What Scars Remind You of Jesus?
Good Morning Friends,
Jesus in his earthly ministry healed people physically. Sometimes he used a word, sometimes he used his touch but today’s scripture doesn’t say that… it says we are healed by His wounds. Some translations use the language of stricken, smitten, afflicted, pierced and crushed as an olive made into oil. It is here we remember Jesus’ prayer at the Olive Press at the Garden of Gethsemane. It is here we remember the evergreen leaves and branches of the olive tree that promise healing peace. It is here, as Jesus is sweating blood and submitting to the will of the Father, that we realize where our healing comes from. It flows from His wounds. It is here we remember He was hung on a tree. It is here we see the Tree of Life by the flowing River of God. It is here we realize that Christ came and will come again to complete the healing. He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. So, What Scars Remind You of Jesus?
Scripture: Top of FormBottom of FormFor he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering* and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces* he was despised, and we held him of no account. 4Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.
5But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.
Isaiah 53:2-5 (NRSV)
36Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ 37He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. 38Then he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.’ 39And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.’ 40Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, ‘So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? 41Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial;* the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ 42Again he went away for the second time and prayed, ‘My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.’ 43Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words.
Matthew 26:36-44 (NRSV)
Then the angel* showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life* with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3Nothing accursed will be found there anymore. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants* will worship him; 4they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign for ever and ever. 6And he said to me, ‘These words are trustworthy and true, for the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants* what must soon take place.’ 7 ‘See, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.’
Revelation 22:1-7 (NRSV)
Message: One of the most beautiful scenes in the Bible comes from today’s scripture in Revelation. It is the vision of a great River of Life that flows from the throne of God and the Lamb. It is a vision of a crystal clear river that begins as a trickle from the throne and then flows through the New Jerusalem to provide healing and health for those on its shores….even the healing of the nations. It is the river that gives life. It is the river that is pure. It is the river that never stops. It is the river of God. It is the river of new life. Here Jesus shares with them that the only way to have power and influence in the Kingdom is by suffering service. We would like another way but the reality is that scars speak louder than sermons. Here in the light we need to share our scars as a witness to Christ Jesus. Some of those scars are unsightly but they are a sign for us that we can heal and that they when shone to others in love may just bring the peace that all need to experience. The image works well with the scripture Isaiah wrote 700 years before Christ was born with great precision as to what would happen to Jesus when He came to earth to save mankind. It foretells how God was to take a nothing child known as the son of a carpenter and his peasant wife, known as a child cradled in a manger, known as a man hung on the cross and hopefully known to you as the Savior of the world. This young plant, this sprout from the stump of Jesse and King David was to be rejected even before He was born. There was no room for Him in the Inn, no place for Him to rest His head during his life and yet he suffered and died in this spiritually starved world so we might be fed, we might find a place prepared for us in a heavenly kingdom. Indeed the true understanding and magnitude of Jesus’ gift, of God’s gift, comes not in His birth but in the power of believing that His death on the cross was not in vain, that our suffering is not in vain. Here this suffering servant Jesus becomes a magnificent gift. How surprising and sublime is this gift healing that flows from the wounds of Jesus…that flows from the throne of God.
Pray that our scars make us real, believable and trustworthy. Pray that in the scars of life we discover peace. Pray that in the scars of life we discover a growing faith. Pray that in the scars of life we discover healing. Pray that in the scars of life we discover honor. Pray that in the scars of life we discover love.
Pray that all the troubles and trials of this life will pass into nothingness when we see the face of Jesus. Pray that our internal scars be a witness of Christ to others. Pray that when pain and sorrow scars our lives we seek comfort in God’s loving arms. Pray we take time to remember that our relationship with Christ is the only hope we have to gain peace of mind. Pray that these dry bones of ours come to life in the river of God. Pray we are anointed with His gift. Pray that we drink of the water of life that Jesus brings to us so that we might never thirst. Pray that we step onto the water of relationship with God. Pray that the river of our life is growing with God. Pray that we dive deep into the river that brings real life, truly satisfies and perfectly cleanses our body and spirit.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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