Luke 24:31

a— Did Jesus dematerialize when He suddenly disappeared from the disciples after an appearance?

PROBLEM: Jesus could not only suddenly appear after His resurrection (cf. John 20:19), but He could also instantly disappear. Is this evidence, as some critics claim, that Jesus dematerialized on these occasions?

SOLUTION: Jesus rose in the same physical, albeit glorified, body in which He died. Such a body is an important dimension of His continuing humanity both before (cf. John 1:18) and after (Luke 24:39; 1 John 4:2) His resurrection.

Second, it is the very nature of a miracle that it is immediate, as opposed to the natural gradual process. When Jesus touched the man’s hand, “immediatelyhis leprosy was cleansed” (Matthew 8:3). Likewise, at Jesus’ command the paralytic “immediately … arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all” (Mark 2:10-12). When Peter proclaimed that the man born crippled be cured, “immediatelyhis feet and ankle bones received strength … leaping up, [he] stood and walked” (Acts 3:7-8).

Third, Philip was immediately transported from the presence of the Ethiopian eunuch in his physical pre-resurrection body. The text says, after baptizing the eunuch “the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more” (Acts 8:39). One moment Philip is with the eunuch; the next he suddenly and miraculously disappeared and later appeared in another city (Acts 8:40). Such a phenomenon does not necessitate an immaterial body. Hence, sudden appearances and disappearances are not proofs of the immaterial, but of the supernatural.

Luke 24:31 b— If Jesus had the same physical body after His resurrection, why did His disciples not recognize Him?

PROBLEM: These two disciples walked with Jesus, talked with Him, and ate with Him and still did not recognize Him. Other disciples had the same experience (see verses below). If He rose in the same physical body (cf. Luke 24:39; John 20:27), then why didn’t they recognize Him.

SOLUTION: Jesus did rise in the numerically same body of flesh and bones in which He died (see comments on 1 Corinthians 15:37). There were many reasons why He was not immediately recognized by His disciples:

1. Dullness— Luke 24:25-26 Luke 24:2. Disbelief— John 20:24-25 John 20:3. Disappointment— John 20:11-15 John 20:4. Dread— Luke 24:36-37 Luke 24:5. Dimness— John 20:1; John 20:14 John 20:6. Distance— John 21:4 John 21:7. Different Clothes— John 19:23-24; cf. 20:6–8