"Christ Appearances, And Why He Looked Different After He Arose"

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Today's message, Christ's appearances and why He looked different after He arose from the grave.

The big question that I have about the resurrected Christ is how did the Saviour's features change after He arose from the grave? This has always puzzled me. Why is it that His apostles and disciples did not recognize Him immediately in the first few visits that He made to them, they did not appear to know who He was. Was He taller, fatter? Was the color of His hair different? And why? Why was it done this way? Was He appearing incognito for a reason?

When Thomas heard that Christ was seen alive by the others, he refused to believe that they had seen the risen Christ. He said, "Unless I see the nail marks in His hand and put my finger where the nails were and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." John 20:25.

A very strong statement of doubt. And this is the origin perhaps of the name doubting Thomas. Perhaps Thomas was saying what was true for many people then and now. Many in the church today continue to have doubts and are not sold out to Him. Why were the facial details and complexion perhaps of Jesus Christ dramatically changed after He arose from the grave? It appears He looked like a completely different person. I will return to this and make a compelling point about the reason for this later on in this message. Hang on.

Let us pray. Father, we give You thanks and praise for Jesus Christ who died to set us free from the bondage of sin. We pray the blood of Jesus upon the listeners to this message that their thinking may be transformed and that every sliver of doubt may be removed from their hearts and their mind and glory to God that they may hold fast to the Word of God. We pray that You would cause them to believe by pure faith in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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The resurrected Jesus Christ spent 40 days on earth after He arose from the grave. These are the recorded events about where He went, what He did, and who He appeared to before ascending to the Father.

He also appeared to Paul and the Apostle John after He had ascended on high. But first on that morning, He appeared to Mary Magdalene and several other women.

There appears to be some inconsistencies in some of the details of those who were first to see the risen Saviour, but do not be put off by that. There are far more points of agreement than there are conflicts. It may merely be that some names and details were inadvertently left out.

For instance, Matthew, Mark, and Luke all agree that Mary Magdalene was accompanied by at least one other woman, while John only mentions Mary Magdalene, perhaps because she was the leading figure.

The women who went to the grave while it was still dark were greeted by at least one angel who announced that Christ had risen and was not there. While Matthew and Mark mentions one individual, Luke and John say there were two individuals. One refers to them as two men, the other as two angels.

The women then went to inform the apostles that Christ had arisen. Matthew says they met Jesus on the way and held Him by the feet. Of course, John only mentions Mary Magdalene holding on to Him and going to inform the apostles. Most translations say when she held on to Him, Jesus told her not to cling to Him, for He had not yet ascended to the Father.

The King James version says He told her not to touch Him. The other versions say He told her not to cling to Him. The scholars generally agree that the original translation is more in line with do not cling or do not hold onto Me. Clearly touching the risen Saviour was not off limits because you will see that He later told the apostles and especially Thomas to satisfy their doubts by handling Him in order to be certain it was indeed Him.

Now later that same day two disciples of Christ one whose name was Cleopas were walking together on the road to a village called Emmas. As they walked, they discussed the recent tragic events involving the Saviour. Suddenly, a stranger drew near to them and joined their conversation, and they did not recognize Him. He immediately began interpreting the scriptures for them. From the writings of Moses up to and including the reports of the prophets about the coming of the Messiah, they were spell bound by His knowledge of the Old Testament writings.

And finally they reached their destination still unaware who the stranger was and they invited Him to turn into the place where they were staying. He joined them and ate with them. During the meal He took bread and He blessed it, broke it and gave it to them. And immediately their eyes were opened and they recognized it was the Saviour and He vanished right before their eyes. Afterward, they said the only sign that they had of who they were talking to was a burning sensation within their hearts as He taught them. His account about how the holy scriptures prophesied about the coming of the Messiah astonished them. He was well learned.

This burning in their hearts was no doubt the witness of the Holy Spirit. Their hearts were trying to tell them that there was something divine about this man, something special. And there are many times that the spirit of the living God is speaking to us and we do not recognize His efforts. And this was such a moment for them. Perhaps you've had one of these type occasions. I've had quite a number. And there were a number of times that I missed Him only to discover later it was the Lord's Holy Spirit speaking to my heart, speaking to your heart.

They were so excited that in the same hour they turned around and headed back to Jerusalem to inform the 11 apostles about what they had experienced. They told them about their amazing encounter with Christ and about how they only recognized Him when He broke bread, blessed it, and gave it to them.Then Jesus appeared to 10 of the apostles.

On that same day, perhaps later in the evening, the risen Saviour appeared and 10 of them were together, but Thomas was missing. They were locked in the upper room, but that did not prevent Him from entering. And this event is recorded in Luke 24 and in John 20. His sudden appearance frightened them. He asked them why they were afraid and told them to look at His hands and His feet, and they would see that it was indeed He.

They thought they were seeing a spirit, but He encouraged them to examine Him. He told them that a spirit does not have flesh and bones as they were seeing in Him. After He had shown them His hands and His feet, He asked them if they had any food. They gave Him a piece of broiled fish and a piece of honeycomb. He took it and ate it in front of them. At that time, He also breathed on them to receive the Holy Spirit.

Eight days later, all 11 of the apostles were locked in the upper room, still frightened. This time, Thomas was present. According to John 20 and 26. Once again the doors were shut and Christ appeared in the middle of them and said, "Peace be unto you."

And then He addressed Thomas directly because there was important business to be done with Thomas that is helpful to all of us. He told Thomas to put his finger into His hands to examine the nail holes and to put his hand into His side and examine the wound from the spear. And He told him not to be faithless but be believing without seeing. And all Thomas could say was, "My Lord and my God."

And Jesus then said to Thomas, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Here's why I believe the apostles could not recognize Jesus Christ.

It is my firm belief that the reason or one of the reasons Christ's facial features were made unrecognizable to the apostles and to all who saw Him after He rose was so that they could believe purely by faith and not by sight. He did not want them to depend on what they saw. For God is making a people who in accordance with 2 Corinthians 5:7 walk by faith, not by sight. He's raising up a people who, even though they have not seen, still believe. And He says, "These are blessed."

The next time He showed Himself to them was at the Sea of Galilee, which is also called the Sea of Tiberius. On the evening before, there were seven disciples together. Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, James, John, and two others apparently. Simon Peter decided he would go fishing, and they also said they would go with him. It appears they toiled all night and caught nothing.

Some have questions about why the apostles were being tempted to go back to their original fishing trade. The most logical suggestion is that they needed income now that Christ had been crucified and no longer walked with Him. Some say perhaps they were spiritually exhausted or perhaps they did not know what to do with themselves. And some others say they were simply biding time while they waited to see what was ahead.

Now the following morning, a net full of fish and breakfast with Christ. When morning came, Jesus stood on the shore, but they did not know it was Him. And He called to them. He said to them from the shore, "Children, have you any meat?" And they said, "No." He told them to cast their net on the right side of the ship, and they would find fish, which they did. Suddenly, their net was filled with 153 fish, and so heavy that they were not able to draw it in. And the other disciples came in a small boat to help them. But when John said it was Jesus who was on the beach, Peter wrapped his fisherman's coat about him and cast himself into the water. Scripture tells us.

Meanwhile, on the shore, there was a very cozy scene. The Lord had a fire going and already had fish and bread laid out for them. And He told them to bring some of the fish that they had caught and told them to come and dine. None of the disciples asked Him who He was because this time they knew it was the Lord. Scripture tells us. He took the bread and fish and fed them. And this was the third time that He had appeared to them as a group since He had arisen from the dead according to the reports.

Now the restoration of Simon Peter. After they had dined, He addressed Simon Peter in their presence and asked him three times whether he loved Him. And each time Simon said yes. But the third time, Simon was embarrassed and said, "Yes, Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you." And each time He told Simon, "Feed My sheep and feed My lambs." Then He prophesied to all about the manner in which Simon Peter would be martyred for the glory of God.

When we fall away, the Lord comes looking for us that He may restore us unto Himself. He is faithful in this way. He's ever merciful and forgiving. However, He's looking to us to recommit to Him verbally. Peter denied Him three times and He led Peter into a verbal prayer of recommitment in which he recommitted himself to Christ three times and it was done publicly in front of most of the apostles or perhaps all of them by that time. He was pressed to declare his love for Christ three times publicly. Yes, for the One who hung publicly on the cross until He was dead.

Now Jesus Christ appeared to Saul, his brother James, and to 500 others. The Apostle Paul gives a list of occasions when the risen Saviour appeared to himself and others in 1 Corinthians 15: 5-9. Three of them need special mention. He appeared to more than 500 brethren at once, many of whom were still alive, he said, when he recorded the event. He appeared to his brother James the just. This personal appearance to James led to him becoming a key elder in the Jerusalem church. And He appeared to Saul of Tarsus himself, who was later named Paul on the road to Damascus.

Now, the final meeting before ascending up to heaven. The Lord met with the 11 apostles on a mountain in Galilee where He delivered the great commission. We are not sure whether others were there as well, sending them out to teach and to baptize all nations in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

And while they stood gazing up into heaven, two men in white clothing stood by them and said, "You men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which was taken up from you and into heaven shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven.

In other words, now that you have experienced Christ, get busy. The same Christ is coming back again. He's coming to see what you have done. This same word applies to us. So get busy doing it, occupying until Christ returns. God bless and keep you in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Perhaps you do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Well, friend, we want to give you an opportunity to make that commitment today to make it right with God. Please say this prayer after me. Engage your heart fully. Say,:

• Father, I am a sinner.

• I am sorry for all my sins.

• Please forgive me.

• I crave Your forgiveness.

• I need Your forgiveness.

• Thank You, Lord, for Your mercy unto me.

• I have decided to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour.

• Dear Lord Jesus, please come into my heart.

• Be my Master and my Saviour.

• I give You the key to my heart because I now belong to You forever.

• Please give me the Holy Spirit to lead me into all truth.

• Thank You, Lord, for saving my soul. Amen.

Welcome friend to the body of believers in Christ. There are many of us here awaiting the return of the Good Master, patiently awaiting His return.

In the meantime, we want to encourage you to become water baptized. Let your pastor know that you've committed your life to the Lord and you want to be baptized the way Jesus Christ was baptized by immersion.

Begin reading the Word of God. It is your daily food. You will need it if you are to stay strong. Without it, you will grow weak and the enemy will have his way with you.

Begin in the book of John. Then go to Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Pray daily. Attend at your local church. And one glad morning, the Saviour will come and receive us all unto Himself. And we shall indeed forever be with the Lord. God bless and keep you in Jesus mighty name. Amen.