Resurrection Body, Part 1

Resurrection Body John 20:19-20, John 20:26, Luke 24:37-39, Romans 6:5 1 Corinthians 15:35-54, 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Philippians 1:21-24 Introduction You and I are amazed by the illusion of slight of hand and modern "magic". Scripture tells us that Jesus did something amazing, on more than one occasion. In fact, twice he appeared in a room that was locked tight, in order to reveal himself to his disciples and prove that he was resurrected from the grave. John 20:19-20 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 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!" Can I tell you something? Resurrection changes a person. It was not simply enough that Jesus could somehow mask his appearance and not be recognized by those who were closest to him. It is also true that his resurrected body was transformed so that he could pass through walls, or simply materialize, (i.e. "Beam me up Scotty!") into any space in any place that he chose. And it seems illogical because though it is scientifically postulated that it is possible to pass through the space between atoms, it has never been actually accomplished in a scientific experiment. Or has it? Video 1 It seems impossible, doesn't it? And yet the magician, the illusion, makes it appear that someone else has figured out how to pass through walls. But Jesus was not performing a magic trick. He was not a master of illusion. And to a further point, which some have supposed through the centuries, he was not simply a spirit being in his resurrection. No, he had a real, touchable, solid body. But, his body was different than anything we had ever before seen or experienced and different than anything we have seen since, the magician in the video included. Jesus is unduplicated, so far, but promises that one day we will be like him. Video 2 We know that Jesus had a real body because he encouraged the disciples on that first evening to see his hands, his feet and his side. But, you may protest, they were only looking at a spiritual representation. Perhaps that is true, but just a week later, Thomas was encouraged to "put his finger" here and "reach out" his hand to insert it into the spear wound that had healed. Jesus was very real, very alive, and very touchable, yet he was still able to enter the locked room, and then exit from it without using the door or the window or the secret passage way. And before I get too afield from the real point, Jesus was not simply demonstrating his special powers of walking through walls. His real message was that he had risen from the dead. He appeared to the disciples to show them, to demonstrate to them, to prove to them, that he was no longer dead, and that his body had not simply been moved by the Jews. No, he was alive. And, it should not surprise us that if Jesus can defeat death and the grave, that he should also be able to defeat the laws of physics, which, by the way, he invented and they work at his power and by his authority. It would be reasonable then to say that Jesus is quite literally in control of the laws of nature because he is nature's God. And, therefore, suspending the laws of nature by walking through walls, though impossible for us, is quite possible for him. In fact, if we look at Luke's description of that first evening, Jesus provides the argument against his spirit only appearance. Luke 24:37-39 They (the disciples) were startled (at his appearance) and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 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." Jesus was not a ghost. Jesus was not a spirit only. Jesus had been changed and transformed in his resurrection, and though we don't understand it, still, we believe it. Though we have not seen it personally, we trust the testimony of those who were there. They have written them down for us so that we may "believe that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah), the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name," (John 20:31). Have you believed? Have you trusted in the testimony of those who heard and saw him? Do you still have doubts? Jesus is not simply a master of illusion. He has not come to amaze us by his slight of hand. He has come to bear witness that God loves us, God loves you. And that by believing on Jesus as the Son of God that you might have life everlasting. But you will not live eternally in your present body. No, just as Jesus was changed in resurrection, so you and I will be changed and will be like him. "For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his," (Romans 6:5, ESV). Not so that we can walk through walls, but so that we can have ever-lasting life. 1