Look At the Hands
Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:24-30)
There was a fire in a building and the building was burning profusely. A little boy was too high up and would soon be engulfed. However, there was an external pipe that one of the firemen used to climb up in an attempt to rescue the boy. The pipe was blistering hot. Even through he had protective gloves on, his gloves were smoking. Despite the extreme heat, the fireman got to the boy and then climbed back down that same pipe. When they got to the ground, the fireman immediately removed his gloves and rinsed his hands in water to relieve the pain that he was experiencing from climbing up and down on that pipe that was so hot. His hands were burned and blistered, but he knew it was a price worth paying to save the young boy’s life.
The boy had been brought to safety but he sadly lost his parents in the fire. Some months later, he came up for adoption. There was a doctor who came into the courtroom and said, “I will dedicate my life to helping this boy become a great physician. I want to adopt him.” Then there was an engineer who said, “I want that kid. I will do everything I can to help him become a great engineer. I would like to adopt him.” Then there was a third man who came in. The boy looked at him and said, “Your honor, can he adopt me?” The judge asked, “Why him?” “Because I see his hands and I know who he is.”
It’s nice to have an engineer as a father. It’s nice to have a doctor as a dad. But when somebody loves you enough to burn their hands, when they love you enough to share your pain, when they love you enough to hurt when you hurt - when they ache when you ache, and when they’re there when life is falling apart - when they can show you their hands, and you know they paid the price, then they ought to have the privilege of the relationship. If you want to know who loves you, look at the hands. Jesus Christ has paid the price, and He alone deserves the relationship.
You can learn a lot about a person by looking at his hands. In the passage above Thomas (commonly known as Doubting Thomas) was a man who was struggling to believe in the resurrected Lord. Following the resurrection the other disciples, filled with wonder and excitement, came to tell him that Jesus had risen from the grave. You can almost imagine Thomas rolling his eyes and folding his arms and saying, “How gullible do you think I am? Jesus is dead. I saw him crucified and nothing on earth can change that!” Thomas often gets a bad rap for his hesitation in accepting the resurrection story. But let me ask you, “How do you think you would have responded to news of a resurrection following a public execution?” Would you have simply said, “Hey, that’s great! Let’s celebrate!” Or would you, like Thomas have said, “I need some proof! This is too outlandish for me to accept without something that confirms the story. I need to see the nail pierced hands. I need to see the hole where the spear pierced his side.”
Jesus had heard Thomas’ doubt and a short time later arrived to provide Thomas with the proof he was seeking. Merely a week after Thomas denied the resurrection; Jesus suddenly appeared before him. Jesus stretched out his hands and said, “Thomas, is this what you’re looking for?” Thomas looked first into his compassionate face and then he looked down and saw the hands that changed history. From that moment on, mankind has had proof positive of our Creator’s matchless power and unimaginable love. It was his hands that change “Doubting Thomas” to “Doubtless Thomas.” It was his hands that revealed that He was willing to pay the ultimate price so that we might be redeemed. It was the hands of Christ that make all the difference. How many times did crowds gather around him; crowds full of people with all sorts of infirmities and diseases? He would reach out and touch them all with his healing hands. When a blind man approached him one day, Jesus spit in the dirt and made mud with his hands with which to apply to the man’s eyes. His sight was then restored. He laid his hands on a dead girl, bringing her back to life. My guess is that the hands of Jesus were coarse, hardened, and calloused by years of working in the carpenter shop and by the hardship of living on the open road. Yet they were gentle, inviting, healing, and full of hope. They were hands that were always open and always inviting. Always willing to bless when a person is humble enough to receive him. It was his hands that he freely offered when they nailed him to the cross. It was the nail pierced hands that would him to the cross and free me from my sin. The amazing hands of Jesus.
You can learn a lot by looking at someone’s hands. Jesus still stands with outstretched hands to anyone who would receive him. His nail scarred hands show the price he was willing to pay for us to know his love.
For those who understand what those nail pierced hands mean, we still cry out like Thomas, “My Lord. My God.”
Live the Victorious Life,
PT
There was a fire in a building and the building was burning profusely. A little boy was too high up and would soon be engulfed. However, there was an external pipe that one of the firemen used to climb up in an attempt to rescue the boy. The pipe was blistering hot. Even through he had protective gloves on, his gloves were smoking. Despite the extreme heat, the fireman got to the boy and then climbed back down that same pipe. When they got to the ground, the fireman immediately removed his gloves and rinsed his hands in water to relieve the pain that he was experiencing from climbing up and down on that pipe that was so hot. His hands were burned and blistered, but he knew it was a price worth paying to save the young boy’s life.
The boy had been brought to safety but he sadly lost his parents in the fire. Some months later, he came up for adoption. There was a doctor who came into the courtroom and said, “I will dedicate my life to helping this boy become a great physician. I want to adopt him.” Then there was an engineer who said, “I want that kid. I will do everything I can to help him become a great engineer. I would like to adopt him.” Then there was a third man who came in. The boy looked at him and said, “Your honor, can he adopt me?” The judge asked, “Why him?” “Because I see his hands and I know who he is.”
It’s nice to have an engineer as a father. It’s nice to have a doctor as a dad. But when somebody loves you enough to burn their hands, when they love you enough to share your pain, when they love you enough to hurt when you hurt - when they ache when you ache, and when they’re there when life is falling apart - when they can show you their hands, and you know they paid the price, then they ought to have the privilege of the relationship. If you want to know who loves you, look at the hands. Jesus Christ has paid the price, and He alone deserves the relationship.
You can learn a lot about a person by looking at his hands. In the passage above Thomas (commonly known as Doubting Thomas) was a man who was struggling to believe in the resurrected Lord. Following the resurrection the other disciples, filled with wonder and excitement, came to tell him that Jesus had risen from the grave. You can almost imagine Thomas rolling his eyes and folding his arms and saying, “How gullible do you think I am? Jesus is dead. I saw him crucified and nothing on earth can change that!” Thomas often gets a bad rap for his hesitation in accepting the resurrection story. But let me ask you, “How do you think you would have responded to news of a resurrection following a public execution?” Would you have simply said, “Hey, that’s great! Let’s celebrate!” Or would you, like Thomas have said, “I need some proof! This is too outlandish for me to accept without something that confirms the story. I need to see the nail pierced hands. I need to see the hole where the spear pierced his side.”
Jesus had heard Thomas’ doubt and a short time later arrived to provide Thomas with the proof he was seeking. Merely a week after Thomas denied the resurrection; Jesus suddenly appeared before him. Jesus stretched out his hands and said, “Thomas, is this what you’re looking for?” Thomas looked first into his compassionate face and then he looked down and saw the hands that changed history. From that moment on, mankind has had proof positive of our Creator’s matchless power and unimaginable love. It was his hands that change “Doubting Thomas” to “Doubtless Thomas.” It was his hands that revealed that He was willing to pay the ultimate price so that we might be redeemed. It was the hands of Christ that make all the difference. How many times did crowds gather around him; crowds full of people with all sorts of infirmities and diseases? He would reach out and touch them all with his healing hands. When a blind man approached him one day, Jesus spit in the dirt and made mud with his hands with which to apply to the man’s eyes. His sight was then restored. He laid his hands on a dead girl, bringing her back to life. My guess is that the hands of Jesus were coarse, hardened, and calloused by years of working in the carpenter shop and by the hardship of living on the open road. Yet they were gentle, inviting, healing, and full of hope. They were hands that were always open and always inviting. Always willing to bless when a person is humble enough to receive him. It was his hands that he freely offered when they nailed him to the cross. It was the nail pierced hands that would him to the cross and free me from my sin. The amazing hands of Jesus.
You can learn a lot by looking at someone’s hands. Jesus still stands with outstretched hands to anyone who would receive him. His nail scarred hands show the price he was willing to pay for us to know his love.
For those who understand what those nail pierced hands mean, we still cry out like Thomas, “My Lord. My God.”
Live the Victorious Life,
PT
posted by Larry | 2:56 PM
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