Do Christians Believe in a Zombie?
In several of our previous blogs, we have been slowly establishing that the accounts of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus are, in fact, historically accurate. First, we determined whether we could reasonably believe that the gospels came from the actual eyewitness testimony of real people that saw and experienced the events. Next, we discussed how we know that the accounts we are reading TODAY are actually accurate representations of what those eyewitnesses actually wrote down. Next, we determined whether the information could have been made up or distorted in some way over time. Finally, we pondered, if all of the above was actually written by real people who claim to have seen these things...could they have been lying or crazy? And where does Paul, the author of much of the New Testament, fit into all of this?
At this point, as the reader, you are either satisfied that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ are, in fact, as historically accurate as Alexander the Great, or this is just one big elaborate hoax carried out over 4000+ years. But you cannot be anywhere in between.
So what does it MEAN that Jesus came back after being dead and buried? Was He a zombie, as I've heard some people scoff sarcastically? Was He in some spiritual form? We know, from the Gospels, that He brought more than one person back from death during His ministry on earth. The story of Lazarus, for example, is told in John Chapter 11. Was it like that?
No, it wasn't like that. Lazarus was brought back to his old self, as if he hadn't died.
Jesus was in his Resurrection body.
What is a "Resurrection Body?"
It's not a zombie, I'll tell you that much.
To understand why Jesus coming back was SO CRAZY IMPORTANT, you have to understand what the Jewish prophets had been predicting for millenia. They predicted that God would raise all people, every last one of us, physically from the dead. In a Resurrection body. To be judged.
There are many references to this in the Old Testament, but for just a few predictions, see Daniel 12:2, Isaiah 26:19, and Psalm 17:15. Jesus Himself predicted the physical, bodily resurrection of the dead. See John 5:21 and Luke 20:35-36 for just a couple of examples. Remember that the prophets were speaking directly from visions or dreams or even from having heard the voice of God Himself. And Jesus...well He is God in human form.
If you don't believe that yet, stay tuned for future blogs.
So when Jesus was raised from the dead, and more than 500 people saw Him and touched Him, they were, for the very first time ever, seeing a physical, immortal Resurrection Body. Proof that the prophets, and Jesus Himself, were right all along. This body is immortal, perfect, glowing, and doesn't age, just to name a few attributes. It must have some relationship to our current bodies, though we don't have tons of information other than that.
We also know, because of the accounts of the transfiguration (one is in Matthew 17:1-3) where Jesus takes a couple of his apostles up to a small hill, before his crucifixion, and briefly shows his glowing transformed self to them along with those of Moses and Elijah, that some prophets may already have their Resurrection bodies.
So...if Jesus came back in a Resurrection body and proved Himself, and all the prophets right in everything they said about that...
Wouldn't it make sense to take a closer look at all the OTHER things He said? Including the thing about being the Son of God?
Because if we're all coming back in Resurrection bodies and are either going to spend the rest of eternity in the Kingdom of God, or...the other place...well I think looking a little closer at the Gospel makes a lot of sense.
Until next time, where we'll talk more about why He had to die in the first place and what that means for us. In the meantime, please feel free to get in touch with any questions, either in the comments or via Facebook message!
At this point, as the reader, you are either satisfied that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ are, in fact, as historically accurate as Alexander the Great, or this is just one big elaborate hoax carried out over 4000+ years. But you cannot be anywhere in between.
So what does it MEAN that Jesus came back after being dead and buried? Was He a zombie, as I've heard some people scoff sarcastically? Was He in some spiritual form? We know, from the Gospels, that He brought more than one person back from death during His ministry on earth. The story of Lazarus, for example, is told in John Chapter 11. Was it like that?
No, it wasn't like that. Lazarus was brought back to his old self, as if he hadn't died.
Jesus was in his Resurrection body.
What is a "Resurrection Body?"
It's not a zombie, I'll tell you that much.
To understand why Jesus coming back was SO CRAZY IMPORTANT, you have to understand what the Jewish prophets had been predicting for millenia. They predicted that God would raise all people, every last one of us, physically from the dead. In a Resurrection body. To be judged.
There are many references to this in the Old Testament, but for just a few predictions, see Daniel 12:2, Isaiah 26:19, and Psalm 17:15. Jesus Himself predicted the physical, bodily resurrection of the dead. See John 5:21 and Luke 20:35-36 for just a couple of examples. Remember that the prophets were speaking directly from visions or dreams or even from having heard the voice of God Himself. And Jesus...well He is God in human form.
If you don't believe that yet, stay tuned for future blogs.
So when Jesus was raised from the dead, and more than 500 people saw Him and touched Him, they were, for the very first time ever, seeing a physical, immortal Resurrection Body. Proof that the prophets, and Jesus Himself, were right all along. This body is immortal, perfect, glowing, and doesn't age, just to name a few attributes. It must have some relationship to our current bodies, though we don't have tons of information other than that.
We also know, because of the accounts of the transfiguration (one is in Matthew 17:1-3) where Jesus takes a couple of his apostles up to a small hill, before his crucifixion, and briefly shows his glowing transformed self to them along with those of Moses and Elijah, that some prophets may already have their Resurrection bodies.
So...if Jesus came back in a Resurrection body and proved Himself, and all the prophets right in everything they said about that...
Wouldn't it make sense to take a closer look at all the OTHER things He said? Including the thing about being the Son of God?
Because if we're all coming back in Resurrection bodies and are either going to spend the rest of eternity in the Kingdom of God, or...the other place...well I think looking a little closer at the Gospel makes a lot of sense.
Until next time, where we'll talk more about why He had to die in the first place and what that means for us. In the meantime, please feel free to get in touch with any questions, either in the comments or via Facebook message!
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