The Nugget:
Luk 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
My Comment:
The Jehovah’s Witnesses are not the only ones who fail to understand what is meant by the resurrection of Jesus Christ bodily from the dead. Muslims have the same problem. In the ongoing discussion on the “Islam and Christianity Debate Group” I answered the Muslim question about the “burning issue” about “where is the flesh and where did Jesus leave it before his ascension to Paradise?” Please do read my answer in full. Almost all Christians and Christian churches get this answer wrong!
My Answer:
Muhammad Jahid, you are very good at asking interesting questions. I hope that when I give an answer, that you will enjoy my answer.
You ask, “Where is the flesh of Jesus?”
The answer is, as I explained in a post above, that Jesus now possesses the very same body that he had during his earthly ministry before his death and resurrection.
I shared with you the record that Luke has given us of a most important meeting Jesus had with his disciples after his bodily resurrection from the dead.
The verse I shared is found at Luke 24:39,
Luk 24:36 And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
Luk 24:37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
Luk 24:38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
Luk 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
Luk 24:40 And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.
Jesus showed them his hands and his feet to prove, in the words of Jesus, “that it is I myself.” That is a very emphatic assertion. Jesus challenged them to “Handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not FLESH and bones, as ye see me have” (Luke 24:39).
So in answer to your question, “Where is the flesh of Jesus” now, the answer is, Jesus is even now, even yet, still very much alive in his human body. That Jesus is still a man is clearly declared in 1 Timothy 2:5,
1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
This statement was written many years after Jesus rose from the dead and ascended bodily into heaven, so it is very clear that the Bible teaches that Jesus is still a man.
Please allow me to share another passage from the Bible that is very important to understand when it comes to understanding the nature or quality of the physical body Jesus now has. I will use a modern English translation because it is much easier to understand. From the Contemporary English Version (CEV):
Php 3:17 My friends, I want you to follow my example and learn from others who closely follow the example we set for you.
Php 3:18 I often warned you that many people are living as enemies of the cross of Christ. And now with tears in my eyes, I warn you again
Php 3:19 that they are headed for hell! They worship their stomachs and brag about the disgusting things they do. All they can think about are the things of this world.
Php 3:20 But we are citizens of heaven and are eagerly waiting for our Savior to come from there. Our Lord Jesus Christ
Php 3:21 has power over everything, and he will make these poor bodies of ours like his own glorious body.
Notice the Bible states that Jesus now has his own glorious body. This means that in the process of being resurrected from the dead, his body was transformed into a glorified body, a body no longer subject to pain, sickness, death. But it is still a body, not merely spirit. It is a tangible body: it can be seen, felt, handled, and in that glorified body Jesus could eat food, which is just what he did immediately and right before their eyes.
In the light of this evidence, your sincere question about where is the flesh of Jesus now that he has gone to heaven, is a bit mistaken in its premise. Jesus still has a body, the same body he had, but it is now resurrected and transformed into a glorious, a glorified, body.
In the light of this established Bible FACT, the question about “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,” so where is the flesh? is not relevant whatsoever, but mistaken in its assumptions.
First of all, “the kingdom of God” is not heaven. Therefore, the kingdom of God cannot be where Jesus is now. The kingdom of God is still future to us, and will be established here upon this earth, and will last forever.
When the Bible declares that flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom of God, the Bible declares that only the transformed, glorified believers in the Lord Jesus Christ will inherit that Kingdom. Flesh and blood human beings will continue upon this earth forever (Psalm 72:5). They will not be the inheritors, but the subjects of the kingdom of God.
This answer should solve the issues you kindly raised in your very good question, Muhammad Jahid. Please ask me more of your good questions about this if anything is not clear in my answer to your original question.