46. (Vers. 36.). Second, as to the common appearance, he adds: But while they were speaking these things, Jesus stood in their midst and said to them: Peace be to you. He stood in their midst, because he himself is the mediator: 1 Timothy 2: "The mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus"; and therefore John 1: "But there stood one in your midst, whom you do not know." And therefore as a figure of this, Apocalypse 1: "I saw in the midst of seven golden candlesticks one like the Son of Man," etc. But he said: Peace be to you, because he himself is the maker of peace: Ephesians 2: "He himself is our peace, who made both one"; and Colossians 1: "Making peace through his blood, whether the things on earth or the things in heaven." He is also the giver of peace: John 14: "Peace I leave to you, my peace I give to you." He is also the announcer of peace: Ephesians 2: "Coming, he announced peace to those who were near and to you who were far off." And therefore the Gospel of Christ is the Gospel of peace: Isaiah 52: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who announces and preaches peace," etc.
And because men are accustomed to be astonished by an unusual appearance, therefore he adds: I am he, do not be afraid. Truly he says: I am he , because it belongs to him to say: "I am who I am," as is said in Exodus 3. It belongs to him to drive away fear, and therefore he says: Do not be afraid. He was strengthening them because he appeared among them in an unusual manner, and such a mode of appearing frightens and disturbs.
47. (v. 37.). For which reason he adds: But troubled and frightened, they supposed that they were seeing a spirit. They were frightened because they had seen him dead on the cross, and because they feared lest "Satan should transform himself into an angel of light," and because he had come with the doors shut: whence John 20: "When therefore it was late on that day, the first of the week, and the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them: Peace be to you."
48. But in this there seems to be a contradiction between Luke and John, because in John 20 it is said: "The disciples were glad, having seen the Lord." But there is no contradiction, because first they were frightened, but afterward, when his hands and side had been shown, they were glad. - There also seems to be a contradiction because John says that "Thomas was not with them when Jesus came"; but Luke says that "they found the eleven gathered together." - But to this Augustine responds that Thomas was with the disciples when those two returned, but afterward went out before the Lord appeared while they were speaking.
49. (v. 38.). And he said to them: Why are you troubled, etc. After having described the plurality of the appearances, he here describes the probability of the appearance and its probable certitude . Now body and spirit can be proved and discerned with certain discernment in two ways, namely through the use of touch and taste, and according to this Christ proves in two ways that he has a true body according to this twofold sense.
First, as regards the testimony of touch, he says: And he said to them: Why are you troubled, and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? He says arise pointedly, because good thoughts descend from above; James 1: "Every best gift is from above, coming down," etc.; but evil thoughts arise from below: Apocalypse 9: "The smoke of the pit arose, and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit."
50. (v. 39.). And because these thoughts were coming from within, therefore he outwardly sets forth the means by which they may be purged, when he adds: See my hands and feet, that it is I myself, as if to say: if you think you are being deceived by sight, at least become certain through the sense of touch.
And therefore he adds: Handle me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see me having. This he did as a proof of his resurrection: whence it is said in 1 John 1: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the Word of life, and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and declare unto you the eternal life." This he also did as a proof of the resurrection and an example of our glorification: whence the Gloss says: "While he shows bones and flesh to be touched, he openly signifies the state of his or our resurrection: in which our body will be both subtle through the effect of spiritual power, and palpable through the truth of nature."
51. But these two seem to be simultaneously contrary and not to establish faith, but rather to impede it. Whence the Gloss: "After the resurrection the Lord showed two contraries in his body: both a palpable body of the same nature, to instruct unto faith, and an incorruptible one of another glory, to invite to the reward." — But Gregory resolves these, saying: "The Lord showed two wondrous things and, according to human reason, contrary to each other"; but according to truth they are not contrary, because the glorified body both through its power can alter the sense and resist or move another body, and through its virtue can penetrate bodily perception. Whence this was not contrary, although it may seem so.
52. (Verse 40). Likewise, for greater certainty he not only presented a palpable body, but also showed the scars of his body; whence he adds: And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet, namely with the scars. Now the Lord preserved these, as Bede says, for four reasons: "First, to establish faith in the resurrection. Second, so that when supplicating the Father on our behalf, he may always show what kind of death he endured. Third, so that to those redeemed by his death, he may intimate how mercifully they were aided, by setting forth the signs of that same death. Finally, so that at the judgment he may declare how justly the impious are condemned"; Revelation 1: "Every eye shall see him, and they also who pierced him." — A further reason could also be assigned, namely, to inflame our cold affection, as Ambrose says. And sixth, as a sign of victory: whence Bede: "He preserved the scars not out of inability, but so that he might bear about the triumph of his perpetual victory." Seventh, as a preeminent sign of love: whence Isaiah 49: "In my hands I have inscribed you"; and Song of Songs 8: "Set me as a seal upon your heart."
53. (Vers. 41.). Second, as to the testimony of taste, he adds: But while they yet did not believe and wondered for joy, he said: Have you here anything to eat ? — so that if sight does not move them, hearing does not move them, touch does not move them, at least taste might move them. And this is an express sign of resurrection. Hence the Lord, after he raised the girl, "commanded that something be given her to eat," above, chapter eight. And John, chapter twelve, says of Lazarus that "he was one of those reclining at table." And thus Christ proved by the use of the senses that he had truly risen, so that the disciples might be made certain, and we through them.
54. (Vers. 42. 43.). And therefore he adds: And they offered him a piece of broiled fish and a honeycomb. Now Christ ate this not in secret but publicly, as a proof of his resurrection. Hence he adds: And when he had eaten before them, taking the remains, he gave to them. Now the Lord ate not from need but from power. Hence, just as "the ray of the sun absorbs water in one way and the earth in another, because the former does so by power, the latter by need," so Christ before the resurrection took food from necessity, but after the resurrection consumed it by his own power. And therefore Augustine, in the thirteenth book of The City of God, says: "Not the power but the want of eating and drinking shall be taken away from glorified bodies." Therefore the truth of the eating was a true proof of the resurrection.
55. And it should be noted that by the broiled fish is understood the affliction of the humanity assumed. Hence Bede says: " The broiled fish is the Mediator himself who suffered, caught in the waters of the human race, broiled at the time of the passion." As a figure of this, Tobias, chapter six, says of the fish that was caught: "If you place a piece of its heart upon coals, its smoke drives out every kind of demon." This is the fish in whose mouth is found the price of our redemption, as is intimated in Matthew, chapter seventeen.
By the honeycomb, however, is understood Christ as God and as glorified. Hence Bede says: "Christ is a honeycomb to us in the resurrection. The honeycomb, honey in wax, is the Divinity in the humanity." The Psalm says: "Taste and see that the Lord is sweet." And therefore in the canticle of Deuteronomy: "That he might suck honey from the rock and oil from the hardest stone." — This therefore is the food in which Christ delights, because all his delight is in himself. The remains of this food spiritual men eat, of whom Wisdom, chapter sixteen, says: "You provided them bread prepared from heaven without labor." The Psalm says: "With your remains you shall prepare their countenance."
56. (Vers. 44.). And he said to them: These are the words etc. After having described the plurality of appearances as testimony, and their probability as argument, he here describes their infallibility as the firmament of faith. The firmness of the appearance is through two things, namely through the testimony of Scripture and through the light of understanding, from which our mind is rendered certain concerning those things which pertain to our restoration. And accordingly the Evangelist describes the appearance of Christ as doubly confirmed, namely through the authentic testimony of Scripture and through the infused light of understanding.
First therefore, as regards the authentic testimony of Scripture, he says: And he said to them: These are the words which I spoke to you while I was yet with you, that is, through familiar conversation in the flesh, according to that passage in Baruch chapter three: "After these things he was seen upon earth and conversed with men." He foretold these things for the assertion of faith, according to John chapter fourteen: "And now I have told you before it comes to pass, that when it shall come to pass, you may believe." These words therefore he himself foretold as a true Prophet, nor did he alone foretell them, but he also foretold that the whole of Scripture would foretell this.
57. And therefore he adds: That all things must be fulfilled which are written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning me. In these three, Christ comprehends the entire Old Testament, which is as it were tripartite, for the firmness of testimony, because "in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word stands," as is said in Deuteronomy chapter nineteen; and for the representation of the most blessed Trinity. For the Law, on account of the authority of commanding, is appropriated to the Father; Prophecy, on account of the perspicacity of understanding, to the Son; the Psalms, on account of the sweetness of praying, to the Holy Spirit. All bear testimony to Christ as the most excellent ruler, teacher, and priest. And therefore all things have been fulfilled in him, according to that passage in Matthew chapter five: "One jot or one tittle shall not pass from the Law until all things be accomplished." Because therefore in the Law all these things which happened concerning Christ regarding his passion and resurrection are foretold, it is established that this is irrefragably true and certain, as confirmed through firm and authentic testimony. Whence the Gloss: "He removes all ambiguity: he was seen, he was touched, he ate; and lest he should seem to have deceived the human senses in any way, he turns to the Scriptures, so that even if he might seem to have been able to do what he wished by magical arts, as the pagans say, at least they might see that he could not have prophesied before he was born." Christ therefore, by fulfilling what the Scriptures say, proved that they were true; and by showing that those things which had been done concerning him were foretold in the Scriptures, he establishes irrefragably that they are true and to be believed.
58. (Vers. 45.). Second, with regard to the infused light of understanding, he adds: Then he opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures: he, I say, opened, because he alone holds the key, according to that passage in Isaiah twenty-two: "I will give him the key of David, and he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open." And therefore the Prophet asks in the Psalm: "Open my eyes, and I will consider the wondrous things of your law"; because, in Daniel two, "he reveals deep things and knows what is established in darkness, and the light is with him."
Now these deep mysteries in Scripture no one understands except through Christ crucified and raised up and proclaimed to the nations through the Holy Spirit, because the Scriptures are about him and for his sake, and therefore they are explained by him. Whence in the Apocalypse it is said that the Lion raised up and the Lamb slain opened the book: Apocalypse five: "The Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered, who is worthy to open the book and to loose its seven seals. And I saw in the midst of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders a Lamb standing as though slain." "And when he had opened the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, and they sang a new song, saying: You are worthy, O Lord, to open the book and to loose its seals." And thus it is clear that he himself expounds the doctrine of the books of the Old and New Testament, that is, of the elders and the living creatures brought together.
59. (Vers. 46.47.). Now these mysteries of the Scriptures are principally referred to Christ with regard to the head and with regard to the body. With regard to the head, he adds: And he said to them: Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day: this is most frequently stated in the Scriptures, and especially in the Law through figures, in the Prophets through words, and in the Psalms most abundantly, because they treat of the resurrection and the passion. — With regard to the body, however, he adds: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. This, I say, is written in the Law and in the promise to Abraham: Genesis twenty-two: "In your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed"; and Genesis forty-nine: "He shall be the expectation of the nations." This is written in the Psalm : "Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance"; and again: "Praise the Lord, all you nations." This in the Prophets: whence Isaiah forty-nine: "It is too small a thing that you should be my servant to restore the remnants of Israel; I have given you as a light to the nations, that you may be my salvation," etc. And this preaching was foretold to begin from Jerusalem: Isaiah two: "Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem"; and Isaiah sixty-two: "For Zion's sake I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her righteous one goes forth as brightness"; and the Psalm: "The Lord shall send forth the rod of your power out of Zion."
Fourth, concerning the proclamation of the truth now known.
60. (Vers. 48.). But you are witnesses of these things. After the described revelation of the resurrection and the appearance of the risen one and the certainty of the appearance, here fourthly is treated the divulgation of the already known truth. And because this divulgation was made through the Holy Spirit given to the Apostles after the ascension of Christ, therefore for describing this more fully four things are introduced by the Evangelist, namely the commissioning of the office of preaching, the promise of spiritual charisms, the ascension of Christ, and the devotion of the disciples. First therefore, as regards the office of preaching, he says: But you are witnesses of these things: you, I say, "who have seen and heard," so that you can say that word of John 3: "What we know we speak, and what we have seen we testify"; and John 19: "He who saw it has borne witness." Now to assert the truth of the faith is nothing other than to bear witness: whence Acts 23: "As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome."
And therefore Isaiah 43: "Truly, you are my witnesses, says the Lord." These are the Apostles, to whom Acts 1: "You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and even to the ends of the earth"; and therefore Peter in Acts 10: "We are witnesses of all things that he did in the region of the Jews." "God raised him on the third day and granted him to be made manifest not to all the people, but to witnesses pre-ordained by God, to us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one who has been appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. To him all the Prophets bear witness." Now the Apostles were "witnesses beyond all exception," both on account of their courage and holiness and on account of their truthfulness and on account of their steadfastness, because they suffered for this truth even unto death, so that they could truly be called witnesses, that is, martyrs. And therefore Hebrews 12: "Having so great a cloud of witnesses set over us, let us run with patience the race set before us, looking to the author and finisher of faith, Jesus," etc.
61. (Vers. 49.). Secondly, as to the promise of spiritual charisms, he adds: And I send the promise of my Father upon you. He says pointedly I send, because even then he gave the Holy Spirit in a breath, as is said in John 20: "As the Father has sent me, so I also send you. When he had said this, he breathed upon them, saying: Receive the Holy Spirit: whose sins you shall forgive," etc. This is the gift promised in the Scriptures: Ezekiel 36: "I will give you a new spirit," etc. This spirit Christ himself also frequently promised in the Gospel; John 7: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink"; and John 15: "When the Paraclete comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth." This, therefore, he then gave in hidden manner, but afterward he was to give it abundantly and openly, namely after ten days, in which they were to prepare themselves for that fullness.
62. Therefore he adds: But you, stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. Gregory: