Interesting Questions-33
"My Lord and my God"
(John 20:28)
Letter to the Editor:
GOD'S MESSAGE, November 2004, p.4
HOW CAN YOU say that Jesus Christ is not God
when Thomas, an postle of Christ, clearly called Him God. In
John 20:28 we can read, "And Thomas answered and
said to Him, 'My Lord and MY GOD!"" Doesn't the pronoun ''Him" refer
to Christ? Clearly, Thomas
referred to Christ as God because He is God.
Ian Parks
Madison Wisconsin, USA
Editor's reply:
We are not the only ones who say that Jesus Christ
is not God. Christ Himself proved this when He declared that He is
man (Jn. 8:40; 4:24; Lk. 24:39).
But
now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth
which I
heard from God. Abraham did not do this. (John 8:40, NKJV)
God is Spirit,
and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John
4:24, NKJV)
Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see,
for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” (Luke
24:39, NKJV)
Regarding Apostle Thomas' statement in
John 20:28, please refer to the
article on page 31, which discusses in full the context of
such statement and the reason it is not a valid basis to further the
false claim that Christ is God.
___________________
Please read the following verses to get a good idea on what
transpired prior Thomas' statement:
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
10 Then
the followers went back home. 11 But
Mary stood outside the tomb, crying. While she was crying, she bent
down and looked inside the tomb. 12 She
saw two angels dressed in white sitting where Jesus’ body had been.
One was sitting where the head had been; the other was sitting where
the feet had been. 13 The
angels asked Mary, “Woman, why are you crying?”
Mary answered, “They took away
the body of my Lord, and I don’t know where they put him.” 14 When
Mary said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. But
she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 He
asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”
She thought he
was the man in charge of the garden. So she said to him, “Did you
take him away, sir? Tell me where you put him. I will go and get
him.” 16 Jesus
said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and said in Aramaic, “Rabboni,” which
means “Teacher.” 17 Jesus
said to her, “You don’t need to hold on to me! I have not yet gone
back up to the Father. But go to my followers [ and
tell them this: ‘I am going back to my Father and your
Father. I am going back to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary
Magdalene went to the followers and told them, “I saw the Lord!” And
she told them what he had said to her.
Jesus Appears to His Followers
19 The
day was Sunday, and that same evening the followers were together.
They had the doors locked because they were afraid of the Jewish
leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them. He said,
“Peace be with you!” 20 As
soon as he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. When
the followers saw the Lord, they were very happy.
21 Then Jesus said again, “Peace
be with you. It was the Father who sent me, and I am now sending you
in the same way.” 22 Then
he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If
you forgive the sins of anyone, their sins are forgiven. If there is
anyone whose sins you don’t forgive, their sins are not forgiven.”
Jesus Appears to Thomas
24 Thomas
(called Didymus) was one of the twelve, but he was not with the
other followers when Jesus came. 25 They
told him, “We saw the Lord.” Thomas said, “That’s hard to
believe. I will have to see the nail holes in his hands, put my
finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side. Only
then will I believe it.” 26 A
week later the followers were in the house again, and Thomas was
with them. The doors were locked, but Jesus came and stood among
them. He said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then
he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here. Look at my hands. Put your
hand here in my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28 Thomas
said to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “You believe
because you see me. Great blessings belong to the people who believe
without seeing me!” (John 20:10-29, Easy To Read Version)
______________________
The following are excerpt from the article
referred above: How should we understand Thomas statement in John
20:28, GOD'S MESSAGE, November 2004, p.31-33:
A statement of amazement and disbelief:
When Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord
and my God!" was he at this point affirming his faith in the alleged
deity of Jesus or was he in state of unbelief?
Think of the situation before Jesus showed
Himself to them: the doors were shut when Jesus abruptly stood in
their midst and summoned Thomas to come near to Him. What was
Thomas' reaction? A reaction of unbelief and amazement. Is this kind
of reaction something that is strange or unusual? No. The fact is,
Thomas was not the only one caught perplexed but also the rest of
his companions. Luke reported that when Jesus appeared abruptly in
their midst while the disciples were gathered together, they were
terrified and frightened (Lk. 24: 36-37).
36 Now
as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them,
and said to them, “Peace to you.” 37 But
they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a
spirit. (Luke 24:36-37, NKJV)
Even after Jesus showed
His hands and His feet (Lk. 24:40), still they did not believe
because of their joy and amazement (Lk 24:41).
40When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His
feet.
41 But
while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to
them, "Have you any food here?" (Luke 40-41, NKJV)
It was at this time
that Jesus upbraided them (Mk. 16:14).
14 Later
He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked
their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe
those who had seen Him after He had risen. (Mark 16:14, NKJV)
It is not
surprising, therefore, for Thomas to react in such
fashion similar to the other disciples. Being in a state of
wonder and disbelief, he uttered statements that were contrary to
the message taught to them by Jesus through Mary Magdalene. What did
Jesus tell Mary that Thomas and the rest of the disciples should
believe concerning the question of who should be their God? Jesus
taught Mary and the disciples that their God is His God (Jn. 20:17)
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
17 Jesus said to her, “You don’t
need to hold on to me! I have not yet gone back up to the Father.
But go to my followers and
tell them this: ‘I am going back to my Father and your
Father. I am going back to my God and your God.’” 18
Mary Magdalene went to the followers and told them, “I saw the
Lord!” And she told them what he had said to her.
(John 20:17-18, Easy to Read Version, emphasis ours)
It must be remembered that during the preceding
days before His death, Jesus taught His disciples the identity of
the only true God whom they should believe. In His intercessory
prayer to the Father in heaven, He emphasized the absolute oneness
of God by saying, "Father, ... You, the only true God" (Jn.
17:1,3, NKJV).
1 Jesus
spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son
also may glorify You, 3 And
this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17:1,3,
NKJV, emphasis ours)
Obviously, Thomas failed to remember these
words of his Master. What he uttered in John 20:28 should not be
regarded as a statement of faith nor should they be considered as a
strong biblical foundation to assert Christ's alleged deity.
Thomas' statement in John 20:28 should be
rejected as basis in proving the alleged divinity of Christ.
Remember that Thomas was not preaching at that moment. His statement
was against the statement that was written about Christ, uttered by
Peter when he was preaching under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit
(Acts 2:1-4, 22)
22 “Men of Israel,
hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God
to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in
your midst, as you yourselves also know— (Acts 2:22, NKJV, emphasis
ours)
If the proponents of the
Christ-is-God theology were to summon Thomas as a witness
to prove their point, their evidence is weak because the one they
consider as their prime witness was at that time in a state of
doubt.
A mistake rebuked
Others ask "Why did Jesus not rebuke Thomas if
his statement was wrong?" They allege that
Jesus accepted Thomas' statement and even blessed him
afterwards. Is it true that Thomas was not rebuked and was blessed
later? What did Jesus tell him after he proclaimed, "My Lord and my
God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you
have seen me? . . . . . (Jn. 20:29, Revised Standard Version)
Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe." (John 20:29,
RSV)
What do we see at this point?
Jesus was rebuking him, not blessing him. On the other hand, who are
blessed according to Jesus? "..... .. .. Blessed are those who have
not seen and yet believe." (Jn. 20:29, Ibid.)
It is true that many of
Christ's disciples had neither seen Him person-after He had risen
nor had witnessed His resurrection. They had not seen His
resurrected body, yet they believed His body had risen from the
grave. Although many have not seen Jesus walked on earth as a man,
many have accepted His testimony that He is a man telling the truth
which He heard from God (Jn. 8:40). Apostle Peter
testified that He is a man
proven by God through the miracles, wonders, and signs which God did
through Him (Acts 2:22, Today's English Version). Apostle Paul
taught the Christians that the man Jesus Christ is their Mediator to
God (I Tim. 2:5, KJV). His disciples never proclaimed Jesus as God
in their preaching and in their epistles.
Unfortunately, there are still those who insist
on submitting the doubting apostle's statement in John 20:28 as
their alleged evidence in proving their thwarted belief on Christ's
state of being. The reason is simple. In the absence of explicit
biblical evidences that could substantiate their claim, they
have no other recourse but to give much credit to the testimony of a
doubting person. In a way, there are many "doubting Thomases" who, in spite of the
overwhelming biblical evidences that it is not Jesus but the Father
alone who is the only true God (Jn. 17:1, 3; 1 Cor. 8:6; Eph. 4:6)
still contend that Jesus is God, using as basis erroneous
statements such as that which was uttered by the Apostle Thomas in
John 20:28.
However, those who have done a thorough
examination of the biblical narratives cited, after doing an
exhaustive study, would agree to the truth that: Thomas' statement
in John 20:28 is not a confession of faith but a statement made by a
person who was in a state of amazement and disbelief.
_____________________
Bible Study
Suggestion: If you have further questions, please feel free
to visit the
Iglesia ni Cristo congregation nearest you. A minister or
an evangelical worker would be happy to answer any biblical question
you have in mind.