Did Jesus truly rise bodily from the dead?
Yes. The bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the tomb on the third day is the supreme truth of the Christian faith. It is not a mythological metaphor or a subjective feeling experienced by the disciples, but a real, historical event confirmed by solid eyewitness testimony.
The risen Jesus was not a ghost or a resuscitated corpse that would die again. His disciples touched his hands and side, ate meals with him, and heard him speak. His body was his real body that had suffered on the Cross, but now transformed and filled with the immortal life and glory of the Holy Spirit.
The Resurrection proves that Jesus is indeed Lord and God, confirms all his teachings, and breaks the power of sin and physical death. Because Christ is risen, all who die united to him have the certain hope of their own bodily resurrection at the end of time.
Sources
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 638
- Luke 24:39
- 1 Corinthians 15:14
Awaiting review by the chaplaincy. Written in our own words; the Church's own texts are the authority.