Sociologist Erving Goffman wrote in his classic study Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity that the term stigma originated with the ancient Greeks, roughly during Jesus’ time. Initially a “stigma” was a mark branded on the body of a disgraced individual—a criminal or a slave. The term came to refer to any characteristic that makes its bearer unwanted, such as those related to physical disability or mental illness or sexuality or ethnicity.
In Jesus’ day, religious leaders viewed the exclusion of stigmatized people as a sign of holiness. But Jesus especially associated with people in each of those stigmatized categories. In fact, Jesus eventually personified each of the stigmatized categories Goffman lists. Not only that, he bore the literal stigma of crucifixion in the palms of his nail-pierced hands. Not only that, his resurrected body continues to carry those marks—he invited Thomas to see them and touch them. His stigma has become his glory.
John Ortberg, Steps: A Guide to Transforming Your Life When Willpower Isn’t Enough
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