Resurrection of Jesus Christ

by Fr Jose Thomas Poovathumkal

Q: Was the resurrected Christ flesh (material), or Spirit?

A: Son of God was crucified on the Cross. He resurrected from the dead with his own body. It was not an appearance. In the New Testament there are six accounts of what followed the resurrection of Jesus (Matt 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20-21; Acts 1:1-11; 1 Cor 15:1-20).

The empty tomb and the cloth that was wrapped around the body of Christ were considered to be one of the strongest evidences for the bodily resurrection. Gospels do speak of the empty tomb (Mk. 16:4-5; Lk. 24:2-3; Jn. 20:5-8). St. Peter and other disciples ran towards the tomb and St. Peter entered within, ?he saw the linen wrappings lying?? (Jn. 20:3-6). These biblical passages explicitly proclaim the bodily resurrection of Christ.

The evidence for the Resurrection of Christ as an event within history may be listed as follows:

1. The tomb of Jesus was found empty.

2. The disciples saw Jesus when they were fully awake.

3. Men who were cowards became fearless preachers, preached the gospel, and saw lives changed by that living Lord.

For Jesus, bodily resurrection meant resuscitation with transformation--that is, what was a physical and mortal body became a transformed immortal body.

See Also:

Easter Message-2006

An Overview of the Holy Week
Holy Week is the pinnacle of Great Lent. At no other time of the year will religious thought and practice be at such a high peak as during this sacred week, and no other family feast or festival should out rank that of Easter.

The Hour of Glory
No human mind can begin to fathom the eternal love of the Father toward His chosen children of grace. That hour of perfect obedience by His only begotten Son unto death, even the death of the cross, was ever before the Father from eternity. Had it not been for these covenant promises, Adam would have sunk eternally into hell the instant that he sinned.

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