Why did St. Ignatius of Antioch insist that Christ had a real human body?

St. Ignatius of Antioch insisted on the reality of Christ’s human body primarily to counter the teachings of docetists, a group of heretics who claimed that Christ’s suffering and death were merely apparent rather than real.12

For Ignatius, affirming the true humanity of Christ was essential for the Christian faith. He believed that Christ’s Passion, death, and Resurrection served as a vital guarantee of "life everlasting" for believers. He argued that if Christ had died only in appearance, his own suffering and his willingness to sacrifice his life for Christ would be rendered meaningless. By emphasizing the reality of Christ's human nature, Ignatius sought to preserve the significance of the Christian hope for salvation and the transformative power of union with Christ through his suffering.132