The Wounds of the Risen Christ: Evidence for the Retention of Disabling Conditions in the Resurrection Body

Abstract

The risen Christ retained in his body the “marks of the nails”, suggesting that we might in our post-resurrection bodies retain what Amos Yong calls the “marks of impairment”. I argue that the “marks of the nails” in John 20:25 are best interpreted as persisting wounds rather than healed scars, and that this has profound implications for shaping what we can expect of eschatological life. The eschatological “marks of impairment” may be more than merely a trace or memory of weakness or disability, but rather the substantial embodiment of weakness and disability.