we think of Pentecost we usually think of the rush of wind, tongues of fire, speaking in other languages, and a mighty moving of the Holy Spirit. That’s how Luke describes it. But John’s account of Pentecost tells about locked doors, fear, wounds, peace, a shared breath, and being sent. In John’s gospel Pentecost is more quiet and personal. It is night now, when fears tend to be enhanced, and the disciples are afraid. They’re hiding behind locked doors fearing the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them and sensing their fear said, “Peace be unto you.”   Then He showed them His wounds from the crucifixion.

Now, looking strictly on a human level, wounds would hardly be a symbol of peace.  They would usually be a symbol of violence and pain.  They could also serve as a warning that if the disciples were not careful, the same thing could happen to them.  So, I wonder why Jesus illustrated His peace by displaying His wounds. I wonder what lesson He was teaching them and how it might apply to you and I.

Some contend that this was simply an act of identification.  The wounds would clearly demonstrate that this was the same Jesus who was crucified.  However, I think more is going on here.

I think that in showing us His wounds Jesus is identifying with every person who has ever been hurt or wounded. The wounds of Jesus are saying, “Where does it hurt?”  Is it in your feet, your hands, your heart, or is it in your mind?  Is the wound physical or emotional?  The wounded body of Jesus is an emblem of our wounded world. To look at Jesus’ hands and His side is to see the wounds we’ve received and the ones we’ve inflicted upon others.  Let’s personalize those wounds for just a moment.  What hurts your heart today? What are the tender spots of your life? What’s festering deep inside that you perhaps don’t want anyone else to see? Where do you see another hurting? Can you look at them, or do you look away because you just don’t want to see their pain? In what ways have you and I added to the pain of another?

I have known a lot of people over the years that have faced many tragic hardships.  For some the hardship produced bitterness, for others it produced peace.  The wheelchair, the crutch, the brace, the hospital bed; either became a sign of a bitter soul and resentment, or a sign of peace and contentment.  Some chose to allow their wounds to display their anger.  Others chose to allow their wounds to display their peace.

What is the nature of your wound?  Is it a relationship problem with someone else that has produced bitterness?  Is it a financial problem that has given you fears?  Is it a physical problem that burdens you with constant anguish?  Has someone treated you unfairly or taken advantage of you?  What is your wound?  Does your wound display your bitterness —or your peace?

Some folks are facing real hardship today, and they are bitter, and they want the world to know they are bitter.  That is the nature of bitterness; we want others to see it.  Yet, I see others who endure the same pain.  Their wounds are deep and sometimes hard to bear.  They struggle under the load.  Yet, within the struggle there is peace.  You look for the bitterness, but it cannot be found.  You expect to see anger and resentment, but instead you find peace.  They too would like to find healing, but until the healing comes they have determined to let their wounds display their peace—rather than their hurt.  Peace doesn’t hold up banners or shout.  No one gets a megaphone to tell the world about their peace.  Peace throws no stones and burns no buildings and seldom produces a headline on the evening news.  Whereas bitterness is usually loud, peace is usually quiet.  But, it still can be heard and seen.

Battling the coronavirus has caused a lot of hardship in our country.  The promoted theme of the virus has been:  “We’re all in this together.”  Yes, but “we’re not all together in this.” We are not “all together in one place” as on the day of Pentecost. Our country is divided, fragmented, and wounded.

It’s not easy to talk about our wounds; whether it’s our individual wounds or our national wounds, whether it’s the wounds we’ve received or the ones we’ve inflicted. To talk about our wounds requires us to look at what we’ve done and left undone. It means we each have to look within ourselves. It means taking responsibility for our lives. It means valuing the life and wounds of another as much as our own.  We might need to confess and we might need to forgive. We might need to reach out to another, and we might need to open ourselves to another’s reaching toward us. We might need to offer the balm of healing to another, and we might need to receive another’s ointment for our own healing.

Can I make a confession?  Many times I don’t initially look for ways of displaying peace, I look for remedies.  I look for quick answers.  I look for solutions.  I just want my wounds to go away.  More often than not I just deny that they hurt. I want to cover up and hide my wounds so you can’t see them.  After all, you’ve got your own problems; you don’t need to be burdened with mine.  Sometimes we are prone to make judgments about our wounds or blame others for causing them. Other times we use our wounds, we revel in them, and play the victim so we can get some attention or sympathy, or special favor or consideration.  And worst of all is when we use our wounds as a justification for hurting someone else or making them feel guilty.  We may even want to make them pay for what they’ve done or for what we think they’ve done.

But Jesus doesn’t do any of those things. Instead, He shows up quietly behind the locked doors, stands among the disciples in the midst of their fear, and says, “Peace be unto you.”  Then He shows them His wounds and He says the second time, “Peace be unto you.”  The wounds of Jesus, inflicted by men, sit in the middle of the peace He now offers mankind. Peace is like bookends on both sides of His wounds, therefore His wounds display His peace.  His peace is the showcase.  His peace is like the picture frame that surrounds His wounds.  What if that could be true for you and me?  What if the greatest peace we can display to the world comes out of the wounds we’ve suffered?

“Peace be unto you,” Jesus says. What does that mean for the friends and family of the thousands of people who have died during this pandemic? What does that peace mean when many continue to be out of work, and businesses that are in danger of going under?  What does that peace mean to those who have been treated unfairly by society?  What does that mean for the cities that have burned and the businesses that have been looted?

It is obvious that the peace Jesus offers doesn’t mean we will never have wounds or a lack of conflict. It doesn’t mean we will always be treated fairly, and it doesn’t mean that we necessarily get our way. I also think that the peace Jesus speaks of is more than a truce, an agreement to disagree, or the resignation to go along in order to get along.  No, the wounds may still hurt.  The pain may bring you to your knees.  The anguish produced by the divorce, the rebellion, the loss, the betrayal, the disease, or a thousand other human hurts is real.  But, the question I submit to you is this; “how are you choosing to display your hurt?”

“Look at these wounds!  Someone is going to pay—and they will pay dearly for hurting me this way.”

OR

“You see these wounds.  They hurt.  Sometimes they bring me to my knees.  But these wounds have taught me something.  They have taught me to trust God.  They have taught me to pray for those that hurt me.  I’m not talking about denial or running away.  I am talking about fixing what I can, while trusting God with all the rest.  In the end, my wounds shall put a spotlight upon the peace God has given me.”

I know you have wounds.  Fact is, we all do.  Some wounds are deep and the pain is ever before you.  But, here is my question:  Are your wounds displaying your peace?  If not, by default, they are displaying your bitterness.  The wounds you bear may have arrived beyond your control; however the frame you put them in is totally up to you.

Dr. Worthington has been in the ministry over forty years and serves as President of Pathway Ministries.