The post resurrection appearances of Jesus have a bit of oddness in them; oddness beyond someone returning from the dead. Disciples saw the risen Jesus and didn’t immediately recognize him. Then in an ordinary act of speaking a name (John 20:14-16) or breaking bread (Luke 24:13-32) they recognize him as their risen Lord. These people who knew him well for years didn’t know who he was. This is odd. But even odder is that when Jesus did something ordinary then their “eyes were opened” and they knew who he was. People who had walked and talked with him, who knew him well, didn’t at first realize who they were seeing. There was a sameness and a strangeness about Jesus.
At first I thought the disciples didn’t recognize Jesus because he had been glorified through his passion and resurrection and thus appeared “other worldly”. But this idea doesn’t pan out. When Jesus was transfigured on the mountain, Peter, James and John didn’t get confused about Jesus’ identity (Matt 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8). More to the point, when Mary fails to recognize Jesus, she thinks that he is the gardener, and the disciples on the road to Emmaus think that Jesus is a stranger in Jerusalem for the feast. These are very normal, very human roles. They noticed nothing “other worldly” or “supernatural” about Jesus before recognizing him. They didn’t mistake him for an angel. So why didn’t these friends of many years recognize the risen Lord?
Another interesting aspect of the post resurrection appearances is that Jesus impresses upon the disciples that he is still human. After spending much of his ministry trying to get them to understand that he was the Son of God (John 14:9), the resurrected Jesus now makes it clear that he is human, and not an angel or a spirit. Jesus tells Thomas to touch his hands and sides so that Thomas may be certain of Jesus’ physicality (John 20:27).
One of my favorite episodes in the gospels is another occasion when Jesus shows his humanness. Luke 24:36-42 tells us that Jesus suddenly appeared to the disciples in a room with the doors shut. Not surprisingly, the disciples were startled. Jesus greets them and tells them not to be afraid, and shows his hands and feet to prove that he was not an angel or spirit. Then Jesus asked for something to eat. Picture the scene: the Son of God who suffered, died, and resurrected appears in a room with the doors shut. He greets them and shows the marks of his passion and death. The disciples probably expected Jesus to give some advice, to say something about the Father, or to recite another puzzling parable. They expected something profound. But what does Jesus say? “Do you have anything to eat?” What could be more human than to ask a friend for something to eat? It’s an everyday question, and Jesus asks it after demonstrating that he’s been resurrected from the dead! If this were a sitcom or a movie, rather than scripture, we would laugh at the sudden shift from the lofty to the mundane. But it’s scripture, and it’s Jesus impressing his followers that he is the same Jesus even though there is a strangeness about him. Since it’s scripture, we’re too polite to laugh, but perhaps we should at least chuckle because being humorous is also a very human trait. (John 21:4-13 tells another episode where the risen Lord ate with the disciples, but the story is more solemn as Jesus had an issue to settle with Peter. But it also demonstrates Jesus’ humanity.)
Why didn’t the disciples recognize Jesus? What was strange about him? Why did he make such an effort to show that he was still human, still flesh and bone? I think the answer is that the resurrected, glorified Lord was more human than before. Jesus, through his life, death, and resurrection was the human which God intended us all to be. Humans were created in God’s image to bear the image of God in the world. But sin tarnished that image; sin covered it so that humans fail to bear God’s image. Jesus was perfected, having always said “yes” to God (2 Cor 1:19) and having never sinned. His earthly ministry complete, Jesus was resurrected and crowned with the glory not only of the Father, but also with the glory God intended for all humans. Jesus was the “new Adam” (Rom 5:12-17); an obedient, image-of-God-bearing human. He was human perfection even as he was the Son of God.
The sameness was that Jesus was still human; the strangeness was that he was a perfect human. I have never seen the resurrected Jesus as Paul did, and some others claim to have. My portrait of Jesus comes from the gospels. It’s comforting and warming to read of Jesus disclosing God as a loving, forgiving, caring creator and parent. It’s not easy to read of Jesus as the perfect praying, worshiping, giving, serving, forgiving, and caring human, and realizing that this is what God asks us to become. It is a high standard and it is difficult to obtain. But it is what we were created to be, and we will never be fully satisfied or happy until we attain it. As we strive for the goal, we shouldn’t be surprised if sometimes someone notices something “strange” about us. In fact, they should.