See His Hands

 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.”  Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”  Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” (John 20:27-29)

A touch.  Sometimes in our life, we just need a touch.  I remember those nightmares I use to have as a young boy.  I would wake up with a gasp and a scream and my body coated with sweat only to have my rapid breathing eased when my father would put his arms around me to let me know everything is okay and nothing would happen to me.  There were those nights when I was struck with sickness, my body in pain and my spirits dampened only to be comforted by my mother’s gentle touch as she slightly feels my forehead and strokes my hair.  A touch.  Even as we get older, we still need the touch. A Savior’s touch is a touch that carries more value and more weight than a father’s touch or a mother’s touch.  In John 20, after his resurrection, he tells a doubting Thomas to look at His hands as evidence that He is who He really is, Jesus the resurrected Son of God.  Let us look at his hands and see the power of His touch in our lives.

 In Matthew 14, we read the story of the disciple Peter walking on the water towards Jesus who also was walking on the water.  Around them a storm raged.  Peter shifted his focus to the winds and the waves and became afraid.   In the midst of the storm, Peter sank.  But do not stop there for you will miss the blessing.  When Peter cried out to Jesus to save him, Jesus extended His hands to Peter and pulled him to safety.  Oh the beautiful picture of Jesus’ helping hand, which in the midst of our storms, will extend his hands toward us to help us face whatever we are struggling with and give us the safety, strength, and victory we so desperately need.  We cannot face our trials alone; we need the precious hand of Jesus in our life to help us.   Are you weary, embattled, and worn? Reach out for the hands of Jesus, ask for His touch and let Him give you the help you need to face the situation. 

In Matthew 8:14,15, we see the story of Peter’s mother-in-law healed.  It was not by medicine, surgery, some miraculous transplant, but by a touch of the hands from the Great Physician.  This is a picture of Jesus’ healing hands.  He healed the son of a nobleman.   He healed a man suffering from paralysis.  He healed a blind man.  His healing power raised from the dead the daughter of Jairus and also Lazarus.  I have seen doctors confounded and forced to change their diagnosis of the patient because of the healing power of Jesus.  Yes, that Jesus he overcame death, hell, and the grave.  It is the same healing power that heals the broken hearted.  Are you sick?  Are you hurting?  Are you broken-hearted?  Place your hands in the healing hands of the Master.

Now we return to the John 20.  What did Thomas need to see?  What was so special about His hands that were visible to the naked eye to give Thomas that sure, strong evidence that the person in front of him is in fact, Jesus?  There was something there, which served as a reminder to all who saw it, that this was Jesus.  His scars served as evidence to Thomas and the world that this Jesus who had been crucified is now raised from the dead.  Thomas was looking at Jesus’ hurting hands.  They were hands that endured such intense pain because of His never-ending love for us.  Oh sinner, Christ endured pain for you because he loves you and through His death has provided for us the most wonderful gift of eternal life.  Because of those hands, the debt I owed is now marked PAID IN FULL!  How precious are those hands.  Look at them, reach for them, and hold them; for they help, they heal, and most importantly, they save.