Luke 24:40-41, “…He showed them His hands and His feet…[they] disbelieved for joy…”
Short Thoughts:
The wounds of their God’s agony, the wounds dealt by the worst sin imaginable, the wounds of temporally-borne eternal torment, of damnation itself—seen in the flesh of the risen Son—call forth such passion of joy from the hearts of His disciples that they can hardly believe it to be true.
And when this same risen Christ holds ANY and ALL of the horrors of His people in those same hands, they will be transfigured—as His wounds—into servants of our joy and the Father’s glory (Revelation 21:4).
Longer Thoughts:
Two wonderful things on these verses.
First, how awesome is it that Jesus proves Himself to them (v.39, “It is I myself”) by showing them the wounds in His hands and feet? Glory to God! The proof of His identity, the proof that this one is the Son of God—the Lord of lords, the Master, the Righteous One, the Author of Life, the Image and Radiance of the invisible God—the proof (as Thomas knew) that He is Lord and God is found in the wounds torn in His hands and feet. There may even be an allusion here to the divine name (with the use of “ego eimi”), which would only be a further seal to the already clear import of the passage: The identity of the one true God is made known to us in His Son, and the Son is made known to us when the wounds of His death are taken up and displayed in the flesh of the Risen Lord.
Yes….this image….the wounds of death in the risen flesh…..this is the encapsulation of our faith, this is the communication of our God. This is how we know Him…..He is the one who, literally, holds our death and sorrow and suffering and sin and hell in His hands….holds them in His hands. He does not diminish or dismiss or discard them, but holds them in all their horror and makes them serve the declaration of His name and His glory precisely because He holds them in all of their damning power as conquered enemies. “Behold, He died, and yet lives forevermore.” He has overcome them, and the wounds in the risen flesh forever declare both their horror and their defeat, and so they are made into servants, into heralds of the Name of God, of Holy Love
The second thing to see is that, upon the sight of the wounds, the disciples are said to be “disbelieving from joy.” The preposition used denotes cause. They were disbelieving because of their joy. In other words, they were so happy, things were so good, what was unfolding before them was so unspeakably wonderful that that they thought to themselves, “this is too good to be true.” The sheer joy of the moment overwhelmed their fall-scarred perception of reality and their reason bent nearly double under the weight of glory descending on them with the sight of their risen Lord…..this could not be, they thought to themselves.
And notice what it is that kindles this worldview-dismantling joy: the sight of the wounds of damnation in the flesh of the risen Lord Jesus.
Yes, the sight of the wounds dealt by the worst horror that reality can deliver, the sight of the wounds dealt by the holy love of God poured in fire over the collected wickedness of man, the sight of the wounds torn by the full fury of everlasting hell itself, the sight of these wounds—in the flesh of the risen one—creates unspeakable, unfathomable, incalculable JOY in the hearts of those for whom the wounds were borne…..
THAT is incredible. By the resurrection, God causes the effects of THE WORST HORROR imaginable to become the impetus for THE GREATEST JOY imaginable. Hallowed be His name!!
When John saw the iron driven into the hands of His dear Lord, when John saw the blood pour from His King, when John saw the agony of His God as harsh metal bored through tender flesh……could He have possibly imagined that within three days He would look at those very wounds and weep and laugh for joy? Hallowed His name! This is what the resurrection accomplishes….this is what the Light of the Risen Lord does the the shadows of the fallen world.
And the crucified and risen Christ is the firstfruits. He is the supreme and definitive example—and the blood-seal of assurance—of what God is going to do with all suffering, sorrow, loss, death, pain, and sin of His people. What the presence of the Risen Christ does to the crucifixion (namely, cause it to become the joy of God’s people and the glory of God’s Name), His presence will do to ALL the “crucifixions” of His bride. The light of the Risen Lord will turn the tears of His Bride into the wine of her blessedness.
Ah, Lord, how we praise your Name and anticipate that day!
