The Scars Of Love

Intro

The scar on my ear

John 20:24–29 ESV

Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

He who healed everybody even before the resurrection could have healed himself—especially after the resurrection, could he not? Yes, but through the marks of the nails that he shows he teaches that it is this [body], through the closed doors by which he enters, he reveals that it is not such a [body as it was]. It was this [body], in order that he might fulfill the goal of the divine plan by raising that which had died, but it was such a body [as it was], in order that it might not lapse into corruption again and not be subject to death again. - Theodoret of Cyrus

Tozer Topical Reader in Two Volumes 356. Eternal Destiny; Salvation: Invitation to; Choices

The marks in His hands and feet are the insignia of His rank and office.

The Word of Life: Systematic Theology, Volume Two The Same Jesus

The risen Lord was not a different person from the one who had been crucified. The body was not a substitute (John 20:27). Jesus’ risen body bore the marks of his crucifixion to assure believers that the one crucified was the same who was risen.

Patience with Thomas

Jesus died for his forgiveness

Why the Scars?

A glorified body

Jesus was in and out of locked rooms

He ate food

People touched Him

Prove it was Jesus

If He looked the same

Had the scars to prove it was Him

Display the power over death

A hole in your side is lethal

Pierced lungs and heart

Death no longer had a hold on Him

How Now Shall We Live

Thomas had the wrong optics, he was looking at himself when he should have been looking to Jesus.

Implications for us

Jesus will always be fully God and fully man

The relationship He has with the Father we also are able to participate

Jesus was the first fruits and 1 Corinthians 15:49 “we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.”

If we will believe in Jesus and follow Him then death no longer has a hold on us

Let’s go back to that story of the scar on my ear. Somehow this scar changed my DNA, that’s how it was able to be passed on. When we put our faith in Jesus, His death for our sins and resurrection, then His life is passed on to us. As we will have some baptisms today, baptism is a uniting with Jesus’ death and resurrection. And as Romans 6:5 tells us, “if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.” This newness of life, this being born again, means that death no longer has a hold on us, just as death no longer had a hold on Jesus. Yes, this body has to pass away, that’s part of the curse, but remember that Jesus is the resurrection and the life and those who believe in Him will never die. We will be transformed as Jesus was transformed. This is not just a promise of things to come, but we get to participate in that resurrected life today. How?

We all have past scars, things that we have done or been done to us. We have a choice to allow those to continue to hold us back or we can trust in Jesus and allow Him to heal us. We can hold onto the regret of our sin or embarrassing times. This is to allow death to continue to have a hold on us. But Jesus took our sin upon Himself and nailed them to the cross, He bore our shame so that we could be free. Often times we hold onto un-forgiveness, but Jesus died for us so that we could be forgiven, and through His forgiveness we can forgive others. We once lived in hopelessness, but now we have hope. We once lived in despair, but now we have joy. We can let go of the past and live with a new future.

We have to trust in the work of Jesus. We have to bring our sin, our shame, our regret, our hurts to Jesus and allow His life to flow through us by the power of the Holy Spirit. The power of sin is death, but our sin has been forgiven and death has been defeated. Then we can confidently and boldly say, “Oh death, where is your victory! Where is your sting!” We have been forgiven and we have been given new life. Now go and live it!

Baptism

Romans 6:4-5 “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”