Early in my religious education I was told that the two thieves next to Jesus were tied to the cross, and Jesus, himself, was the only one nailed. I don’t know if this is true or not. If tying was a crucifixion option, how do we know that Jesus was nailed to the cross?
To my knowledge the only Scriptural reference to “nails” was the one where the Apostle Thomas was involved (John 20:24-29). We cannot figure out this unique apostle. When all the others chose to stick together, locked up in a room, Thomas chose to leave. Why did he leave? Where did he go? For a walk? Apparently he wasn’t a conformist or ruled by fear.
“Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But Thomas said to them ‘Unless I see the marks of the nails in is hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.’”
Just at the time Thomas chose to take a walk, Jesus appeared. Why the timing? Surely Jesus could have waited a few hours until the absent apostle returned. Are we surprised that Thomas didn’t believe the other men? They weren’t a credible lot, were they? Frightened people have illusions at times. And this was the same group that refused to believe a most credible witness, Mary Magdalene, when she told them Jesus was risen. I say “hooray for Thomas;” he wasn’t going to be taken in by the imaginings of this group of cowards. He needed proof. He wasn’t going to fall for some kind of “vision;” if he didn’t put his fingers in Jesus’ wounds, he wouldn’t believe.
Thomas’ absence and skepticism opened the door to one of the most moving scenes in the gospels.
“Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.’”
Jesus was real! He was touchable! He wasn’t just a religious “vision” or a figment of the imagination of frightened men. Thomas didn’t have to ask to touch him; Jesus knew what was going on inside him, and took the initiative. We can see Thomas walking humbly and hesitantly forward and touching the wounds of Jesus. Then, I suppose, the others formed a line to do the same. Need there be further proof?
“Thomas answered and said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”
Thomas, overwhelmed by the power of the risen Jesus, accepted Jesus Christ, then and there, not just as teacher or even messiah, but as his “Lord and God.” And if he did’t doubt would we know about the nails?
Had Thomas been present at the first appearance, he wouldn’t have made such an intense act of faith. He may have doubted, later, that this was the real Jesus. Touching Jesus transformed him on the spot. Do you think the other apostles wished they had taken a walk with Thomas and shared in his privilege?
Jesus went on to say “blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” That’s us! We weren’t there to form a line and touch the hands, feet, and side of Jesus. We believe because we have been blessed with the gift of faith. I wonder, though, if Jesus wants us to have a “Thomas experience?” Maybe he wants us to admit healthy doubt now and then, so he can have an opportunity to touch him.
When I think of forming a line to touch the wounds of Jesus, I think of the line of people going to communion. Jesus is doing more than letting us touch him, he is letting us taste him and receive his Body and Blood into our own bodies. Maybe we can pray that we savor the power of this moment and have an experience of Jesus as moving as the one Thomas had. Maybe our dry faith needs to be stirred by a dramatic experience of touching Jesus and being touched by him in return.
Does it strike us strange that we have a God who wants his creatures to touch him? A Father who wants to his children to run up and hug him? Maybe St. Paul had this in mind when he told us “you are…members of the household of God” (see Ephesians 2:19-22).
Jesus longs to be close to us. Do we want to be closed to him? Do we seek to touch him and long to be touched by him?
“For steadfast is his kindness for us, and the fidelity of the Lord endures forever” (Ps 117:2).
