February 9, 2003: He Knows What Wounds Are

Our God is a wounded God.

There are good reasons why, when Jesus rose with a renewed and glorified body, his wounds remained just as they were. For one thing, they rebuked the doubts of Thomas. Thomas had insisted that he would not believe the resurrection until he saw Jesus standing before him, wounds and all. Jesus showed up and obliged him. "Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.' Thomas said to him, 'My Lord and my God!'" (John 20:27-28)

The wounds of Christ not only silence doubt; they also bring about a silence of spirit to those who, like Jesus, bear wounds in their bodies and grief in their souls. The poem Jesus of the Scars, written by Edward Shilito after he had witnessed the carnage of World War I, speaks of the way in which Jesus' wounds address our sufferings. The last two stanzas read,

If, when the doors are shut, Thou drawest near,
Only reveal those hands, that side of Thine;
We know today what wounds are, have no fear.
Show us Thy Scars; we know the countersign.

The other gods were strong; but Thou wast weak;
They rode, but Thou didst stumble to a throne;
But to our wounds only God's wounds can speak,
And not a god has wounds, but Thou alone.

I am thankful that my God has wounds. He knows by experience the pain this world inflicts. His "rich wounds, yet visible above, in beauty glorified" stand as eternal testimony that he entered into our suffering, and took upon himself more of it than we could bear. Now his wounds are a balm to ours. The Bible says that by them we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).

A seminary professor told us about the time a practical-joking fool shook hands with Pastor A.W. Tozer and said, "I am Jesus Christ!" Tozer looked at the man's hands and said calmly, "No you're not. Jesus’ hands have nail-scars." Tozer was right. The hands of our Lord still show the scars that bore away our sin, and false pretenders to his throne lack his credentials of pain. Not a god has wounds, but Christ alone.