His Denial
Of being an apparition, baring his wounds hecalled for food. Wounded, but Alive After the crucifixion, Jesus came under the care of his devoted followers who brought him into a spacious tomb. If a man survived the death punishment, we would expect such a person to show clear evidence of the wounds.
We would expect him to keep a low profile and move away from the place of crucifixion, as there may be the chance of re-arrest. Fear would be exhibited by his followers out of concern for theirmaster. The Gospel testimony leads precisely to that conclusion. Jesus shows his wounds to Thomas (John 20:25-7), showinghe did not have a supernatural, resurrected body, but a patient's body. He hurriedly travelled away from the locality of the crucifixion and chose to meet only his closest followers: "Go tell my brothers to leave for
Galilee, and they will see me there" (Matthew 28:10). The followers of Jesus were frightened to the extent that theydecided not to tell anyone about his emergence from the tomb (Mark 16:8). Not once did Jesus appear beforehis persecutors or wandered through the center of Jerusalem asking people now to accept himas the resurrected Messiah who had atoned for their sins. All we have is a man in his earthlybody of flesh and bones (Luke 24:39) who suffered pangs of hunger (Luke 24:41) and staying out of the lime-light. In convincing his disciples that he had the same wounded body, he in effect was showing he never died as God saved him from the ordeal just as Jonah emerged alive from the fish (see "Sign of Jonah")
We would expect him to keep a low profile and move away from the place of crucifixion, as there may be the chance of re-arrest. Fear would be exhibited by his followers out of concern for theirmaster. The Gospel testimony leads precisely to that conclusion. Jesus shows his wounds to Thomas (John 20:25-7), showinghe did not have a supernatural, resurrected body, but a patient's body. He hurriedly travelled away from the locality of the crucifixion and chose to meet only his closest followers: "Go tell my brothers to leave for
Galilee, and they will see me there" (Matthew 28:10). The followers of Jesus were frightened to the extent that theydecided not to tell anyone about his emergence from the tomb (Mark 16:8). Not once did Jesus appear beforehis persecutors or wandered through the center of Jerusalem asking people now to accept himas the resurrected Messiah who had atoned for their sins. All we have is a man in his earthlybody of flesh and bones (Luke 24:39) who suffered pangs of hunger (Luke 24:41) and staying out of the lime-light. In convincing his disciples that he had the same wounded body, he in effect was showing he never died as God saved him from the ordeal just as Jonah emerged alive from the fish (see "Sign of Jonah")
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