John 20:28 kjv
And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.
John 20:28 nkjv
And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"
John 20:28 niv
Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
John 20:28 esv
Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"
John 20:28 nlt
"My Lord and my God!" Thomas exclaimed.
John 20 28 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Rom 10:9 | "...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord..." | Confession of Jesus as Lord for salvation. |
| Phil 2:9-11 | "...every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." | Universal confession of Jesus's Lordship. |
| 1 Cor 12:3 | "...no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit." | Spirit-inspired confession of Lordship. |
| John 1:1 | "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." | Jesus's pre-existent deity as the Word. |
| John 1:14 | "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us..." | Incarnation of the divine Word. |
| John 5:18 | "...He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God." | Jesus's claim to equality with God. |
| John 8:58 | "Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.'" | Jesus's assertion of eternal existence, echo of Yahweh. |
| John 10:30 | "I and the Father are one." | Jesus's unity and co-equality with the Father. |
| John 14:9 | "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father..." | Jesus as the revelation of God. |
| Matt 1:23 | "Behold, the virgin shall conceive...and they shall call his name Immanuel... 'God with us.'" | Prophetic name for Jesus confirming deity. |
| Isa 9:6 | "For to us a child is born...and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God..." | Prophecy of Messiah as "Mighty God". |
| Heb 1:8 | "But of the Son He says, 'Your throne, O God, is forever and ever...'" | God the Father addresses the Son as "God". |
| Titus 2:13 | "...waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ..." | Jesus as "our great God and Savior." |
| 2 Pet 1:1 | "...righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ." | Another clear New Testament declaration of Jesus as God. |
| Col 2:9 | "For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily..." | Fullness of divine nature residing in Christ. |
| Rom 9:5 | "...and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen." | Christ's supreme divinity affirmed. |
| John 20:29 | "Jesus said to him, 'Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'" | Contrast to Thomas's belief, blessing those who believe without physical sight. |
| 1 Pet 1:8 | "Though you have not seen him, you love him...you believe in him..." | Echoes John 20:29, valuing unseen faith. |
| Rev 1:8 | "'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.'" | Divine titles used by Jesus (and God the Father), affirming His absolute supremacy. |
| Psa 110:1 | "The Lord says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand...'" | Messianic psalm where David's Lord is Yahweh's Lord, hinting at co-equality. |
| Acts 2:36 | "...God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." | God's designation of Jesus as both Lord and Messiah. |
| John 20:31 | "but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." | Purpose of John's Gospel to affirm Jesus's identity, leading to belief. |
John 20 verses
John 20 28 Meaning
John 20:28 records Thomas’s profound declaration of faith, "My Lord and my God!" uttered after he physically encountered the resurrected Jesus. This statement is the strongest, most explicit affirmation of Jesus’s full deity in the entire Gospel of John, serving as a climatic confession. It acknowledges Jesus as both supreme authority (Lord) and fully divine (God), marking the culmination of Thomas's journey from doubt to unwavering belief and offering a cornerstone truth for Christian faith: Jesus is God incarnate.
John 20 28 Context
John 20:28 immediately follows Jesus's post-resurrection appearance to the disciples, including Thomas, who had been absent during Jesus's initial appearance a week prior. Thomas had famously declared, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe" (John 20:25). On this occasion, Jesus directly addresses Thomas's doubt, inviting him to touch His wounds. Thomas's response is not a mere touch but an instantaneous and fervent theological declaration.
The broader context of John Chapter 20 emphasizes the reality and significance of Jesus's resurrection as foundational to faith. The chapter opens with Mary Magdalene discovering the empty tomb, Peter and John investigating, and then Jesus appearing to Mary, the disciples, and finally Thomas. The sequence builds from initial confusion and grief to understanding, faith, and the receiving of the Holy Spirit. Thomas's confession marks the dramatic climax of faith for one of the original disciples and serves as a powerful testament meant for all future believers who will not physically see the resurrected Christ (John 20:29). Historically, this context also highlights the early church's nascent understanding and struggle with articulating the full nature of Christ in a monotheistic Jewish framework, presenting Jesus not just as Messiah but as divine, a radical truth for the original audience.
John 20 28 Word analysis
- Thomas (Θωμᾶς, Thōmas): Derived from an Aramaic word meaning "twin." He is also called Didymus (Greek for twin). His identity as the "doubting Thomas" ironically culminates in the clearest confession of Jesus's deity.
- answered and said: Signifies an immediate, direct, and decisive response, not merely a whispered thought, but a public proclamation.
- My Lord (ὁ Κύριός μου, ho Kyrios mou):
- ὁ (ho): The definite article "the," emphasizing the unique identity.
- Κύριός (Kyrios): A Greek term meaning "Lord," "master," or "owner." In the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament), it is predominantly used to translate the divine name YHWH (Yahweh). Thus, applying Kyrios to Jesus implicitly attributes divine authority and sovereignty to Him, echoing the absolute rule of God.
- μου (mou): "My" (genitive case). Indicates a personal, possessive relationship and submission. It is not just "the Lord," but "my Lord," signifying personal ownership and devotion.
- and (καὶ, kai): A simple conjunction connecting "My Lord" and "my God," presenting them as conjoined aspects of Jesus's being. The absence of a separate verb ("you are") suggests a direct, exclamatory recognition of Jesus's inherent nature.
- my God (ὁ Θεός μου, ho Theos mou):
- ὁ (ho): Again, the definite article "the," further stressing specific identification.
- Θεός (Theos): The common Greek word for "God." When used here with a definite article in conjunction with Kyrios and addressing Jesus, it explicitly and unequivocally declares Jesus to be divine, possessing the nature and attributes of God Himself. This is the clearest and most direct attribution of deity to Jesus by any individual in the Gospels.
- μου (mou): "My." Re-emphasizes the personal nature of Thomas's confession, signifying not just a theological fact but a personal, worshipful relationship with Jesus as his own God.
Words-group analysis:
- "My Lord and my God": This powerful compound declaration serves as the climax of Thomas’s journey from doubt to faith. It affirms two essential truths about Jesus simultaneously: His absolute authority (Lord) and His divine nature (God). The double use of "my" indicates a deeply personal conviction and a complete submission of himself to Jesus. Grammatically, this phrase is a nominative expression used as a predicate complement to an unstated "You are," highlighting the direct and spontaneous recognition of Jesus's identity. This statement combats any early heretical notions that denied Jesus's full divinity or his personal sovereignty over believers. It represents a watershed moment where a disciple of Jesus articulates the full identity of Christ in clear and unequivocal terms, setting the standard for Christian understanding of the nature of Christ.
John 20 28 Bonus section
The context surrounding John 20:28 (the account of "Doubting Thomas") functions polemically against any tendency to diminish the resurrection's physical reality or the full deity of Christ. By allowing Thomas to physically verify His wounds, Jesus addresses concerns about His real, bodily resurrection. Thomas's immediate worshipful response then establishes that this resurrected being is not merely a ghost or a human who survived, but indeed "My Lord and my God," thereby directly challenging views that would propose a lesser divine status for Jesus. John’s deliberate placement of this climactic confession just before his purpose statement (John 20:30-31) shows that Thomas's belief, though attained through sight, serves as the ultimate proof point to persuade readers to believe without seeing, emphasizing the reality of Jesus as fully God. This verse encapsulates the entire Christological argument of John’s Gospel, moving from Jesus being "the Word was God" (John 1:1) to Thomas’s declaration that Jesus is God.
John 20 28 Commentary
Thomas's confession, "My Lord and my God!" in John 20:28 is a monumental statement within the New Testament, representing the theological zenith of the Fourth Gospel’s Christology. Coming from "doubting Thomas," this declaration underscores the profound, transforming power of encountering the resurrected Christ. It explicitly asserts Jesus’s co-equality with the Father and His complete divinity, an understanding crucial for the nascent Christian movement. This declaration transcends mere human recognition, conveying worship and ultimate surrender. It's a foundational statement upon which all subsequent Christological doctrines are built, demonstrating that the historical person of Jesus is indeed the Lord of creation and God incarnate, worthy of adoration and trust.
Practical Usage:
- This verse reassures believers that even profound doubt can lead to a stronger, clearer faith in Jesus.
- It anchors the Christian understanding of Jesus's deity, encouraging worship and adoration.
- It reminds us that genuine encounter with Christ often leads to profound confession.