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Session Four: The Hands That Heal Still Bear Wounds
Based on Luke 24:36–40
I. Healing That Begins With Presence
After the resurrection, Jesus comes to His disciples quietly.
They are gathered behind closed doors.
Afraid.
Uncertain.
Unsure whether hope itself can be trusted again.
“While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’” (Luke 24:36)
Healing does not begin with explanation.
It begins with presence.
Jesus does not wait for their faith to stabilize.
He enters the room as they are.
II. Why Jesus Shows His Hands
The disciples are startled.
Fear overtakes joy.
“They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.” (Luke 24:37)
Jesus responds by directing their attention.
“Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself.” (Luke 24:39)
He does not prove Himself with power.
He reveals Himself through continuity.
These are the same hands they watched heal the sick.
The same hands that broke bread.
The same hands that were pierced.
Henri Nouwen wrote,
“The wounds of Jesus are not only the place of pain, but the source of healing.”
Healing begins when fear recognizes love again.
III. Wounds That Do Not Disqualify
The resurrection does not erase the marks of suffering.
Jesus’ hands are still scarred.
Still marked.
Still recognizable.
This matters.
Because the disciples carry wounds too.
Betrayal.
Shame.
Silence.
Jesus does not ask them to explain themselves.
He invites them to look.
Thomas Merton observed,
“The Christ we encounter is not an idea but a presence.”
Presence heals what explanation cannot.
The hands that heal are not untouched by pain.
They are trustworthy because they have known it.
IV. Healing After Failure
These are the same disciples who fled.
Who denied.
Who hid.
Jesus does not confront them with accusation.
There is no record of blame in His greeting.
Only peace.
Only invitation.
Brennan Manning once said,
“The risen Christ is not the eraser of our failures but the redeemer of them.”
Healing happens when shame realizes it is still wanted.
Jesus’ hands heal because they do not withdraw from those who failed Him.
V. What This Reveals About Healing
Jesus heals not by hiding His wounds, but by offering them.
Dallas Willard reminds us,
“God does not waste anything.”
Not suffering.
Not grief.
Not the places where love cost deeply.
Your hands do not need to be perfect to be healing.
They need to be honest.
Available.
Willing to remain open.
Practicing the Hands That Heal This Week
❀ Notice where you believe healing requires perfection.
Pay attention to the places where you hold back because you feel unfinished. Jesus shows that scars do not disqualify presence.
❀ Allow your wounds to be named, not hidden.
Healing often begins when pain is acknowledged rather than disguised. God does not ask you to forget what marked you.
❀ Offer presence without pretending you are whole.
You do not need to be resolved to be faithful. Shared humanity often heals more deeply than polished answers.
❀ Let peace arrive before understanding.
Jesus speaks peace into confusion, not after it clears. Receive what steadies you even if questions remain.
❀ Trust God to redeem what still bears marks.
What you have endured may become the very place others recognize safety. God often heals through what has been carried faithfully.
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