Beauty MarksParaugs

Jesus Has Scars Too

The prophet Isaiah made this prediction about the Messiah:

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. (Isa. 53:5)

Scars mark the wounds that were inflicted on Jesus. On His hands. On His feet. On His side. On His head.

If you’ve read the story of the crucifixion, you know that the risen Jesus is probably covered from head to toe with scars from the beatings and the piercings He endured. The obvious scars were on His hands and His feet. But He had soul wounds too. His friends betrayed Him. His family abandoned Him. Religious leaders despised and rejected Him. He was forgotten. Forsaken. Falsely accused.

Yet when Jesus appeared to His followers after dying on the cross and rising from the dead, one of the first things He did, according to several gospel accounts, was to show them His scars. Isn’t that interesting? He didn’t try to hide them. In fact, it’s as if Jesus was announcing, “You know it’s Me because of these scars!” when He said, “Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself !” (Luke 24:39).

Because I’m a woman with scars, I’m compelled to ask, Why does Jesus, the Son of God, still have scars? He is God Almighty in a resurrected, glorified body! I don’t know about you, but I’m hoping to get rid of all of these scars when I get my new body in heaven. Though I don’t know exactly what glorified bodies will look like, I do know that Jesus has “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18), and I don’t think He had to keep His scars. I think He chose to. His scars are evidence that He was wounded for us. His wounds heal our wounds. His scars are proof that we can be healed!

I think Jesus kept those scars to remind us that He loves us, that we are not alone, that we were worth all the pain and piercing. Every time we doubt, every time we have fears, every time we feel troubled or unworthy, we can look at the body of Jesus. Look at His hands! Look at His feet! Consider that these aren’t merely scars. They are shouts of victory. Symbols of triumph. Statements of His unending love for us.

Jesus’s scars became beauty marks. His suffering was transformed into purpose when He brought salvation to the world. And those holy marks tell a story. Death could not stop Him. Sin could not keep Him in the grave. Sorrow could not tear Him apart. Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). He kept the scars to prove that because He was victorious, we can be too!

Jesus faced everything that threatens to hurt you—sorrow, sin, and death—and He was stronger still. He conquered them all for you. His love for you is written all over His body in scars. He chose not to erase, minimize, or hide them. He left them to remind you that every time you doubt, every time you fear, every time you hurt, you can be healed.

Sometimes, though, our healing doesn’t come as quickly as we’d like.