Living with Scars

Does God really know my pain? Will He deliver me from it? The despair of atheism declares there is no hope—only death. But there is a living rebuttal to man's hopelessness. The Bible reveals a God who knows our pain. This God not only endured suffering but also overcame pain and even death. His name is Jesus. Jesus's life as a Jewish Rabbi, His promises at the Passover, His death as the Lamb of God, and His resurrection should shape every believer's response to suffering. This book presents grounds for faith in an unseen God—a historically strengthened faith that encourages believers in heart-wrenching times, times when pain and suffering seem relentless. The God of the Bible knows our pain and will ultimately deliver His followers from it.

Have you ever marveled that Jesus's resurrected body bore the marks of His crucifixion? The disciple Thomas touched these scars, viewing them as proof that the crucified Messiah had been raised from the dead. Two thousand years later, the same scars remind us of three important truths: First, our Messiah willingly died in our place to free us (Jew and Gentile) from our bondage to sin. Second, our Messiah suffered in the flesh. He understands our physical and emotional pain. Third, our Messiah redeems pain for His grand purposes. He changes marks of suffering into signs of salvation. In Living with Scars: A Jew Who Knows Our Suffering, Dr. Douglas A. Jakubowski examines the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus through a distinctly Jewish lens. Each chapter reveals something unique about the biblical God's relationship to mankind, including our pain, as He reconciles His creatures to Himself. Along the way, Jakubowski relates his own family's tearful, painful, multigenerational suffering to the eternal hope and redemption that belong only to followers of Jesus, the suffering servant—crucified, risen, and coming again. As the Messiah told his followers, "In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33 English Standard Version). Living with Scars casts new light on the revelation that Jesus is making all things new—even our scars.

Douglas and Kay Jakubowski have been married for forty years. They have six children and fifteen grandchildren. Douglas served in the United States Air Force from 1975 to 1981. He earned his BS in physical therapy from the University of Toledo (Medical College of Ohio); his MA in pastoral ministry (concentration in pulpit communication and expository preaching) from Trinity Theological Seminary; and his doctorate in religious studies from Trinity College of the Bible and Trinity Theological Seminary.