Good morning. This is the Friday we call “Good.” It is good because of what Jesus has done for us. It is a day of remembrance, of contemplation, and of worship. My thought for us on this Good Friday is to take a moment to consider His hands.
Jesus created: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:1-5
Did Jesus have hands when the creation of the cosmos took place? It was a spiritual act by our spiritual Father, Son, and Spirit who are God. So, no, I don’t think we need to concern ourselves with Jesus’s hands at that point. But by His will, and by whatever standard of toil is applicable, Jesus created all things and without Him nothing was created that has been created.
When Jesus entered humanity, He did so as an infant. His hands were tiny, capable only of reaching out to Mary and Joseph.
As Jesus was growing and maturing as a human being, He worked in Joseph’s carpentry shop. His hands would have formed callouses. There would have been dirt under His nails and a splinter or two undoubtedly pierced Him. They were hard hands, hands trained to do a difficult job.
After Jesus began what we think of as His public ministry, His hands reached out and touched the untouchable. They touched the lepers, the woman with the unending flow of blood, the poorest of the poor and all who were broken in body and spirit. His hands were hands of compassion and of healing, reaching and touching beyond what was expected from Jewish leaders and the Law.
When Jesus cleansed the temple, His hands turned over the tables of the money changers and fashioned a whip from curtain cords to drive the charlatans out of His Father’s house. His hands were unleashed and put to a harsh purpose.
But it is on the cross that the hands of Jesus are put to their most amazing use. For it is on the cross that Jesus’ hands did nothing more than hold His body in place. His hands could have destroyed everyone and everything around Him. His hands could have put an end to His torture. His hands could have been lifted to the Father and a legion of angels would have descended on His behalf. But on the cross, the hands of Jesus suffered without objection.
When it was done, after He had been raised from the dead, the hands of Jesus provided the test of all tests as Thomas insisted that he could not believe in the resurrection unless he could touch the wounds in Christ’s hands. Jesus responded that he should do exactly that. His hands told the story and doubts fell away.
Consider then, this Good Friday, the hands of Jesus. Hands that took the nails for you.
Vern