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BIBLE STUDY= PART I
"HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED?"
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Have you ever wondered why Mary Magdalene and the disciples did not recognize Jesus after His resurrection?
Recently this was brought to our mind by another man and also we found the answer in the King James Study
Bible, printed in 1988 by Thomas Nelson.
We will first look at the scriptures that tell us how Christ was not recognized by His followers: His first
appearance was to Mary Magdalene. John 20:14-16, "And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and
saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom
seekest thou? She, supposing Him to be the gardener, saith unto Him, Sir, if thou have borne Him hence, tell me
where thou hast laid Him, and I will take Him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto
Him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master." (KJV). Mary thought Jesus was the gardener! Mary did not recognize
His face, but she recognized His voice.
The second time Christ appeared He was walking with two of the disciples. Luke 24: 13-16, 31, "And, behold,
two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore
furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that, while they
communed together and reasoned, Jesus Himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that
they should not know him. Luke 24:31, "And it came to pass, as He sat at meat with them, He took bread, and
blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him; and He vanished
out of their sight." It was at the time of breaking of the bread that they knew this was the Christ.
The third time, Christ appeared to the Apostles. Luke 24:33-40, "And they rose up the same hour, and returned
to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, Saying, The Lord is risen
indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done in the way, and how He was known
of them in breaking of bread. And as they thus spake, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto
them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And
He said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My
feet, that it is I Myself: handle Me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have. And when
He had thus spoken, He shewed them His hands and His feet." The apostles did not know His face, but they
knew His voice.
Even Thomas had to be proved this was Christ by looking at His hands and feet! John 20:24-29. "But Thomas,
one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto
him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put
my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe. And after eight days
again His disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the
midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith He to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands; and
reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and
said unto Him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast
believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."
It has been brought to our attention that all the prophecies about Jesus Christ crucifixion has been revealed, but
the one thing that has not been brought to light is about His face. This is explained in Isaiah 50:6, "I gave My
back to the smiters, and My cheeks to them that plucked off
the hair: I hid not My face from shame and spitting."
According to King James Study Bible of 1988, page 1080:
"Chapter 50, includes a prophecy of Christ's suffering. “I
gave My back to the smiters is referred to in Matt 27:26 in
relation to the scourging that Christ received. My cheeks to
them that plucked off the hair, refers to the plucking out of
His beard. The spitting is verified in Matthew 26:67. The
servant is again seen as an individual suffering for the sins of
the people.” In Isaiah 53, we see the prophecies of Christ'
suffering: "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of
sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our
faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our
sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our
transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His
stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the
LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of its all. He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His
mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not
His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare His generation? for He was cut
off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of My people was He stricken. And He made His grave with
the wicked, and with the rich in His death; because He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His
mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when thou shalt make His soul an
offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper
in His hand. He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall My righteous
servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities" (Isa 53:3-11 KJV). Just as a lamb is sheared without
sound, so our Saviour, Jesus the Christ never answered back to His accusers! He died without complaint. Only
asking the Father, "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?
that is to say, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?
Again we wonder, why did the disciples and apostle not recognize Christ after His resurrection? The answer to
that question is found in Isaiah 50, verse 6. After His beard was torn off, He would not be recognize, because they
never seen His face without a beard. But, they could recognize His voice, but not His face!
Another question is brought to mind, have you ever thought how painful this suffering and pain that Christ went
through to pay the penalty for all the sins of mankind, was to God, the Father, when He had to watch His only
Begotten Son go through this experience? Picture yourself as a father or mother to see your son go through all
these sufferings! It is hard for us to realize that even God, the Father has the same feelings as we do!
Jesus, the Christ, could not give up, even though He had the power to say I quit! He knew that the plan of God
depended on His giving His life, that others could be forgiven of their sin and be able to repent and be in the
Kingdom of God! Without His fulfilling His destiny, we as sinners would be lost forever!
At this Passover time, it is our responsibility to examine ourselves and to be worthy and able to take the Passover
that Christ has established. The Days of Unleavened Bread is the time to show God, our Father that we are truly
thankful for the sacrifice that Christ has made for each one of us, by obeying God's admonition to eat unleavened
bread for 7 days! This is a sign of obedience to God the Father and His Son, Jesus the Christ!.
Remember, both our God our Father and His beloved Son, Jesus the Christ has suffered along with us in our daily
trials and tests!☜ Cogit