I don’t think that Thomas dared to put his hand inside of Jesus’ chest. I think he knew that to stick his hand inside of Jesus’ chest and to touch the heart of God would have been instant death for him.
Remember that this is John’s Gospel. Whenever we read John’s Gospel we should have the Eucharist in the back of our mind. and remember that the author of Hebrews refers to Jesus’ flesh as “The curtian” of the temple.
Therefore, brothers, since through the blood of Jesus we have confidence of entrance into the sanctuary by the new and living way he opened for us through the veil, that is, his flesh, and since we have “a great priest over the house of God,” let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. (Hebrews 10:19-22)
Only the high priest went behind the curtian, into the Holy of Holies, and even then only once each year. A priest had to be perfectly holy to enter the Holy of Holies. they tied a rope around his leg in case he wasn’t holy enough and was struck dead, so they could pull his body out.
John’s Gospel was written after the other three Gospels and after most of the epistles, and was most probably written much later than the epistle to the Hebrews. Hebrews is a rich theological work and whether it established the idea of the curtain of the temple through which the high priest passed to enter the Holy of Holies as a prefigurement of Christ’s flesh or simply expressed an idea which had already been established, the image would have been prodound for a Jew. To a Jew, worshipping at the temple was the most important thing he would do in his life and the day which the priest went behind the curtain to atone of the sins of the people was the most important day on the calendar. The Day of Atonement was more important than even Passover. Even to this day, Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement is the holiest day of the year for the Jews.
The author of John’s Gospel is not called “John the Theologian” for nothing. Paintings of John often picture him with an eagle, because Eagles fly higher than any other bird and have incredible eyesight. John is telling us something very profound here, and what he is telling us is Eucharistic.
***But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, and gave up his spirit. And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two ***from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split, (Matthew 27:50-51)
Non-Catholics who insist that the tearing of the curtain of the Temple in Matthews Gospel means that we have direct access to God are not wrong, they just don’t understand the Eucharistic nature of the Gospels. We do have direct access to God, but it is not just spiritual access, it is Eucharistic access. We can access God directly through the Eucharist.
Thomas knew it was Jesus and didn’t dare stick his hand into Jesus flesh, behind the curtain, and touch the heart and soul of God. But all the disciples that day and all Catholics throughout Christian history have direct access to God “Behind the curtain” in the Eucharist. When we approch the Eucharist, even though we don’t see the nail marks in Jesus’ hand and even though we cannot place our hand into his side, we can still touch and recieve the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of God. We are the ones whom Jesus called blessed for believing though we don’t see his nail marks. And like Thomas when we step forward to recieve, we should cry out “My Lord and my God!”
To me, the entire passage is Eucharistic. Thomas refused to believe, but when saw that it was Jesus, he immediately realized that Jesus was God. Thomas was a Jew, and Jews understood temple worship. The temple was where God dwelt with men and here was God standing right in front of him. Thomas didn’t dare reach “Behind the curtain” for fear of being struck dead like the high priest.
And that’s why Jesus left us the Eucharist, as a sacrament of the real thing to come, when we die, if we should be lucky enough to get to heaven where we will be able to go behind the curtain for real.
-Tim-
:tsktsk: :dancing: