary Magdalene returned to the Cenacle to euphorically announce her encounter with the Lord. Soon after, the other Holy Women arrived and narrated the apparition of the Lord along the way. Nevertheless, even with these new events added to the previous ones, the Apostles once again discredited their claims (cf. Mk 16:1–11). Peter, however, went to the sepulchre, and upon returning affirmed that the Lord had truly risen because He had appeared to him (cf. Lk 24:34). Some believed; others were still incredulous (cf. Mk 16:14).
That night, the two disciples from Emmaus offered their detailed testimony about the famous episode that culminated in the opening of their eyes “in the breaking of the bread” (Lk 24:35). They found everyone gathered in the Cenacle discussing the apparition of the Lord to Peter. Still, the majority continued to deny the Resurrection of Jesus.
The Sanhedrin takes the miracle seriously
While tension, suspense and a certain fear held sway in the Cenacle, a parallel scene unfolded among the high priests and virtually the entire Sanhedrin as they discussed the guards’ story, which bore out the fact that Jesus had risen. It was an equally difficult hypothesis for them, but they treated it with due importance, carefully measuring the damage such a reality would cause.
In the city, the Sabbath was over and everyone had returned to their usual daily work. Only in the Cenacle and among the Sanhedrin did unrest prevail into the night. Their theme was the same, but the witnesses—and even more, those who heard the reports—were very different. The dogma of the Resurrection would be absolutely fundamental to the future of Religion and it was indispensable that several people solidly testify to having seen Jesus alive during the days following His death. Despite His insistent foretellings and prophecies, it would be difficult to believe in such a great miracle if there had been no eyewitnesses.
It was at precisely this point—with the doors and windows locked—that Jesus entered the Cenacle, giving rise to the Gospel passage of today’s Liturgy.
II – The Lord’s Apparition in the Cenacle
The seven last words uttered by Our Lord at Calvary have, with good reason, inspired magnificent commentaries throughout the course of history. Yet, His first word to the Apostles as he entered the Cenacle deserves no less attention.
Jesus desires true peace for the Apostles
“While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’”
This peace desired by Our Lord is the only true peace among so many distorted and false ones. Here, the Prince of Peace Himself desires it for the Apostles. It is the Messianic peace, rich in every kind of blessing.
This peace is epitomized in the tranquillity born of a well-ordered life, as St. Thomas teaches in affirming that it cannot exist outside of the state of grace: “Without sin no one falls from a state of sanctifying grace, for it turns man away from his due end by making him place his end in something undue: so that his appetite does not cleave chiefly to the true final good, but to some apparent good. Hence, without sanctifying grace, peace is not real but merely apparent.” 1
When someone commits a sin, the body, with its passions, rebels against the soul, to which it should be submissive. In its turn, the soul, which should obey God, doing His will, revolts against Him. Thus, order is destroyed and, consequently, peace itself. This is why the Holy Spirit tells us: “There is no peace for the wicked” (Is 48:22).
Therefore, the only true peace is that which Jesus desired for His disciples, upon entering the Cenacle through its walls by the subtility of His glorious body. He came into their midst in the same way as a sunbeam penetrates crystal: without suffering the least alteration. How immense, divine and paternal the sweetness of the timbre of His voice must have been at that moment!
The disciples were beset by fear
“But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost.”
Dread gave way to terror! The disciples had locked themselves up, fearing that the Sanhedrin might accuse them of having stolen the Lord’s body, and suddenly a “ghost” appears in their midst, entering their sealed quarters through the walls or the locked doors and windows, without forewarning. Once again, their reaction demonstrates their disinclination to believe in the Lord’s Resurrection, even though this was His fourth appearance.
“The Evangelist shows that it was due to fear that the disciples failed to recognise Jesus and believed they were seeing a spirit. Fear usually blurs perception, and makes a person believe he is seeing ghosts or strange monsters. […]
“The fact that He had entered, as St. John says, with the doors closed— something only a spirit can do—is certainly why the disciples supposed He was a spirit.” 2
Though He greeted them with insuperable affection and let them hear the unmistakable timbre of voice that they missed so much, fear pervaded them. But another fact would help determine that this was the Saviour Himself, and not a ghost: Jesus had penetrated their hearts and discerned their thoughts—a clear proof that He was God, 3 since this is not possible, even for a spirit.
The wounds, symbol of the power of the Man-God over the devil
“Then he said to them, ‘Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.’ And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.”
According to our strictly human criteria, it would seem most logical for Jesus to recover His physical integrity after the Resurrection, making all the signs of the torments of His Passion disappear. On the other hand, considering the sensibility of our nature, showing the disciples those wounds could cause them further suffering, by reminding them of the tragedies of those terrible days of tribulation. But correct theological method always bases itself upon this infallible principle: if God did it, then it was the best thing to do; afterwards, we can inquire as to the motives of His conduct.
Before all else, it was for His own glory, as it will be with the martyr saints when they recover their respective bodies on the day of Judgement. The scars from the torments they suffered in defence of the Faith will shine for all eternity. “Indeed, the marks of the wounds suffered for a noble and just cause are an eloquent and glorious testimony of the merits and valour of those who display them.” 4 Jesus Christ could easily have eliminated the marks of His wounds, but He desired to keep them so as to bear upon Himself a magnificent symbol of His power against the devil.
Impediment to the divine wrath
Furthermore, He wanted to be our benefactor before the Father. It is of primary importance for us that these scars were maintained, as they are powerful in preventing the holy and divine wrath from falling upon us, because of our faults.
“With this detail, He strengthens them in the Faith and enkindles devotion, for, rather than eliminating the wounds He received for our sake, He preferred to take them to heaven and present them to God the Father as a ransom for our liberty. Therefore, the Father gave Him a throne on His right, embracing the trophies of our salvation.” 5
On earth, He made use of speech to ask the Father’s pardon for the executioners: “Forgive them, they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34). In heaven, He does not need to open his lips to obtain approval for us: He has only to show the Father the marks of His wounds.
Proof of His unlimited love as Saviour
Church Fathers assert that Our Lord wanted to keep the marks of the torments He suffered, in anticipation of the Final Judgement, for the confusion of the evil and the joy of the good. They would be a symbol of His infinite mercy, a proof of His unlimited love as Saviour, despised, rejected and insulted by some, an inexhaustible font of blessings and graces for others, and an object of thanksgiving and adoration for all eternity.
Confusion for some, jubilation for others. On that day, dies irae, every human creature will see His wounds; therefore, I too will be able to adore them and rejoice in them, if I have walked the paths of virtue, grace and sanctity.
It was thus that Jesus fortified the Faith of the Apostles, eliminating any pretext for incredulity, or the least doubt, making them true witnesses for future centuries. Furthermore, it manifested His love for them and, consequently, for us as well, providing us with a powerful stimulus to repay His incommensurable affection with our willingness to give ourselves to Him entirely.
In those holy wounds, we find an excellent anchor for our confidence. They say to us, as it were: “Take courage, I have conquered the world!” (Jn 16:33). Let us live by the counsel of St. Paul: “Persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God” (Heb 12:1–2).
They instilled the courage to accept torments
We cannot dismiss the hypothesis that Jesus wanted the Apostles to touch His holy wounds to aid them in practicing the patience they would require in face of the tremendous difficulties that would befall them at the hands of tyrants, pagans and their own countrymen as they spread the Gospel. The sacred stigmas, now glorified, instilled in them the strength to accept, with resignation, fortitude and courage, all the torments in store for them.
In adoring these wounds we are also motivated to calmly, serenely and peacefully endure the adversities that are so frequent in the course of our passage through this valley of tears. When some difficulty, pain or tragedy enters our lives, let us adore the marks of the torments the Saviour accepted for our sake, that we might in some small way repay such incommensurable mercy. And, in Heaven, we will experience undeniable joy in contemplating the wounds that won our eternal salvation: “Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you” (Jn 16:22).
The Apostles saw and touched Jesus’ wounds
Would the Apostles have touched Jesus’ Wounds? Yes, just as St. Thomas did. Oh felix culpa! Notable authors are of the opinion that the Apostles had told Thomas how they had experienced the grace of placing their finger on Jesus’ wounds, thus eliciting his famous avowal (Jn 20:25).
“Not only did He invite them to see and touch, but also showed them His feet and hands. Thus, it does not seem likely that they would refrain from touching Him, curious as they were to know if it were really Him. Besides, if they had not touched Him, it would have been because they had believed without requiring this proof; however, it is clear that they did not believe just by seeing Him, as is stated afterward.” 6
This reaction of the Apostles seems, at first glance, to come from sheer disbelief, but it could well have been because they were so beside themselves as to feel they were living more of a dream than a reality. They were so ecstatic to see Him risen from the dead they could not believe what their very eyes confirmed.
“The Evangelist writes this as an attenuating circumstance in the disciples’ fault of disbelief, insinuating that, if they did not believe, it was more out of the desire for the truth than because of obstinate opposition to the truth. Sometimes we fail to believe in that which we most desire, as happened with Jacob when they told him that his son Joseph was alive; and with St. Peter, upon being freed from prison against all his expectations: he thought what he was experiencing was rather a dream than reality. […]
“Taking what is said here literally (that they did not believe), we should not extend this disbelief to everyone who was in the Cenacle, because at least those who said they had seen the Lord—like St. Peter and perhaps some other person— certainly believed.” 7
Jesus eats to reinforce their Faith
“ While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them.”
A patent proof of Jesus’ presence among them, in body and soul—therefore, not as a ghost—was the fact that He ate in front of them. This is a unanimous explanation among commentators; but it also seems that Jesus wanted to manifest in a particular way His esteem for them, accepting the food they could offer Him.
Because His Sacred Body was glorious, He did not require nourishment; nevertheless, He desired to help them, through pure charity and divine didactics, strengthening in them the virtue of faith by eating “in front of them.” In this regard, St. Cyril of Alexandria comments: “But to further confirm them in their faith in the Resurrection, He asked them for something to eat. It was a piece of roasted fish that Jesus took and ate in their presence. He did this only to clearly show that it was really He who had risen, He who—just as before, and during the entire time of His Incarnation—ate and drank with them.” 8
He opened their minds and hearts
“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 in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.’”
It is interesting to note the difference Jesus places—“while I was still with you”—between His suffering body and His now glorious body. In the first case, as He Himself affirmed, He was among the Apostles because His physical conditions had the same characteristics as the others’. However, after the Resurrection, He is no longer among them, because He is not in mortal flesh.
The Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms correspond to the division of the Sacred Scriptures, according to the Hebraic custom: the Pentateuch, the Prophets and the Wisdom Literature, which includes the Psalms.
“Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures.”
In face of the monumental happenings that had unfolded within those last few days, the revelations previously made by the Divine Master revisited the Apostles’ memory with renewed colour and outline. “When their thoughts were reassured by what Jesus had said—for they had touched Him and He had eaten—the Lord opened their minds to understand that it had been necessary that He suffer, nailed to the Cross. He thus moves His disciples to recall what He had told them, namely, that He had already announced His Passion on the Cross to them, of which the prophets had spoken long before. He furthermore opened the eyes of their understanding, so that they would grasp the ancient prophecies.” 9
They needed the special assistance of grace to understand the revelations. “Without Me, you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5), Our Lord affirmed. It is necessary that Christ Jesus Himself help us to interpret the Sacred Scriptures: “…that which is taught as the reality adjusts itself to the prophecy; yet this alone is not sufficient, it is necessary that He open the eyes of our mind so that we can see Him. This is the true meaning of the Greek phrase: ‘Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.’ As St. Bede very aptly notes, ‘After having presented Himself to be seen with the eye, and handled with hands, and having brought to their minds the Scriptures of the law, He next opened their understanding that they should understand what was read.’” 10
“And he said to them, ‘Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day’…”
The prophecies in this regard are innumerable, and the Apostles were certainly well acquainted with them. A wealth of commentaries also issued from the pen of the Doctors and Fathers of the Church on this subject.
III – Jesus continues to act throuh His ministers
“… and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.’”
The Gospel of this third Sunday of Easter closes with Jesus’ formal and categorical clarification to the Apostles regarding the mission He had bestowed on them. He takes the opportunity to discuss the theme which was most important for them, and therefore for the nascent Church. They were to assume the same mission as Our Lord Jesus Christ, because He would remain in the world through them.
Nothing was to be forgotten: neither the Passion with its merits, nor the very life of the Divine Master, with His teachings. On this occasion, it became very clear that the Apostles’ mission was to be closely identified with that of Jesus. Actually, He had already revealed this connection in the prayer addressed to the Father, at the Last Supper: “The words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me… I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world… As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world” (Jn 17:8,14,18).
Earlier, He had even affirmed: “Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me” (Lk 10:16).
This is why St. Paul would later say, with full conviction: “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ” (1 Cor 4:1); and “As if God were appealing through us” (2 Cor 5:20). The disciples were to preach and establish the Church everywhere, with the same divine authority with which Christ fulfilled His mission in the world, as St. Matthew tells us: “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (18:18). And St. Mark says: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” (16:15).
Christ established them as priests of the Church, for the salvation and sanctification of souls, making them heirs and participants in His supreme and eternal priesthood. This mission continues in our days and must last until the end of time, through the priestly ministry. Like Jesus, the priest gives “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests” (Lk 2:14). He is alter Christus: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (Jn 20:21). Thus Our Lord Jesus Christ continues to accomplish the universal work of redemption and the transformation of the world, which He brought about, with its entire divine efficacy, and will always do so, by means of His ministers. 11 ◊
Notes
1 Summa Theologica II-II, q. 29, a. 3 ad 1.
2 MALDONADO, S. J., Fr. Juan de. Comentarios a los cuatro Evangelios – II Evangelios de San Marcos y San Lucas [Commentaries on the four Gospels – II Gospels of St. Mark and St. Luke]. Madrid: BAC, 1951, p. 817.
3 Cf. idem, ibidem.
4 PETRARCHA, Franciscus. De remediis utriusque fortunae. l. 2, 77.
5 AMBROSIUS MEDIOLANENSIS, Sanctus. Expositio Evangelii Secundum Lucam, l. 10 (PL 15:1.846).
6 MALDONADO, S. J., Op. cit., p. 820.
7 Idem, ibidem.
8 CIRILLUS ALEXANDRINUS, Sanctus. Explanatio in Lucæ Evangelium, 24:38 (PG 72, 948).
9 Idem, in Lk 24:45 (PG 72, 949).
10 MALDONADO, S. J., Op. cit., p. 826–827.
11 Cf. PIUS XI. Encyclical Ad catholici sacerdotii, 20/12/1935, n.12.
