"Behold, It Is Me"

"He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. 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." (Isaiah 53:2-3 KJV)

"Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren" (Hebrews 2:17 KJV)

"After that He appeared in another form"

As stated in the above Scriptures, Jesus of Nazareth (see Nazarene) was an ordinary-looking man; there was nothing special or different about His appearance. Even after His resurrection, in the time before His ascension, He appeared to those who knew Him as an ordinary physical flesh and bones human who even ate a breakfast of fish with them on the beach.

Sometimes however He appeared as a different-looking ordinary human than the Jesus they knew - so different that they did not recognize Him. Some say that was due to the injuries that were inflicted upon Him. While very likely partly correct, the injuries themselves should have made it obvious, to those who knew Him and what had happened to Him, who He was. Instead the Bible states "but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus" and "after that He appeared in another form" and "their eyes were holden that they should not know Him":

"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." (Luke 24:35-39 KJV) (see also Ghost and Spirit: What's The Difference?)

"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 [i.e. Mary of Magdala]. She turned herself, and saith unto Him, Rabboni [see Rabbi]; which is to say, Master." (John 20:15-16 KJV)

"But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus ... Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask Him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus showed Himself to his disciples, after that He was risen from the dead." (John 21:4,12-14 KJV)

"After that He appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country" (Mark 16:12 KJV)

"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 24:15-16 KJV)

But What About Now?

The appearance of Jesus Christ after His ascension is now very different:

"And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire; And His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters. And He had in His right hand seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." (Revelation 1:12-18 KJV)

Fact Finder: How will Jesus Christ appear at His Return? (see also The Return Of Jesus Christ)
Revelation 19:11-16
See also Two Very Different Triumphal Entries

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