What Does New Life In Christ Look Like?

“While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ They were startled and frightened thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
Luke 24:36-39

Jesus promises us a new life in Him, but what does that look like? After Jesus was crucified on the cross, he was buried in the tomb. Three days later, he rose from the grave in a new body.

The new body or new life of Jesus is an example to us as to what this new life for us will look like. There are a few key things we can take away from the disciples experience with the resurrected Jesus.

The first thing we see is that people had trouble recognizing Jesus. When Mary sees Jesus for the first time, she mistakes him for the gardener. When the disciples on the road to Emmaus encountered Jesus, they did not recognize him until he broke bread with them. As he appeared to the disciples in our passage, they thought he was a ghost.

What does this tell us? It tells us that He was different. This new body He had was different from before. He didn’t look quite the same. He was changed. This is the same thing that happens to us when we get saved. We become a new creation in Christ and our new life is unrecognizable compared to the old.

When I got saved, I had friends who literally told me that I was different. They stopped hanging out with me because I had changed so much and it was a drastic change. My new life did not look like my old one. Sure, I still physically looked the same, but people could see there was something different in me.

The other thing we notice about Jesus’ resurrected life was His wounds. He may have been different, He may have been living a new life, but He still had the wounds from his old life. These wounds were signs to the disciples that this was indeed the same Jesus.

When we think about our wounds, we know that even though we are a new creation in Christ, those old wounds are still there. We all carry wounds - our past hurts, losses, pain - with us into this new life. But notice how Jesus treats his wounds. He doesn’t hide them and He isn’t ashamed of them. He shows them to the disciples. He invites the disciples to touch them and see that they are real.

Often when we get saved, we may feel pressure to hide our wounds, to cover up our pain and hurts, but Jesus shows us a better way. Invite others into your places of hurt. Show them your wounds and let go of the shame that you may associate with them. As we do this, we are promised healing and cleansing from those wounds.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1st John 1:9

Prayer - Lord help us to see that the new life you are inviting us into is quite different from our old life. Help us to walk in this newness day-by-day. Help us to show our wounds to others and receiving the cleansing that you have promised us. Amen. 

^{Cornerstone Church is a non-denominational church located in Clayton, NC. We are located at Fayetteville Street Station at 11155 US Hwy 70, Suite C, Clayton, NC 27520. We have a Sunday morning service at 10 am and homegroups throughout the week. For more information, please contact pastorbrian@heisthecornerstone.org}