Resurrection Day

 “Peace be with you.

When he said this, he showed them his hands and side.”

John 20:20

When our resurrected Lord first appeared, even his closest friends could not believe their eyes.  They had seen him dead and buried in a tomb sealed with a great stone and guarded by soldiers. They expected him to stay there. Everyone did.  So, on Easter evening when he “appeared in a room, the doors being shut”; the disciples didn’t know what to make of it.  Was he a ghost?  Were they hallucinating?  Was it just wishful thinking?

Then Jesus showed them his hands and side.  That is, he showed them his wounds.  Later he even invited Thomas to touch them.  That was the proof that convinced him and prompted his confession of faith, “My Lord and my God.”

The Bible says that when we are raised to eternal life we shall be given a new body “glorious and incorruptible”.  Disabilities and incapacities will not follow us for eternity.  The blind shall see and the lame shall walk.

But, Jesus kept his wounds.  Why?  His wounds remained so that we might be reminded of the price he paid for our salvation.  Grace is not cheap.  Every time we consider the cross the depth of Christ’s love is revealed.

Easter means little to those who gloss over Good Friday.  The resurrection holds little meaning for those who deny the power of death.  But, for those who have experienced the grief that comes from loss; for those who’ve experienced the regret that comes from guilt; the power of the cross and the hope of Easter morning offer new possibilities and a new promise.