A Permanent Reminder

By Greg Laurie, Op-ed contributor Tuesday, May 17, 2005

"Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself." (Luke 24:39)

What did the resurrected body of Jesus like? The Bible tells us that after Jesus' cruel torture, crucifixion, and three days in the tomb, He was recognizable, and that His followers knew who He was.

We know that He had a body of flesh and bone. Jesus told the disciples, "Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have" (Luke 24:39).

We also know that Jesus ate food. Imagine the surprise of the disciples when the risen Lord appeared to them and then said, "Have you any food here?"

"What?" they must have been thinking. But they gave Jesus a piece of broiled fish and some honeycomb, and He ate it (see Luke 24:41–43).

His resurrected body also could be touched and felt. When the women were returning from the empty tomb, "Behold, Jesus met them, saying, 'Rejoice!' So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him" (Matthew 28:9). Then, when Jesus appeared to the disciples in the Upper Room, He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing" (John 20:27).

This tells us that in His resurrected body, Jesus still wore the marks of the crucifixion. And He will wear those marks, even in eternity (see Zechariah 12:10). I think this is to remind us of how we got there. We will not be in heaven because of our good works. We will be there because of His shed blood, because spikes were driven through His hands and feet for us.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000