Many things distinguished Jesus in his earthly life – his rhetoric and wit, his way with a story, his compassion, his spiritual power. But in his resurrection body, his most distinctive attribute seems to have been the wounds on his hands, feet and side – healed, but still visible. They made him recognizable (as Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings sing in "By the Marks"). Such wounds were not unique, but their being healed in three days was. Jesus’ were still open – he invited Thomas to touch – but they were clean and healed.
The church has always made much of the wounds of Jesus, in part because the gospel writers did. And one reason they did was this prophecy in Isaiah, a significant foundation for the theology that salvation came through Jesus’ crucifixion:
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his wounds we are healed.”
The idea that one can be healed by the wounds of another seems odd – how can wounded-ness yield healing? Yet this idea roots a profound truth about life in Christ: just as his healed wounds showed that he had transcended death, so our healed wounds are evidence of a journey of healing, one we can share with others once we’ve been through it.
Jesus healed our sin-sickness by taking it upon himself on the cross, and to the grave, dead and buried. As he emerged from wherever he was during that night and day and night before Easter morning, he rose a new man, free from the sin and shame he’d borne on the cross. In that journey, he made our healing possible. By his wounds, we are healed.
And by our healed wounds, others can find healing. Survivors of particular diseases or traumas often bear special ministry to others who suffer as they did. People who have emerged from depression or other mental illnesses often have special gifts for others walking in darkness. The recovery community runs on this principle – as people get sober and gain the strength and support and tools to clean up the messes around them in their lives, they become sources of strength and healing for newcomers to that process. Indeed, many recovering addicts find this service to others integral to staying sober and clean themselves.
What healed wounds in your life can be sources of healing for others? Have you experienced people seeking your help in some area you’ve already traveled? Are you willing to share your journey into wholeness, expose your wounds?
What wounds remain unhealed in your heart, or body, or spirit? Invite the love and power that flow from Jesus into those places, and begin to see yourself as healed. Or seek another believer to pray with you and for you. Every church should have an active ministry of healing for members and outsiders alike to draw upon.
Jesus invites us to come and put our hands in the marks of the nails, and know the healing power that made him whole. We can do that in prayer, and in action. By his wounds, we are healed.
The idea that one can be healed by the wounds of another seems odd – how can wounded-ness yield healing? Yet this idea roots a profound truth about life in Christ: just as his healed wounds showed that he had transcended death, so our healed wounds are evidence of a journey of healing, one we can share with others once we’ve been through it.
Jesus healed our sin-sickness by taking it upon himself on the cross, and to the grave, dead and buried. As he emerged from wherever he was during that night and day and night before Easter morning, he rose a new man, free from the sin and shame he’d borne on the cross. In that journey, he made our healing possible. By his wounds, we are healed.
And by our healed wounds, others can find healing. Survivors of particular diseases or traumas often bear special ministry to others who suffer as they did. People who have emerged from depression or other mental illnesses often have special gifts for others walking in darkness. The recovery community runs on this principle – as people get sober and gain the strength and support and tools to clean up the messes around them in their lives, they become sources of strength and healing for newcomers to that process. Indeed, many recovering addicts find this service to others integral to staying sober and clean themselves.
What healed wounds in your life can be sources of healing for others? Have you experienced people seeking your help in some area you’ve already traveled? Are you willing to share your journey into wholeness, expose your wounds?
What wounds remain unhealed in your heart, or body, or spirit? Invite the love and power that flow from Jesus into those places, and begin to see yourself as healed. Or seek another believer to pray with you and for you. Every church should have an active ministry of healing for members and outsiders alike to draw upon.
Jesus invites us to come and put our hands in the marks of the nails, and know the healing power that made him whole. We can do that in prayer, and in action. By his wounds, we are healed.
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