When the news came to Our Lord Jesus about the death of Lazarus, Thomas wanted to go and to die with him. Later on, when Our Blessed Lord said that He would return again to the Father and prepare a place for His Apostles, Thomas' doleful answer was that he knew not where the Lord was going, nor did he himself know the way.
Immediately after the other apostles became convinced of the Resurrection and glory of Our Divine Savior, they brought to Thomas the tidings of the Resurrection. Thomas did not say he refused to believe, but that he was unable to believe until he had some experimental proof of the Resurrection, in spite of their testimony that they had seen the Risen Lord Jesus Christ. He enumerated the conditions of his belief:
Unless I see the mark of the nails on his hands, unless I put my finger into the place where the nails were, and my hands into his side, I will not believe it. - John 20:25 -
The disparity between those who believed and those who were unprepared for belief could be seen in the reception that ten got as they told Thomas of the resurrection. His refusal to trust the testimony of ten competent companions, who had seen the Risen Christ with their own eyes, proved how skeptical was the gloomy man. His, however, was not the frivolous skepticism of indifference or hostility to truth; he wanted knowledge in order to have faith. It was unlike the self-wise who want knowledge against faith. In one sense, his attitude was that scientific theologian who promotes knowledge and intelligence after having banished all doubt.
This is the only passage in Sacred Scripture where the word "nails" is used in connection with Our Savior, and which harkens back to the words of the Psalmist: "They pierced My hands and My feet." Thomas' doubts arose, for the most part, from his despondency and from the depressing influence of sorrow and isolation; for he was a man apart from his fellows. Sometimes a man who misses a meeting misses much. If the minutes of the first meeting were written they would have contained the tragic words of the Gospel: "Thomas was not there." Sunday was beginning to be the Lord's Day; for after eight days the Apostles were again assembled in the Upper Room, and Thomas was with them.
The doors still being closed, the Risen Christ stood in the midst of them and, for the third time, gave the salutation: Peace be with you! - John 20:19 -
Immediately upon speaking of peace, Our Divine Savior treated the subject on which peace rested, namely, His death and Resurrection. There was not the slightest trace of faultfinding with Peter at a later appearance by the Sea of Galilee. Thomas had asked for a proof based on the senses or the faculties that belong to the animal kingdom; and a proof of the senses would be given him. Our Lord Savior spoke to Thomas:
Reach your finger here; see my hands. Reach your hand here and put it into my side. Be unbelieving no longer, but believe. - John 20:27 -
He had once said that sinful and adulterous generation seek after a sign, and no sign would be given them other than the sign of Jonas/Jonah, the prophet. This was precisely the sign that was given to Thomas. The Lord Jesus knew of the skeptical words that Thomas had previously spoken to his fellow Apostles - another proof of His Omniscience. The wound in His side must have been very large, since He asked Thomas to put his hand into it; so also the wounds on His hands must have been large, as Thomas was bidden to substitute a finger for a nail. Thomas' doubts lingered longer than those of the others, and his extraordinary skepticism is an added proof of the reality of the Resurrection.
There was every reason to suppose that Thomas did as he was invited to do, just as there was every reason to suppose that the Ten Apostles had done precisely the same on the first Easter evening. The rebuking words of Our Lord to Thomas - to be doubting no longer - also contained an exhortation to believe and to shake off his gloom, which was his besetting sin.
Paul was not disobedient to the heavenly vision; neither was Thomas. The doubter was so convinced by positive proof that he became a worshiper. Throwing himself on his knees, he said to the Risen Savior: "My Lord and My God!" - John 20:28 -
In one burning utterance, Thomas gathered up all of the doubts of a depressed humanity to have them healed by the full implications of the exclamation, "My Lord and My God." It was an acknowledgement that the Emmanuel of Isaiah was before him. He, who was the last to believe, was the first to make the full confession of the Divinity of the Risen Savior. But since it came from evidence of flesh and blood, it was not followed by the blessing which was conferred on Peter when he acknowledged that He was the Son of the Living God. However, the Risen Savior said to Thomas:
Because you have seen me you have found faith. Happy are those who never saw me and yet have found faith. - John 20:29 -
There are some who will not believe even when they see, such as Pharaoh; others believe only when they see. Above both these types the Lord God placed those who had not seen and yet believed. Noah had been warned by God of the things that had not yet come to pass; he believed as he prepared his ark. Abraham went out of his own home not knowing whither he went, but still trusting in the God who promised that he would be the father of a progeny more numerous that the sands of the seas. If Thomas had believed through the testimony of his fellow disciples, his faith in Christ would have been greater; for Thomas had often heard his Lord say that He would be crucified and rise again. He also knew from the Scriptures that the Crucifixion was the fulfillment of a prophecy, but he wanted the additional testimony of the senses.
Thomas thought that he was doing the right thing in demanding the full evidence of sensible proof; but what would become of future generations if the same evidence was to be demanded by them? The future believers, the Lord implied, must accept the fact of the Resurrection from those who had been with Him. Our Lord thus pictured the faith of believers after the apostolic age when there would be none who would have seen it; but their faith would have a foundation because the Apostles themselves had seen the Risen Christ.
They saw that the faithful might be able to do so without seeing, believing on their testimony. The Apostles were happy men. not just because they had seen Our Lord and believed; they were far happier when they fully understood the mystery of Redemption and so lived in it, and even had their throats cut for the reality of the Resurrection. Some gratitude must always, however, be credited to Thomas, who touched Christ as a man, but believed in Him as God.
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Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
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