Nicky Gumbel has preached a sermon from the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem to mark Easter Sunday.
He appeared in the Holy Land despite clashes in recent days, as Easter, Passover, and Ramadan fall at the same time, heightening tensions.
The former HTB leader had bandaged hands as he delivered his sermon, which many could have mistaken as a nod to the pain Christ endured whilst nailed to the cross.
Instead, he assured those gathered that he had simply been in an altercation with a shower panel – "and the shower panel won," he joked.
The injury was used as impetus for his message following a timely reminder from his wife, Pippa.
He said: "Pippa reminded me this morning that even though Jesus had scars on his hands. And that means two things. Number one, it really was him. And number two, it means that God can take even the most painful and difficult days in our lives and turn them for good through the resurrection.
"That's the good news of today. On Easter Sunday, he turned the scars of shame into marks of glory."
As part of his sermon, he chose to speak of the fundamental role women play within the Easter story.
"I love this fact," he said. "The first person who Jesus appeared to is a woman."
The statement was met with cheers from the gathered crowd. "It's good for a number of reasons, but one reason is they wouldn't have made it up. Because in those days, women as witnesses were not considered to be good witnesses. But isn't it interesting that Jesus chose a woman? He chose Mary Magdalene, someone who had several demons cast out of her and someone who had gone around with Jesus supporting him out of her wealth. And she was there at the crucifixion. And she was the first witness to the resurrection. Why?"
He continued: "The Crucifixion, all the men fled, and the women stayed. Why was that? Well, some say, 'Well, the women are less likely to get arrested,' but maybe they were more courageous?"
Speaking to Premier Christian News after the sermon, he said: "It's amazing to be here in the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem. It's such a unique and deeply significant place. We need the Easter message of resurrection so much, don't we?" He continued. "We've been through a period of great intensity over the last few days. There are so many people who are struggling, who are uncertain what does this Easter message say to them?
"What can we take from it? Well, three days earlier, Jesus was crucified. And what it says is that God can take the worst things in our lives and turn them for good.
"Whatever you're going through in this time in your life, whether it's sickness or bereavement or sorrow, God can take that and use it and turn it around for good, and the best days of your life will never last, and the worst days of your life can be turned for good through the resurrection."