The most difficult part of writing this book was dealing with the cover. It shows an open hand with a hole in the palm. I am aware of good Biblical scholarship that insists that the nails were most likely driven through Jesus’ wrists, that the bones and ligaments of the palms were not strong enough to hold a sagging body for hours. However, I prefer to stay with the traditional depiction of the torn palm.

The hardest part of the cover was the hole in Jesus’ hand. Several people, skilled in art, drew samples. Some approached the task from theology or Biblical knowledge. I wanted the hole to shock, to draw attention to our Lord’s suffering. I must have drawn a hundred samples myself. But nothing seemed to fit. Finally I gave the task to the artists at Morris Publishers, and their depiction is what you see on the cover.

The Disciple Thomas was allowed to put his finger into the hole in Jesus’ hand. It is the effect that the touch had on Thomas, not the exact spot on Jesus’ body, that is important. And the effect was glorious. Thomas was enabled to believe, to cry, “my Lord, and my God!”

In this book I write about touching the hand of Jesus, and hearing His voice. These were spiritual experiences, deep within me. They were real, arresting, and life changing, but not literal in the sense of feeling a touch on my skin or hearing an actual voice with my ears.

To some my accounts may seem disrespectful, boastful, even brazen. In response I can only say that I love Jesus, and honor Him as my Lord. I would never do anything to show Him disrespect.

Some would be more comfortable speaking about “having an epiphany” than of touching the hand of Jesus. An epiphany seems less presumptuous, less personal, and more respectful. So I will just tell two stories: first, the story of Thomas, the Disciple who needed more; and then the story of myself, who also needed more. In my story you will observe the stupefying effect of combat in the jungles of Vietnam. But you will also see me filled with indescribable joy as I walk and talk with my Lord outside the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem.

I do hope that in reading this book you can experience your own epiphany, that you, too, can touch the hand of Jesus.

To order Touching  the Hand of Jesus send $15 (which includes postage and handling to):

Henry L. Hunt
PO Box 463
Candler, FL 32111