Mensa Otabil - Jesus Showed His Piercings (10/22/2025)
John chapter 20, verse 20. When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus had just stepped into the midst of his disciples, and apparently, he knew what they were thinking about-what they were fearful about, what their conversation was all about. Probably, they were discussing the nature of the Resurrection.
Is it a real Resurrection? Were those who saw him hallucinating? Were they imagining? Jesus understood his disciples and their concerns, and that’s something we have to take note of. The disciples didn’t just jump to the resurrection as if it were the easiest thing to believe; it is difficult to believe that a man who had died visibly in front of them would resurrect. So they were thinking about these things. Jesus responded in a way to affirm the resurrection and clear their doubts. The passage says that he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were not all there when the crucifixion took place. John was there, the mother of Jesus was there, but the rest were not there.
By the way, other observers had clearly relayed the message that Jesus had been crucified with nails in his hands. John probably conveyed the message; Mary conveyed it either onlookers- the Talk of the Town had said this is how he was crucified. Then something very notable: a spear had pierced his side, or a soldier had used a spear to pierce his side at the end of the journey. Now remember, there were no stethoscopes to determine whether a person was dead; this was the stethoscope to read his pulse. «Is he dead? Just spear him.» So they speared him, and blood and water came out. They knew Jesus would have wounds from those, and especially the one on his side would be very deep because of the spear. Jesus, understanding their confusion, to prove he’s not a ghost, to prove he’s not a hallucination, said, «Look at the wounds.»
Then he showed them the wound in his side. Now this time, we don’t know whether the wound in his side is healed-that is what I would suppose-or probably it wasn’t fully healed; I can’t tell. But it was clear that the man had something in his hands and something in his side. The passage says the disciples were glad when they saw it. The evidence was strong enough for them; their questions disappeared, their fears subsided. They were so relieved.
Jesus, who died, is alive; the crucified Lord is the Risen Lord, and that is the foundation of our faith as Christians. Jesus is not just risen, but he was crucified, and he wasn’t just crucified; he also rose again. Those two truths are fundamental: the one who is risen is the same one who was crucified, the same one who died, and the same one who has come back to life. The crucified Lord is the Risen Lord, and the Risen Lord is the crucified Lord, and the two will not be separated from this time onwards in their preaching.
The disciples proclaimed Christ crucified, Christ resurrected because they saw the evidence of the crucifixion in the nail prints, and they saw the evidence of the Resurrection in the man who was standing in front of them. You cannot be a Christian unless you accept these two foundations: that Jesus who was crucified is the same Jesus who rose again from the dead. And when we believe that, his resurrection is not an apparition, it’s not an allegory, it’s not a metaphor; it’s a reality. That is where our faith is, and that’s what filled the disciples with joy and made that information also fill them with joy.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank you that in the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, you have filled my life with joy. In Jesus' name, amen and amen. I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.