Bible Strands
Luke 24:37
But they were startled and frightened, thinking they had seen a spirit.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The disciples are gathered when Jesus suddenly stands among them and greets them with peace. They react to His presence immediately after recounting the resurrection events.
The words — πτοηθέντες (ptoēthentes) and ἔμφοβοι (emphoboi) denote being startled and filled with fear. ἐδόκουν (edokoun) indicates they were thinking or supposing they had seen a spirit (πνεῦμα).
The thread — This reaction mirrors the terror of seeing a supernatural appearance in Matthew 14:26 and 1 Samuel 28:13, where fearful onlookers mistake spiritual manifestations for ghosts. Job 4:14 similarly describes fear and trembling accompanying a supernatural encounter.
Why it lands — The text states the disciples' immediate fear and misidentification of Jesus as a spirit before He addresses their doubts. It asks the reader to recognize that encountering the risen Christ requires moving past initial terror to accept His physical reality.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
Cross-references
- Matthew 14:26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and cried out in fear.
- 1 Samuel 28:13 “Do not be afraid,” the king replied. “What do you see?” “I see a god coming up out of the earth,” the woman answered.
- Job 4:14 fear and trembling came over me and made all my bones shudder.
- Mark 6:49 but when they saw Him walking on the sea, they cried out, thinking He was a ghost—
- Luke 16:30 ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone is sent to them from the dead, they will repent.’
- Acts 12:15 “You are out of your mind,” they told her. But when she kept insisting it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”