Gospel in Art: The disciples were startled, frightened and thought they saw a spirit

Christ Appearing to His Disciples After the Resurrection, by William Blake, 1795 © National Gallery of Art, Washington

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 9 April 2026
Luke 24:35-48

At that time: The disciples told what had happened on the road, and how Jesus was known to them in the breaking of the bread. As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, 'Peace to you!' But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, 'Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.' And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marvelling, he said to them, 'Have you anything here to eat?' They gave him a piece of grilled fish, and he took it and ate before them.

Then 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 the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.' Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, 'Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.'

Reflection on the coloured print

Today's Gospel account of the risen Lord appearing to his disciples makes clear how hard they found it to accept what they were seeing. When Jesus stood among them, they were startled and afraid, unsure whether it could truly be him, almost as if they were looking at a spirit. The resurrection was so overwhelming that they struggled to grasp it, standing there in a mixture of wonder and disbelief. The events of the Passion which took place only a few days before today's episode, had shaken them so deeply that the reality of his risen life took a long time to sink in.

There is something of that same hesitation in us. The message of Easter is so extraordinary that we, too, can find it difficult to fully take it in. It is often much easier to relate to the suffering of Christ than to the mystery of his resurrection. Perhaps this is because suffering is something we know so well in our own lives. That is why images of the Cross are so familiar to us, while the Resurrection can feel more elusive. Artists have always depicted more image of the cross, than of the resurrection. Like the disciples, we struggle to comprehend it. And perhaps this is why the Church gives us Eastertide, a season giving us time to grow into this reality. Seven weeks to the Ascension to try and take in the resurrection.

Our artwork today by William Blake, Christ Appearing to His Disciples After the Resurrection, feels strikingly modern, even through it was painted around 1795. Blake abandons naturalism and instead gives us something visionary, almost dreamlike. Forms are simplified, colours radiant, the whole scene charged with dreamlike, spiritual intensity. At the centre stands Christ, upright and majestic, his presence both commanding and luminous, while around him the disciples can only kneel. It is all they are capable of in that moment: not yet understanding, not yet ready to move, but overwhelmed by what they see. Soon the disciples will rise, find their voice, and go out into the world. For now, however, they remain on their knees, caught between disbelief and adoration, before the mystery of the risen Lord.

LINKS

Christian Art: https://christian.art/
Today's reading: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/luke-24-35-48-2026/