Where is Jesus? Theories on the Location of Christ's Body

Jesus is in our hearts

Have you heard that statement or answer from different people? When you ask them where is Jesus, they would say “He is in my heart.”

If Jesus is in your heart and Jesus is in my heart while Jesus is in other people’s hearts, then where is Jesus really?

Ephesians 3:17; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love.

Paul was saying to the church in Ephesus to make their hearts a dwelling place of Jesus Christ through faith. It is a confession and declaration that we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

We invited Jesus into our lives, and since the heart is the most deceitful above all things in our lives.

Deceitful Heart

Jeremiah 17:9; The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

When we say Jesus in our hearts also means that we allow Jesus to guard our hearts against any deception of the enemy.

Jesus Christ is living in our spirit but desires to also dwell within the depths of our hearts. Jesus needs to continually search our hearts if there are still things that we don’t or never surrender before God through the help of the Holy Spirit.

Lordship of Jesus

where is jesus — Photo: Ben White via Unsplash

When we say Jesus is our Lord, it means a full submission to His Lordship in every area of our lives. Here is the hard truth: If Jesus is not Lord of all then He is not at all. We don’t have the option of receiving Jesus as Savior and not as Lord. It is an all-or-nothing proposal of God.

There are many so-called Christians who claim that they are followers and believers of Jesus yet their daily life denies it.

Matthew 7: 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Empty Tomb

John 20:1-10 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.

Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed.

We have to know that death penalty was the punishment if anyone tried to tamper with Jesus’ tomb after he was buried according to sealing by Roman soldiers.

The Ascension of Jesus

During the time of Jesus with His disciples, he was explaining to the disciples what would happen to him. His death and resurrection were already explained but it did not make sense until the ascension of Jesus.

Acts 1:9-11; And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

As a Christian, the ascension of Jesus is our belief that Christ rose to Heaven physically after being resurrected, in front of eleven apostles. The New Testament says this occurred forty days after his resurrection.

This is one of the supernatural phenomenons for the disciples and for some other believers to witness.

At the Right of God

Hebrews 1:3; He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Acts 7:55-56; But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

The Bible is unambiguous about the location of Jesus Christ– he is at the right hand of God. This position speaks to his power and authority, regardless if he is seated or standing.

Resurrection of Jesus

There are different theories about the resurrection of Jesus Christ but the most famous one is in Matthew 28:11-15.

While they were going, behold, some of the guards went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

Because of the influence and authority of the Roman soldiers, this fabricated theory was scattered and believed by the people in Israel. Sadly, it did not stop there. A theory like Jesus did not really die but his doppelganger did.

Other Theories About the Resurrection

Have you heard of the Swoon Theory, it was first proposed in 1828 by H. E. G. Paulus, a German theologian, and critic of the Bible. It is the belief that Jesus Christ did not actually die on the cross – instead, he only fainted from pain or shock due to blood loss. According to this theory, Christ was mistakenly buried alive but later revived himself and went into hiding.

Another popular is the Hallucination Theory. The numerous individuals who laid eyes on Jesus after His resurrection simply imagined doing so. It’s crucial to remember that hallucinations derive from within a person, not from external sources. In other words, hallucinations are entirely individualized experiences. Can you imagine? Every one of them was hallucinating.

Check out some of our other posts!