Many Christians think of Jesus as a spiritual creature, existing without a body. Of all of the references to Christ’s resurrected, physical body, the scriptures of the New Testament are some of the clearest. Here, He shows His disciples without a shadow of a doubt that, following death, He took up again His physical body.
Luke 24 shows the best record of this. As the disciples sat puzzling over the events of the preceding day, the Savior appeared to them. In verse 37, we see that the disciples responded with terror, thinking that Jesus was not a man but a spirit. But very clearly, He states, “Behold my hands and my feet…handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.” He invites the disciples to touch Him, and receive a witness unto themselves that His body is completely and fully there; not spiritual but physical.
As though this were not enough of a testimony, the Savior asked in verse 41 for meat. Was He hungry? I doubt it. Instead, as He consumed both fish and honeycomb, He further revealed the fact that He stood before them in a body, and not as a ghost or a spirit.
This was much gentler than the testimony He gave to the Nephites. In 3 Nephi 11, He actually invites them to feel of the prints in His hands and feet, and to thrust their fingers into His side. If He were a spirit, they would not be able to do this. Here, too, He is a very physical creature.
In this way did the Savior teach those present the conclusion of the Plan of Salvation. Because He overcame the grave and stood with them in a physical body, they, too, would reunite with their bodies at some point after their death. Although they would exist as spirits for awhile, until the Second Coming, they would, eventually, regain their bodies. Although we could not join in the apostles or the Nephites in touching the resurrected Lord, He also bore witness to us by including these teachings in His scriptures. Thus, we all can learn of what became of our Savior.
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Related Articles:
Gospel Doctrine: Thou That Destroyeth the Temple
Gospel Doctrine: What Christ’s Resurrection Means to Each of Us
General Conference: I Know That My Redeemer Lives