All Easter Sunday long the apostles had been hearing report after
report and claim after claim about the Resurrected Jesus. But how could
they be sure unless they touched him themselves? Now, here He was! In
the flesh! The exalted body of the true Son of God.
And I can tell you that He still looks exactly the same today. Scars
and all.
The only man-made things in heaven are the scars of Jesus. And they are
there for all eternity. If we had unattractive scars on our bodies and
we had the power to make them vanish, wouldn’t we? Yes, of course. Then
why doesn’t Jesus? It’s because Jesus’ scars
aren’t unattractive, they’re beautiful. In the scars of Jesus, we see
the incredible love of our God of grace. We see the merciful
substitution of a selfless Savior. We see the beauty marks of our
beloved brother. With the sacrificial scars of his hands, feet,
and side, Jesus opens our minds to the reality of God’s proven
providence for his people.
I love this phrase in verse 41: “And while they still disbelieved for
joy and were marveling.” Jesus not only calms doubts and fears, He also
replaces them with joy and marveling. It reminds me of those
heart-warming times at sporting events when a soldier
surprises his family after returning from duty overseas. Oftentimes,
the family can’t believe it. There’s almost always one member of the
family who just stands there in shock for a few seconds. It seems too
good to be true!
The appearance of Jesus to his disciples that first Easter evening was
probably something like that. It seemed too good to be true. But it was
true! The truth of Easter – the truth of Jesus risen from the dead as
proof of our salvation – opens our minds in
a similar way. He is risen indeed! It seems too good to be true. But it
is true! Hallelujah!
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