Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

THE CLIMAX OF JESUS' MISSION §18.5
raised, and after Jesus' resurrection 'they came out from the tombs, went into the
holy city and appeared to many'. 201 The legend appears to be very old and whatever
is to be made of it, it probably reflects the same very early perception of Jesus'
resurrection as the start of the final resurrection. 202
So our question returns with added force: why was the first articulation of
post-Easter faith in just these terms — 'resurrection', the beginning of the resurrection
of the dead? But the question itself still needs further clarification.
b. Does the Conceptualization of the Resurrection Body Bring Any
Clarification?
In an earlier treatment, I suggested that a somewhat complex development in
early Christian conceptualization of Jesus' resurrection is discernible. The basic
line of the analysis still seems sound. 203
(1) The initial conceptualization of 'resurrection' was most likely in quite
physical terms — not so much a resuscitation (to a life later to be ended in death)
as a raising (restoration?) to a life just like the present (that is, physical) life but
now beyond the reach of death. That is what we would expect from what we
know of resurrection hope in Herodian Palestine. It is suggested also by the conceptualization
expressed in terms of 'coming out from the tomb'. 204 The empty
tomb could have stimulated the thought of resurrection in these terms, but it may
have been only a confirmation of the presuppositions built into the term itself.
(2) Paul's conceptualization of the resurrection body is clearly more 'spiritual'
(his own term). As already noted, he envisages resurrection to/in a 'spiritual
body (pneumatikon sömay which he explicitly contrasts with the 'soulish body
(psychikon sömay of present, earthly existence (1 Cor. 15.44-50). 205 Moreover, if
201. Why the time gap between the rising and the coming out? Perhaps we should see a
reflection of an immediate sense that Jesus' death and resurrection constituted a single event.
202. Jeremias, Proclamation 309-10; Allison, End of the Ages 40-46. Otherwise R. L.
Troxel, 'Matt. 27.51-4 Reconsidered: Its Role in the Passion Narrative, Meaning and Origin',
iVTS 48 (2002) 18-29.
203. Jesus and the Spirit 116-17, 120-22; in contrast to the more typical view of a oneway
development maintained, e.g., by Carnley: the initial belief was of resurrection 'in a less
material way' = 'spiritual body' (Structure 58), and Wedderburn: a 'movement from the intangible
to the tangible and thus to the demonstrable is likelier' (Beyond Resurrection 70-75),
though neither takes sufficient account of all the key factors discussed in § 18.2. Craig's critique
of my earlier formulation (Assessing 326-27 n. 17) plays down the indications that Luke conceptualized
spiritual experiences in very tangible terms (see above n. 99).
204. Matt. 27.52-53; John 5.28-29; cf. the use of Ps. 16.10 in Acts 2.26-27, 31 and
13.35-37 (Dunn, Jesus and the Spirit 118-20).
205. It should be recalled that Paul sees Jesus' resurrection as the pattern for the resur-
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