What nature of body did Jesus have after resurrection?

WHAT NATURE OF BODY DID JESUS HAVE BETWEEN HIS RESURRECTION AND HIS ASCENSION?

By Ezekiel Kimosop 

INTRODUCTION 

I must admit that this is a fairly complex question which my wife posted to me during her devotion. I have taken time to reflect upon it through the Scriptures before writing this article. 

Scripture offers glimpse into the nature of the post resurrection body of Christ. This picture may not be fully comprehensible to our finite minds. It is however the much that God determined to reveal to us through His word and should therefore be sufficient for our purposes. 

BIBLICAL ANALYSIS 

We learn from the Bible that Jesus took on a divine body after His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:42-49). 

The Bible teaches that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50). This implies that we cannot enter heaven in our earthly human bodies. We must first be transformed into heavenly bodies that are compatible with the new heavenly realm where we shall dwell in the presence of God and of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). 

Jesus was transformed from His incarnate nature on the cross and took on a divine body which was immune to earthly perils. We do not have a clear description of the nature of this new body but we can identify some aspects of it from passages of Scripture. 

1) It was a visible body which was witnessed only by those to whom He chose to reveal Himself. Mary Magdalene was the first person to witness the risen Christ (Mark 16:9-11). 

2) There were physical aspects of this risen body. Thomas touched His wounded side to confirm that it was indeed Jesus who stood before him (John 20:26-30). 

3) Jesus also ate fish (Luke 24:42-43), suggesting that the post resurrection body was possessed of some physical attributes. However we need to appreciate that Jesus was and is eternally a divine person and could therefore permit certain things to happen for His divine purposes! Nothing is impossible with God (Matthew 19:26).

One feature that we can observe about His new bodily nature is that He was no longer dependent on earthly food after His resurrection!

The next question that naturally follow is thus: How different was this new body from the human body that Jesus previously possessed since His miraculous birth? 

Biblical evidence suggests that He may have taken up a different complexion because the disciples were amazed at seeing Him. They could not easily recognize Him at first instance but this was perhaps partly due to their unbelief. The disciples did not believe that Jesus had risen from the dead perhaps because their spiritual discernment was obscure. 

Their reaction in John 21:1-15 is instructive. They had gone fishing in the sea and this strongly suggests that they had abandoned the gospel believing that Jesus never rose from the dead! 

John reports that the revelation of the resurrection was not clear to them even after Christ and even rose from the dead they were in denial (20:1-10).

Jesus later appeared to them called them back to Him and recommissioned them to ministry again. He also restored Peter who was broken and remorseful, having denied Jesus and abandoned Him at the hour of need. Peter had probably quit the ministry before Jesus called him back. 

THE APPEARANCES OF THE RISEN CHRIST 

On two separate occasions in John 20, Jesus entered a room whose doors were shut by the terrified disciples because of fear of persecution following the crucifixion of Jesus. He simply appeared from nowhere, meaning that He was not limited by physical barriers (John 20:19-29). He could appear and disappear at will just as happened on the Road to Emmaus. 

We may not fully comprehend the nature of His divine body in human terms but it was definitely one without the limitations associated with our human bodies. 

BIBLICAL AUTHORITY 

We shall conclude our analysis by examining a key passage of Scripture which conveys a compelling description of the post resurrection body. 

1 Corinthians contains what is perhaps one of the most elaborate passages of Scripture that explains the nature of the resurrected bodies. 

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15:42-49: 

"So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. 43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit."

46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man."(NKJV) 

Notice the clear distinction between the human body and the post resurrection body as revealed by Paul in the above passage. The two natures are entirely distinct from each other. This is God's divine order. 

CONCLUSION 

It is therefore safe to consider to Jesus' post resurrection body as a divine body rather than simply designating it as a spiritual body. 

We need to bear in mind that while still on earth, Jesus was not yet possessed of His full divine glory which He left in heaven (Philippians 2:5-8). 

This does not suggest that He lost His divine essence. In His incarnation, Jesus was fully God and fully man at the same time. Upon His death and resurrection, His incarnate body was miraculously transformed into a divine and incorruptible body. 

THE GLORIFIED CHRIST 

Once He ascended to heaven, Jesus took back His divine glory.  We learn from Revelation 1 that the glorified Christ is distinct and terrifying in glory compared to the post resurrection appearance described in the Gospels. 

I wish to conclude by stating that we should comprehend the post-resurrection body of Jesus purely on the basis of what Scripture reveals and nothing else. 

Any extra biblical description or speculation about the nature of Christ's body is misleading. There is no evidence that Christ has physically revealed Himself in person to anyone after His ascension to heaven. 

Those who teach about apparitions [earthly appearances] of the glorified Christ cannot support their claims with Scripture. 

Jesus will not appear again physically on earth until He comes for the church (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) and during His second coming to reign in Jerusalem for 1000 years (Rev. 20). Some scholars and Christian traditions consider the millennium reign as figurative rather literal.

The Bible teaches that during His second coming, Jesus will physically descend to earth with the saints in the same manner that He rose in His ascension to heaven and will contend with the enemies of God's people (ref. Zechariah 14). 

It is my hope that this article has shed some light on the post resurrection body of Christ.

Shalom 

© Ezekiel Kimosop 2018.