Luke 24:36-49 I believe in the resurrection of the body

Luke 24:36-49 Jesus appears to the disciples in a room. Parallel passages Mark 16:14-18 , John 20:19-25. Matthew says that they all went to Galilee in response to the angel's statement, but Luke's account suggests that they were still in Jerusalem when Jesus first appeared to them. In this account, Jesus demonstrates to them that He is risen and present in a physical body, explains them how all that happened was according to Old Testament prophecy, and commissions them.

          The physical resurrection of the body is one of the key elements of Christianity, being included in the Apostles and Nicene Creeds, among other places. There are heresies that attack this doctrine. Yet Jesus went to some length to demonstrate to the disciples this physical reality of His resurrection, not just as a disembodied spirit or ghost. From these accounts we know that He ate food, that He could be touched, and yet that He could appear and disappear at will, and ultimately that He could rise into the air. Are these attributes going to be present in the bodies of all resurrected saints, or are they unique to Jesus because He was God? Paul indicated (I Corinthians 15:35-49) that the resurrection body is not like the body we live in now, that our current body is like a seed that is sown, and that the resulting plant or tree is the resurrection body. His point is that just as we now bear the image of the earthly, that is Adam, so in the resurrection we shall bear the image of the heavenly, that is, Jesus. He goes on to explain that at the rapture, those who have not yet died shall also be changed but his key point is that the perishable, that is our earthly bodies, cannot inherit the imperishable, which is heaven. That is, these new bodies will not waste away or decay, because that does not happen in heaven.

          How is this possible? The power of God manifest in Jesus must also be manifest in our resurrection bodies. And that is how we will bear the image of God. The exact mechanism by which this occurs is not told us, and we would probably not be able to understand it if it was. Only that there is a physical reality to the Holy Spirit-empowered life that is eternal and imperishable. The second law of thermodynamics evidently does not apply to this state of life. Death is defeated because God is the author of life and His power is able to overcome and essentially give life continuously.

          The Scriptures that Jesus explained to the disciples as pertaining to Him were from the Law and the Prophets and the Psalms (Luke 24:44). Almost the entire Old Testament.

•   The Law refers to Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. We previously saw in the discussion of the Last Supper (Luke  22:14-20), which took place on the celebration of the Passover, that the Passover Lamb is a picture of Christ. He is the perfect Lamb who was slain for the sins of the whole world. The Law also gives a detailed description of the Tabernacle, the details of which speak of the character and work of Jesus.

•   The Prophets refer primarily to Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, although the minor prophets are also included.  As an example, Isaiah 53 paints a detailed picture of the suffering servant, as mentioned above (Luke 8:35-43).

•   The Psalms refer inclusively to the books of poetry in the Old Testament including Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. As previously mentioned (Luke 8:35-43) Psalm 22 is a prayer of one suffering alone, and it is possible that Jesus uttered this prayer as He was hanging on the cross. Psalm 118's fulfillment is discussed above with respect to Luke 19:28-40

          On the other hand, perhaps He was much more focused in explaining to His disciples the same things that He had told them previously that they had not understood. That is, in order for God's plan to rescue man from sin, it was necessary for Him, as the Son of God, to be present with man in the body, to live as a man yet without sin, and then be offered as a sacrifice to propitiate for the sins of men (Luke 24:46). Luke says that He opened their minds. Yet the Holy Spirit still was not in them, so it is not clear how much they really grasped. Perhaps this was simply a good teacher repeating a lesson for slow students, knowing that when the Holy Spirit was given, He would bring it all to life for them.

          The great commission is also mentioned in Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15-18, John  20:21-23. However, only Luke records that Jesus told them to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to fall on them. Other accounts mention signs that would accompany the preaching of the gospel, and/or baptizing in the name of the Holy Spirit. Only Luke lays the foundation for the day of Pentecost that is recorded in Acts 2. This sending forth, which was previously foreshadowed in Luke 9 and 10, now truly makes them apostollos. Paul will ultimately epitomize the one sent out, being the apostle who carries the gospel to the known world, and who will, in his writings, emphasize the centrality of the Holy Spirit to the process of spreading the gospel.