Jesus Loves Us. He Wears Our Scars. We are Cleansed
When we enter Heaven. Jesus’ scarred hand. Takes hold of our ours.
Casting Crowns — Scars in Heaven.
The only scars in Heaven
They won’t belong to me and you.
There’ll be no such thing as broken.
And all the old will be made new
And the thought that makes me smile now.Even as the tears fall down
Is that the only scars in Heaven, yeah!
Are on the hands that hold you now.Hallelujah!
Hallelujah!
Hallelujah!
For the hands that hold you now.(Mark Hall, 1999)
Introduction. The eternal scars left on our beloved Savior’s hands. The holes pierced into the hands of our Lord Jesus. These holes bear witness to Jesus’ sacrificial love for all humanity.
Scripture Reading: Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” (John 20:27, ESV)
The eternal scars of Jesus bear witness. To those cruel and those most painful Roman nails. Those horrid nails were driven into the hands of our beloved Lord. These are the only human scars to be carried into Heaven. These holes. These scars bear loving confirmation. To Jesus’ sacrificial love for all humanity.
Our much awaited day come will come. Till then we wait eagerly. Our whole lives for this moment. We wait. For the day we shall enter with our Lord Jesus into Paradise. In this much anticipated moment. Where we will join joyously. With Almighty God in His Heavenly Kingdom. You and I shall walk hand in hand with Jesus into Paradise.
Jesus our LORD takes our hand. Our hand held lovingly in Jesus’ eternally scarred hand. As He does. We bow before the throne of the King of kings. You and I kneel before the LORD of lords. We praise the Holy name of Jesus for eternity. For suffering the cruelty of those Roman nails on our behalf. We praise the Holy Name of Jesus. With joy and with thanksgiving. We sing praises to Almighty God forever and forever more. You and I praise the Holy Name of Jesus.
In the accepting of Jesus as our Savior. In the waiting. In the believing. In the proclamation of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. There is always Jesus as our LORD. Jesus Christ is in His Paradise waiting for us. God Almighty is waiting for us in His Heavenly Kingdom.
When it is time for us to enter Heaven. Jesus’ scarred hand shall reach out for ours. Our broken pieces Jesus shall fix. Through the pure and the innocent blood of the Lamb of God. Our scars and our holes shall be healed. You and I are washed clean by the precious blood of Jesus. Christ the beloved Son of God the Father. Jesus shall wash our sins away and our scars shall be cleansed.
Scripture Readings: If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9, ESV)
And He said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43, ESV)
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12, ESV)
On that revered day as we enter Paradise. Jesus shall reach out to us. We shall see those consecrated holes. We shall touch those soul-saving scars. Those heart wrenching signs of Jesus’ sacrificial love. We shall place our hand. In the outstretched and the eternally scarred hand of Jesus. We believe. We believe! These scars. These holes were suffered on our behalf. We are washed clean of ours sins. What undeserved and such unimaginable love. Jesus has for all God’s people.
Jesus Christ, the Lamb who bore the weight of our sins, will stand before us. His hands, once pierced by cruel nails, will bear the scars — the indelible marks of love and redemption. We shall gaze upon those nail-scarred hands, fall at His feet, and weep with joy, praising His wonderful name 1. For in those scars lies the story of our salvation — the price paid, the victory won. (Billy Graham, 2023)
As Jesus Christ spoke to the thief alongside Him on their crosses. Jesus reassures all trusting penitents.
“Today” means “this very day” — that is, “before the present day ends, when we are being crucified.” The Greek word order shows that “today” belongs with the phrase “with Me,” not with “I solemnly assure you.” “Paradise” here refers to the dwelling place of the righteous dead, which is either synonymous with the third (= the highest) heaven or located within the third heaven (see 2 Cor 12:4) (Murray J. Harris, Word by Word Blog)
Reading of the two guilty and shame filled thieves. Hanging on either side of our Lord. Crucified for their rebellion against Rome. In Luke’s rendition. In Luke 23:39–41, the repentant thief stopped his abuse. This penitent one recognised his own guilt and his own shame. At the same time. This thief acknowledged the innocence of the One crucified next to him. This thief recognized Jesus as his Lord.
Scripture Reading: One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” (Luke 23:39–41, ESV)
This thief knew he deserved his cruel and ever so painful punishment. This thief acknowledged his guilt and his shame. He no longer hurled abuse, insults and mockery at the One next to him.
What changed for this man of guilt and shame? Saint John in his Gospel provides for us a clue. Perhaps when Jesus as He hung suffering and in absolute agony. When He prayed”
Scripture Reading: And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34a, ESV)
Did this thief consider? When Jesus asks God the Father. To forgive the Roman soldier who hammered in those cruel and those so painful nails. Perhaps this forgiveness covers his many, many sins also. Yes, this could be the explanation? For the thief’s change of heart and the change in attitude.
We also are covered by Jesus’ prayer. Jesus prays for our forgiveness also, to God the Father. Again, we fall before Jesus onto our knees. Once more our prayer of confession is ushered to the One. Who suffered and died in our stead. Jesus our Savior, hung on His soul-saving cross on our behalf.
We stand up in defense of our Lord. Against all those who hurl abuse and insults against Jesus our Lord, our God. We were as guilty as the thief. Who hung alongside our Lord on His cross. Now we are saved. We fear God. We stand up for our Lord. We praise the Holy Name of Jesus — ALWAYS.
We do not know what the thief thought when he heard these words, but it’s not difficult to imagine that something like the following went through his head: “If He was ready to forgive the man who drove the spikes into His hands and feet, maybe He was ready to forgive me.”[1] (Colin Smith, Open the Bible Blog)
Conclusion. The hand of our Lord Jesus will lead us Home. The eternally scarred Hand of Jesus will reach out for us in Paradise.
Nico’s articles are always beautifully written, Diane.
How to Get Your Own God-Guided Stone System | by Nico Zwaneveld | The Dove | Apr, 2024 | Medium
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