We will probably remember Easter Sunday 2024 for the rest of our lives. Not because of what we wore or the church we attended, but because we spent the evening in the children’s emergency room after our son was bit by a dog.
It happened without a moment’s notice. All I remember is the bark and my baby’s screams. Then, blood and scrambling. When we got to the bay at the ER, they cleaned his wounds, stitched (in some areas glued) him together, and provided us with a script and care instructions as they sent us home.
Processing the event has been nothing less than traumatic. You never want anything of this nature to happen in a place you want to feel safe. You never want your child to have to feel pain, especially unprovoked pain. As a parent, you feel helpless and the shame of not being able to protect your most prized possession. You think about all of the what-ifs. What if we stayed home? What if we didn’t allow him to play with dogs? What if he develops a fear of dogs? What if the healing doesn’t happen? Will my baby be scarred for life?
In a beauty-obsessed culture, we are trained to fix or hide anything unsightly because there is no value associated with wounds, bruises, or scars. As I have been praying about this situation, I feel the nudge to look at Jesus. Ironically, this event occurred on Easter Sunday, the day we commemorate a risen savior. But there would be no Easter without The Crucifixion.
As a parent, it’s hard to reconcile that crucifixion was a part of God’s eternal plan. But it’s been hiding in plain sight from the beginning. Genesis 3:15 says, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her Offspring; He will bruise and tread your head underfoot, and you will lie in wait and bruise His heel." The bruise used in the phrase “bruise His heel” is literally a call out to the wounds Jesus would receive. Eve was given a promise in the midst of her punishment - to look at Jesus.
Isaiah 53:5 states, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” The progression of man’s fallen state is particularly highlighted here.
Jesus was wounded (the piercing of initial injury) for our transgressions - the acts of violating God’s law.
He was bruised (the crushing and rushing of blood to the area of a wound) for our iniquities - the dirt and filth that lives in us as we continually break fellowship with God.
The chastisement (the continued harassment) of our peace was upon him.
By His stripes (the 39 lashes he received at the hands of Roman soldiers, which was a punishment reserved for criminals), we are healed.
He literally takes the punishment for the criminal activity we commit as we DAILY violate God’s law. And yet, we get the privilege to look at Him.
I can honestly say that when I saw the amount of blood gushing from my son’s face, I did not want to look at him for fear of the actual damage of the bite. I saw my little lamb without spot or blemish suffer, and I was reminded of Isaiah 53:2, "For [the Servant of God] grew up before Him like a tender plant, and like a root out of dry ground; He has no form or comeliness [royal, kingly pomp], that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him." Yet God knows that we benefit from looking at Jesus. Risen from death, he offers us a glimpse of his glorious new body.
I am amazed that the risen Jesus is a scarred savior. With all that He accomplished in His sacrifice, he kept the scars. Why? His scars prove that Jesus identifies with victims, innocent ones dealing with the fallout of other people’s sins. His scars prove that Jesus identifies with the sick and suffering, and there will eventually be healing. His scars prove that Jesus identifies with the faithful who become faithless. When Jesus appears to the disciples who had been hiding since his death, he makes it a point to have a special encounter with Thomas. Thomas needed a little more convincing than the others. John 20:25 says, ”So the other disciples kept telling him, We have seen the Lord! But he said to them, Unless I see in His hands the marks made by the nails and put my finger into the nail prints, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe [it].“
Just like Thomas, with all of his doubts, Jesus offers his hands and side to you and me. I am humbled that he has mercy on this little mama burdened with the guilt of nursing the wounds of her son’s dog bite. I am reminded that there is healing on the other side if I just look at Jesus.