Jesus was the First Raised from the Dead

But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming.

(1 Corinthians 15:20-23)

There are six recorded instances in Scripture of people being raised from the dead prior to the Lord’s resurrection, and yet in this passage Paul declares that Christ was the first to be raised from the dead. The explanation for this apparent contradiction lies in the fact that Christ was the first to be raised in an immortal, spiritual body that dies no more. The others were raised in mortal, natural bodies, and they all died again.

After Jesus had destroyed principalities and powers in the lower parts of the earth, He ascended to the surface, where He entered His body that had been lying in the tomb during His time in the heart of the earth. The moment Jesus entered His body, it was instantly transformed from a dead, mortal body into the living, spiritual body He now inhabits.

But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

(Hebrews 9:11-14)

After Jesus was raised from the dead, He did not immediately ascend to God the Father. We know this because of His encounter with Mary early that morning. During that meeting, Jesus would not allow her to touch Him, saying, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father” (John 20:17).

The reason Jesus could not allow Mary to touch Him was that He had to appear before the throne of God completely unspotted from the world. After appearing to Mary, as the passage above declares, Jesus ascended to the throne of God to present Himself without blemish and to offer His own blood as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. God accepted His sacrifice, and through it, Jesus obtained our eternal redemption.

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. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marvelled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?" So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence.

(Luke 24:36-43)

Later that evening, after presenting Himself before the Father, Jesus appeared to His disciples once again. On this occasion, He allowed them to touch Him. The reason He could now do so was that His sacrifice as the spotless Lamb of God had been accepted by the Father, and thus He could interact freely with His disciples.

As the passage above reveals, the disciples struggled to comprehend what they were seeing. Only three days earlier they had witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion and burial, and now He stood before them alive. Knowing their doubts, Jesus invited them to handle His body—placing their fingers into the nail wounds in His hands and inserting their hands into the spear wound in His side.

We know this because Thomas, who was absent that evening, declared that he would not believe unless he could do the same. Eight days later, Jesus appeared again, and Thomas was present. The Lord invited him to place his fingers in Jesus’ hands and place his hand in Jesus’ side, after which Thomas confessed, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:24–28).

Still, the disciples found it difficult to grasp the reality before them, so Jesus ate food in their presence to demonstrate that He was not a spirit, but the resurrected Lord in a tangible, glorified body. It is important to note His words describing His body as “flesh and bones,” with no mention of blood. This is because His blood remains before the throne of God as the eternal sacrifice for our redemption.

As an aside, the holes in the Lord’s hands, feet, and side will remain visible for all eternity, as a lasting testimony to the price He paid for our salvation.

So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed--in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

(1 Corinthians 15:42-53)

In describing in the above passage what the resurrected bodies of the saints will be like, the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul also describes what our Lord’s body is like, for Scripture declares that we will receive a body like His.

Our Lord no longer has a natural, mortal body, but an immortal, spiritual body—incorruptible, glorious, and full of power. His resurrected body can take on various forms. In Luke’s account, the Lord appeared to the disciples in a form they recognized—just as He had looked before His crucifixion.

Throughout the post-resurrection accounts, Jesus most often appeared in the likeness He had during His earthly ministry. Thus, in appearance, His resurrected body looked just as it did before the cross—save for the holes in His hands, feet, and side. Although Scripture does not state it explicitly, it is reasonable to assume that His back still bears the marks of the scourging He endured for our healing.

Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lamp stands, and in the midst of the seven lamp stands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.

(Revelation 1:12-17)

This passage reveals what the Lord Jesus looks like when His glory is fully manifested through His resurrected body. The sight was so overwhelming that John—the same disciple who once leaned on Jesus’ chest—fell at His feet as though dead.

In this form, Jesus reveals Himself as Almighty God (Revelation 1:8). We see this same glorious manifestation at His second coming, when He leads the armies of heaven back to earth (Revelation 19:11–16).

Scripture does not specify what form the Lord takes when ministering before the Father as our High Priest, Melchizedek. The priestly garments worn by Aaron may provide a glimpse, being a shadow of heavenly realities, but for now, we can only speculate. What remains certain, however, is that in His resurrected body, our Lord can appear in whatever form He chooses.

If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up--if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

(1 Corinthians 15:14-18)

I will conclude this section with one final thought regarding the resurrection of Christ. At the very heart of the Christian faith stands the truth that Christ has risen from the dead. As Paul declares, without the resurrection, our faith is futile and we remain in our sins.

Most major religions acknowledge that Jesus lived and died—though Islam denies His death—but none affirm that He rose again. This is the defining truth of Christianity: that Jesus Christ was physically raised from the dead. Indeed, Scripture declares that salvation itself depends upon believing this truth, for “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

Michael E.B. Maher

Resurrection of the Dead

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