The Wounds of Jesus are the marks of the nails in His hands and feet and the spear in His side, received at the crucifixion and still visible after the resurrection.
They are the proof that the risen Lord is the same Jesus who was crucified, and they are the everlasting sign of the price He paid.
Scripture presents these wounds as the fulfillment of prophecy, the ground of healing and forgiveness, and the invitation to faith.
Thomas was told to see and touch them; the church is called to look to the One who was pierced.
The prophets spoke of One who would be pierced and wounded for the transgressions of others. Jesus was nailed to the cross. A soldier pierced His side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. After the resurrection He showed the disciples His hands and His side. Eight days later He invited Thomas to put his finger into the mark of the nails and his hand into His side. The wounds were not erased by glory; they were carried into the resurrection body as the identifying marks of the Lamb who was slain. By His wounds we are healed. The church overcomes by the blood of the Lamb. In heaven the Lamb still appears as though slain. The wounds of Jesus are therefore not a passing detail of the passion; they are the permanent testimony that the risen Christ is the crucified Christ, and that salvation was purchased at this cost.
- The wounds of Jesus fulfill the prophetic word that the Messiah would be pierced.
- They identify the risen Lord as the same person who was crucified.
- Thomas’s unbelief was met by an invitation to see and touch the wounds.
- By His wounds we are healed; the wounds are the ground of redemption.
- The resurrection did not remove the marks; it glorified them.
- The Lamb in heaven is seen as though slain—the wounds remain part of His identity.
- Faith looks to the pierced One and finds life.
- Prophetic Fulfillment – The piercing of hands, feet, and side was written beforehand.
- Marks of Crucifixion – Nails in the hands and feet; the spear in the side.
- Blood and Water – From the pierced side came blood and water, signs of life given and cleansing accomplished.
- Resurrection Evidence – Jesus showed His hands and side so that the disciples would know it was He.
- Invitation to Thomas – “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side.”
- Healing and Atonement – By His wounds we are healed; He was pierced for our transgressions.
- Eternal Testimony – The Lamb who was slain still bears the marks of the cross in glory.
- John 20:20 – “When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.”
- John 20:25-27 – “So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.’… Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’”
- John 19:34, 37 – “But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water… And again another Scripture says, ‘They will look on him whom they have pierced.’”
- Luke 24:39-40 – “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.”
- Isaiah 53:5 – “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”
- Zechariah 12:10 – “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child…”
- Psalm 22:16 – “For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet.”
- 1 Peter 2:24 – “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”
- Revelation 5:6 – “And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain…”
- Revelation 1:7 – “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.”
- Matthew 27:35 – “And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots.”
- Mark 15:25 – “And it was the third hour when they crucified him.”
- John 19:16-18 – “So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him…”
- Isaiah 53:3-7 – He was despised, a man of sorrows; He was wounded; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
- Hebrews 9:12-14 – He entered once for all into the holy places by means of His own blood, securing an eternal redemption.
- Revelation 5:9 – “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God…”
- Galatians 6:17 – “From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.”
- Zechariah 13:6 – “And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?’ he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.’”
- John 20:29 – “Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’”
See my hands and my side. The risen Jesus did not hide the wounds. He showed them. He invited Thomas to touch them. The marks of the nails and the spear are the proof that the Lord of glory is the same Jesus who was crucified, and they are the everlasting sign of the love that held Him to the cross. By His wounds we are healed. They will look on Him whom they have pierced. The Lamb still stands as though slain. Therefore look to the wounds. Do not seek a Christ without a cross. The glory of the resurrection has not erased the cost of redemption. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. The wounds remain the reason heaven sings, and they remain the reason sinners may draw near.
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