Lord's Day Devotion - Marks of the Lord Jesus

 Do you have any scars on your body?  Any marks that won't fade all the days of your life?

Maybe you got them in childhoood from going down a slide headfirst and you knocked your head on the end and had to get stitches in your forehead.  Or maybe you got cut on barbed wire or from a knife accident or surgery scars.

There are so many ways marks can appear on our bodies.  Cuts, scrapes, tatoos and the like mark our bodies.  Some of these show ownership.  Slaves may have been branded with hot irons and/or specific tatoos.

For instance, in the Old Testament (OT) times, after six years of service, a servant could choose to be legally bound to a master, forever.  The master would bore his ear through with an aul.

" ... and he would serve him forever" (Exodus 21:6 ESV).

A female servant could do the same (see Deuteronomy 15:17).  These were marks of loyalty, commitment and ownership.

During World War II, those interned in Hitler's concentration camps had prisoner numbers tatooed upon their upper left chest or the outer side of the left forearm.  These marks were marks of contempt and dehumanization.

The Apostle Paul remarks in Galatians that he bore in his body ...

" ...the marks of Jesus" (Galations 6:17 ESV).

When we read through the book of Acts, we discover many of Paul's hardships and persecution at the hands of men who hated the name of Jesus whom he preached.  He'd been whipped, and stoned and left for dead, to name a couple off hand.  He used these marks as proof of the authority he had in Christ to be teaching and preaching what he did.  In fact, to even be writing as he was.

Most importantly, we come to our own Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for the redemption of our souls, and to bring new life to our spirits, healing the relationship between God and man.  

The obvious marks our Savior has, are the nail prints and the scar in His side from the spear that had pierced Him.  In time to come, these marks of Jesus Christ will show His true identity.

Revelation 1:7 mentions it ...

"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" (ESV  [emphasis mine]).

This is a soon-coming day being referred to.  The eye witness to Jesus' marks, of his death and resurrection, is namely Thomas.  He demanded to see the nailmarks in Jesus' hands and feet and place his hand into Jesus' side where the spear had pierced Him, otherwise he wouldn't believe this was truly Jesus who'd arisen from the dead (see John 20:25-27).

Jesus encouraged Thomas to do just that. 

 "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" (Luke 24:39 ESV).

After saying this, Jesus showed not only Thomas, but all who had been in that upper room hide-away, His hands and His feet (see Luke 24:40 ESV).

There had even been OT prophecises of these marks.  Isaiah 53:5 tells us,

"But He was pierced for our transgression, He was crushed for our iniquities, upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed" (ESV).

There was the OT prophecy, there was the actual real time as-it-happens' marks, and the post resurrection confirmation of these piercings upon Jesus' body.  Then there's the future sightings prophesied to happen in time to come.

Our Lord Jesus' marks show us how much He loved us, that He would go through all this for our sakes.  They also show us His loyalty and commitment and obedience to His Father's will that He would carry out God's plan of salvation to full capacity and God's satisfaction.

The LORD crushed Jesus and brought Him grief as Jesus brought Himself as an offering and sacrifice for our souls.

"Out of anguish of His soul He [God] shall see and be satisfied; by His knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous and He shall bear their iniquities" (Isaiah 53:10-11 ESV).

We ourselves may or may not have our own "marks of the Lord Jesus" for the testimony we bear for Him.  But we do have the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ upon our souls and spirits that, 

"blood of Jesus Christ that washes away our sin" (1 John 1:7).

God sees this upon our hearts and is satisfied.

We belong to Him now.  Ownership of our souls and very lives, is His.  He bought us.  Do you see yourself now as His loyal and committed servant?

Ponder all of this on any given Lord's Day as we, His children and bondservants, gather together to remember Him in His death and resurrection.  Reach for and partake of that broken bread and drink of that cup of wine in remembrance of all Jesus suffered for our sakes.  Remember those marks that prove it.  Praise His holy name.  Serve Him faithfully evermore.

Lord Jesus, we humbly bow before You in adoration and thankfulness.  Those marks You bore for us, Your children, get to us.  It hurts to think of all that pain and suffering You endured.  Yet, with hearts hurting within us, we thank You for going through with it all.  May we each be fully committed to loyally serving You until You call us home.  In Your name we give You priase.  Amen.

                                                 ~  ERC  April 2026  ~

Based on Galations 6:17-18 ESV.

Sing, The Love of God is Greater Far, along with and Because He Loved Me, along with klassenp1 (choir).