Who Is Wounded Now?
16 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they could go and anoint him. 2 Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they went to the tomb at sunrise. 3 They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us?” 4 Looking up, they noticed that the stone—which was very large—had been rolled away.
5 When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side; they were alarmed. 6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he told them. “You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they put him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see him there just as he told you.’”
8 They went out and ran from the tomb, because trembling and astonishment overwhelmed them. And they said nothing to anyone, since they were afraid.
Who is wounded now?
Jesus. Yes, He is.
But wait, isn’t He healed and alive and risen from the dead to never die again…to be without pain, suffering…
… want…ever again…like He promises us…that we will be…now that His work is finished…
Like He promised?
Yes. But look at His hands and feet…put your hand in His side. See it is Him, the Crucified One…the one who was—it is He.
English just does not really covey the Greek Perfect Tense all too well…that meaning of the Angels Words, “You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.”
Not quite. It should be more like, “You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the Crucified One.”
That, which was done in the past, (perfect—perfectly)—that still has effect in the present and…and out into the future…into eternity.
St. John, in the Revelation given to Him of heaven…saw the Lamb (Jesus) as though He had been slain…or rather, He saw the Lamb of God, the Slain One. Same Perfect verb tense.
And so, the angel told them that they will see Him…with the holes…with those defining marks of who He is—the Crucified One…just like He told them they would…in Galilee.
This same Jesus…the Christ…is Risen!
Yes, the Son of God, who is crucified before the foundations of the earth were laid—so says the Bible.
He is THE SAVIOR. Always was and always is. By His death, He is so. By His Crucifixion He is.
In some ways we can understand this. How many boys (sorry ladies, this may be a male thing) how many boys like to show off their scars? They are proud, aren’t we guys, of what we can bear-up under, what we survived to tell the tale?
This is Jesus…this—those nail and spear marks are His glory—the marks that won the victory.
That bought us freedom. That frees us and all of creation from the curse of sin.
Why wouldn’t He wear them in honor? With great joy? He does, and is glad to!
Our ideals of perfection, as fickle and changing as they are, know little about what GOOD really is, what beauty REALLY IS, what glory is—how deep and real it can go.
Jesus, you see, takes joy in what He did…what He went through.
Ladies—or should I say mothers, you know a little of this too. Even the Bible tells us about it. Giving birth is a painful process to endure (being a man, I am glad it is not me) but to endure it…and then…
When that little one is born….
What pain? Gone…now…in the face of that new life…for this…joy…for this miracle!
So, you see, Jesus did this for all these reasons…is this for these reasons…
But we get these notions sometimes…and wonder about why God even ever bothered with all that…why begin such a wonderful thing…why start…why make…why create pain, if He knew all that would happen?
Some even think He did not know, but that goes against what the Bible plainly says.
But we may ask, (I did at one time) that if He knew what we would do…and then what He would have to do to fix it…why do it in the first place?
That truly troubled me until I became a father…until I read more of the Bible…
Again, we know so little about what is really and truly Good. What Love really is all about. We know so little of it because we see so little of it, experience so little of it…do so little of it…or even… want to do so little of it.
Then there is God. Then babies are born. Then there is Jesus.
Jesus said that there is no greater love than when someone lays down His life for another. Parents know a little of this.
But you must understand that true love creates…wants to have beloveds to love. True love will do anything to love the beloved.
And yes, although not fully… married couples who become parents know something about this.
Sure… it gets lost at times. It gets ruined at times. We barley have it…for long…clearly…fully…
Yet… then do not be surprised when the Bible compares the church and Jesus to be like a bride and her bridegroom.
Marriage was created to be this, before the fall into sin, and Christian marriage is to be more like this, now with Christ the center of such a marriage.
Yes, just as we were created in God’s image to be like Him…Jesus came to remake us… all so that we can…
…love and be loved, to create and pro-create…the more beloveds the better.
God, in His nature is Love. To have more beloveds to love is without question that which would be, by His nature, if you would want to say it, inevitable. Bound to happen. The very outcome of who God is.
Love loves others.
God would not but create us to love and to be loved by.
This despite what we would do, what His good creation would do—hate, kill, destroy…
He knew this and already intended, was willing, and fully prepared…yes, He put it into motion before the first atom appeared in this universe. He knew, and did it all anyway…in order to have more beloveds, you and me, even if He would have to suffer and die to have us with Him for all eternity.
True love does that. God’s love does that. How could death stand up to that? Love begets life. That is God—that is true nature—true creation—the way it was meant to be—the way it will be again.
Sin cannot stand up to that. Sin, that which brings death, gets swallowed up in life because of Love. There is no sin in, or from real love…it shrivels and dies in that glorious light…that living light…that giving light….
Life. That is why He is Risen! How could death hold Him?
But just because Jesus still has the marks, does not mean He suffers. His flesh that He gives to us is not because He is still broken. His blood that He gives to us is not because He is still bleeding.
No, He gives as we would give a kidney to our child. The way we would give our blood to be transfused for someone who needs it.
But this analogy still requires loss and pain on the part of the giver…even if we are very willing…
That is not so for Him, now. He has already given—from eternity given—given all that we need in this life—His flesh and His blood…
It is finished, and the heavens and the earth contain all that we need…and as this is God…this is more than enough…more than we need…over-flowing…infinite as He is…beyond measure…
Yes, even still by the man Jesus. He rose, as a human, to fill the universe, God yes, but still human, the Bible says…to fill it with Himself—His body and His blood…His life and His love…for us…
What He gives us is not taken, but given. Help and strength for His church…for us…the beloved.
He has given to His church…and it is more than enough to hold us over until He comes and restores all things.
He is no longer on the cross. He no longer suffers pain or loss. All is finished and He is Risen!
Christ the Crucified One is RISEN! Amen.
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