The Character of Thomas - Shaped by His Nail Marks

So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them,"Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe." John 20: 25

The other disciples would have, in their excitement, gone head over heels explaining their encounter with the risen Lord to Thomas. "We have seen the Lord"! expresses their jubilation and joy. They might have been taken aback to hear Thomas's response.

But Thomas's response gives an indication of what the apostle was going through.

All the disciples were plunged into deep sorrow on that fateful weekend. Their Lord and Master, whom they expected great things from, had been ruthlessly murdered on a Cross alongside two petty criminals. He who had worked great miracles in front of them, had become so weak and helpless on that fateful
Friday. They themselves had deserted him like cowards, one had betrayed him, another had denied him, others were still in hiding. Their disillusionment was unfathomable.

Then suddenly on Sunday evening, the Lord appears to the rest except Thomas. That wonderful re-union with the Risen Lord wiped away every sorrow from their hearts and they were filled with great joy! They were on top of the world, nothing could bring them down!

It was in this state of ecstasy that they encountered Thomas with "We have seen the Lord"!

However, Thomas was still in the state of deep agony and sorrow that they all were in previously. He could see the marks on the Master's hands as they were pierced with hard nails. He could hear the cry of the Lord as he hung helplessly on the Cross, abandoned by his own, forsaken by His Creation.

He wanted to see and touch the Creator's nail punctured hands. He was so overcome with grief at the Master's suffering and his own cowardice, that the witness of the fellow disciples had no affect on Him. It is from that valley of great distress that Thomas responded "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails...."

And in so doing, Thomas became the first apostle to deliberately seek out the physical signs of the Lord's passion. Thomas asks to see the nail marks on the Lord's hands, the pierced side, the physical signs of torture. (Even in the glorified body, he expected those signs to be present and discernible.)

The physical aspect is also crucial for us as we seek out the Lord, many centuries after the Resurrection. It is in the physical and real communion with the Lord through Holy Qurbana that we are strengthened even today.

Thomas's longing to see and feel the wounds of the Lord, and the granting of that wish later by the Lord, had an enormous impact on the character of Thomas and the other disciples, shaping their future, hardening their resolve to take on the world for Christ, as they set out on their mission of evangelism. It
was this desire of Thomas to feel, touch and experience the wounds of the Lord that sustained and strengthened Thomas throughout his journeys to the far East, even to the lands of India.

May the same resolve of our Father Thomas to want to feel, touch and experience the wounds of the Lord, inspire, strengthen and guide our lives today.

Character of Thomas : An Unyielding passion
Source: ICON