Jesus in His resurrection body

[methinkshe]

I have long been fascinated by the fact that Jesus' disciples failed to recognise Him immediately when He appeared after His resurrection. Thomas in the upper room, then on the road to Emmaus and again at the sea shore when Peter came to Him. I find it comforting that Jesus' physical appearance had changed such that even His disciples who had followed him so closely didn't immediately recognise Him in his physical form. They knew Him only when He spoke and acted. It would be so desperately sad if our resurrection bodies were to be carbon copies of our earthly bodies. Where then the disabled and deformed? Has anyone else any thoughts on this topic? I'd love to hear what other people have discerned from Scripture.

In Jesus

Ruth

Edited May 4, 2007 by methinkshe

[Ovedya]

I have long been fascinated by the fact that Jesus' disciples failed to recognise Him immediately when He appeared after His resurrection. Thomas in the upper room, then on the road to Emmaus and again at the sea shore when Peter came to Him. I find it comforting that Jesus' physical appearance had changed such that even His disciples who had followed him so closely didn't immediately recognise Him in his physical form. They knew Him only when He spoke and acted. It would be so desperately sad if our resurrection bodies were to be carbon copies of our earthly bodies. Where then the disabled and deformed? Has anyone else any thoughts on this topic? I'd love to hear what other people have discerned from Scripture.

In Jesus

Ruth

Although there is some room for speculation, I think that it was the Lord's intention for them to not recognize Him rather than His transfiguration changing the way He looked. Mary did not recognize Him at the tomb (John 20:14), the disciples did not recognize Him on the shore (John 21:4), and the two men on the way to Emmaus were kept from recognizing Him on the day of His resurrection. But it is interesting that, in Luke, it was written that the disciples, "...were terrified and became frightened and thought they beheld a spirit." This could indicate that, rather than being unrecognizable or being kept from recognizing Him, the disciples were afraid that they were seeing a deceiving spirit - that they could have recognized Him but didn;t believe that it was really Him.

[apothanein kerdos]

I think we will look as God intended us to look if there were no Fall. That is to say, we might look similar to how we look now, only perfect, or we might look entirely different (if the imperfections have caused drastic deformities).

Either way, it will be an incorruptible body, so I'm looking forward to that.

[Guest]

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2

Love, Joe

[Leonard]

Actually there is a great Eucharistic teaching here.

Many times in the Scriptures (as in the Feeding of the 5,000, and in the Feeding of the 4,000) we read that Jesus TOOK BREAD, then He BLESSED IT, then BROKE IT, and GAVE IT........

At Emmaus the two Disciples did not even recognize Jesus, until He began to go through these familiar actions once again (Luke 24:30-31):

Now it came to pass as He was at the table with them, that

HE TOOK BREAD,

BLESSED IT,

BROKE IT,

AND GAVE IT TO THEM.

Then were their eyes opened and they knew Him.

May God grant us wisdom so to recognize Him.

[Botz]

I have long been fascinated by the fact that Jesus' disciples failed to recognise Him immediately when He appeared after His resurrection. Thomas in the upper room, then on the road to Emmaus and again at the sea shore when Peter came to Him. I find it comforting that Jesus' physical appearance had changed such that even His disciples who had followed him so closely didn't immediately recognise Him in his physical form. They knew Him only when He spoke and acted. It would be so desperately sad if our resurrection bodies were to be carbon copies of our earthly bodies. Where then the disabled and deformed? Has anyone else any thoughts on this topic? I'd love to hear what other people have discerned from Scripture.

In Jesus

Ruth

I believe there was a uniqueness in the ressurection of the L-rd, and that the signs of the crucifixion were almost like a badge of office and visible proof of his victory over sin and death. When he appeared to many of the disciples it was also to show them his wounds, so that they might see and know that it is truely him, and there could be absolutely no mistake or no half-truths bandied about as to the veracity of his ressurection....they were to be his witnesses. I do not think we will see other people in Glory who will have demonstrable scars from decapitation, hewn limbs, flaying, burning and what ever other death was meted out to them.

One thing we can be sure of is that there will be no desperately sad disappointments when we are given our ressurected bodies, it will not be like opening a present and finding it wasn't really something you wanted. Everybody who has ever suffered from a sick unhealthy body, been crippled, deaf, blind, retarded or deformed will have a fantastic glorious new body, and we will be making so much noise as we shout and express ourselves freely from the heart to the glory of G-d for having won us so great a victory.

[Openly Curious]

I have long been fascinated by the fact that Jesus' disciples failed to recognise Him immediately when He appeared after His resurrection. Thomas in the upper room, then on the road to Emmaus and again at the sea shore when Peter came to Him. I find it comforting that Jesus' physical appearance had changed such that even His disciples who had followed him so closely didn't immediately recognise Him in his physical form. They knew Him only when He spoke and acted. It would be so desperately sad if our resurrection bodies were to be carbon copies of our earthly bodies. Where then the disabled and deformed? Has anyone else any thoughts on this topic? I'd love to hear what other people have discerned from Scripture.

In Jesus

Ruth

Hello,

I also am fasinated with the resurection of Jesus before He ascended up into heaven. In John 21 you see that on that account that it was the third time He had appeared to His diciples "after" His resurection.

John 21:14--"This is now the third time Jesus showed Himelf to His disciples after He was raised from the dead."

It was true that in verse #4 the disciples didn't recognize Jesus standing on the shore as they were out on a boat in the sea but in the below verses you can see they knew it was Jesus when He called out to them as John told Peter "It is the Lord" and Peter jumped out of the boat and swam to the shore where Jesus was at.

verses 5-10--"Then Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any food?" They answered Him "No" And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved (John) said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it) and plunged into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish. Then as soon as they had come to land the saw a fire of coals there and fish laid on it and bread. Jesus said to them "Bring some of the fish which you have just caught."

Now the reason I bring all of this up is that it seems that when Peter jumped out of the boat and swam to the seashore where Jesus was at after John told him it was Jesus. That it appears that Jesus and Peter was cooking fish and bread on the seashore because in verse #9 when the other disciples got in from the sea they saw fish and bread on the coals of fire cooking and Jesus told them to get some of the fish they just caught and bring them and then cooked enough for them all to eat along with bread. Then in verse #12 Jesus said to them to "Come and eat" and all this time none of His disciples dared ask Him who He was Knowing it was the Lord.

Then finally in verese #13 Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish

Jesus seems to have had a meal here on the seashore with his disciples in His resurrected body as I have heard the question asked before will we eat in heaven and in our glorified resurrected bodies and "it appears" that this is taking place in this scene here on the seashore as this is the third time Jesus has now appeared to His disciples after His resurrection.

It said in the prophet Isaiah that they would beat Jesus so badly that even His visage would be marred and He would not be recognized as a result. And Jesus did endure a cruel beating. But it shows us that when we do put off this mortal and put on immortality that the perfected state of our resurrected body will not be corruptible any more.

Interesting topic you have here wish I had more time to get into it deeper.

blessings

OC

[methinkshe]

Thank you all for your replies. It is a wonderful privilege to discuss with brothers and sisters in Christ the fullness of God's Word. I know that "now we see through a glass darkly" but it is always a joy to wonder on the perfection of God's provision. Maybe it will be this way, or maybe that, but the specifics aren't as important as knowing that God has in store for us an eternity that is without tears and sorrow. I firmly believe that deformed, incapacitated, ugly physical features will be transformed in our resurrection bodies. I'm not sure how that will be, maybe we will have a body to match our spirit - and since we are born again and perfect in Christ, then our resurrection bodies will have about them a beauty to match the perfect spiritual beings that we are in Jesus, yet still retaining some identifying characteristics. Oh, I don't know, and maybe one shouldn't speculate too much, but I cannot help but wonder how it might be, especially since I have a very physically disabled daughter, and I just know that that is not how she will be in her resurrection body.

In Jesus,

Ruth