John 20:28 "My
Lord and my God"
Problem:
Since Jesus is addressed by
Thomas as "My Lord and My God", this passage is considered by trinitarians to
prove the "deity of Christ" - that he is "God the Son."
Solution:
1.Thomas' confession is an acknowledgment that Jesus had indeed risen from the
dead, but it is not a declaration that Jesus is "God the Son". Thomas, a Jew,
used a mode of expression common to the Old Testament in which accredited
representatives of God are referred to as "God". Angels are called "God" in the
following passages: Gen. 16:7 cf. vs. 13; 22:8, 11, 15 cf. vs. 16; Exod. 23:20,
21. Moses is referred to as a "god" to Pharaoh. (Exod. 7:1, "god" is translated
from the Heb. "elohim"). "Elohim" translated "God" can refer to the judges of
Israel as in Psa. 82:1, 6 cf. John 10:34. It is also translated "judges" in
Exod. 21:6; 22:8, 9 and "gods" (mg. "judges") in Exod. 22:28.
2.Earlier in this chapter, Jesus told Mary, "I ascend unto my Father, and your
Father; and to my God and your God." (vs. 17). Since Jesus was to ascend to his
God, then clearly he was not himself "Very God".
Ron Abel
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