St Nicholas, Hatherop

The encounter between Thomas and Jesus is maybe one of the most well-known moments in the accounts of the Resurrection appearances and Caravaggio’s portrayal of the scene amongst his most well-known paintings. However, I believe that the gospel account of St John gives us a more accurate explanation and understanding of what happened than Caravaggio.

The gruesome detail of Cavaggio’s painting shows Thomas prizing open the wound in the side of Jesus as if he needed physical contact with his body to reassure him that this was the living Jesus. John’s account tells us that it was not the touching of the wound that convinced Thomas but the seeing of the wounds.

The first sight of those wounds would have been deeply shameful for Thomas as it was for all of the disciples. It would have been a bit like the encounter between Macbeth and the ghost of Banquo. The guilt and pain of Jesus’ betrayal would have been too much for Thomas to bear. The disciples were desperate men and women after the crucifixion. Hiding away for fear of the mob and the religious police.

They were also disillusioned men and women. Yes, Jesus to them seemed like a fraud. He had promised so much and achieved so little. To Thomas maybe these stories of a risen Jesus seemed just a little too much like wish fulfillment.

The death of Jesus has made the teaching of Jesus seem like empty rhetoric. The new life he had talked about was not stronger than death and now the disciples had to face up to their meaningless existence. They were all doubters and the last person they expected to meet was Jesus.

Thomas the Doubter.

It wasn’t because the disciples didn’t believe, it was because they didn’t dare to believe. They had tried it all before and failed. Why should they now believe the words of these women? They were all doubters but Thomas was given that name because he wanted explanations.

He wanted to believe, he wished it were true but how can you start again when everything you trusted has collapsed around you?

Fresh Eyes. I believe he needs to see Jesus with fresh eyes. Despite his own sense of failure, his disillusionment, and his feelings of guilt, for Thomas as for the other disciples it was not so much as the sight of the risen Jesus that convinced them but of the wounded hands and side of the risen Jesus.

The wounds of Jesus

When Jesus first appeared to the disciples we read he showed them his hands and side and when he met with Thomas he said:

“Put your fingers here, see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe” John 20:27

But Thomas didn’t need to touch those wounds because it was the sight of wounds that transformed the doubting Thomas and inspired him to say:

“ My Lord and my God” John 20: 28

Martin Luther once said, “If you want to understand Christianity you must start with the wounds of Christ.”

Acceptanc e

What was it that these wounds said? A few days before they said death and defeat. They were evidence of man’s evil and death’s power, but now as Thomas looked at those same wounds they said something quite different.

When Jesus showed Thomas his hands and his side he did not say “Look what you have done”. No, instead he greeted Thomas with the words “Peace be with you” John 20: 26

Because the wounds of Christ which were, and are the signs of our sin, are also the signs of God’s wonderful love for us. His acceptance of us.

Authority

When Thomas saw the print of the nails in his hands and the gash that the spear had made in his side, he knew that the marks of defeat were in fact the signs of victory. Proof that God had conquered sins and death and established His kingdom of Peace.

Authenticity

As Thomas had seen the nails driven into the hands of Jesus he had been tempted to reject all that Jesus had ever said, but now he saw those wounds in a fresh light and he realised that they did not disprove all that Jesus had said but authenticated it.

He had asked for proof and now he had it. He had it not because he saw, or touched, the risen Christ but because he realised that the risen Christ was the crucified Christ and that the crucified Christ had made possible all that Jesus had spoken of and promised.

‘So that you might believe’.

And so, John writes to those of us who do not see the risen Jesus, so that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, (Not seeing) may have life in His name.

Thomas was not the first doubter nor the last. Each day our own failures condemn us. Each day our hopes, and our faith fades and we are tempted to doubt. Each day we feel betrayed, let down by God, and tempted to doubt His word.

When we do, we need to focus on the wounds of Christ.

It is there that in our despair we find acceptance.

It is there that in our disillusionment we will be reminded of God’s authority.

It is there that our doubts will turn to faith as we discover that Jesus will never fail us or forsake us.

Rev Simon Brignall

St Nicholas, Hatherop

Thomas the Doubter. John 20:19 – 3

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