The significance of the wounds of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel

Abstract

In the resurrection narratives of John 20–21, the wounds of the risen Jesus serve a number of important functions. They work as markers of revelation, enabling disciples to recognize the identity of the crucified one in the risen one. They are symbols of colonialism and imperialism, creating solidarity between Jesus and the victims of such abuse and suffering. They are cultic symbols of sacrifice and purification, linked to the Johannine motif of Jesus as the Temple and sacrificial Lamb of God whose death on the cross effects cleansing, taking away the world’s sin. The wounds are also figures of new life and peace, forged ironically through violence and death, signs of triumph and glory. The wounds of the Johannine Jesus thus spell the end of what they embody: suffering and its healing, violence and its peaceful resolution, death and its defeat.