Luke 24:37

37 But they, being confounded and being frightened, supposed they beheld a spirit.

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 And they related what [had happened] on the way, and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.
36 And as they were saying these things, he himself stood in their midst, and says to them, Peace [be] unto you.
37 But they, being confounded and being frightened, supposed they beheld a spirit.
38 And he said to them, Why are ye troubled? and why are thoughts rising in your hearts?
39 behold my hands and my feet, that it is *I* myself. Handle me and see, for a spirit has not flesh and bones as ye see me having.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.