The Apostle Thomas Called Jesus God

Formal Equivalence (Word-For-Word)

  • Received Text (Textus Receptus)

    27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. — John 20:27-29 KJV (48.83% / 66.58%)

    27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” 28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, [a]“Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” — John 20:27-29 NKJV (60.32% / 65.21%)

  • Majority Text

    27 Then he said to Thomas, “Reach here your finger, and see my hands. Reach here your hand, and put it into my side. Don’t be unbelieving, but believing.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen me,[a] you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, and have believed.” — John 20:27-29 WEB (World English Bible)

  • Critical Text

    Then He said to Thomas, “Bring your finger here, and see My hands; and bring your hand here and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” 28 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are those who did not see, and yet believed.” — John 20:27-29 LSB (NASB ‘95 61.65% / 67.99%)

    27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” — John 20:27-29 ESV (62.36% / 68.74%)

Dynamic Equivalence (Thought-For-Thought)

  • Critical Text

    Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” 28 “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. 29 Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” — John 20:27-29 NLT (70.08% / 39.90%)

    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.” — John 20:27-29 NIV (67.20% / 53.10%)

    Then he said to Thomas, “Put[a] your finger here, and examine[b] my hands. Extend[c] your hand and put it[d] into my side. Do not continue in your unbelief, but believe.”[e] 28 Thomas replied to him,[f] “My Lord and my God!”[g] 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are the people[h] who have not seen and yet have believed.”[i] — John 20:27-29 NET (66.28% / 53.94%)

  • NET Bible Translator Notes

    g. John 20:28 NET sn Should Thomas’ exclamation be understood as two subjects with the rest of the sentence omitted (“My Lord and my God has truly risen from the dead”), as predicate nominatives (“You are my Lord and my God”), or as vocatives (“My Lord and my God!”)? Probably the most likely is something between the second and third alternatives. It seems that the second is slightly more likely here, because the context appears confessional. Thomas’ statement, while it may have been an exclamation, does in fact confess the faith which he had previously lacked, and Jesus responds to Thomas’ statement in the following verse as if it were a confession. With the proclamation by Thomas here, it is difficult to see how any more profound analysis of Jesus’ person could be given. It echoes 1:1 and 1:14 together: The Word was God, and the Word became flesh (Jesus of Nazareth). The Fourth Gospel opened with many other titles for Jesus: the Lamb of God (1:29, 36); the Son of God (1:34, 49); Rabbi (1:38); Messiah (1:41); the King of Israel (1:49); the Son of Man (1:51). Now the climax is reached with the proclamation by Thomas, “My Lord and my God,” and the reader has come full circle from 1:1, where the author had introduced him to who Jesus was, to 20:28, where the last of the disciples has come to the full realization of who Jesus was. What Jesus had predicted in John 8:28 had come to pass: “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he” (Grk “I am”). By being lifted up in crucifixion (which led in turn to his death, resurrection, and exaltation with the Father) Jesus has revealed his true identity as both Lord (κύριος [kurios], used by the LXX to translate Yahweh) and God (θεός [theos], used by the LXX to translate Elohim).

Messianic Bible translations

  • Critical Text

    Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe!” 28 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Yeshua said to Him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed? Blessed are the ones who have not seen and yet have believed!” — John 20:27-29 TLV (Tree of Life Version, Formal Equivalent)

    Then he said to T’oma, “Put your finger here, look at my hands, take your hand and put it into my side. Don’t be lacking in trust, but have trust!” 28 T’oma answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Yeshua said to him, “Have you trusted because you have seen me? How blessed are those who do not see, but trust anyway!” — John 20:27-29 CJB (Complete Jewish Bible, Dynamic Equivalent)

Highly Idiomatic Translation / Paraphrase

  • Critical Text

    Then he focused his attention on Thomas. “Take your finger and examine my hands. Take your hand and stick it in my side. Don’t be unbelieving. Believe.” 28 Thomas said, “My Master! My God!” 29 Jesus said, “So, you believe because you’ve seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing.” — John 20:27-29 MSG (The Message)

Conclusion

In Jn 20:28, John refers to Jesus in Greek as “Ho kyrios moy kai ho theos moy”. This translates literally as “the Lord of me and THE God of me”. Why does Jesus, in Jn 20:29, affirm Thomas for having come to this realization? If Jesus really wasn’t the Lord and THE God of Thomas, why didn’t Jesus correct him for making either a false assumption or a blasphemous statement? The answer is Obvious, because Jesus is God!