Have you ever wondered what our resurrected bodies will be like? I know I have. Maybe, like me, you’ve mulled over the following thoughts and questions before. Musings, for example, like…
- “In what ways will I stay the same? In what ways will I become different?”
- “Will I be taller or shorter? More muscular or more lean?”
- “Will I have a stronger, sharper jawline—and with it, less-strong, less-sharp tan lines?”
- “Will I have more hair where I want it, and less hair where I want it?”
- “What age will I be? 25? 35? 45?”
- “Will I have the same name, or a new one?”
- “Will I be able to recognize other people, or will I have to meet them all over again?”
- “Will I have wings? 2 arms and 2 eyes again? Or 6 arms and 6 eyes?”
- “Is there even a way to know?”
Luke 24 is one of the few passages in the Bible that ‘pulls back the curtain’ on this topic and allows us to catch a glimpse of what our resurrected bodies will be like in eternity. To be sure, it does not give us all the details and answer every question, but it does provide a certain starting point that helps us frame and give clarity to the general ‘fuzziness’ that we likely feel about this topic; namely, the resurrected body of Jesus.
In two other places of Scripture, we are told that Jesus’ own resurrected body is a prototype for the resurrection of all things, the new heavens and new earth; i.e., what the afterlife will be (Col. 1:18; 1 Cor. 15:20). And not just the protype, but the inaugurator of it.[1] Therefore, by observing the nature of Jesus’ own resurrected body, we get a glimpse of our own will look like one day as well.
There are 3 main details in Luke’s account about the nature of Jesus’ resurrected body that give us a template for how we ought to think about what our own will look like. Here are the 3 details; then we will discuss what that means for us.
- Jesus eats food.
One of the ways the resurrected Jesus proves to the disciples that He is not a ghost or a hallucination is that He eats with them. He breaks bread with a few of them (24:30), and He also eats fish with another group on the same day (24:42).
- Jesus ‘teleports’ from one place to another.
Jesus’ resurrected body is still physical; it’s flesh and blood, and consume and enjoy food. Yet, we can also see that His body now is equipped to vanish and reappear—into different spaces and time. He vanishes during a sit-down meal for three; and He reappears into a large gathering in the confines of a large living room, where the doors are closed and locked. Evidentially, the physical boundaries of walls and doors—even the physical boundaries of his own resurrected physique—do not constrain Him. It is like teleportation.
- Jesus is somewhat recognizable.
Lastly, Luke 24 shows us that Jesus’ resurrected body is somewhat recognizable to the disciples—those who knew Him best and spent the most time with Him. In both social settings of Luke 24—with two disciples at dinner and then the larger group at a house—they do not recognize Jesus at first.
Initially, the two disciples considered Him to be a stranger. And then the larger group believed Him to be a spirit—even though He was a physical body—simply because real, physical humans with real, physical bodies do not ‘appear’ in your midst.
However, even though they didn’t recognize Him at first, eventually, they did. It just took several moments before it ‘clicked.’ This is because Jesus was not entirely different. He was the same, yet at the same time, different. He showed them He was ‘flesh and blood,’ and even alluded to His scars (v. 39). He wasn’t less of Himself necessarily; He was more. He was the same person, just different.
Connecting the Dots
So, what does Jesus’ resurrected body—based on what we now know about it in Luke 24—tell us about what our own resurrected bodies will be like? These three characteristics ought to set the framework how we ought to think.
- Our resurrected bodies will be able to enjoy God’s creation and blessings, like food.
Because Jesus’ resurrected body was able to consume and enjoy food, that suggests that our resurrected bodies will be able to as well. Our new bodies will be built with the capacity to enjoy God’s blessings and creation, such as food, in an optimal way.
Praise God, right? I live in Houston, TX—the food capital of the South—which means, by definition, it’s home to the best food on planet earth. And it brings me great joy to know that eternity will not leave behind the pleasure of good food.
Revelation 19, in fact, tells us exactly what the very beginning of eternity will look like: An elaborate wedding feast between God and man. In other words, the inauguration of the new heavens and new earth will start with a celebration, one that will involve an abundance of good food and drink, which we will enjoy.
- Our resurrected bodies will be physical, yet ‘beyond-physical.’
As mentioned before, Jesus’ resurrected body in Luke 24 is able to vanish from one place and reappear in another; in a sense, He is able to teleport. Now, I realize that teleportation sounds ‘Sci-Fi’-ish at worst and perhaps fantastical at best.
But think, for a moment: What does teleportation, as a concept, signify exactly? And what might that tell us about the resurrected body of Jesus, and therefore, about our own one day?
The ability to teleport conveys that your body is above and beyond the basic human conditions and constraints of space, time, and matter. On this side of heaven, of course, our human bodies are constrained by space, time, and matter. But in eternity, that will change.
For one, our resurrected bodies will be in a state of eternity, instead of a context of time. But secondly, our resurrected bodies will still consist of space and matter; yet, they will not be constrained by space and matter in the same sense. And the ability to teleport—as a very concept—complements the reality of being physical, yet not being bound by physical limits (like space, matter, and time.)
Now, I’m no quantum physicist, but it would seem that teleportation is impossible on this side of heaven precisely because of our natural constraints of space, time, and matter. But thinking abstractly, if any of those variables were to change (such as time to eternity), it would seem like it would be more probable.
It’s easy to get into the weeds here, but here’s the point: Jesus’ resurrected body shows us that our resurrected bodies will be physical like His, and also in some sense, ‘beyond-physical’ as well.
- Our resurrected bodies will be somewhat recognizable.
Lastly, since Jesus’ body was somewhat recognizable, this alludes to the notion that our resurrected bodies will retain some semblance of who we were before, too. We will be the same person; however, we will have features or characteristics that are different, yet still recognizable.
I’ve heard one pastor liken this phenomenon to the notion of seeing a child when they are 10 years old and then not seeing them again until they are 25 years old. Of course, after a 15-year hiatus of much growth and development and puberty, you would not recognize them at first; but upon a closer look, you would be able to detect semblances of who they were in the past. The only difference is that those semblances have matured.
For instance, you might imagine…
“Oh yes, now that I think about it, I do see your mother’s eyes…”
“Oh, that’s right! You do have your father’s smile…”
At 25 years old, the child is not any less of who he was at 10 years old, but more. The same characteristics he possessed at 10 years old did not go away as much as they matured and developed.
In a similar way, our resurrected bodies will be recognizable to our earthly ones; they will be the same, yet different. We will carry semblances of who we are from earth and into eternity; however, we will be much more of who we are, not less.
We do not have all the answers, of course, about what our resurrected bodies will be like and look like. But Luke 24 gives us clarity and sufficiency: 1) We will be built in order to enjoy God’s creation and blessings; 2) We will be physical, but also beyond-physical; and 3) We will be somewhat recognizable, being more of who God created us to be, not less.
Does that give you chills? Hope? Anticipation? Excitement?
The main question is, do you trust Jesus? Do you trust who He is and who He claims to be? Do you trust what He says about life and eternity? If not, I’d invite you to do that right now. Maybe today is the day you will go from death to life, and not just in this life, but in the next as well. If so, then you will be resurrected with the One who has already gone before you and is a preparing a place for you (John 14).
Want to hear the full message? You can do so here at the following link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1ejsmoFkPiG7iF43TcWJTS.
[1] Justin Holcomb, https://www.christianity.com/god/jesus-christ/what-does-it-mean-that-jesus-is-the-firstborn-from-the-dead.html.
