Forgiveness is close at hand
06/28/10 05:58 Filed in: Forgiveness
Jesus had a choice to make when He appeared in the Upper Room, in the midst of the very men who had betrayed Him. He could have extended a fist and demanded that they grovel before Him, pleading for mercy; but, instead, He extended and open palm in a sign of peace and forgiveness. In so doing, He made clear to all of us that forgiveness is always close at hand.
“See my hands and feet, that it is I myself; handle, and see: for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as you see me to have. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet.”
The Risen Savior's body still bore the marks of His crucifixion. There was no mistaking whom He was -– the same man that they had all forsaken on Calvary. The very hands that had been pierced on the cross now reached out to His apostles in the Upper Room as He told them not to fear.
All was forgiven.
When we, too, are in need of forgiveness, Jesus extends the same helping hand to us. His handshake is the firm, callused grip of a carpenter; the same powerful grasp that pulled Simon from the depths; the same sure-handed grip that swung the whip as He cleansed the temple.
But it is also the soothing hand that touched and healed the lepers; the gentle hand that hugged children close to His breast; the hand that turned spittle and mud into a healing balm; the finger that wrote in the dust, wiping away sin. It is the hand that fed millions, broke bread with His closest friends and shared a final morsel with His betrayer.
Jesus had a choice to make when He appeared in the Upper Room, in the midst of the very men who had betrayed Him. He could have extended a fist and demanded that they grovel before Him, pleading for mercy; but, instead, He extended and open palm in a sign of peace and forgiveness. In so doing, He made clear to all of us that forgiveness is always close at hand.
The Risen Savior's body still bore the marks of His crucifixion. There was no mistaking whom He was -– the same man that they had all forsaken on Calvary. The very hands that had been pierced on the cross now reached out to His apostles in the Upper Room as He told them not to fear.
All was forgiven.
When we, too, are in need of forgiveness, Jesus extends the same helping hand to us. His handshake is the firm, callused grip of a carpenter; the same powerful grasp that pulled Simon from the depths; the same sure-handed grip that swung the whip as He cleansed the temple.
But it is also the soothing hand that touched and healed the lepers; the gentle hand that hugged children close to His breast; the hand that turned spittle and mud into a healing balm; the finger that wrote in the dust, wiping away sin. It is the hand that fed millions, broke bread with His closest friends and shared a final morsel with His betrayer.
Jesus had a choice to make when He appeared in the Upper Room, in the midst of the very men who had betrayed Him. He could have extended a fist and demanded that they grovel before Him, pleading for mercy; but, instead, He extended and open palm in a sign of peace and forgiveness. In so doing, He made clear to all of us that forgiveness is always close at hand.
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