Question
Gramps,
I have been a member all my life and I had someone ask me a question and I was stumped. I have asked Institute teachers and others this question but no one can answer me. Many religions, including LDS say that Christ was nailed to the cross. I cannot find scriptural reference to the term nailed. I know it says he was hung on the cross but not nailed to the cross. My question is: How do I explain this to an investigator? Where do I show him scriptural reference?
Rod
Answer
Dear Rod,
So certain were the apostles that Christ was crucified that they questioned reports of His appearance. Thomas captures their incredulity when “he said unto them [the other apostles], Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25). Thomas knew the events surrounding the Lord’s death, and knew that it included both a piercing of His hands (by nails) and a piercing of his side (by a spear). The resurrected Lord then confirms for later generations the reality of His death and bodily renewal by showing Himself to Thomas! “Then said he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side” (John 20:27). The Lord wasn’t showcasing rug burns on His wrist.
Latter-day Saints have additional testimonies that the Messiah’s piercing included His hands. When Christ appeared in the Americas, He made each saint a witness of His manner of death. He called each one forward, one by one, “that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet” (3 Nephi 11:14). And we have the testimony of the Lord Himself in modern days that His Atonement is efficacious and redeeming still. “Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven” (D&C 6:37).
Gramps
