How are the references to the resurrection of Jesus to be understood?

Question

The resurrection of Jesus is the cardinal affirmation of Christian faith found in the New Testament and passed on to us by early Christians. To confess, "Jesus is Lord," one has to accept that "God raised him from the dead" (Romans 10, 9) and that "if Christ has not been raised, then is pour preaching in vain and your faith is vain too" (1 Corinthians 15,14). Not to admit the resurrection of Jesus means that one is not a Christian.

There are six different resurrection narratives in the New Testament (Mark 16,1-8; Matthew 28,1-20; Luke 24, 1-53; John 20,1-29; the Johannine appendix, 21,1-23 and the appendix to the Marcan gospel 16,19-20). They are all the same in many ways except for the accounts of the empty tomb. It should be noted that Paul makes no mention of an empty tomb in his letters (1 Corinthians 15,3-5) Hence, the story of an empty tomb might seem to be of later (apologetic) origin. So the big question is, what was the resurrection of Jesus like? Was it resuscitation or a reanimation? Luke 24, 37-39 seems to reject the idea that he was like a spook.

Good point, RB.

Rhonda, I like your answer. But if he was raised a spiritual being how come they could feel and touch him? Embellishments to the accounts?

Rod C, I am playing the devils advocate here.

Answer 1

Jesus was raised up as a spirit creature- not flesh and blood.
1 Cor. 15:50 "However, this I say, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit God’s kingdom..."

Answer 2

Paul says "I was determined to preach Christ and Him resurrected".
Romans 10"If you confess with your lips and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved". Pretty plain how Paul felt.
Romans 14:9 " For to this end Christ died and lived again so that he might be Lord to both the living and the dead".
I Corinthians 15 :12 "Now if Christ is risen from the dead ,how can you say there is no resurrection?"
What's with you?
Luke 24 after the resurrection"handle me ,feel me,a spirit has not flesh and bone like you see I have".
He was bodily resurrected as John 2 has him also say.

Answer 3

The Resurrection is the triumphant and glorious victory for every believer in Jesus Christ who died, was buried, and rose the third day according to the Scripture. And, He is coming again! The dead in Christ will be raised up, and those who remain and are alive at His coming will be changed and receive new, glorified bodies (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Why is the resurrection of Jesus Christ important? It demonstrated that God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. It proves that God has the power to raise us from the dead. It guarantees that those who believe in Christ will not remain dead, but will be resurrected unto eternal life

Answer 4

Physical, bodily resurrection. Thomas touched Jesus. He couldn't have touched a spirit.
Did Paul need to mention an empty tomb? He saw the risen Jesus. If Paul wrote before Mark, and the empty tomb wasn't true, there would have been enough people alive to refute the teaching (writing). But since these have remained virtually the same, I see no contradiction.

Answer 5

Christ's death was witnessed by hundreds (if not thousands) of people. They saw the nails being hammered into His hands and feet, and they saw how the beatings and the loss of blood from His wounds weakened Him. They witnessed also His final seconds: "Jesus called out with a loud voice, 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.' When he had said this, he breathed his last" (Luke 23:46).

The Roman soldiers who crucified Jesus also had no doubt He was truly dead. As executioners, they were very familiar with death, and when they took Jesus' body down from the cross they made sure He was not alive. They knew that if they failed to carry out the death penalty, they could be severely punished. Later, His body was tightly wrapped in strips of cloth, then laid in a guarded, cave-like tomb with a huge stone across the entrance.

Only one conclusion is possible: On that first Easter, Jesus Christ rose from the dead by the power of God. And because He did, you and I have hope of eternal life. Death and Hell and Satan have been defeated! Don't let anything keep you from Christ, but open your heart and life to Him today.

The first disciples came to believe Jesus had conquered death and returned from the grave. And not only did they believe it, but they were willing to sacrifice their lives so others could come to believe it also. How do you account for this? Only one answer can account for this change in their lives: They truly believed Jesus had been raised from the dead.

How did they come to believe this? For one reason: They repeatedly saw Jesus—physically, and with their own eyes. On one occasion after His resurrection, Jesus told them, "Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have" (Luke 24:39). Hope replaced their despair, and their lives would never be the same.

This hope can be yours—and it will be, once you understand who Jesus Christ was and what He did for you. He came to bridge the gap between us and God, and He came to conquer the powers of death and Hell and sin and Satan. Because Christ rose from the dead, we need no longer fear death, for death's power has been shattered. Don't let doubt grip you any longer, but open your heart to Christ and discover the joy of His presence forever.

Answer 6

Spook? No, but He had a "glorified body" which one could, if he wanted to, call a Spook. This is how He could be seen by 500 people as he ascended to Heaven 40 days later. In our earthly bodies, we couldn't do this.

Answer 7

The reurrection of Jesus is fictional.

It never happened.

When you are dead, you are dead. No one can rise from the dead.

God can't make it happen because he exists only as an imaginary friend in the minds of christians.

Answer 8

Hallelujah ! May the light of the Lord shine upon your ah-soul.

Answer 9

Jesus' Reserection was glorious!