Jesus rose from the dead in a physical body. It looked the same as the one He had before dying. We know this because people recognized Him—His disciples and more than five hundred others (1 Corinthians 15: 4-6).

We also know that His resurrected body was a physical one because of His  words spoken to His disciples—“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” (Luke 24:39).

After His resurrection, Jesus lived among His disciples, during which time we know that He even ate with them.

Afterwards, it is written that He ascended bodily into heaven.

Later, according to the apostle Paul, we too upon our resurrection and/or translation, will have a body that is like Jesus’ body (1 Corinthians 15: 49). This would be in terms of continuing to look like ourselves and possessing incorruptible, glorified bodies suited for eternal life.

I bring up all of the above to highlight the remarkable sacrifice that Jesus is still making, and will continue to make forever. By that, I’m saying that Jesus, returning to heaven, didn’t resume the form of God that He had before the incarnation.

Even now and forevermore; though still God, He will be in the form of a human being, bearing the scars of His crucifixion (John 20: 27). He retains that form, I believe, so as to be what He now is—the representative firstfruit of new humanity.

That Jesus thought it of no accord to permanently relinquish His original God-form in order to become one of us, that we might be saved, expresses the unfathomable volume of love for others in the heart of the God/man.

Wow!