ACC ~ John 20 v28

THE CRUCIFIED WAS GOD

ATHANASIUS: Let them therefore confess, even they who previously denied that the crucified was God, that they have erred. For the divine Scriptures bid them, and especially Thomas, who, after seeing upon him the print of the nails, cried out, “My Lord and my God.” LETTER 59.10, TO EPICTETUS. [1]

[1] NPNF 2 4:574*.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

AMBROSE: You have read that the Father is both Lord and God: “O Lord my God, I will call on you, hear me.” [1] You find the Son to be both Lord and God, as you have read in the Gospel, that, when Thomas had touched the side of Christ, he said, “My Lord and my God.” So just as the Father is God and the Son Lord, so too the Son is God and the Father Lord. The holy designation changes from one to the other. The divine nature does not change, but the dignity remains unchangeable. For they are not [as it were] contributions gathered from bounty but free-will gifts of natural love. For unity has its special property, and the special properties are bound together in unity. ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 3.15.108. [2]

[1] Ps 30:2 (29:3 LXX).

[2] NPNF 2 10:150*.

THOMAS TOUCHES GOD

JOHN CASSIAN: Thomas, when he touched the flesh, believed that he had touched God, saying, “My Lord and my God.” For they all confessed but one Christ, so as not to make him two. Do you therefore believe him? And do you believe in such a way that Jesus Christ the Lord of all, both Only Begotten and firstborn, is both creator of all things and preserver of humanity and that the same person is first the framer of the whole world and afterward redeemer of humankind? ON THE INCARNATION OF THE LORD AGAINST NESTORIUS 6.19. [1]

[1] NPNF 2 11:601*.

TOUCHING THE FLESH, HE INVOKES THE WORD

AUGUSTINE: But when Jesus showed Thomas the very places where he had his doubts, Thomas exclaimed, “My Lord and my God.” He touched his flesh, he proclaimed his divinity. What did he touch? The body of Christ. Was the body of Christ the divinity of Christ? The divinity of Christ was the Word; the humanity of Christ was soul and flesh. Thomas could not touch the soul, but he could perceive it, because the body that had been dead was moving about alive. But that Word is subject neither to change nor to contact, it neither regresses nor progresses, neither fails nor flourishes, because in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” That is what Thomas proclaimed. He touched the flesh, he invoked the Word, because “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” [1] SERMON 145A. [2]

[1] Jn 1:1, 14.

[2] WSA 3 4:443*.

THOMAS PRAISES GOD FOR THE MIRACLE

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: And [Thomas] touched him carefully, and when he discovered the truth, confessed his fault by saying, “My Lord and my God!” What does this mean? While Thomas did not believe before that the Savior had resurrected from the dead, now he calls him Lord and God? This is not likely. Thomas, the doubtful disciple, does not call Lord and God the one whom he touched—in fact, the knowledge of the resurrection did not teach him that the resurrected one was God. Rather, he praised God for the accomplished miracle, being astonished for the miracles that he saw. COMMENTARY ON JOHN 7.20.27-29. [1]

[1] CSCO 4 3:358.