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Day Two – The Nature of the Resurrection

Precision and accuracy are often considered to be synonymous, but they describe two distinct qualities. Think about a target with a bull’s-eye and concentric circles spreading out from there. Being able to hit the same point repeatedly is precision. But being accurate is hitting the right point, the bull’s-eye. A good marksman must have both.

It is vital that we are accurate in our understanding of what the resurrection is and what it is not. It wasn’t an obscure notion or foreign concept during the time of Jesus. As N. T. Wright’s research reveals, the common understanding was that resurrection meant a complete reversal of death. Most, however, didn’t believe it was possible. It wasn’t even permitted in mythology.

When Christians began claiming Jesus had been resurrected, they were claiming something had happened to Him that had happened to no one else.

The resurrection wasn’t just a fancy way of describing a disembodied or spiritual existence that one might or might not pass into upon death, which was a commonly accepted idea in the Greco-Roman world. The Christian claim was that Jesus had risen from the grave in victory with a physical body, albeit one with some uncommon characteristics. 

Jesus predicted His physical resurrection when He said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up,” referring to His body as the “temple” (John 2:19). The New Testament clearly records a physical Jesus appearing and interacting with His disciples. 

“The New Testament insists in a bold historically reliable way upon a resurrection that is bodily. [Jesus] was not just a spirit, and the term ‘resurrection’ is not just a figure of speech”. 

The physical nature of the resurrection means it is a matter of historical record we can investigate.

Scriptures for Reflection:

John 2:18–22: Jesus declares that His resurrection would be the sign of Jonah, and it is clear that He is referring to a bodily resurrection.

Luke 24:36–49; John 20:19–23; 24–31; John 21: Jesus appears after His resurrection and physically interacts with His disciples.

Thomas specifically mentions his need for clear physical evidence, evidence that he literally could touch. Why do you think he needed this?