RESURRECTION SUNDAY SPECIAL 2022: KENOSIS RELATION

There is something strange found in the Gospels and that is the fact that after our Lord was resurrected, there seems to be a problem, not a big one, but one that seems to be overlooked.

You can't help but notice it but that:

From that morning on, everybody seems to have trouble recognizing our Lord Jesus Christ.

And although this happens to be a special message on Resurrection Sunday, it’s interesting to me that this message goes perfectly with our present study on the Doctrine of Kenosis.

We begin with the fact that:

This took place on the first Easter morning, which should not be called Easter from the pagan goddess Ishtar, but it should be called “Resurrection Sunday” for God’s people.

We begin in JOH 20:11 Now on the first {day} of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone {already} taken away from the tomb.

Mary Magdalene witnessed most of the events surrounding the crucifixion while all the apostles, with the exception of John, ran away and forsook TLJC.

MAR 14:50 And they all left Him and fled.

Mary was one of our Lord’s best friends, even though she was a woman.

I don’t say that in a bad way at all.

The point is that it’s very difficult to be best friends with someone of the opposite sex.

Usually there is the danger of falling in love as well as having to deal with the gossip that normally follows from the arrogant judgmental types.

In Mary’s case, she didn’t care, she loved Him and wanted to anoint His dead body with the perfume that apparently Jesus’s other friend Mary had given Him.

Turn back to JOH 12:1 and note the passage; “Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

JOH 12:2 So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining {at the table} with Him.

JOH 12:3 Mary therefore took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

JOH 12:4 But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, *said,

JOH 12:5 "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii, and given to poor {people}?"

JOH 12:6 Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.

JOH 12:7 Jesus therefore said, "Let her alone, in order that she may keep it for the day of My burial.

So, comparing scripture with scripture, we can assume that:

Mary Magdalene had the perfume that Mary, the sister of Lazarus from Bethany had given to her for our Lord’s burial.

Back in JOH 20:11 Now on the first {day} of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone {already} taken away from the tomb.

JOH 20:12 and she beheld two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying.

JOH 20:13 And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him."

JOH 20:14 When she had said this, she turned around, and beheld Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.

Now notice, "she did not know Him."

The rich man recognized Lazarus when our Lord told us the story.

But…….

Here is a woman who walked and talked with our Lord for three years, and she was very close to Him, but did not recognize Him in His resurrection form.

And this was not a casual acquaintance.

She loved Him.

Not many days ago she had washed His feet with her tears; LUK 7:38.

LUK 7:38 and standing behind {Him} at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet, and anointing them with the perfume.

But now, she didn't recognize Him.

She didn't know that it was Jesus.

JOH 20:15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" [now get this] Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, "Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away."

JOH 20:16 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means, Teacher).

Notice that;

Mary didn't realize who He was until she heard His voice.

She recognized the voice because she had heard His voice so many times before, but she thought our Lord, in His resurrection form, was nothing but the gardener.

And the question you should ask is why?

Why is it that she did not recognize Him?

Could it be because in……

ISA 52:14, His appearance [face] was marred more than any man, And His form [physical body] more than the sons of men.

Could it be because in……

ISA 53:2 He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.

Now, if it was just this passage you might find some way to rationalize why she couldn't recognize Him.

This was early in the morning and maybe she was emotionally drained because of all she had been through the day and night before.

Our perceptive ability and the ministry of the Holy Spirit is hindered and retrained by our emotions; 2CO 6:12 You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own emotions.

Now, so much for Resurrection morning.

So, let's go to early in the afternoon in LUK 24.

In that afternoon we have a couple of men who are on their way to Emmaus.

LUK 24:13 And behold, two of them [these are disciples] were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem.

LUK 24:14 And they were conversing with each other about all these things which had taken place [that is, in Jerusalem].

LUK 24:15 And it came about that while they were conversing and discussing, Jesus Himself approached, and {began} traveling with them.

LUK 24:16 But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.

I wonder why?

These men were at the cross three days ago and they will even be in the upper room in the evening.

The point being is that they were not casual acquaintances of TLJC.

However, they also did not recognize who He was in His resurrection body.

They're going to before the trip is over, something is going to tip them off.

LUK 24:17 And He (literally, the is Jesus speaking) said to them, "What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?" And they stood still, looking sad.

LUK 24:18 And one of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him,

Now, talk about the humor of God!

Look at what the Holy Spirit inspired the apostle John to put in writing.

This man Cleopas asks Jesus, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?"

Notice that the Lord walks right up to them and says, "What are you talking about?"

If you want some scriptural proof that Jesus Christ has a sense of humor, look at LUK 24:19 And He said to them, "What things?"

Now, think about this!

This is resurrection Sunday afternoon.

Here's our Lord who just three days ago was arrested in the middle of the night.

He was put through six illegal trials.

He was beaten so much He no longer looked human.

He was crucified on the cross, buried, resurrected from the dead that morning.

Undoubtedly, the whole town had heard about this amazing event that took place all over Jerusalem.

And…..

He can look them in the eye with a straight face and say "What things?"

“What things have happened?” as if He does not know.

LUK 24:19 And they said to Him, "The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people,

LUK 24:20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him up to the sentence of death, and crucified Him.

LUK 24:21 "But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened.

LUK 24:22 "But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning,

LUK 24:23 and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that He was alive.

LUK 24:24 "And some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see."

LUK 24:25 And He [the Lord] said to them, "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!

And then in verse 26, the Lord begins to speak to them in the third person, He says to them LUK 24:26 "Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?"

He's talking to them and they don't know who He is and He just plays along!

The reason why they could not recognize Him seems to be a little humorous, and it is, until one recognizes the real reason why He was unrecognizable.

And then He gives them a seven-mile Bible study.

LUK 24:27 And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

How would you like to be these guys walking with Christ for seven miles and having Him teach you all the Scriptures in the Old Testament concerning Himself.

LUK 24:28 And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He would go farther.

LUK 24:29 And they urged Him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is {getting} toward evening, and the day is now nearly over." And He went in to stay with them.

Now notice they still do not recognize Him.

LUK 24:30 And it came about that when He had reclined {at the table} with them, He took the bread and blessed {it,} and breaking {it,} He {began} giving {it} to them.

That's weird because in a Jewish household the one who breaks the bread and passes it is the host not a guest.

And so in LUK 24:31 And their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.

That finally had to get to get their attention!

However, I want you to notice that they only recognized Him in the breaking of the bread.

What did they see when He broke the bread?

They saw the nail scarred hands!

In fact, ZEC 13:6 tells us what they saw:

ZEC 13:6 "And one will say to him, 'What are these wounds between your arms?' Then he will say,' {Those} with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.'"

This is a reference to our Lord in His resurrection form.

He will have the only body in the resurrection with scars upon it.

Remember where they came from:

PSA 22:16 "They pierced my hands and my feet."

Now, that's intriguing, stop and think about all of what I just said to you!

Think about who He is and what He did, and yet after He was put to death, buried and then raised from the dead, He still had time to break bread with His followers in His resurrection body.

Talk about His Celebrityship.

So, they have walked with Him for seven miles.

He has taught them the Scriptures.

And it blew them away....you can tell by what they said in LUK 24:32;

LUK 24:32 And they said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?"

They didn't realize who He was until they saw the nail prints.

Now that's strange!

Why?

Why can't they look in His face and see who He is?

LUK 24:33 And they arose that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them,

They immediately went back those seven miles to go tell the disciples.

LUK 24:34 saying, "The Lord has really risen, and has appeared to Simon."

LUK 24:35 And they {began} to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.

You see again they linked the recognition of Him to the breaking of the bread.

LUK 24:36 And while they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst.

LUK 24:37 But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit.

This was to be a celebration because of the fact that He was not in the tomb, He has been risen.

We know that because of LUK 24:1-3.

LUK 24:1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared.

LUK 24:2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,

LUK 24:3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

The stone was not rolled away to let Jesus out, it was rolled away to let the world in.

In LUK 24:38 And He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?

LUK 24:39 "See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."

He is not a transparency or a spirit.....He is tangible.

You can handle Him.

LUK 24:40 [And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.]

Now I like verse 41;

LUK 24:41 And while they still could not believe {it} for joy and were marveling, He said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?"

LUK 24:42 And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish;

LUK 24:43 and He took it and ate {it} before them.

And so when you read these passages you can't help but stumble a little bit.

Why can't they look in His face and see who He was?

Go to JOH 21, the disciples are in Galilee, and they are frustrated, they're frightened and confused.

They're trying to see through everything that has been going on.

When you're under a lot of stress, it's usually good to resort to some activity, which you will have success in.

Remember these guys were fishermen.

Four of them were partners in the fishing business or industry; Peter, Andrew, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, worked as fishermen.

So, what's natural for them to do? Go fishing!

So in JOH 21:3 Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will also come with you." They went out, and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.

JOH 21:4 But when the day was now breaking [morning], Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

Now, this does not surprise me, they're in a boat,

It's early morning mist and there's somebody standing on the shore and the fact that they don't know who it is, is not a surprise.

However, He must have been close to them because look at JOH 21:5 Jesus therefore said to them, "Children, you do not have any fish, do you?" They answered Him, "No."

JOH 21:6 And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right hand side of the boat, and you will find {a catch}." They cast therefore, and [now notice this] then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.

JOH 21:7 That disciple therefore whom Jesus loved

This is John the writer of this Gospel who is the only disciple that says he was the one that Jesus really loved.

So, John said to Peter’, "It is the Lord." And so when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped {for work}), and threw himself into the sea.

There goes Peter again......”Ready, fire, aim.”

And so he jumps in the water and starts swimming to the Lord.

JOH 21:8 But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net {full} of fish.

JOH 21:9 And so when they got out upon the land, they saw a charcoal fire {already} laid, and fish placed on it, and bread.

The Lord had cooked them breakfast....bread and fish!

ICE Maybe, being Jewish, he had lox (salmon) and bagels!

JOH 21:10 Jesus *said to them, "Bring some of the fish which you have now caught."

JOH 21:11 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.

Now, in verse 12, notice something strange;

JOH 21:12 Jesus said to them, "Come {and} have breakfast." [notice this] None of the disciples ventured to question Him, "Who are You?" knowing that it was the Lord.

JOH 21:13 Jesus *came and *took the bread, and *gave them, and the fish likewise.

JOH 21:14 This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead.

Now, what does all this mean?

What's John trying to say here?

Now, I want you to notice that every time we looked through the scripture, every time He appears to us, there seems to be some kind of a doubt concerning who He was or is.

Let's see if we can understand why.

Things we know about the resurrection body of Jesus Christ.

His body retained the nail prints, Zec 12:6.

He had some kind of epidermis similar to ours since it showed scars.

We won't have scars, but Jesus will.

His body retained the scar of the wound in His side,

JOH 20:25-27.

(Spear of destiny)

Our Lord's body was also recognizable as a human body, Luke 24, JOH 20:26-29.

His body could also be touched because it had substance; LUK 24:39-40.

He carried on conversations so His body must have had some system of vocal cords and the use of air, LUK 24, JOH 20:26.

His voice was recognizable immediately, JOH 20:16.

His body had flesh and bones, LUK 24:39-40.
He ate, but He didn't have to eat. He could eat or go without food, LUK 24:30-43.

Apparently its structure is different because Jesus walked through closed doors, JOH 20:19; LUK 24:36.

The resurrection body was able to appear and disappear, Luk 24:31.

The resurrection body could move vertically or horizontally, MAT 28:10, ACT 1:9-10.

Our resurrection body will be exactly like His, PHI 3:21, 1JO 3:2.

In heaven there will be only one resurrection body with scars and wounds, "the Lamb of God", REV 5:6,12.

He took more punishment in His body than anyone who ever lived and will live!

He holds the world record!

But……

Just as His suffering and humiliation was the greatest ever so will His glorification be the greatest ever.

It’s Wednesday, Sunday’s a-coming!

His face was so marred from looking like a man that His appearance was not that of a son of man or He did not look human!

Remember what they did to our Lord three days before His resurrection in MAT 26:67 Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him,

MAT 27:30 And they spat on Him, and took the reed and {began} to beat Him on the head.

The Roman soldiers before the cross beat Him up so badly that He was a bloody mess.

Now how bad did they beat Him up?

Isa 50:6 may give us the answer to our dilemma.

ISA 50:6 I gave My back to those who strike {Me,} And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.

Note that they ripped off His beard and that His face was smashed.

He must have looked so different without His beard and with all the wounds in His resurrection body.

He must have had scar tissue where the beard use to be.

You see, the question is in Jesus' resurrection body does He bear scars.....and the answer is of course.

The nail prints!

The wound in His side!

The marks on His head from the crown of thorns.

As Zechariah prophesied in ZEC 13:6 "And one will say to him, 'What are these wounds between your arms?' Then he will say,' {Those} with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.'"

The point is that if His beard was ripped off what does His face look like?

All of this is to say that there will only be one deformed resurrection body in heaven and that is the Lamb who has been slain, our Lord Jesus Christ.

This now leads us to our celebration of our Lord’s supper.

++++++++++++++++++++

As I mentioned, everything we studied today is to say that there will only be one deformed resurrection body in heaven and that is the Lamb who has been slain, our Lord Jesus Christ.

As we “remember Him” during this Lord’s supper, we should be reminded, not of our sins but of all He gave up for us so that we could have eternal life.

His resurrected body and face are disfigured even today which is the reason why no one could recognize Him in the Word of God.

He is what we would call “disfigured”!

That's what Isa 52:14 suggests.

Let me give you a few translations;

ISA 52:14 (CT) Just as there were many who were appalled at Him by His appearance and He was so disfigured beyond that of any man and His body was marred beyond looking human.

They shall stand dumbfounded, speechless in His presence.

They shall see our Lord beaten and bloodied, so disfigured one would scarcely know it was a person standing there.

If it's true that His resurrected body will bear the wounds He endured on the cross, than think of what He is going to look like in the eternal state.

You and I will have a perfect body without scars and wounds, our Lord will not!

We will see His nail prints!

We will see the wound in His side.

The only man-made things in heaven for all of eternity will be the scars upon TLJC.

I wonder that:

When we're in heaven and we look into His face; I wonder if we're going to get a glimpse of just how much He loved us so that you and I might live with Him for all eternity.

I would just like to end with a little illustration.

There was a young fireman who saved one of his sisters from burning in a fire.

In doing so, she was totally fine but He was serious wounded in his body where he lost his left leg and had third degree burns all over his body.

And…..

Every time the sister saw her brother’s scars all over His body, to her they were scars of beauty because she knew those scars were the reasons that she had been saved!

I believe we are now ready to participate with the only ritual that the church is commanded to follow.

Let me warn you and remind you before I do let me remind you that before I do beginning with…..

1CO 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

1CO 11:29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly.

1CO 11:30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.

1CO 11:31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged.

1CO 11:32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world.

So, in 1CO 11:23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;

1CO 11:24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me."

1CO 11:25 In the same way He took the cup also, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."

1CO 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.