Luke 24:37

37 But they were startled and terrified and thought they were seeing a ghost.

Luke 24:37 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 24:37

But they were terrified and affrighted
At the sight of him, and at his sudden appearance among them, without being heard, or seen before, and the doors shut and bolted; they could not tell how to account for it, that it should be Jesus himself risen from the dead in his own body, though they had been just speaking of his resurrection, and had had a confirmation of it from the disciples that went to Emmaus: and supposed that they had seen a spirit;
that what they saw was a phantom, or apparition, or a spirit, that had assumed, and appeared in, the shape of Jesus, and was not he himself.

Luke 24:37 In-Context

35 Then they began to describe what had happened on the road and how He was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
36 And as they were saying these things, He Himself stood among them. He said to them, "Peace to you!"
37 But they were startled and terrified and thought they were seeing a ghost.
38 "Why are you troubled?" He asked them. "And why do doubts arise in your hearts?
39 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."
Holman Christian Standard Bible ® Copyright © 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999 by Holman Bible Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.