The Witness Behind The Wound

This study is based on the Easter Sunday sermon titled The Witness Behind The Wound by Matthew Maher below.

In the message "The Witness Behind The Wounds" at Landmark Church, Pastor Matthew Maher reminds us that while the world urges us to cover our scars and hide our brokenness, Jesus boldly displayed His wounds after the Resurrection. Rather than presenting a flawless body, He showed His disciples His hands and side, proving that death had not won. His scars weren’t signs of weakness but witnesses to His victory and love. In the same way, our scars—the hurts, failures, and past pains—are not disqualifications but testimonies of God’s mercy and healing in our lives.

Pastor Matthew beautifully connected this to the art of kintsugi, where broken pottery is filled with gold, making the cracks part of the masterpiece. Just as Jesus’ scars are identifiers of His compassion and sacrifice, our wounds reveal His glory working through us. Quoting 2 Corinthians 4:7, he emphasized that God uses our fragile, imperfect lives to display His power. Our brokenness doesn’t diminish His greatness—it highlights it. Whether it’s addiction, grief, illness, or failure, Jesus turns scabbing into scarring, and scarring into storytelling, inviting others to find hope through what He has healed in us.

The message also touched on the story of Thomas, who needed to see Jesus’ wounds to believe. Jesus met Thomas in his doubt, offering His scars as proof and leading him to a personal declaration of faith. Likewise, when we allow God to heal our past, our scars become a living blueprint of redemption—a “receipt” that says paid in full. Through every healed wound, Jesus transforms our deepest pain into a powerful testimony of grace. As Pastor Matthew encouraged, your scars, no matter how painful, are destined to point others toward the compassionate, healing hands of Christ.