We live in a generation of tattoos and piercings. The tattoos shouldn't be anything new to us if we grew up with parents from the WW2 generation. Many were proud to make their sacrificial commitments known with patriotic symbols, endearments to loved ones, etc., branded to the body. They were proud placards on display even till death they would part. And piercings… depending on what part of the world you've lived in or visited, can be expressions of beauty for the eye of the beholder, cultural signs, covenants with others and more. I'm sure each have their significant meaning for their time, place, persons and/or purpose.
Interestingly, God sending His own Son to die for us, was pierced as well, voluntarily. His piercings were put on display for one of His own disciples after His resurrection. Thomas, wanting the proof of Jesus' resurrection from the dead since most of his fellow disciples had already seen Him, said, "Unless I see in His hands the print [piercings] of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." Why should he not have asked? The impossible with men needed verification for Thomas to endorse this marvel, this glory, as well. The story continues in John 20:26-27...
"And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, 'Peace to you!' Then He said to Thomas, 'Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.'"
These piercings were on display for forty days to some 500 who had believed upon Him. At the end of those days, Jesus ascended into a cloud having given them the promise that His covenant of salvation, accomplished in taking our place in judgment, would be sealed in them by the Holy Spirit's coming. He commanded them to wait "...until you are endued with power from on high…you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me" (Lk.24:49;Acts1:8). Ten days later, those piercings, stripes, the painstaking defacing of Him as a man, gave way to the revealed glory of God. Those who waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit, received that glory transfiguring their very nature from the inside out, turning the world upside down in the likeness of Jesus. These men and women having received the power of the Holy Ghost were tattooed upon His heart and upon His arm the same way the Shulamite requests from her Beloved a loving remembrance...
"Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is as strong as death, jealousy as cruel as the grave; its flames are flames of fire, a most vehement flame" (Song of Solomon 8:6).
However, the Lord Himself declares ardently His commitment of love to Israel, His child...
"Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely, they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed [tattooed] you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me" (Isa.49:15-16).
Born in 1952, I was the child of WW2-era parents, so I missed the nostalgia of their times that made tattoos a trend. With that fad having little ground in my own generation, I discouraged my children from desecrating their bodies. After all, it is forbidden in the Old Testament law: "You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord" (Lev.19:28). However, the day came when one of my sons at eighteen years old, slipped by me at home in a short-sleeve shirt. I noticed some sort of marking peeking out underneath. Stopping him, I asked what he had up his sleeve? The uncovering showed an extravagant tattoo of the words, "I Shall Not Be Moved." Beginning to rebuke him for disobeying my request, he said, "Dad, it's a word I heard you preach from Psalm 16. It made a huge impression on me!" And what an obvious impression it was! Well, disciplining my son went out the door fast. A stop sign for me was a green light to him – and now a permanent reminder of his commitment to the Lord. Try and fight that one… lost cause!
I'm still no advocate of tattoos or piercings. We all know there's a lot of whack-a-doodlers out there who have gone tribal-extreme looking like wall murals, but there is something to be said for what goes deeper than flesh, what separates between soul and spirit. Now, there's a piercing! It's what is at the heart of our show in flesh that really matters.
Paul, as the young man Saul, held the coats for those who stoned Stephen, a prolific disciple of Jesus, who was full of faith, power and the Holy Spirit. His words concerning Christ's messianic fulfillment of 300-plus prophecies were piercingly irrefutable to the people hearing him. Those looking steadfastly at Stephen, saw his countenance as a face of an angel. And while being stoned by those under the conviction of his words, he forgiving them, invites them to be witnesses with him of Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father! He then, under the pelting of these stiff-necked gnashers was seen to simply fall asleep. This heavenly reality was not missed, nor could it be dismissed by Saul. He was pierced deeper than flesh with the goads (spikes) of heavenly Truth and would be in time to come, marked or tattooed as the Lord's servant, apostle and prisoner through obedience to the King of Glory. See Acts 6-7.
Saul, chosen for his zeal by the Sanhedrin to persecute the Church, was stopped from that intent en route to Damascus. Being knocked off his horse by the glory of God, the voice of Jesus said, "It is hard for you to kick against the goads." Saul was being marked of God. These goads (prods) were piercings of heavenly truth that collectively and convictively lodged in his heart. The Word being heard deeper than the ear of Saul's soul could resist, branded him beyond the threats and shame men could fling. See Acts 9.
Now rebranded as Paul, he reveals to the Galatians the goads that first marked him in heart would also mark his flesh for bearing the reproach of the Lord Jesus, and that by embracing in his life the work of Christ's cross (Gk. stauros – stake). Hear Galatians 6:14-16 in the Phillips translation...
"Yet God forbid that I should boast about anything or anybody except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, which means that the world is a dead thing to me and I am a dead man to the world. But in Christ it is not circumcision or uncircumcision [appearances] that counts but the power of new birth [a changed man]. To all who live by this principle, to the true Israel of God, may there be peace and mercy!"
How deeply marked are we? It will matter! The spirit of this world disdains the markings of Christ that reveal a righteousness it resents. How much has the world been crucified to me, and I to the world? Are we yet being changed in likeness to Him or is there little difference between us and the world? Do we fear the shame and persecution of being found out to be His? What's up your sleeve that you are hiding? The Apostle Paul had real marks in his flesh from enduring whippings, stonings, and perils of every sort. However, these were only skin deep compared to how deeply he was marked by the intimacy of the Lord Jesus Christ. What we are willing to lose of our life, we will find of His greatly impressed upon ours. Again, Paul from Galatians 6:17...
"From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks [tattoos] of the Lord Jesus."
- Pastor Dave
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