Why Bother With It?

Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.   Luke 24:39

Jesus wanted the disciples to know that what they were seeing was more than his spirit in visible form. The body that had lain in the tomb had been raised. The message of Easter is not, “Jesus is alive!” That’s true, but Easter tells us much more: “Jesus is risen!” It’s worth thinking about the difference.

The Son of God was alive in heaven before he ever took human flesh: “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). He was actively engaged in the work of the Godhead, creating and sustaining the world, before he took on human flesh.

Why didn’t he leave the crucified body in the tomb and return to the Father? It was only flesh and bone—why bother? The angels could have said on Easter morning, “His body is here in the tomb, but don’t worry: his spirit is with the Father in heaven.”

When a Christian dies, is this not precisely what we say at the funeral service? We visit the graveside, and we know exactly where the body is, but then we say, “Even though the body is here, the person’s soul is with the Father in heaven.”

God created men and women as unique integrations of body and soul. That’s why death is such a terrible enemy: it separates the soul and the body that God has joined together. It’s the undoing of our very nature. If only the soul were saved, that would not be victory over death. The only way death can be defeated is for the body and soul to be reunited in the power of a new life.

When Christ returns in glory and gathers his people together, it is not just some spiritual capacity within you that will enter heaven. All of you—body and soul—will be rejoicing in the presence of God. He will redeem every part of you, including your body.

For further reading, see Luke 24