If you are standing beside someone and overhear them say, “well, it’s all over now.” What do they mean?
The likelihood of it is that they were observing a situation that they hoped would turn out in a certain way. But then something happened that was big enough and bad enough to destroy their hope.
One Christian writer — Timothy Keller — pointed out that, in the case of the disciples, the nail marks on Jesus’ hands and feet initially symbolized a crushing defeat. He writes,
“The last time the disciples saw Jesus, they thought the scars were ruining their lives. (They) thought that they were on a presidential campaign. They thought that their candidate was going to win and they were going to be in the cabinet, and when they saw the nails going into the hands and the feet and the spear going into the side, they believed those wounds had destroyed their lives.”
So see yourself standing beside one of the disciples at the crucifixion site. You watch as one of the soldiers positions a nail on one of Jesus’ wrists. Then you hear the blow of the hammer as he strikes the nail and you hear Jesus cry out in agony. That disciple beside you clasps his face in his hands and through clenched teeth says, “it’s all over now.” You’d know exactly what he means. Remember what the two disciples in the road to Emmas said to Jesus when he appeared to them unrecognized? They said of Jesus, “we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.” Luke 24:20
But those nails put an end to their hope.
Keller goes on to write:
“And now Jesus is showing them that in his resurrected body scars are still there. … Seeing Jesus Christ with his scars reminds them of what he did for them — that the scars they thought had ruined their lives actually saved their lives.”
So let’s ask the question, in what sense did those scars actually save their lives?
The scars certainly didn’t represent a political salvation for the nation over their Roman oppressors. For that matter, things only got worse for the nation politically.
Did the scars point to Jesus’ victory over death? In showing the disciples his scars, was he saying to them, in effect, you have nothing to fear — see, I have conquered death!
That certainly makes sense. It’s true. In reference to his resurrection, Jesus had said to them, “because I live, you also will live.” (John 14:19) So praise God death is dead, right?
But I suggest to you that there’s a deeper meaning in those scars than even victory over death, but it’s agonizingly sensitive beyond measure. It’s so painful to the touch that, if you’re anything like me, we want to run from what those scars mean. We don’t ever want to see them and we want to keep our thoughts as far away from them as we can.
What am I referring to?
And I’m referring to the fact that, to this day, these kinds of things still happen and can easily happen in the heartbeat of one unguarded moment.
