The Resurrected Christ

Today in seminary we talked about how the Jewish leaders went to Pilate and asked him to set a watch (of Roman guards) at Jesus’ tomb, so that his disciples would not come by night, steal the body, and say that Jesus was risen from the dead. (Matt. 27:62-66). Then in Matt. 28:1-4, and Matt. 28:11-15 we read about the Roman guards leaving their posts when the earthquake and angels rolled back the stone from the tomb, and how the Jewish elders paid the soldiers off to say that the disciples had stolen the body while the soldiers slept.

I told the students that their non-Christian friends don’t believe in the resurrection of Jesus. But the sad thing is that many of their Christian friends might believe that Jesus was resurrected, but don’t believe he has a physical body.

The scriptures give concrete examples of Jesus having a real physical body (in a more perfect glorious form) after his resurrection: He let the disciples feel his hands and feet and he ate fish and honeycomb (Luke 24:36-43). I said they need to ask their friends, “Where in the scriptures does it say that Jesus’ physical body fell off?”

I told them they don’t have to rely just on the Bible to know that Jesus was resurrected and that He is still alive today. All they have to do is listen to the Conference talks when the twelve apostles of our day testify of the living Christ. They can’t say it straight out, because the National Enquirer would call them crazy, but they give veiled references to the fact that they are, indeed, actual first-hand witnesses of Jesus Christ. One of my favorites of these testimonies was given by Ezra Taft Benson in the Ensign, April 1991, p. 4. (And it isn’t very veiled.)

“And so on the third day following His burial, He came forth from the tomb alive and showed Himself to many. There were witnesses then who saw Him. There have been many in this dispensation who have seen Him. As one of those special witnesses so called in this day, I testify to you that He lives. He lives with a resurrected body. There is no truth or fact of which I am more assured or more confident than the truth of the literal resurrection of our Lord.”

I believe what he says. (Read the whole talk on www.lds.org by clicking HERE.)