Written criticism – Was the body that the disciples saw a ghost and not an actual resurrected body?

In this lecture, His Holiness Pope Shenouda III explains the difference between Christ’s resurrection body and His ascension body, clarifying why the risen Christ appeared to His disciples in a tangible, visible form.

The Pope teaches that the resurrection body was glorified but in an intermediate state between the earthly and the fully heavenly form. Christ allowed His disciples to see, touch, and watch Him eat in order to confirm that He truly rose bodily, not as a spirit or illusion. These physical acts were temporary, meant to strengthen their faith.

At the same time, His body was spiritual and glorified, as shown when He entered the upper room with the doors closed and left the tomb without moving the stone. This demonstrates that the risen body was subject to the spirit, not to material limitations.

The full glory of the body appeared at the Ascension, when Christ rose into heaven beyond the laws of gravity. There He no longer ate or drank, for His glorified body had reached its highest state of divine perfection.

As for the wounds that remained on His body, they were not signs of weakness but eternal marks of love, as described in Revelation: “I saw a Lamb standing as though it had been slain.” These wounds are everlasting symbols of His redemptive love.

✝️ Spiritual Lessons:

• The resurrection body is real yet glorified, uniting physical and spiritual.

• Christ’s post-resurrection appearances affirmed faith in His bodily rising.

• The ascended body transcends matter and time in divine perfection.

• Christ’s wounds are marks of love, not imperfection.

• Belief in the resurrection fills us with hope of eternal glory.

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