Resurrection Reconsidered

Author: Dwight A. Pryor

Resurrection is a biblical doctrine that confounds the modern mind. Though universally
affirmed in church creeds, the notion seldom receives little more than lip service in most
Christian circles. Many seem to take it merely as a metaphor for some kind of post-death
eistence. All this stands in marked contrast to the !e"ish mindset of !esus# earliest
follo"ers.
$or the first church and the apostles the resurrection from the dead "as a singularly
significant conviction that transformed their lives and reshaped their theological
"orldvie"s. %hen on the third day &od physically raised !esus from the grave a ne" age
da"ned and everything "as cast in a ne" light, including !esus# o"n death on a Roman
cross. That "hich had left them in despair no" "as seen to have been a destined 'Acts
(:)*+, deliberate '(:),+ and decisive ') Cor -:./+ act by the &od of 0srael for the
salvation of the nations.
Christian faith at its core is in the &od 1that raised from the dead !esus our 2ord, "ho
"as put to death for our trespasses and raised up for our 3ustification4 'Rom (:)(-)-+.
Apart from the resurrection the cross held no salvation, only another martyred !e". The
resurrection vindicated the 5on of Man#s sacrifice and ealted !esus of 6a7areth to the
highest place of po"er and authority at &od#s right hand. 0t compelled early believers to
boldly proclaim, 1!esus is 2ord84 even in the face of Caesar#s threats, and to confidently
confront death.
90:%5 ;6 20$: after death varied "idely in the ancient "orld < from noneistence, to
some kind of immortal bliss as a disembodied soul, to repeated rebirths and deaths. $or
=lato the enlightened soul became an astral body that d"elt among the stars.
6o one in the ancient pagan "orld ho"ever held to the resurrection of the body. 0ndeed
such a vie" "ould have been repulsive for >ellenists like =lato, for "hom materiality
"as an evil encumbrance that imprisoned the pure spirit of the soul. $or them the
immaterial realm of heaven "as ultimately the only real "orld and the only one desired.
5econd Temple !udaism, from "hich Christianity sprang, "as uni?ue therefore in its
belief in the resurrection of the body. 6ot all !e"ish sects held to a belief in life after
death, such as the 5adducees '"hich is "hy they "ere so @sad-you-see#+. Aut based upon
the teachings of the 5ages, the =harisees held the resurrection of the dead at the 2ast Bay
as a central doctrine.
Though only hints of resurrection could be found in the Torah, the =rophet Baniel#s
"itness "as authoritative for them: 1And many of those "ho sleep in the dust of the earth
shall a"ake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt4
'.):)+. Resurrection confirmed the ultimate goodness of creation 'that the material "orld
is good and that death must be defeated+ as "ell as the ultimate 3ustice of &od 're?uiring
"ickedness to be recompensed and righteousness re"arded+.
:arly Christianity held to this !e"ish vie". Resurrection "as not the same as
resuscitation. The latter only delays deathC the former defeats it. 6or "as resurrection a
metaphor for some immaterial post-death eistence. Resurrection meant that at the :nd of
Bays &od "ould cause the righteous to live again in transformed physical bodies.
The !e"ish follo"ers of Deshua confidently looked for"ard to the 5on of Man#s return to
consummate the purposes of &od, "hen they too "ould be raised up in a transformed
physicality like that of their risen 2ord. !esus# resurrected body "as substantial, not some
phantasm like =lato#s astral body. >e ate and drank, and his body could be touched, even
the "ounds upon it.
The so-called 1spiritual4 body of the resurrection '. Cor .-:((-(-+ "ill differ from the
1physical4 not so much by its composition as by its animation. 0n the creation, material
bodies came alive by the soul '&en ):E+. 0n the resurrection transformed material bodies
"ill be fully animated by the 5pirit.
The transformed physicality of our resurrected bodies "ill be re?uired "hen, at the end,
the heavens and the earth "ill be made ne" also. &od#s ultimate d"elling place then "ill
be in the midst of a redeemed mankind in the earth, not "ith astral bodies in heaven.

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