The cry of faith and joy.
If St. John begins his Gospel with a clear and full declaration of our Lord's Deity, he here towards its close gives his readers to understand that his conviction was shared by others who, like himself, had the advantage of prolonged and continuous fellowship with Jesus.
I. THE WITNESS OF THIS CRY TO THE NATURE AND AUTHORITY OF CHRIST.
1. This witness is all the more important, because
2. This witness was full and explicit. When Thomas cried, "My Lord and my God!" the two appellations were unquestionably addressed to one and the same Person, who stood before him. The language constitutes a confession of our Lord's Divinity. This must be acknowledged, even by those who regard the nature of the union of the human and Divine in Christ as matter of speculation, because unrevealed.
3. This witness was accepted by the Savior, who would certainly have rejected it had it been the utterance of mistaken enthusiasm. Jesus, however, in reply to Thomas, said, "Thou hast believed," meaning by this language, "believed the truth concerning me."
II. THE WITNESS OF THIS CRY TO THE APPROPRIATING POWER OF FAITH.
1. When we cry, "My Lord and my God!" we imply that, to our apprehension, Christ has not only given himself for us, but has given himself to us. He could not otherwise be ours. The only claim we can have upon him is founded upon his own generosity and sacrifice.
2. If we have property in Christ, it follows that we feel towards him a spiritual and affectionate attachment.
"Jesus, thou art my Lord and God,
I joy to call thee mine;
For on thy head, though pierced with thorns,
I see a crown Divine!"
3. The appropriation by the soul of Christ himself is the appropriation of him in all his offices. In approaching the Savior, the soul addresses him thus: "My Prophet! my Priest! my King!"
4. When this exclamation is sincere, it is a confession that Christ is an all-sufficient and an everlasting Portion. "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee!"—T.