He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah53:3-6
The five wounds of Christ refer to the wounds Jesus received specifically from crucifixion: one for each hand and foot, and then the piercing in His side with a lance. During His entire passion, Jesus suffered more than the five wounds mentioned here.
Remember, Christ was flogged, beaten, mocked, ridiculed, spat upon, crowned with thorns and carried His cross in addition to the crucifixion itself. That’s a lot of suffering for the sins of the world.
The tortures suffered by Jesus Christ. (This is one of a kind list-I have come across. I cannot prove the numbers. I always ask Jesus, if i could understand what it felt in His Heart.)
150 Blows on the Head
108 Blows on the Stomach
80 kicks on the Shoulders
24 times led bound with cords by the hair
180 times spat by others on the face
6666 beaten on the body
110 beaten on the head (110 pricks of thorns in the head)
23 times pricked with thorns and pulled by the beard
20 wounds on the head
72 thorns of marine junk
3 mortal thorns in the forehead
1000 wounds in the body
28430 drops of blood lost
Regarding the wounds Christ suffered, Christ revealed to St. Gertrude the Great the number of wounds He received in total during His passion: 5,466.
Through St. Bridget we come to understand, that there are 5475 wounds + the other 5 wounds=5480 wounds.
A look at the numbers and it seems too much suffering. The brutality committed is unthinkable. A person could die, not even making it quarter the way. Only a God-Man could suffer this kind of hatred. To be hated and not give way to hating. To love when it is hard to love, this is what we learn from Jesus.
It had to be the understanding of The Holy Trinity. God had to sacrifice. God came down to Earth. Jesus lived among us!
The betrayal, the tortures, the ridicule, there could be no stops for Satan. Hell was unforgiving of what Jesus was set to do for man and Satan let Jesus have it all. There were no stops.
Matthew 27:39-43 (Please also read Mark 15:29-32 & Luke 23:35-37)
Blinded by their hatred the people mock and throw accusations on Jesus. And taunted, by the devil (=words spoken by the people), it is one of the last few attempts of Satan to get Jesus to prove Himself (Who He is) and in proving, thus, getting Himself off the Cross.
39 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads
40 and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying,
42 “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.
43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him; for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
For forty days, Jesus ate nothing. He was tempted by the devil in the wilderness and this being the third in a series of temptations.
Luke 4:9-12
9 And he took him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here;
10 for it is written, ‘He will give his angels charge of you, to guard you,’
11 and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”
13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
A look at Luke 4:9-12 and then at Matthew 27:39-43 (both above)
In Luke, the devil tempts Jesus with “If you are the Son of God…”
In Matthew, it is the people who are throwing the challenge.
But make no mistake the words are of the devil himself.
LK 4:9 Underlined sentence
Mt 27:40 Underlined sentence
Familiar words.
The devil is the father of all lies and scheming ways. Disobedience is his trademark. Luke 4:12
Often you hear people say, 'you don't know who I am'. They pull the rank card, threatening the other person of dire consequences. From Jesus, we learn humility and we learn the virtue of silence.
Amidst all the chaos in the world, we are to focus on Jesus. We are not to be distracted by the things of the world. Remember God is in control and God is faithful.
Remember, we are here today gone tomorrow. This body is not my own. The very breath I take, is supplied by God. When everything is His, must I not ask Him for everything that I am to do. He has the perfect answers to all my questions. I trust Him with my life, it is His gift to me. I was born to Love Him.
We don't know our expiry date. So is there anything that we can be proud of? Beauty, wealth, education? We don't take anything when we leave this Earth. We can't prolong our life. If it is our time, so it is. Pride is a sin.
When faced with challenging situations or provoked. REMEMBER: There is a silence that needs no response.
Jesus wounds were for our wounds. Remember-With His stripes (wounds) we are healed. Christ’s wounds carry a miraculous power!
Confront your fears and insecurities. Try to do good from the hurts you have experienced. Allow the Peace of Jesus to grow in you. Do not be afraid of the turmoil you experience inwards. Be in prayer. When hurt, focus on the wounds of Jesus and allow yourself to rest in Christ.
My dad was unwell. We reached Mangalore in the morning of the 27th of October. It took a month for my dad to heal and after which my mom wanted the painting and other works to be done. When leaving for Mangalore, I packed my basic minimum and it was difficult.
I felt that I had to leave on the 18th of December. But my mum requested to stay for Christmas. I agreed because my mom would have much to deal with (on account of the painting and the many workers) even though my brother and his wife would be there. And thank God, we stayed, it would otherwise be difficult for my mom.
It's been a terrible time due to loads of work and lack of rest, physical and mental. It is for me very difficult to breathe. I also have injured both my knees while travelling. The pain has worsened and it has made my stay even more difficult.
The day I was to leave, the 27th of December, after the online celebration of the mass and as I was coming out of the room, I heard a commotion, voices to and fro and it was horrible.
My mistake, I tried to speak to my mom, I should have just left. A lot of filthy words were then thrown at me. I am not used to these abusive words. I won’t go into the details regarding what occurred, because now is not the right time, to speak this.
There is such ugliness in a human being, such bitterness, such hatred, such wrath. It is better to not experience such things ever.
We left home, that day without having lunch. My mum came to leave us at the Bus stop. As always, she failed to understand my predicament. To top it all she blamed me, three times in a row. What a sendoff! Okay, I am used to being blamed. But for the first time, I told my mom, to stop blaming me for others faults.
I have given it my all. I have forgiven. There is this undeniable pain, terrible hurt and a mind that is completely exhausted. These are my wounds.
The wounds can turn to bitterness or grow into a deeper understanding of the love of God. The wounds of Jesus are wounds of love.
One who has Jesus can never lack Peace. Into the storm and through all the turmoil, Jesus is here. This, I am most certain of. I trust Jesus. Jesus tells me, He lives in my heart. My wounded heart needs to rest in The Heart of Jesus.
If we look to Christ’s wounds, our hope of healing will begin to rise.
Offer your wounds, (all the hurt, the insults, the betrayal, the injustices) in sacrifice to Jesus. Let them be wounds of LOVE!
We tend to run and hide from our wounds and weaknesses, but there is nothing more hopeful than knowing that there is a God who loves us so much that He sent His Son to be wounded with our wounds.
Jesus died on The Cross.
The wounds of Christ are for our healing.
There is love in the wounds of Jesus.
Love is what led Jesus to the Cross, and it’s what initiated God’s redemptive plan.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
