The Lord's Resurrection Body by Pastor Walter Snyder Q: There are mysteries in the Bible. One of these, for me, concerns Jesus' resurrection. After He rose from the dead, He seemingly looked so different that neither the disciples on the Emmaus road nor Mary Magdalene at the tomb initially recognized Him. Is there either a physical or a spiritual reason that He appeared as He did? I know that some people teach that there was no physical resurrection and use his different appearance as "proof." A: The physical resurrection of Jesus remains both the central mystery and central article of faith for Christianity. However, along with the Incarnation and the cross, the Resurrection remains also the chief stumbling block to unbelievers. After examining the resistance and the actual events, we'll come back to why the Resurrection is absolutely vital for us and the Faith we confess. Some completely deny Scripture, claiming that the entire story of Christ is a lie. Others accept that there was a man named Jesus who preached and taught until the authorities got rid of him. But they reject the Resurrection because they reject all miracles. Others want to believe that there is some truth in the Bible and invent other stories about what happened.. Islam (echoed by other religions) claims that a substitute died on the cross and that Jesus either later died a natural death or was bodily assumed into heaven. Others claimed that Jesus passed out on the cross and was later revived or that His dead body was stolen by His followers. Still others say that the disciples were hallucinating. A final set of false teachings involves His only dying according to His human nature and only rising according to the divine. Believing any of these means disbelieving the Bible. According to the Gospels, even His enemies were quite convinced that it was Jesus who actually died on the cross. These same men sowed the seeds of the stolen body theory when they asked Pilate to seal the tomb. They furthered this lie when they bribed the guards. With other orthodox Christians, I believe that He did rise and that the accounts of the Biblical witnesses are accurate. Thus, we contend with the differences experienced not only by Mary and the Emmaus disciples, but also by the ten that same evening (Lk 24:46ff). While we cannot fully explain the events, we remember that during his life on earth, Jesus was in a state of "humiliation," where he did not fully reveal and express his divinity. He bound himself not only to the Law of God, but also to the laws of God's creation. In the Resurrection, He ceased being the Suffering Servant and could act fully according to His Godhood. Isaiah foretold how disfigured the suffering Christ would be: "His appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind. (Is 52:14)" Due to the tortures, perhaps even His own mother truly could not recognize Him by the time He died. The Bible doesn't tell us how the resurrection body differed from the one laid in the tomb. Perhaps He returned to His pre-crucifixion appearance. Maybe He permanently bears different features than He did in this life. All we know here is that His wounds remained. We don't know why He was initially unrecognized, nor how He revealed Himself. In the upper room He met the disciples and showed His wounds. The disciples' doubts and fears indicate a different appearance; the wounds prove that He wasn't completely changed and that He was the One who'd been crucified. I think that He intentionally "cloaked" his appearance, revealing Himself only as He chose. While some think that Mary's tears hid the Lord's features from her, tears don't explain the lack of recognition by the Emmaus disciples. As disciples, they knew what He looked and sounded like and seemed astonished that their new companion didn't. Seemingly He either worked a change in His own looks or else blocked the senses of the witnesses until the opportune time. These instances foreshadow how He continues to reveal Himself. With Mary, it was the Word and calling her by name (John 20:16). To this day, He calls us by name in Baptism and continually reveals Himself in His holy Word. The Emmaus disciples recognized Him "in the breaking of the bread. (Lk 24:30-31, 35)" Even now, Jesus is revealed body and blood "in the breaking of the bread" in Holy Communion (1 Cor 11:28-29). Finally, though, we will with our own eyes see our Redeemer face to face (Job 19:25-27) and will know Him forevermore as we live in His presence. Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from ~The Holy Bible, English Standard Version~, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles. Ask the Pastor, © 2003 by Walter P. Snyder. It may be reproduced in totality, including this disclaimer, by anyone, provided that no profit is generated by said republication and redistribution. Translations into other languages should similarly note the United States and any appropriate international copyrights, as well as God's Scriptural injunctions concerning the property of others. Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book "What Do Lutherans Believe."