Touching Jesus' Wounds

I answered: "You're right. Others have suffered longer and more painful tortures than death on a cross."

"Yeah," said the young man, surprised that I agreed with him.

"Look at those Christians," I said, "who have suffered prolonged torture for their faith in Jesus."

The young man nodded in agreement.

I continued: "But Jesus suffered something more than the physical pain of crucifixion. He bore your sin and my sin on that cross. He experienced the rejection of men and the rejection of his own heavenly Father. No-one ever experienced the weight of so much sin, so much guilt."

The young man had had enough religious training to understand the context of my words. He knew about Jesus, that he had been falsely accused, charged with subversion, and that he had been executed on a cross. What he didn't know was that Jesus had died for him.

"You're right," he said, with the light of sudden realization in his eyes.

Let's look at Thomas . . .

Jesus invited his disciples to accompany him on a dangerous mission. A friend had died, and he wanted to go and publicly raise his friend from death. Feeling pessimistic, Thomas heaved a deep sigh and muttered, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."

This disciple probably went by the motto, 'if anything bad can happen, it will'. Death hung like a dark cloud over his vision of the future.

It wasn't that Thomas' vision was unrealistic. There were powerful persons upset with Jesus' ministry and teachings. Upset enough to kill. Jesus and his followers had been lying low in the wake of this rising opposition.

Thomas' worst fears came true. Jesus was arrested, quickly tried and executed. Once again the disciples had to lie low, this time without their master. Thomas was gone when Jesus appeared to them after his resurrection. When the disciples told Thomas that they had seen their master alive, that he was risen from the dead, he shook his head in disbelief.

Staring incredulously, he said: "Unless I see in his hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the wounds, and put my hand into the wound in his side, I will not believe."

Imagine Thomas' shock when he saw the risen Lord. Imagine his dismay when he realized that he had doubted, that he had discounted any hope of Jesus rising from the dead.

Jesus said, "Reach here your finger, and see my hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into My side." These were words of chastisement . . . but they were words of holy chastisement. The purpose was the restoration of Thomas. This invitation to touch Jesus' wounds, resulted in Thomas' healing. His heart was broken as he cried, "My Lord and my God!"