Did Thomas address Jesus as God in John 20:28?
Thomas replied, “My Lord and my God!”
Let’s read the verse in context.
24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed;blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
For many who hold the Trinity Doctrine, John 20:28 is clear cut. Jesus is called God by Thomas and Jesus didn’t rebuke or correct him. This verse is one of the most used proof verses for the Trinity, so is the smoking gun verse for the Trinity?
The words that Thomas’ spoke to Jesus literally mean ‘the Lord of me and the God of me’. This is simply an address to two identities. If Thomas wanted to say that Jesus was Lord and God too, he would have said: ‘the Lord and God of me’. It seems easy to accept that when addressing Jesus Christ, that you could address God too. Certainly when we give thanks we often thank Jesus and God and we are encouraged to do so in scripture too.
Ephesians 5:20
always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now read up on the Granville Sharp’s rule and then read Thomas words again and you will see that both nouns, (1) Lord, and (2) God, are each preceded with the definite article (‘the’). Both nouns, (1) and (2) are qualified by the words ‘of me’. Thomas could have said, “the Lord and God of me.” if he wanted to convey that Jesus was both.
The pattern we see in scripture is that there is God and his son. Paul carefully distinguishes them throughout his letters and speaks about both in the same sentence or verse. For example:
- Timothy 5:21 says: “I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels”.
- Ephesians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
- Colossians 1:3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
But it is not just Paul who makes this distinction clear.
- 1 Peter 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
- John 20:17 Jesus said, Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, `I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.
Now when we read the words of Thomas, it is easy to see that they merely follow the same distinction. But let’s for a minute ignore all this and assume that he did call Jesus both. The first thing to consider would be that he could actually be wrong. Secondly, it still doesn’t teach the Trinity as the so-called third member doesn’t get a mention. However, I am sure if you are reasonable and study these words in the Greek, you will see that the above is correct.
Granville Sharp’s Rule
When the copulative KAI connects two nouns of the same case, if the article HO or any of its cases precedes the first of the said nouns or participles, and is not repeated before the second noun or participle, the latter always relates to the same person that is expressed or described by the first noun or participle; i.e., it denotes a further description of the first-named person.‘” (A Manual Of The Greek New Testament, Dana & Mantey, p. 147)
“Basically, Granville Sharp’s rule states that when you have two nouns, which are not proper names (such as Cephas, or Paul, or Timothy), which are describing a person, and the two nouns are connected by the word ‘and,’ and the first noun has the article (‘the’) while the second does not, both nouns are referring to the same person.” – James White.
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