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Nail Wounds

nail woundsNail wounds, the remnant of an event that changed the world for all eternity.

Isaiah 53:5

But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins.

He was beaten so we could be whole.

He was whipped so we could be healed.

Two-thousand years prior to that event, Isaiah wrote about it. He had a vision of the way God would fix what we broke.How could Isaiah predict, with such detail, the way we would be saved? How could he imagine the brutality of the event? How much must God love us to not only take human form and walk among us on this broken planet, but to then die, take on the full punishment of our sins, and then call us whole and healed? What sense does that make?

We screw up every day. We turn away from God all the time, and at the beginning of every day, we wake up whole and healed. The nail wounds of our sins have been washed away.

How could Isaiah share his vision with such boldness and faith so long before it actually happened?

It doesn’t surprise me that the religious leaders of the time would dismiss the claims that the savior Isaiah spoke of had come.

It doesn’t surprise me that Thomas would doubt the authenticity of the claims made by his friends; that Jesus returned from the dead and was back, visiting people and being seen by thousands.

John 20:24-29

One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”

Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”

“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.

Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

I can only imagine the mental explosion that happened in the head of Thomas the disciple. Was it necessary for him to touch the wounds in order to believe? I don’t know. Jesus seems to indicate that physical proof such as that is not required, only faith – faith like that of Isaiah. I’m sure as soon as Thomas saw Jesus, he believed. Regardless, Jesus invited Thomas to touch his wounds. In doing that, Thomas became a part of the story of the resurrection.

Can we offer Jesus’s physical wounds as proof to those around us? No.

But we can invite people to be a part of the story of the resurrection. We can show people how Jesus healed our wounds. We can share our stories of victory with those around and show them where the victory came from.

To you who believe — are you sharing Jesus’s victory over death with others? Are you inviting them into the story of the resurrection? Are you showing them that Jesus is alive, and that he can heal their wounds?

Want to be a part of the resurrection? Gather with us this Sunday. In the mean time, listen to Amanda’s message from this past Sunday here.