[size=30pt]Easter Start[/size]

By Philip Yancey

John 20:24-31
John 20:24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
John 20:25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.
John 20:26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
John 20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and see my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and put it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
John 20:28 Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
John 20:30 Many other signs therefore did Jesus in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book:
John 20:31 but these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in his name.



*****Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.
John 20:27



[size=30pt]O[/size][size=15pt]ne detail in the Easter story has always intrigued me. Why did Jesus keep the scars from His crucifixion? Presumably He could have had any resurrected body He wanted, and yet He chose one identifiable mainly by scars that could be seen and touched. Why?

I believe the story of Easter would be incomplete without those scars on the hands, the feet, and the side of Jesus (John 20:27). Human beings dream of pearly straight teeth and wrinkle-free skin and ideal body shapes. We dream of an unnatural state: the perfect body. But for Jesus, being confined in a skeleton and human skin was the unnatural state. The scars are a permanent reminder of His days of confinement and suffering on our planet.

From the perspective of heaven, those scars represent the most horrible event that has ever happened in the history of the universe. Even that event, though, turned into a memory. Because of Easter, we can hope that the tears we shed, the struggles we endure, the emotional pain, the heartache over lost friends and loved ones—all these will become memories, like Jesus’ scars. Scars never completely go away, but neither do they hurt any longer. Someday we will have re-created bodies and a re-created heaven and earth (Rev. 21:4). We will have a new start, an Easter start.[/size]

[size=17pt]Thank You, Lord, for the hope that the resurrection of Jesus brings—for now and for eternity. I put my trust in You today.
Christ’s resurrection is the guarantee of our own.[/size]

[size=15pt]*****Thomas is a disciple about whom we know very little. He is mentioned only a few times in the biblical record, and he himself speaks only in three places. Many point to Thomas’s first recorded words as a strong statement of faith and commitment to Jesus: “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (John 11:16).[/size]