|
Was Jesus Resurrected as an Invisible Spirit?
|
|
Chris:
Hi,
John. Did you ever check into the fact that the Watchtower preaches a
different gospel than the early Christians?
John:
Yes, Chris. I did do some research into that. It may seem different to
you, but I can’t stress enough that we do believe in the death,
burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Chris:
Let me get this straight, John. Are you saying that the Watchtower
teaches the death, burial and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ?
John:
Well, wait a minute! Jehovah’s Witnesses certainly do teach that
Jesus rose from the dead, but not bodily. We have this great
publication called, "What Does God Require of Us?", and it
says right here, on p. 7 that, "Jesus died and was resurrected by
God as a spirit creature...".
Chris:
So the Watchtower teaches that Jesus’ body was not resurrected, but
that he rose as an invisible spirit.
John:
Exactly!
Chris:
John, what if Jesus told you that he was going to raise his body from
the dead, would you believe him?
John:
That’s impossible, Chris.
Chris:
I know how you feel, John. But, suppose Jesus did tell you this, would
you believe him?
John:
I guess I’d have to, but....
Chris:
Can I read a scripture to you, John?
John:
Okay.
Chris:
In John 2:18-22, after he cleansed the temple, Jesus was having a
heated encounter with the
religious Jews of his day. In v. 18, they said to him, “What sign do
You show to us, since you do these things? Jesus answered and said to
them, ‘Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.’
Then the Jews said, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this
temple, and You will raise it up in three days?’ But He was speaking
of the temple of His body”. John, according to this passage,
what did Jesus say that he was going to raise?
John:
Um...., I guess his body....but, again, that’s
impossible!...you’re just taking one scripture out of the bible and
trying to prove that Jesus’ body rose from the dead.
Chris:
I think it’s very important, John, never to build a doctrine on one
verse of scripture alone, but to compare other verses also. If you
turn back to Luke 24:36-39, I think that it becomes even more clear.
This scene takes place with the apostles after the resurrection, and
it says, “Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the
midst of them, and said to them, ‘Peace to you’. But they were
terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.
And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise
in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself.
Handle me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as
you see I have’. When He had said this, He showed them His hands
and His feet”. Did you hear that? The apostles thought they were
seeing a spirit, but Jesus promptly corrected them by showing them the
actual nail wounds in his hands and feet.
John:
Chris, you don’t understand. Jesus had to demonstrate that he rose
from the dead. Since he was an invisible spirit creature, the only way
to prove it was to take on another physical body and appear before his
followers.
Chris:
John, Jesus said, “Behold My hands and My feet....it
is I Myself”. Jesus made it very clear that he was standing
there in the same body that was nailed to the tree. If Jesus
appeared to them in a manufactured body, he is guilty of deceiving his
disciples into believing that his body had been raised. Do you think
that Jesus is a deceiver, John?
John:
Of course not! Listen, Chris, I’ll look over these passages, but I
know several scriptures that prove without a doubt that Jesus’ body
was not raised.
Chris:
Okay, let’s talk again next week.
John:
Alright. |