Jehovah's Witnesses: Did Jesus rise bodily from the dead?

Answer 1

Here is what I posted on a previous Question

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Question (1) - Jesus body was a sacrifice for our sins. If Jesus body was resurrected, how can it be a sacrifice?

Hebrews 10:10
"And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all"

John 6:51
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."


--==Answer [1] Temple Raised==--
The Temple Jesus was referring to was not his fleshly body, but his spiritual body. As the Bible states, there two different types of bodies.

1 Corinthians 15:44
it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
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Question (2) - Why does the Bible state that Jesus was raised as a spirit?
1 Corinthians 15:45
So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"[; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.

1Peter 3:18
For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, HAVING BEEN PUT TO DEATH IN THE FLESH, BUT MADE ALIVE IN THE SPIRIT.
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--==Answer [2] Jesus' Flesh and Bones==--
Since humans cannot see spirits, Jesus had to materialize to be seen by humans. This was also done by angels as stated in the book of Genesis.

Genesis 19:1-3
1 The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.

2 "My lords," he said, "please turn aside to your servant's house. You can WASH YOUR FEET and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning."
"No," they answered, "we will spend the night in the square."

3 But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and THEY ATE.

Another account shows the angel having hands and being called a man.

Joshua 5:13-15
13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"

14 "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?"

15 The commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.

As you can see, spirit creatures can have the appearance of a man, and this is what Jesus did.
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Question (3) - If Jesus was raised in his his flesh what happen to his body? Because the scriptures say that flesh cannot inherit heaven, and that Jesus was not a in his flesh in Heaven.

1 Corinthians 15:50
50I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

Hebrews 1:3
The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being,

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--==Some scriptures to seriously think about==--

Jesus appeared right in front of their disciples.

Luke 24:36
While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be to you."

John 20:19
So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you."

Jesus was preaching in prison (another realm) when away from his disciples.

1 Peter 3:19
in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison,


Jesus was made visible to his disciples.

Acts 10:40
"God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible,


Mary didn't recognize Jesus.

"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

Mary didn't thought he was a gardener.

15"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."

16Jesus said to her, "Mary."
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).


Doors were locked yet Jesus appeared right in front of them.

John 20:26
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!"

Jesus was talking to his disciples yet they didn't know who he was. (Luke 24:15-32).

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So no, he was not.

Answer 2

1 Cor 15:42-45 talks about the resurrection of the dead. For the holy & anointed ones and also Jesus, they were given a spiritual body not physical. Please notice the CONTRAST.

1 Cor 15:42-45
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised up in incorruption. 43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised up in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised up in power. 44 It is sown a physical body, it is raised up a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual one. 45 It is even so written: “The first man Adam became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

1 Cor 15:44 – sown PHYSICAL body, raised up a SPIRITUAL body.
1 Cor 15:45 – Adam became a soul(i.e. with PHYSICAL body) , the last Adam became a life-giving SPIRIT (i.e with spiritual body).
Notice the context is talking of the resurrection of the dead.

Notice the holy ones of God will be like Jesus stated at 1 John 3:2, i.e. will have spiritual bodies.

Jesus of course can take the form of a physical body anytime he wishes to just like in the case of Luke 24:36,37.

Jesus assured the apostles that he was no apparition, which he was not, but that it was indeed he; and he did indeed have a fleshly body which he MATERIALIZED for the occasion. In other words, Jesus was assuring them that he was not the product of their imagination, neither was he someone else, but in truth and in fact the very Jesus they had known before his death.

Also, Jesus materialized to the exact same body that he has when he was a human, so that all of his apostles will believe, esp Thomas, that he is ALIVE. Notice the physical body that Jesus had has wounds, but in all the other occasions, it doesn’t and the apostles do not recognize him immediately. The glorified body of Jesus definitely does not have wounds & holes, but is perfect. He only materialized into the body with wounds so those who do not believe will believe that he is alive and it is him not a ghost.

A spirit does not have a physical body but a spiritual body. But a spirit can materialize to a physical body. 1 Cor 15. See 1 Pet 3:18 also.


Jesus did not remain as a man as Gal 1:1 states “Paul, an apostle, neither from men nor through a MAN, but through Jesus Christ”.


The physical body of Jesus was not in the tomb because he gave it to the person of God. Heb 9.

Jesus has became lower than the angels (spirits) when he became human (physical). After resurrection, Jesus is higher again than angels (spirits).If Jesus retain his physical body then he is still lower than angels.

Answer 3

His flesh became a barrier that prevented get entry to to the heavenly realm. Jesus’ “flesh” is spoken of at Hebrews 10:20 as being represented via the “curtain” that separated the Holy from the main Holy in the tabernacle. till now he ought to flow into heaven, the genuine “maximum Holy,” Jesus had to renounce his fleshly life and obtain spirit nature. His physique of flesh could have been a barrier to his going previous the “curtain” as a spirit individual. question: If Jesus Christ became resurrected as a spirit, how can Jehovah's Witnesses say they are going to be resurrected actual? So, what did Jesus recommend while he mentioned: "harm this temple and in 3 days i will advance it up… He became speaking relating to the temple of his physique." What temple? What physique? “Do you no longer understand which you every physique is God’s temple, and that the spirit of God dwells in you? If every physique destroys the temple of God, God will harm him; for the temple of God is holy, which temple you every physique is.”

Answer 4

"Thus it is written, 'The first man, Adam, became a living being'; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit."

The phrase says very simply that Christ "became a life-giving spirit."

Paul's illustration of the seed is the perfect analogy. Does a tree or plant bear any resemblance to the seed that bore it?

No, in fact the seed must die in order for the tree to come into existence. So it is that, Christ must die in the flesh in order to be re-created as immortal spirit creatures in heaven.

But, why did Jesus appear as a human after his resurrection?

First, it must be appreciated that Jesus did not appear as himself after he arose from the dead. For instance, on one occasion Mary mistook him for a gardener. On another occasion, Jesus appeared to his disciples walking on the road and they mistook him for some stranger. In the last chapter of John, the resurrected Jesus appeared to them on the beach in still another human body. On one occasion, Jesus manifested himself with the wounds of his impalement, in order to convince the disbelieving Thomas.

The fact that it was so difficult for the apostles to grasp the reality of Christ's resurrection is why it was necessary for Christ to manifest himself as a human on various occasions.

On the night when Jesus walked on water, the disciples were terrified that they were seeing some sort of apparition. For that reason, we should not expect that the resurrected spirit, Jesus, would appear to his disciples in another form except one that they were comfortable and familiar with. Recall, too, that years later, Jesus did appear to Paul as an invisible spirit, and poor Paul (Saul, at the time) was simply blinded and awestruck by the supernatural encounter.

Since it was so difficult for the apostles to comprehend Jesus' resurrection--even when they knew it was Jesus by what he said and did-- it would have been impossible for them to believe that Jesus had been resurrected into the spirit realm, unless they had seen him with their own eyes as he ascended into the heavens.

And, since spirits are invisible to human eyes, the only way that Jesus could make sure his apostles 'got it' is if he materialized a human body, as angels can do.

Answer 5

Jehovah's Witnesses certainly do believe that Jesus Christ was resurrected by Jehovah God some three days after his impalement. The bible is rather clear on this matter.

Of course, Jehovah's Witnesses also believe the bible to quite plainly teach that Jesus was resurrected to heavenly life.

(1 Peter 3:18) Christ died once for all time... he being put to death in the flesh, but being made alive in the spirit.

(1 Timothy 3:16) He was made manifest in flesh, was declared righteous in spirit, appeared to angels, was preached about among nations, was believed upon in the world, was received up in glory.


The bible quite plainly teaches that flesh and blood bodies cannot attain heaven.

(1 Corinthians 15:44-50) It is sown a physical body, it is raised up a spiritual body... flesh and blood cannot inherit God’s kingdom.

(2 Corinthians 5:1-8) In fact, we who are in this tent [that is, in earthly bodies] groan, being weighed down; because we want, not to put it off, but to put on the other, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ...while we have our home in the body, we are absent from the Lord... But we are of good courage and are well pleased rather to become absent from the body and to make our home with the Lord.


Many Scriptures indicate that spirit creatures could materialize as humans during bible times, so it is unsurprising that Jesus did so for several weeks after his resurrection. Materializing would allow Jesus to provide needed strengthening and upbuilding to the apostles and disciples, but those goals would not require Jesus to re-animate the fleshly body which had been impaled and which had died. Regarding the fact that Jesus materialized in a new human body, it is noteworthy that many or most of those who had walked alongside Jesus for years even did not recognize Jesus until he began to speak in his familiar manner. The fact that his materialized body reproduced the wounds of Jesus' impalement would allow many of those disciples to serve as powerful eyewitnesses to skeptical non-Christians largely unfamiliar with the idea of a heavenly resurrection.

(John 20:14-16) [Mary Magdalene] turned back and viewed Jesus standing, but she did not discern it was Jesus. ...She, imagining it was the gardener, said to him: “Sir, if you have carried him off, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”

(John 21:4-7) Jesus stood on the beach, but the disciples did not, of course, discern that it was Jesus. Then Jesus said to them: “Young children, YOU do not have anything to eat, do you?” ...He said to them: “Cast the net on the right side of the boat and YOU will find [some].” ...[John] said to Peter: “It is the Lord!” Hence Simon Peter, upon hearing that it was the Lord...

(Luke 24:30-32) And as he was reclining with them at the meal he took the loaf, blessed it, broke it and began to hand it to them. At that their eyes were fully opened and they recognized him

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