Did Jesus resurrect in his flesh and blood body or a new body?
The JW teach that when Jesus resurrected after his death that he did not resurrect in his pre death earthly human flesh and bone body, rather he resurrected with a spirit body.
“The Bible says that Jesus “was put to death in the flesh but made alive [resurrected] in the spirit.”—1 Peter 3:18; Acts 13:34; 1 Corinthians 15:45; 2 Corinthians 5:16.” JW.org
Let’s have look at the verses that are cited.
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
Acts 13:34 And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.
1 corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
2 Corinthians 5:16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.
Furthermore the JW website states
“Jesus’ own words showed that he would not be resurrected with his flesh-and-blood body. He said that he would give his “flesh in behalf of the life of the world,” as a ransom for mankind. (John 6:51; Matthew 20:28) If he had taken back his flesh when he was resurrected, he would have cancelled that ransom sacrifice. This could not have happened, though, for the Bible says that he sacrificed his flesh and blood “once for all time.”—Hebrews 9:11, 12.
So let’s have a look at the claim in more detail
It is an assumption which is not biblically stated that if his body was resurrected then this would cancel the ransom given. However, if we look at what the Bible actually says about the ransom of Jesus we will see that Jesus NEVER said I give my flesh for a ransom for mankind. We can even use the very verses that the JW cite. Jesus gave his LIFE for a ransom.
Matthew 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
His body is the bread by which if people eat of will be the LIFE of the world. (this is not as the Catholics believe a literal meaning).
John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
Jesus LIFE, not his flesh, was given as a ransom, his body is bread given FOR the life of the world.
Jesus however, made a very clear and concise statement regarding his resurrection in his physical body. Jesus said that he would raise up the temple of his body
John 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
The Pharisees questioned him
John 2:20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
But Jesus spoke of the temple of his BODY. Which the disciples remembered after his resurrection.
John 2:21 But he spake of the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.
Paul makes reference to the body being the Temple.
1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which isin you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
Clearly here Paul was referring to the earthly flesh body that we possess, not a spiritual body.
If Jesus did not resurrect in his earthly flesh body then he did not in fact raise up “this temple” his body. He raised up another temple. Even if it appeared as if it was the same body, if it wasn’t the same body then it wasn’t “this temple” and Jesus would have lied.
Also if Jesus was in a spirit body, something other than his earthly body then he did not in fact rise from the dead. He would actually still be physically dead, it would only show that Jesus was “alive” in an afterlife as a spirit. This is NOT and CANNOT be a physical resurrection. Without a resurrection there is no faith for it is in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
Jesus would only have manifest himself in the appearance of a body, he would not in fact of actually had a body. This would be, in reality, a manifestation of a spirit not the actual appearance of Jesus.
The Bible states that the body of Jesus was not found at the tomb after the resurrection
Matthew 28: 6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
The Jehovah’s witnesses claim that God simply made the body of Jesus “vanish”. This of course is pure conjecture a there is simply no biblical attestation for this.
The pharisees were worried that the disciples would steal the body to make it look like Jesus had risen.
Matthew 27:62 Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, 63 Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. 64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.
However, it would seem that in the understanding of the JW this is exactly what God did. He only made it appear as if Jesus had risen bodily.
Again we get a very clear reference to the physical bodily resurrection of Jesus in the interaction between Thomas and Jesus.
Thomas said unless he could see the print of the nails in his hands and put his finger into the holes he would not believe.
John 20:25The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
Jesus told him to do so
John 20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
Again if Jesus only made it appear as if this was his body then Jesus not only lied about raising his temple, he then tricked the disciples who, as we saw, remembered what Jesus said about raising his temple, his body, into believing that it was his pre death earthly human flesh and blood body resurrected when it was actually not.
Jesus even told his disciples that he was not a spirit
Luke 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. 40 And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.
Yet again if Jesus was in fact a spirit he clearly lied and tricked his disciples into believing that he was not.
Some people will go to 1 Corinthians 15 to try to prove that Jesus rose in a spirit body,
1 corinthians 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
They use this verse to argue that Paul is stating that after the resurrection the body is no longer flesh but a spirit and so clearly Paul is saying that Jesus was a spirit.
What we must do is harmonise scripture together. As we have already seen Jesus taught that the body in which he would be resurrected in would be the body he died in. There would be a physical resurrection. What we cannot do is ignore the very words of Jesus and those of the gospels in order to interpret Paul. We must in fact use the words of Jesus and the gospels in order to correctly understand what Paul is referring to.
Paul does NOT use flesh body and spirit body. He actually states that there is a NATURAL and a SPIRITUAL body. This is very different than what those who argue Jesus raised as spirit would like to assert.
Natural is the Greek ψυχικός psuchikos it does not mean the flesh body but that which is natural and non spiritual, one that does not live in the spirit. Paul is not trying to say the body isn’t a spirit.
Paul also uses spiritual body not spirit body. There is no comparison to a flesh body and a spirit body. This is read into the verse. This is merely distinguishing between those that are a natural, carnal being and those that are a spiritual being, being spiritual not being a spirit.
Paul had already mentioned this
1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Paul again is not trying to say that the resurrected body will be a spirit body as opposed to a flesh body but rather the resurrected body will be spiritual and therefore not subject to the same corruption as the natural body, a non spiritual body. One that is not living in the spirit and therefore is subject to corruption.
We are told that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
This is not a reference to a person going to heaven. It simply means that those who live in the flesh cannot inherit the kingdom of God, which is inside you.
Luke 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Those that are spiritual die to the flesh.
Romans 8:10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
This does not mean that they live outside the flesh, the flesh dies, but rather they live in the spirit which is inside them in their flesh. They no longer are natural but spiritual.
There is nothing in the teachings of Paul that would suggest that a person receives a completely different body in the resurrection. Only that the body that we have is no longer subject to the corruption that it once had. The Body is now spiritual and not natural not that it was flesh and is now spirit.
Now let’s have a look at 1 Peter 3:18
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
Notice here it does not state that Jesus was quickened (made alive) IN the spirit but rather BY the spirit.
To believe that Jesus was not raised in the same body that he died in is to deny the very words of Jesus and to make Jesus a liar and a deceiver. Jesus is neither.
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