“When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence” Luke 24:40-43.
Luke tells us that after his resurrection, Jesus visited his disciples and they were “startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost” (Luke 24:37). Jesus asked them why they were so frightened and disturbed. He sought to convince them that it was he standing amongst them. They simply could not believe their eyes, minds and hearts. Jesus then offered them the proof, the hard evidence, that the person standing in front of them was he, Jesus of Nazareth, who had been crucified. To aid in convincing them, Jesus showed them “my hands and my feet” and invited them to touch him and see that he had “flesh and bones” (v.39). His hands and feet bore the wounds that were the hard evidence.
Those wounds!!! Those were wounds of compassion, grace, sacrifice and self-emptying love. They were the hard evidence of his humanity and God’s everlasting and unconditional love for the world. He showed them his wounds to inspire them, satisfy their curiosity, calm their fears and anxieties, and empower them.
All across the world there are Christians bearing the wounds of their love and loyalty to Jesus. Those who love and serve the Lord will have wounds inflicted on them that can serve as the hard evidence of their love and commitment to Christ. Jesus told his disciples that following him meant being willing to carry a cross. Bearing the cross involves wounds.
That wound might be the victimization one faces in the workplace because of a principled stand, or ostracism because of one’s unwillingness to participate in corruption, or the rejection of family members because of the decision to become a follower of Jesus, or imprisonment for sharing the faith, or being ridiculed for being a Christian or even the choice to answer “yes” to the call to full-time ministry. Some wounds might be physical, psychological or material.
In a real way, our wounds reveal our humanity, our weaknesses, our brokenness and our victory. Jesus’ wounds were signs that the will of God was done on earth as it was in heaven. In the process of experiencing his wounds, he declared: “It is finished!” The work was accomplished and the wounds had been inflicted. Matthew Bridges was correct when he wrote:
Crown him the Lord of love,
behold his hands and side,
those wounds, yet visible above,
in beauty glorified.
When you are tempted to try to hide the wounds or weaknesses which are ultimate proof of our humanity, and also our love for God and commitment to the work of God’s Kingdom, remember Jesus’ willingness to show the hard evidence.
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