Book Excerpt:
JOHN 20:28- Does this verse support the deity of Christ?
MISINTERPRETATION: When doubting Thomas saw the risen Christ he said, "My Lord and My God!" Jehovah's Witnesses reinterpret this verse in a way to avoid making it appear that Christ is God. They say Thomas may have been expressing surprise at seeing Jesus-something like, "My God!" (Should You Believe in the Trinity? 1989, 29).
CORRECTING THE MISINTERPRETATION: Thomas couldn't have been expressing mere surprise at seeing Jesus. If Thomas said, "My Lord and My God" as a gesture of surprise, Jesus would have rebuked him for taking God's name in vain. Instead of rebuking Thomas, Jesus commended him for recognizing his true identity as "Lord" and "God" (v. 29). The acknowledgement of Jesus as God is consistent with what we're told elsewhere in John's Gospel about Jesus (see John 1:1; 8:58; 10:30). In fact, it is the culmination of the very theme of the Gospel of John (cf. 20:31).
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Courage and Godspeed,
Chad
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