Dear Christian friends:

The deaf have a beautiful and perfect sign for Jesus, (make sign). The feeling finger touches the nail scars in the palm of each hand. Can a deaf person sign the name of Jesus, pointing to these nail-scars, and not appreciate the great suffering and death of His Lord? Sometimes we seem to sign JESUS without understanding and without joyful thanks.

On this happy Easter Day let us look carefully at Jesus' hands. On that first Easter Jesus appeared to ten of the scared disciples and said unto them, "Why are you troubled? ... Behold My Hands" (Luke 24:38-39) So let us today examine our doubts and misunderstandings by looking at the hands of our risen Savior.

Why? That our faith becomes stronger and that we may again dedicate our hands in loving service.

Did Jesus who was crucified on Good Friday really rise on Easter morning? Many people today say, "No!" "Impossible!" And from the study of biology man cannot reason how a dead man can rise and live again. On the first Easter the disciples could not believe it. Although Mary Magdalene and the other women had seen Jesus alive and although they told about the angels glad message: "I know you seek Jesus of Nazareth which was crucified. He is not here for He is risen!" The disciples had a hard time believing that.

So on Easter evening ten of them gathered in a room and bolted the door because they were afraid. Then suddenly Jesus Himself stood in the center of them and said, "Peace unto you." "But they were terrified and affrighted and supposed that they had seen a spirit." (Luke 24:36-37) So Jesus says to them, "Behold My hands" And what did they see? They saw the nail scars of His crucifixion on Friday. Now they looked and could see these were not the still, lifeless hands but the hands of a real living Man. Jesus meant, See My hands! Friday I was crucified dead and buried, but today I am alive. See My hands. That's My proof!

So Jesus wants you and I to look at His nail scarred hands again this Easter and find proof in those hands that He, Jesus of Nazareth, Son of Many, is true. He said He was the Son of God who came down from heaven. The nail scars in His living hands prove it.

Thomas, one of the disciples was not there that evening after Jesus had gone he came home. The other disciples said, "We have seen the Lord, He is alive." Thomas said, "Except I see the nail prints in his hands and put my finger in that, I will not believe." (John 20:25)

Eight days later Jesus appeared to the disciples again and said to Thomas, "Reach here your finger and be not faithless but believing." Thomas knelt down and said: "My Lord and my God!" The nail scars in Jesus hands were proof enough for you.

These nail scars also were proof to the disciples that Jesus had paid in full for their sins. Sin causes man all his trouble: pain, shame, sorrow, fighting, hating, jealousy, sickness and death, even everlasting punishment in hell. But Jesus was crucified to pay and suffer for man's sins. Did He pay and suffer enough to satisfy God? Yes! God is satisfied, He let Him rise from the dead. The nail scars are proof of that.

And because we have forgiveness of sins in Jesus we also shall arise and live in glory with Him forever. Yes, we must die, but Jesus shall come again on the last day and call us to awake from sleep in the grave. He shall change our weak, sinful bodies and make them holy and perfect like His glorious body. The nail scars of His hands are proof of that.

So we love Him and sign His name, (do it tenderly) and by signing His name we dedicate our Hands to His service. Our sinful hands are cleaned and dedicated by signing the name of Jesus in true faith. When we point to the nail-scars we confess that Jesus paid for our sins by His crucifixion, and that we ourselves cannot pay and need not pay.

But this does not mean that we are free now to sin as much as we please. And it does not mean that we should do nothing for Jesus. But it means that we should hate sin as God does, and try more and more to please Him. We should feel like St. Paul who said: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh (body) I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." (Galatians 2:20) And Paul says to all Christians: "They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh (sinful heart) with the affections and lusts." (Galatians 5:24)

With such "crucified hands", we will not gossip, lie or sign wicked things. How can we who sign the name Jesus with our hands and speak evil with the same hands? No! With our Jesus-hands we daily pray for ourselves and others. In the dear name of Jesus we will use our hand to sing prayers of thanks and hymns of joy. We will sign prayers for the sick, the poor, the country. We will sign prayers for our church and pastors, that the Holy Spirit may guide and bless the building of Christ's kingdom here in the world, also among the deaf.

Also we will use our Jesus-hands for evangelism, to sign to other deaf the sweet gospel of the crucified and risen Savior. We will offer our Jesus-hands to work at the church at Voter's Meetings and Women's meetings.

We will use our Jesus hands in daily work that helps men and gives praise to our Lord. With these Jesus hands we will try to be good managers for God of all He has given us.

And finally we will use our Jesus-hands to bring gifts of love and praise at church - hymns, prayers, flowers, and money.

This Easter while we again "behold" His hands let us give of ourselves and our wealth as if His nailed pierced hands our offering took!

Dear Lord, whose hands were pierced
with nails for love of me,
O let Thy blessing be upon my hands
that I may work for Thee.
Amen!

Soli Deo Gloria!