Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
John 20:28
Thayer’s Greek Lexicon notes approximately 9 verses where Jesus is directly called “God” in the scriptures. It is very noteworthy that of all of these verses, each of them contain a textual variant, a grammatical/translation difficulty, or a combination of both. The only exception is this verse in John 20:28. There are no (significant) textual variants, and the text is relatively simple and straightforward. The context of this passage is post resurrection. Jesus has been dead and buried for 3 days, he is raised to life and begins appearing to his followers. Famously called “doubting Thomas” because of this passage, Thomas declares that he will not believe Jesus has been raised from the dead until he touches the wounds of his crucfied body to verify that he truly has been raised to life. The apostles are in a shut room when Jesus appears to them. He encourages Thomas to touch the holes in his body from his crucifixion, and then we arrive at this verse. “Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”
There are 3 ways in which we can interpret this passage:
1. Thomas is calling Jesus his “Lord” and “God.”
2. Thomas is calling Jesus his “Lord” and “god.”
3. Thomas is referring to more than one person as “Lord” and “God.”
Trinitarians defend the first reading, some Unitarians defend the second reading. Their argument is that Thomas is replying “to Jesus” in stating both of these claims. Thomas is referring to Jesus as both Lord and God. Because Thomas is replying “to him” then no other persons can be in view. Both titles must apply to Jesus. Further, Thomas is not recorded as saying something to Jesus, and then looking to heaven to remark to the Father. Thomas makes both claims to Jesus, and so both “Lord” and “God/god” are predicated of Jesus.
An isolated reading of this verse alone can be hard to determine what is meant. The argument for Jesus being called “god” in a lesser sense here seems very weak. The definite article ὁ is used before the word Θεός, indicating a definite use of the term. “The God” is often translated as capital G “God” in English. It is not anarthrous in this case (compare to John 10:33). Reading 2 seems to be implausible.
The Granville Sharp Rule (or as I call it, the Granville Wallace Rule where I explain this in minor detail and leave much source info) states that we know one person is being given both titles when a certain construction is used. The definite article, followed by a common noun, the conjuction “and” (kai), followed by another common noun of the same form without the definite article. Here in this passage, we do not see this construction here. Instead we find: ὁ Κύριός μου καὶ ὁ Θεός μου. “The Lord (of) me and the God (of) me.” We find the definite article repeated before each noun. This could indicate that two speakers are in view, not just one. However, this is not a hard and fast rule (neither is the Granville Sharp “rule”). This may or may not actually indicate if one or two speakers are in view. In other words, the grammar here is of no help one way or the other in determining whether reading 1 or 3 are preferred. We have to look at greater context.
John’s gospel is one fluid document not meant to be broken into pieces. His writing style is very complex and multilayered and he has very consistent themes running throughout (see this post for an example of John’s new creation theme, and see this post for an example of the misunderstanding question theme). One of John’s themes is that of “sight.” He speaks often of seeing things, whether literally or spiritually (and sometimes both). Many scholars have noticed John’s “duality” where he contrasts light and dark very often both in his gospel and epistles. However, I think this is part of a greater theme, that of spiritual sight.
John 1:18: No one has ever seen God…
John 1:38-39: They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”
John 1:51: I say to you you will see the heavens opened…
John 3:3: No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.
John 4:48: “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”
John 5:19: The Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing,
John 8:56: Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.
John 9:2-3, 10, 15: His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him…” “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked…. Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”
John 14:7: If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.
John 14:17: The Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you…
John 14:19-20: The world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
John 16:16: In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.
This is merely a small sample of the “insight” we can gleam from John’s usage of the concept of sight, blindness, and spiritual perception. This is all important to our main passage of John 20:28, because of what Jesus says in John 20:29. Compare the conversation Jesus previously had on his last night with his disciples before his trial, in a conversation with both Thomas and Philip.
John 14:4-11: You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is **the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. **Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.”
John 20:28-29: Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
The simple question we must ask ourselves is: “when Thomas saw Jesus, who was he seeing?” Or, “when Thomas saw the works Jesus performed, what was this evidence of?” Jesus himself tells us the answer is the Father. When Thomas looks at Jesus, he sees the Father. Not because Jesus is the Father, but because the Father is in him doing his works. When Thomas sees Jesus raised from the dead, whose work did Thomas see? The Father. When Thomas saw the miracle of the resurrection of a crucified man in front of him, who was he seeing in this man? The Father. Did Thomas see the Father when he saw Jesus? Jesus himself says, yes.
John 20:17: Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
Just a few verses prior to this account of Jesus appearing to Thomas, Jesus says “I have not yet ascended to the God of me and the God of you” who he described as “the Father of me and the Father of you.” Who was the God of Thomas? The Father. When Thomas speaks of “my Lord,” he refers to Jesus. When he speaks of “my God,” he refers to the Father. Thomas finally believes. Do you? Do you realize that when you read about Jesus in this Bible, you are seeing the Father at work in him. Thomas needs not look into heaven to see the Father. He needs not to speak to someone else. His reply “to Jesus” is to the Father as well, because it is the Father that it is in Jesus.
Our God is in Jesus, reconciling the world to himself (2 Cor. 5:19). Thomas saw God in Christ. Have you failed to see? Have you seen Jesus as God? Do you argue that Jesus raised himself from the dead because he is God? Are you blind to the fact that you are seeing God raise him up? Are you deaf to the fact that Jesus speaks God’s words? “I will raise this temple up.” Who spoke these words? Who did you see in Christ raising up the temple of his body? Are you the one Jesus speaks of in John 20:29 when he says “blessed are they who have not seen and yet believed?” Or do you not see at all? Are you the blind man who was cured? Or the Pharisees who could not see what was before their eyes (John 12:40)? It is very important that we see what Thomas saw, and that is the Father in Christ doing his own works. If you fail to see this, then how can you see the Father in you doing his works in you? May your eyes be opened.