# Why Did Jesus Look Different After Resurrection **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 20, 2006, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-jesus-look-different-after-resurrection/357511 "2006-05-20T07:23:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-jesus-look-different-after-resurrection/357511/1 "2006-05-20T07:23:51Z")
One of the things that always confused me is that Jesus looked like a different person after the resurrection. The person that first saw him did not even recognize him at first. Is there an explanation (in the Bible itself or by scholars) as to why he looked different? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-jesus-look-different-after-resurrection/357511/2 "2006-05-20T08:20:05Z")
Come on. Have _you_ ever tried getting flogged, crucified, entombed, and then _coming back from the dead_ days later, and kept your figure? It’s not easy work being a Messiah. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-jesus-look-different-after-resurrection/357511/3 "2006-05-20T08:43:19Z")
I think the Groucho glasses and mustache was probably at fault. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-jesus-look-different-after-resurrection/357511/4 "2006-05-20T12:00:46Z")
He stopped off at Supercuts, you know, the one in the Galleria, on the way back. Fer sher. Toodally. 😛😃 ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-jesus-look-different-after-resurrection/357511/5 "2006-05-20T12:24:58Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > One of the things that always confused me is that Jesus looked like a different person after the resurrection. The person that first saw him did not even recognize him at first. Is there an explanation (in the Bible itself or by scholars) as to why he looked different? I would guess that if you know someone is dead, when you see them you would assume it’s someone else. No need for a different look. ---
**Author:** ![Kiminy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Kiminy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiminy)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-jesus-look-different-after-resurrection/357511/6 "2006-05-20T12:26:56Z")
The fact that people didn’t recognize him doesn’t necessarily mean he looked different. He had just been entombed, and left for dead, so no one was expecting to see him walking around afterwards. A true story: When I was in graduate school, there was another student who took several classes that I was taking. We saw each other in class at least twice a week, and we interacted with each other regularly in classes, so we did know each other. At the same time, there was someone at my church who I also interacted with in the adult forums and during the meet-and-greet after the services. It was several weeks before either of us realized that the other was the same person in both class and church. We didn’t really _look_ different–the contexts were just so different that we didn’t recognize each other in the different contexts. Practically everyone has had a similar experience, where you run into someone you know (and that you even know well) in an unexpected place, and it takes a few minutes for you to realize that you know that person. I think the Bible is referring to that kind of experience. ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-jesus-look-different-after-resurrection/357511/7 "2006-05-20T15:44:46Z")
It could also be because he was trying to disguise himself to prevent romans from repeating the exercise ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-jesus-look-different-after-resurrection/357511/8 "2006-05-20T15:52:00Z")
He looked like death warmed over. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-jesus-look-different-after-resurrection/357511/9 "2006-05-20T16:22:42Z")
We were taught back in Catholic school that Jesus was resurrected in a _glorified body_, which would possibly not so much look different as look…better? Something like that. I don’t remember very clearly…it was almost 20 years ago! ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-jesus-look-different-after-resurrection/357511/10 "2006-05-20T16:44:25Z")
It seems to me that in a made-up story, you can make up anything you like. It doesn’t have to have a good explanation, it doesn’t have to make sense. It just has to be a good story that people can believe if they want to. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-jesus-look-different-after-resurrection/357511/11 "2006-05-20T16:46:36Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > He looked like death warmed over. Or death warmed up. I’ve always wondered about this. Mary Magadele thought he was the gardener. Did he really look like a whole nother person? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-jesus-look-different-after-resurrection/357511/12 "2006-05-20T16:47:57Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Mary Magadele thought he was the gardener. Well, his name IS Jesus… ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-jesus-look-different-after-resurrection/357511/13 "2006-05-20T17:10:45Z")
“Jesus Christ, you look like you’ve been dead for three days!” ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-jesus-look-different-after-resurrection/357511/14 "2006-05-20T17:50:10Z")
> [@ianzin](#): > > It seems to me that in a made-up story, you can make up anything you like. It doesn’t have to have a good explanation, it doesn’t have to make sense. It just has to be a good story that people can believe if they want to. Hell we have multi-page threads on Star Trek and Harry Potter, so I imagine we can suspend disbelief on this as well. I want to understand why the writers had him look different when it seems to undercut the story. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-jesus-look-different-after-resurrection/357511/15 "2006-05-20T19:20:46Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > We were taught back in Catholic school that Jesus was resurrected in a _glorified body_, which would possibly not so much look different as look…better? Lou Ferrigno? ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-jesus-look-different-after-resurrection/357511/16 "2006-05-20T19:28:07Z")
I was always under the impression that he purposely clouded the people he met from recognising him at first. Is there not a reference to the women’s “eyes being opened” and their suddenly knowing him? I always took it to be a supernatural occurrence: he just didn’t want to be identified. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-jesus-look-different-after-resurrection/357511/17 "2006-05-20T19:30:51Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Lou Ferrigno? Jesus was deaf? ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-jesus-look-different-after-resurrection/357511/18 "2006-05-20T19:38:35Z")
There’s a book called The Passover Plot which puts forward the following theory: The plan all along was for JC to be given some sort of knockout drug while on the cross that would make him appear to be dead (remember the vinegar on the sponge part of the story?) so that he would be taken away. Then after the drug had worn off, he and his co-conspirators would stage the miracle resurrection. Problem was, they had not counted on the jab in the ribs with the spear, which caused too much internal damage and blood loss for survival. So, one of the co-conspirators does an impersonation, and thus is not recognized but has to do some convincing. I don’t buy any of the story myself, but there it is. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-jesus-look-different-after-resurrection/357511/19 "2006-05-20T19:42:42Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Lou Ferrigno? > [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Jesus was deaf? Never mind _deaf_…Jesus was _green_?! :eek: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-jesus-look-different-after-resurrection/357511/20 "2006-05-20T20:15:18Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > Never mind _deaf_…Jesus was _green_?! :eek: > > 😃 It’s not easy being green :rolleyes: 😛😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-jesus-look-different-after-resurrection/357511.md?page=2)