The Crucified Savior

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

He showed them his hands and his feet (Luke 24:40).

Wounded for our sake, Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples. Luke's account of Jesus' resurrection is, as we know from his own testimony, not an eyewitness account. He is simply reporting what he has been told. He has been identified by some as a Greco-Syrian and was, therefore, not part of the band of disciples and apostles. This explains, in part, why his Gospel differs from that of Saints Matthew and Mark. Luke's perspective is that of an outsider, one who had been denied access because of his race.

St. Luke's account of the resurrection and the subsequent appearances focuses on the disappointment and disillusionment that the apostles felt after Jesus' death. He tells us that they had begun to disperse when the news of the resurrection first reached their ears. That news brings them back together and dispels their disillusionment. Both in his appearance to the disciples on the way to Emmaus and in his subsequent appearance to the disciples in the upper room, Jesus made the same assertion. The Christ had to suffer and be put to death. The prophets had foretold it. Jesus came to fulfill the Law and the prophets. It was all part of God's plan.

This was perhaps the most difficult part of the Gospel message. It took the Christianity community quite some time to come to this understanding. They were so used to thinking that God rewarded the good and punished the bad. Jesus' passion and death forced them to rethink this attitude.

The wounds which Jesus showed to his disciples are an important detail that is included in the Gospel account. Even in his glory, Jesus bears the wounds of the crucifixion. They are a constant reminder that Christ's death is not a cause for shame but the reason for his glory.