Jesus and Food – Glorified Eating
Jesus and Food – Glorified Eating.
“Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized Him as He was breaking the bread. And just as they were telling about it, Jesus Himself was suddenly standing there among them. ‘Peace be with you,’ He said. But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost! ‘Why are you frightened?’ He asked. ‘Why are your hearts filled with doubt? Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do. As He spoke, He showed them His hands and His feet. Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder. Then He asked them, ‘Do you have anything here to eat?’ They gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and He ate it as they watched.” (Luke 24:36-43).
Was Jesus truly hungry when asked His disciples for food after the Resurrection? Most theologians seem to agree that since Jesus had a glorified body at that time, He didn’t need food. By eating some fish, He was only proving to the disciples that He wasn’t a ghost. It’s another proof, along with His scars and wounds, that reveal the fact that Jesus indeed had a body after He resurrected. It was a changed body, but somehow it was still a body. On the other hand, if a glorified body does not need food, why will there be a Wedding Supper of the Lamb in heaven? (Rev. 19:7-9). We will all have glorified bodies at that point, so why will all the saints gather at a celebration feast in paradise? The Messianic Feast has been prophesied (Isaiah 25:6) and proclaimed in Scripture. If none of us need food in heaven, why will all of us be celebrating with a feast? Just a thought.
We do know that Jesus’ resurrected body was what some have called the perfect union of the physical body with the spiritual body. It was a mysterious weaving together of the natural with the supernatural. Jesus was tangible and yet He also was transcendent. What that looks like exactly is anybody’s guess. The early church theologians believed that Jesus’ body was made of a different glory, was more perfected. It was said that Christ’s body was perfected to a higher law than physics. They maintained that His physical elements were in fact subject to the power of Christ Himself.
Those thoughts coming from early church thinkers make a lot of sense, especially when we consider what Christ was able to do with His body after the Resurrection. He could do things like disappear (Luke 24:30-31), travel seemingly through space after the Emmaus walk, pass through solid objects like walls and doors (John 20:21), and float through thin air into the clouds at His Ascension (Luke 24:51, Mark 16:19, Acts 1:9). It appears that Jesus’ body did not have physical limitations, that it enjoyed new capabilities. Jesus had a physical death and experienced a physical resurrection, and He retained that human element in His resurrected body. His physical matter had been transformed, but He kept a measure of His flesh. He had a spiritual body that could be touched and felt, seen and heard, and He could eat food too! Christ was tangible after the Resurrection, yet He was completely transcendent. Jesus had a physical body that was glorified, and therein is a wonderful mystery that will be revealed in the fullness of time.