What was the nature of Christ’s resurrection?

It was a miracle.

Christ’s death is mentioned dozens of times in Scripture as essential to the Gospel. If he did not die, there is no salvation. Since he did die, his resurrection to life (as testified by hundreds of witnesses—1 Cor 15:4–7) was miraculous.

John 20:3–9—John was convinced of the miracle of resurrection because of the undisturbed graveclothes that Christ’s body passed through.

Ephesians 1:19–20; Philippians 3:10—Paul viewed the resurrection as an act of God’s power.

To believe that Jesus did not rise miraculously from the dead in a renewed body “pushes the limits of credibility beyond all acceptable boundaries. It requires one to believe that those responsible for his execution were incompetent…. It also requires one to believe that Jesus—though suffering from the excruciating pain of wounded hands and feet, not to mention the loss of blood, the physical weakness and shock to his entire system which would have naturally ensued from the horrible ordeal of the crucifixion itself and the lack of human care and physical nourishment—somehow survived the wound in his side, the preparation of his body for burial, the cold of the tomb, and then pushed the huge stone away from the entrance to the tomb with wounded hands and made his way on wounded feet past Roman guards into the city to the place where his disciples were hiding and there convinced his followers that he—an emaciated shell of a man—was the Lord of Life!” (Reymond, Systematic Theology)

It was bodily.

Jesus did not have a “spiritual” resurrection (whatever that may be).

John 19:38–42; cf. 20:1–10—Jesus’ body was taken from the cross and placed in the tomb from where it later emerged.

Matthew 28:9—“They came up and took hold of His feet.”

Luke 24:39, 46—“See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; touch me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” Cf. John 20:27.

Luke 24:43—He ate a piece of fish.

Acts 10:41—He ate and drank with the disciples.

It was a glorified body.

While a comprehensive description of a glorified body is not given, a few characteristics emerge.

1. It resembled his former body (Matt 28:9, 17; John 20:19–20, 26–28, etc.).

• It was not immediately recognizable to all (Luke 24:16, 31; John 20:14–16).

Perhaps the lines of aging, grief, pain, and sorrow were erased, restoring Jesus’ appearance to its pristine youthful vigor and perfect health so that he resembled but was not a precise mirror image of his former self.

• It apparently had heightened abilities, including ability to disappear and reappear (Luke 24:31, 36) and to pass through solid barriers (John 20:3–9, 19, 26).

Some suggest that these incidents do not require the glorified properties. For instance, it is possible that the miracle was Christ’s opening a locked door, not walking through the wall. Likewise his “appearing” and “disappearing” does not necessitate instantaneous appearance or vanishing—it could be that he simply approached or walked away suddenly. The reactions of those around suggests, however, that his body did indeed have heightened properties.