Several resurrection accounts emphasize that Jesus showed His wounds to the disciples. On one level, we can understand that He was trying to make them understand that the same Christ who had been crucified was standing before them; He was not a ghost or an apparition or simply someone who looked like Jesus.
When Christ rose, He took up His same true body, but it manifested perfect glory. When we rise on the last day, the same will be true for our bodies. Why, then, were Christ's wounds visible in His glorified body? Are wounds and scars not incompatible with a glorified body?
Saint Thomas Aquinas gives five reasons why Christ's wounds are fitting for His glorified body. His reflections, drawn from the Summa Theologica III, Q. 54, Art. 4, are beautiful and poignant.
It was fitting that Christ's soul at His resurrection should take back the body with its scars. First, for Christ's own glory. For in Luke 24:40 it is said that He kept His scars not because He could not heal them, "but to bear them as an eternal trophy of His victory." That is why Augustine says (De Civ. Dei xxii): "Perhaps in that kingdom we shall see on the bodies of the Martyrs the traces of the wounds which they bore for the name of Christ: for it will not be a deformity, but a dignity in them; and a certain kind of beauty will shine in them, in the body, but not of the body."
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Christ's wounds are a dignity and not a deformity, a sign of love and not of loss, an indication of obedience and not of burden. Through His wounds, the Lord can say: "Behold what the world did to Me, and yet I live. Behold the price of your redemption and the lavishness of My love."
Secondly, to confirm the hearts of the disciples concerning "the faith in His resurrection" (Luke 24:40).
This is what theologians call "continuity." The wounds demonstrate that the body which died on the cross is the same one the disciples see standing before them. Jesus did not take or fashion a new body or a similar body; He truly rose again. The Greek word for resurrection is anastasis, which literally means "to stand up again." The word "resurrection" means the same thing: re (again) + surrexit (he stands). None of this would be true if a different body were before them, however similar. Thus, Christ's wounds confirm the truth of the resurrection.
Thirdly, "so that in pleading for us with the Father, He may always show the manner in which He endured death for us" (Luke 24:40).
Magnificent! The image here is that of the Son, Jesus, showing His wounds to His Father and saying: "See how I have loved them, Father. Have mercy on them."
The book of Hebrews says: Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself (Heb 7:25-27).
Fourthly, "so that He may convince those who have been redeemed by His blood, how much they have been helped with mercy, when He exposes before them the traces of the same death" (Luke 24:40).
For those who doubt the Lord's love or His understanding of our trials, Christ's wounds speak with tenderness and clarity of His love and the price He was willing to pay for us. His wounds are a testimony more eloquent than any words could be. Is God merciful? Does God understand or care about our condition? Look at Christ's wounds; dwell in them; take shelter in them.
Finally, "so that on the day of judgment, He may reproach them with their just condemnation" (Luke 24:40). Therefore, as Augustine says (De Symb. ii): "... Thus [Christ] will show His wounds to His enemies, so that He who is the Truth may convict them, saying: 'Behold the man whom you crucified; see the wounds you inflicted; recognize the side which you pierced, since it was opened by you and for you, but you do not enter it.'"
Words so powerful and moving, in this case from Saint Augustine. There is also a refutation of the idea that God is simply harsh on the Day of Judgment. Indeed, He will say: "I endured suffering from you out of love for you. When I was on the cross, the soldier pierced My side. My heart was literally opened for you and you still would not enter. What more could I do than allow your own sins to be your redemption? And yet, you refused."
Although they received graces for life and unmerited favors and blessings, despite God's call echoing in their depths, many still refuse God's offer. It is a tragedy that some hearts are so hardened. Christ's wounds bear witness to the justice of God's only (and last) recourse: to allow them to live apart from Him. By accepting the choice of their free will, God's final act is simply to acknowledge their refusal and say: "you shall not enter."
Dwell in the wounds of Christ.