Jesus, Our Lord and Our God

THOMAS DOUBTED NO MORE.
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Thomas exclaimed, 

"My LORD and my GOD."

- John 20:28

In Psalm 110:1, King David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote,

The Lord said to my Lord, sit on my right until I have made all your enemies your footstool.

The Lord Jesus Christ therefore asked this question: how can the Messiah be the son of David if David himself calls him Lord? [see Matthew 22: 42-46].

About the Lord being the Messiah, we have discussed here. About His being the Son of God we also treated here. As Messiah, He is identified by King David as his Lord. Being God, all the passages pointing to His being the Son of God also help us know and understand His being God for the Jewish themselves - who are supposed to be experts of the Law of Moses especially with regards to giving due respect to the name and being of God - reacted violently when He answered affirmatively when asked during His trial at the Sanhedrin whether He was the Son of God,

Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" Jesus answered, "I AM" [Mark 14: 61-62].

The high priest didn't even mention the word God instead plainly referred to Him as the Blessed One because they so highly respected the word and mentioning it would be tantamount to disrespect and here someone fearlessly claims to be the Son of the Blessed One, of God. And so their reaction was to hand Him down the only punishment due to such blasphemy: death.

The high priest tore his robes and said, "What need of witnesses have we now? You have heard the blasphemy. What is your finding? Their verdict was unanimous: he deserved to die. [Mark 14: 63-64].

Earlier they also wanted to stone Him for making himself equal with God when He said that before Abraham was, I AM [see John 8: 56-59], and when He said that the He and the Father are One [see John 10: 30-33]. The Jews clearly understand and fully respect the words I AM for it is what the Lord our God introduced himself when asked by Moses and by which He was to be known by the Israelites [see Exodus 3:14] for they only know Him to be the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob-Israel [see Exodus 3: 6-16].

So for the Jewish leaders, many Jews, and the first Christian followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, it was clear to them that He is both Lord and God. There is no doubt in this for the Lord himself did not correct them if He wasn't really Lord and God indeed. If He was a mere Servant of God or Prophet, He would have made the proper corrections just like what the Old Testament messengers of God and the New Testament Apostles and disciples do when people acknowledge the wonderful deeds God does through them. Doubting Thomas was not merely carried away by his emotions when he exclaimed, "My Lord and my God!" for it was a true expression of faith and acknowledgment of the true nature of the Lord Jesus Christ, and if He wasn't God, He would surely have corrected him at that very moment. But He did not. 

Remember also when Peter confessed Him to be the Christ-Messiah, Son of the Living God and the Lord even congratulated him for having received that revelation about Him from the Father himself [see Matthew 16: 16-18]. Jesus Christ our Lord himself said that the Father and He are one and that the Father is in Him and He is in the Father [see John 14: 9-13; 20-21; 17:21]. We say that God alone should be worshiped: see Revelation 5 and you'll read that the Lamb is also worshiped together with God and do we not know who is the Lamb?  

Hence the Catechism of the Catholic Church states,

The title "Lord" indicates divine sovereignty. To confess or invoke Jesus as Lord is to believe in his divinity. "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit" [1 Corinthians 12:3]. [CCC 455].

Therefore with sincere hearts and true faith let us join St Thomas in acknowledging that Jesus Christ is indeed our Lord and our God.