Dear Explorer,
Yesterday we asked the question, “Why didn't these followers of Jesus recognize Him?” And why has everyone He talked with had trouble recognizing Him?
I've heard a lot of theories about this. They weren't expecting to see Him, so they didn't recognize Him. They were in too much grief to even notice Him. But I think that if you've lived with someone for 3 years, you would recognize them!
Re-Read Luke 24:13-16
Luke 24:16 says that they were kept from recognizing Him. I supposed God could have blinded their eyes – because God can do anything!
But I think the best clue as to what is happening is found elsewhere in the Bible.
Read 1 Corinthians 15:35-44
The apostle Paul is writing about what our resurrected bodies will be like. He says our resurrected bodies won't be just like our earthly bodies – they will be much, much better!
What's the relationship between an acorn and a huge oak tree?
Do they look alike?
Not at all! But when you plant an acorn – you get an oak tree.
We talked about death for a follower of Jesus on Day 157. I showed you a model of SELF being carried to Heaven by the Holy Spirit leaving the physical BODY behind. And I mentioned that we would be given a new BODY. Yay! But our SELF lives on for all eternity.
In this passage, (1 Corinthians 15:35-44), Paul talks about different kinds of bodies in God's creation. Then He describes the new BODY by contrasting it to the old physical BODY. The phrase “is sown” is referring to a seed being planted. He is saying that we plant (or bury) a physical body and we get a spiritual body.
What is the first difference between the physical BODY and the new BODY (1 Corinthians 15:42)?
What does perishable or corruptible mean here?
We've talked before that perishable (corruptible) means breaking down and becoming unusable like perishable food. It rots and we throw it away. Or it could mean dying and decaying – like getting old. So, what does this tell you about the new supernatural BODY?
It will never die or wear out or get old or unusable.
What does it mean in 1 Corinthians 15:43 that our physical BODY is represented by dishonor or weakness?
It could refer to blemishes and flaws, crippling conditions or scars or the effects of disease and stress of this life. And it could also refer to the disgusting smells that the BODY produces just in normal digestion of food. We spend a lot of money trying to cover up the natural smells of our BODY. Or it could refer to parts of the BODY that we keep covered from the eyes of others because it brings shame. Apparently, our new BODY will be wonderful and powerful. Cool!
And finally, we see in 1 Corinthians 15:44 that our physical BODY is natural while our new BODY is supernatural. I think that means that our physical BODY now must obey all the natural laws - like laws of gravity and motion and energy, etc. But our new BODY will be supernatural!
Think for just a minute about what that will be like. What supernatural powers would you like to have?
So, let's get back to why didn't the followers of Jesus recognize Him? I think it was because He was in His supernatural new BODY!
We'll talk more about this tomorrow.
In His service, dale
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