124. Christ's Resurrection: Suitability, Timing, and Nature of the Risen Body

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Suitability of the Third Day Resurrection #

• Against Two Extremes: Objections present two vice-like extremes: (1) immediate resurrection would negate the reality of death, and (2) delayed resurrection until the end of the world would violate the conformity of members to the head. The middle path (third day) represents virtue.
• Truth of Death vs. Truth of Divinity: A delay was necessary to demonstrate that Christ truly died (not merely appeared to die), while the resurrection could not be deferred to the end of the world without undermining faith in his divinity.
• Perfect Number Three: The number three possesses perfection as it contains beginning, middle, and end (following Aristotle’s principle in De Caelo).
• Mystical Significance: One integral day and two nights in death signify the destruction of two deaths—bodily death and spiritual death (guilt and punishment from sin), according to Augustine.
• Three Ages of Salvation: Resurrection marks the transition from the second age (under the law) to the third age (under grace). It also inaugurates the third state of the saints: from figural observance, to faith, to eternal glory.

Reconciling the Gospel Accounts of Timing #

• The Problem of “Third Day” vs. Night Resurrection: If Christ rose before dawn (while darkness remained), how can this be called “the third day”?
• Natural Day (24-hour period) vs. Artificial Day (sunlit period): The resolution distinguishes between natural day (24-hour period from midnight to midnight) and artificial day (period illuminated by the sun). Even if Christ rose in the night, this counts as the third natural day.
• The Significance of Night to Day Transition: God commanded light to shine from darkness (Genesis). The night-to-dawn transition symbolizes grace working through the New Testament—as humanity is transferred from darkness (sin) to light (glory).
• Reconciliation of Gospel Accounts: Mark records the sun rising when women came to the monument; John notes it was still dark. Both are true: the sun was approaching the horizon, gradually illuminating while darkness persisted.

Was Christ the First to Rise? #

• Imperfect vs. Perfect Resurrection: Old Testament figures (Elijah, Enoch) and those raised by Christ (widow’s son, Lazarus, Jairus’s daughter) experienced imperfect resurrection—they returned to life only to die again. Perfect resurrection is liberation not only from actual death but from the necessity and possibility of dying.
• Christ as First Fruits: Christ is “the first fruits” of those sleeping (1 Corinthians 15:20) in perfect resurrection, though others preceded him chronologically.
• Those Raised at the Passion: Matthew 27 records that monuments opened and saints rose. Jerome interprets this as immediate ascension to immortal life; Augustine suggests they rose to die again as signs of Christ’s resurrection. Augustine’s reasoning appears more forceful—appeals to Christ being primogenitus mortuorum (firstborn from the dead) support the interpretation that perfect resurrection belongs uniquely to Christ.
• Grace vs. Glory Ordered: Just as grace (available to Old Testament saints) precedes glory, so temporal resurrection of the just preceded Christ; yet perfect resurrection in glory was reserved for Christ as author of grace.

The Question of Christ’s True Body After Resurrection #

• Three Apparent Difficulties:

  1. A true body cannot occupy the same space as another body, yet Christ entered closed doors (John 20).
  2. A true body cannot vanish from sight unless corrupted, yet Christ disappeared at Emmaus (Luke 24).
  3. A true body has determined figure, yet Christ appeared in different forms to disciples (Mark 16).

• The Answer: A True But Glorified Body: The same body that died was reunited with the soul. Truth of resurrection requires the same body and soul reunited; otherwise it would be merely apparent (phantasticum), not real. The body’s truth derives from its form (the soul).

• Resolution Through the Glorious Condition: The glorious body possesses properties enabling it to manifest Christ’s will:

  • Entered closed doors: Not from the body’s nature but from divine power united to it and the glorious condition of the body.
  • Invisible when desired: A glorious body is spiritual—completely subject to the spirit’s will. Actions of visibility operate through the action of the visible upon sight; a glorified body can control whether it is seen.
  • Variable appearance: The glorified body remains truly the same, but small differences in features (like optical variations) allow it to appear in different forms without ceasing to be the true body.

• Augustine’s Principle: “If you grasp the way that it did, it is not a miracle. For where reason fails, there is the building up of faith.” Where natural reason cannot explain, faith apprehends divine power at work.

Key Arguments #

Against Immediate Resurrection #

• If Christ rose immediately after death, his death would not appear genuine; it could be objected that he never truly died but only appeared to die.
• The objection from Acts 2 (“impossible for Christ to be detained by hell and death”) is met by distinguishing between detention through death’s necessity versus remaining in death freely by Christ’s will for a purpose: the instruction of faith.

Against Delayed Resurrection Until End of World #

• Members are conformed to their head in nature, though not in power. Christ’s excellence of power justifies his resurrection prior to others’, demonstrating the superiority of Christ as source of resurrection.
• Immediate resurrection demonstrates faith in Christ’s divinity; delayed resurrection would undermine this.

The Glorious Body: True Yet Incorporeal in Operations #

• The body is truly corporeal (flesh and bones as Luke 24 emphasizes), not merely phantastical.
• Yet it operates with properties transcending ordinary bodily limitations due to the soul’s beatitude redounding into the body.
• The body’s subjection to the will (spirituality in Pauline sense) explains apparent contradictions: it can be touchable, visible, or intangible according to Christ’s will.

Important Definitions #

• Resurrection (resurrectio): Liberation not only from actual death but from the necessity and possibility of dying; thus distinguished from mere resuscitation or return to life.
• Imperfect Resurrection: Return to mortal life subject to dying again (e.g., Lazarus).
• Perfect Resurrection: Rising to immortal, incorruptible life never to die again (Christ’s resurrection).
• Glorified Body: A true human body completely subject to the spirit’s will, possessing properties of clarity, incorruptibility, and spirituality, and capable of manifesting or concealing itself according to the will.
• Spiritual Body (corpus spirituale): Not an immaterial body, but a material, corporeal body entirely subject to the spirit’s dominion (following 1 Corinthians 15:44).
• Natural Day: A 24-hour period reckoned from midnight.
• Artificial Day: The period of illumination by the sun.
• Detentio (detention): The state of being held or restricted; Christ was not detained by death’s necessity but freely remained in death for faith’s instruction.

Examples & Illustrations #

• The Two Nights and One Day: Augustine’s explanation that one integral day and two nights (Friday evening through Sunday morning) sufficed to show the destruction of two deaths—bodily death and spiritual death (guilt and punishment).
• Marriage Ceremony Timing: The phrase “right away” in human speech (“we will marry right away”) does not mean instantaneously but rather in a brief time without unnecessary delay—similarly, Christ’s remaining in death for three days was not indefinitely deferred but occurred in a determinate, limited period.
• Courage Between Vices: Virtue lies between excess and defect (courage between cowardice and foolhardiness). The third-day resurrection lies between the extreme of immediate resurrection and the extreme of indefinite delay.
• Optical Illusions and Facial Recognition: Small variations in facial features can make the same face appear entirely different to observers—similarly, Christ’s glorified body could appear in different forms while remaining truly the same body.
• Harvey Oswald’s Casket: Berquist’s tangential example illustrating that historical artifacts can be preserved and later examined; used to note that David’s tomb remains intact, supporting Peter’s argument that David’s flesh did not see corruption and therefore he was not among those raised at Christ’s passion.

Notable Quotes #

“The head and the members are conformed in nature, but not in power; for more excellent is the power of the head than of the members.” (Thomas Aquinas, explaining why Christ’s resurrection need not conform to the pattern of other resurrections)

“A spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see me to have.” (Christ in Luke 24:39, cited to demonstrate that the risen Christ possessed a true, tangible body)

“No one takes my soul from me, but I lay it down, and again I take it up.” (John 10:18, cited to show Christ’s active agency in his own resurrection)

“If you grasp the way that it did, it is not a miracle. For where reason fails, there is the building up of faith.” (Augustine, explaining how divine power transcends natural explanation in the resurrection)

“Christ, rising from the dead, now no longer dies.” (Romans 6:9, cited to define the perfection of Christ’s resurrection in contrast to imperfect resurrections)

Questions Addressed #

1. Was it suitable for Christ to rise the third day? Yes: an interval demonstrates the truth of death (against immediate resurrection), while the third day confirms his divinity (against indefinite delay). The number three signifies mystical perfection and marks the transition to the age of grace.

2. How can “the third day” be reconciled with resurrection before dawn? By distinguishing natural day (24-hour period from midnight) from artificial day (sunlit period). Even if Christ rose in darkness, the night belongs to the third natural day. The transition from night to dawn symbolizes passage from sin’s darkness to grace’s light.

3. Was Christ the first to rise from the dead? In perfect resurrection (to immortal life), yes. In time, others were raised before him, but they experienced imperfect resurrection (returning to mortal life). Christ is the “first fruits” of perfect resurrection.

4. Did Christ truly possess a body after resurrection? Yes, the same body that died, reunited with the soul. This is essential for true (not merely apparent) resurrection. The body’s truth derives from its form (the soul).

5. How could Christ enter through closed doors if his body was true? Not from the body’s nature but from divine power united to it. The glorious condition of the body—its complete subjection to the spirit—allows it to pass through material obstacles while remaining truly corporeal.

6. How could Christ’s body be invisible or appear in different forms? A glorified body possesses spirituality—complete subjection to the will. Visibility occurs through the action of the visible upon sight; a glorified body controls whether it is seen. Optical variations in features can create different appearances while the body remains the same.

7. Was Christ detained by death and hell? No. Although Acts 2 says Christ was “impossible to be detained by hell,” detention implies necessity or force. Christ freely remained in death according to his will, not from necessity, for the instruction of faith.

Tensions and Resolutions #

• Conformity of Members to Head vs. Exceptional Resurrection: Members must rise at the end of the world, not the third day. Resolution: conformity holds in nature but not in power; Christ’s superior power justifies exceptional treatment.

• Gospel Accounts of Timing (Dark vs. Daylight): Mark says women came after sunrise; John says it was still dark. Resolution: both true—the sun was approaching the horizon, creating a transitional state where darkness remained but light approached.

• Christ’s Agency vs. The Father’s Agency: Acts and Romans attribute resurrection to God (the Father); John attributes it to Christ. Resolution: the divine power is one; both attributions are true. As man, Christ was raised by the Father; as God united to his body and soul, Christ raised himself.

• True Body Yet Immaterial Operations: How can a true body (flesh and bones) enter closed doors or vanish? Resolution: the body is truly corporeal but glorious, entirely subject to the will through the soul’s beatitude, enabling it to manifest properties transcending ordinary bodily limitations.