His Holiness Pope Shenouda III explains that the body seen by the disciples after the Resurrection was not a ghost, but a real, risen body.
It was a true physical body, yet glorified and spiritual — no longer bound by the natural laws of matter.

1. The Disciples Thought It Was a Spirit:
When Jesus appeared to them, they were terrified, thinking they saw a ghost.
But He reassured them, saying:

“Look at My hands and My feet; it is I Myself. Touch Me and see; a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” (Luke 24:39)
This confirmed that His resurrection was bodily and real.

2. Eating and Drinking After the Resurrection:
Jesus ate and drank before His disciples not out of need, but to prove the reality of His physical resurrection.

3. The Two Stages of the Risen Body:

• Resurrection Body: A real but supernatural body that could pass through closed doors, leave the sealed tomb, and yet be touched and seen.

• Ascension Body: At His Ascension, Christ’s body reached its highest glorified state, no longer needing food, beyond gravity and earthly limits.

4. Meaning of “Spiritual Body”:
A “spiritual body” does not mean non-physical, but a body fully governed by the spirit, not by physical weakness.

5. The Wounds as Signs of Love:
The wounds remained not as imperfections but as eternal marks of love and redemption.

“I saw a Lamb standing as though it had been slain.” (Revelation 5:6)

6. The Purpose of His Appearance:
Christ appeared in this intermediate glorified form to strengthen the faith of His disciples in His true resurrection.

Faith Message:
The resurrection means not just life restored, but life transformed.
The risen Christ is the model of our future resurrection — a true body, perfected and glorified, living forever in divine light.

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