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Christ was nailed to a cross. He died there in agony and Blood. After He was dead, “one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith [immediately] came there out blood and water” (John 19:34). The Apostle John was there by the Cross. He saw the nails piercing Christ’s hands and feet. He saw Jesus die. He saw the soldier pierce Christ’s side with a spear. John saw the Blood and water gush forth from the wound in His side. John said that he “saw it [and] bare record” that it happened (John 19:35). He saw the Roman soldiers bury the dead body of Jesus in “a new sepulchre, wherein was never yet man laid” (John 19:41).

Early the next morning Mary Magdalene ran and told Peter and John that the great stone which covered the entrance to Jesus’ tomb had been “taken away from the sepulchre” (John 20:1). Peter and John ran to the empty tomb. John got there first. He looked into the tomb, and “stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes [that had been wound around Jesus’ body] lying” (John 20:5). Peter caught up with John “and went into the [tomb], and seeth the linen clothes lie, And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself” (John 20:6-7). Then John followed Peter into the tomb and saw the graveclothes, and the empty sepulchre. They left in a confused state, “For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead” (John 20:9). This all happened early on Sunday morning.

Later “the same day” the Disciples were hiding in a room “for fear of the” Jewish authorities who had demanded Jesus’ crucifixion (John 20:19). Suddenly Jesus was there, resurrected from the dead! He said to them, “Peace be unto you” (John 20:19).

“But they were terrified and affrighted [afraid], and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet”
       (Luke 24:37-40).

“He shewed them his hands and his feet” (Luke 24:40).

The wounds that the nails made in His hands and feet were there for them to see in His resurrected body. They could see the wound in His side, a great gash made by the soldier’s spear. Jesus said to Thomas,

“Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing” (John 20:27).

“He shewed them his hands and his feet” (Luke 24:40).

Christ could easily have erased those wounds from His body. He could have removed all those marks of His suffering when He rose from the grave. But He did not. Instead, there were the nail wounds in His hands and feet, and there was the gaping wound in His side. What was the reason for this? Why did He show them his wounds? I will give you three reasons why,

“He shewed them his hands and his feet” (Luke 24:40).

I. First, Jesus showed them His wounds so we would know He was the
same person who was crucified on the Cross.

The Gnostic heretics said that Jesus didn’t really die on the Cross. The Koran of the Muslims says that Jesus did not die on the Cross. There are many people today who do not believe that God would let His Son die such a horrible death. Jesus knew that there would be unbelief concerning His crucifixion. That is the first reason why,

“He shewed them his hands and his feet” (Luke 24:40).

Jesus wanted everyone to know that He really did suffer and die on the Cross. So, He let the Disciples look at His wounds, and even touch them. The Apostle John, who was an eyewitness, spoke of that “which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled” (I John 1:1). Dr. Watts said,

See, from His head, His hands, His feet,
   Sorrow and love flow mingled down:
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
   Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
(“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” by Isaac Watts, D.D., 1674-1748).

In the cross, in the cross,
   Be my glory ever;
Till my raptured soul shall find
   Rest beyond the river.
(“Near the Cross” by Fanny J. Crosby, 1820-1915).

“He shewed them his hands and his feet” (Luke 24:40).

II. Second, Jesus showed them His wounds so we would know He is the
suffering substitute for our sins.

John the Baptist had said,

“Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

But he did not reveal exactly how Jesus would take away our sins. It was not until Jesus rose from the dead that the Disciples understood that Jesus,

“…his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree”
       (I Peter 2:24).

It was only after they saw the nail prints in His hands and feet that they knew,

“Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God” (I Peter 3:18).

That is the second reason,

“He shewed them his hands and his feet” (Luke 24:40).

He wanted us to know for sure that He suffered and died on the Cross to pay the penalty for our sin, so we could be saved from sin and Hell. He wanted us to see the nail prints in His hands and feet so we would know that the wrath of God fell on Him on the Cross, that we might know

“…the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood”
       (Romans 3:24-25).

That is why,

“He shewed them his hands and his feet” (Luke 24:40).

Sing Dr. Watts’ hymn!

See, from His head, His hands, His feet,
   Sorrow and love flow mingled down:
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
   Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

“In the Cross.” Sing it!

In the cross, in the cross,
   Be my glory ever;
Till my raptured soul shall find
   Rest beyond the river.

“He shewed them his hands and his feet” (Luke 24:40).

III. Third, Jesus showed them His wounds so we would know that He is
the Saviour throughout the ages.

Christ took His wounds and His Blood with Him to Heaven to provide eternal redemption for us.

“But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us”
       (Hebrews 9:11-12).

“For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Hebrews 9:24).

Seated at the right hand of God in Heaven, the wounds of Jesus are always and forever a reminder to God and angels that,

“He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (I John 2:2).

Yet most people in the world today reject Jesus. Most people want to be saved by their own good deeds and their own religious beliefs. So they reject Jesus, who is God’s provision for salvation. I did not say it. It was Jesus Himself who said,

“No man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

Jesus is the only way to God because He is the only one who suffered and died to pay for our sins. No other religious leader did that – not Confucius, not Buddha, not Mohammed, not Joseph Smith, not anyone else! Only of Jesus Christ could it be said,

“He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

Only of Jesus could it be said,

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”
       (I Timothy 1:15).

Only of Jesus could it be said,

“God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him” (Romans 5:8-9).

That is why,

“He shewed them his hands and his feet” (Luke 24:40).

Sing Dr. Watts’ hymn again!

See, from His head, His hands, His feet,
   Sorrow and love flow mingled down:
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
   Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

“In the Cross.” Sing it again!

In the cross, in the cross,
   Be my glory ever;
Till my raptured soul shall find
   Rest beyond the river.

Even when Jesus comes the second time, He will yet bear the marks of the crucifixion in His hands and feet. Christ said, through the prophet Zechariah,

“And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him” (Zechariah 12:10).

Those who would not turn to Christ while living, will mourn in sorrow throughout eternity in Hell. Great Spurgeon said, “Those open hands and that pierced side shall be witnesses against you, even against you, if ye die rejecting him, and enter into eternity enemies of Christ by wicked works” (C. H. Spurgeon, “The Wounds of Jesus,” The New Park Street Pulpit, Pilgrim Publications, volume V, p. 237).

“He shewed them his hands and his feet” (Luke 24:40).

But again, Spurgeon said,

Poor sinner…Are you afraid to come [to Jesus]? Then look at his hands – look at his hands, will that not induce you?...Look at his side, there is an easy access to his heart. His side is open. His side is open [to you]… Oh sinner, may you be helped to believe in His wounds! They cannot fail; Christ’s wounds must heal those that put their trust in him (ibid., page 240).

“He shewed them his hands and his feet” (Luke 24:40).

Evangeline Booth, of the old Salvation Army, said it well,

The wounds of Christ are open,
   Sinner, they were made for thee;
The wounds of Christ are open,
   There for refuge flee.
(“The Wounds of Christ” by Evangeline Booth, 1865-1950).

(END OF SERMON)
You can read Dr. Hymers' sermons each week on the Internet
at www.realconversion.com. Click on “Sermon Manuscripts.”

Scripture Read Before the Sermon by Dr. Kreighton L. Chan: John 20:24-29.
Solo Sung Before the Sermon by Mr. Benjamin Kincaid Griffith:
“The Wounds of Christ” (by Evangeline Booth, 1865-1950).