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JESUS WAS LORD AND GOD
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
John 20:28 Thomas answeredand said unto him, My
Lord and my God.
GreatTexts of the Bible
My Lord and My God
It was a strange confessionthis, to be addressedby a pious Jew, who knew the
meaning of his faith, to the man Christ Jesus, with whom as man he had
companied, with whom he had eatenand drunk, whom he had heard speak in
human words through human lips. The Jew believed in a God who had
createdmen, who workedthrough them and ruled them, who was conversant
with all their ways, who spoke to them and had spokenthrough them. But it
was a God who was more immeasurably distant than imagination could
bridge, whose ways were higher than men’s ways, and His thoughts than
men’s thoughts, as high as the heaven is from the earth. He had spoken
through men, but it is in that very consciousnessofthe prophets that the
distance betweenGod and man becomes mostsignificant. It emphasizes just
where man is highest; for in proportion to man’s goodnessdoes he become
conscious ofhis own sinfulness in the presence of the high and holy God.
“Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell
in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seenthe King, the
Lord of hosts”—thathad been the cry of Isaiah. “Ah, Lord God! behold I
cannot speak:for I am a child”—that had been the confessionof Jeremiah’s
weakness.There was not one of these holy men of God who, if we had
proposedto offer him the sort of reverence that is due to God, would have
hesitatedfor a moment to rebuke it in the language ofSt. Peter, “Stand up;
for I myself also am a man.” The last of the prophets, he who is calledgreater
than the prophets, is conspicuous forthis self-effacementin the presence of
God, though in his case he took off the glory of his prophetic crownto castit
at the feetof Christ. Truly a strange confessionthis, to see one who knew the
meaning of his belief in the one and only unapproachable God, and hear him
speak to One who was truly Son of Man, truly Jesus ofNazareth, in the words
“My Lord and my God.”
1. The text forms the climax of the Fourth Gospel. It is St John’s answerto the
question, “Who then is this?” That question was askedby the people when
Christ stayedthe storm on the Sea of Galilee. Theywere astonishedwithout
measure, we are told, and said one to another, “Who then is this, that even the
wind and the sea obey him?”
Four answers have been given to that question.
(1) First there is the answerwhich the people themselves gave. “Is not this the
carpenter’s son?” they said. He was one of themselves. He had been born in
Bethlehem; He had followedHis father’s trade; He had lived amongstthem,
and they believed that they knew Him. They knew Him and all His kindred:
“Is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, andJoses, and
Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us?” He simply made
an addition of one to the population of the town of Nazareth.
And this answeris given still. In our day there is scarcelya more popular
answerthan this. Jesus is a man; He makes an addition of one to the
population of the world. He is a man, it is added, of supreme ability,
originality, and earnestness. He is a man of most exceptionalgoodness. Those
who make this answerhave a little difficulty in agreeing as to just how good
He was. Some go so far as to saythat He seems to have been sinless, or at any
rate that nothing sinful is reported of Him. But most will not go so far as that.
They cannot believe that any man whose father and mother we know could be
sinless.
In the shop of Nazareth
Pungent cedarhaunts the breath.
’Tis a low Easternroom,
Windowless, touchedwith gloom.
Workman’s bench and simple tools
Line the walls. Chests and stools,
Yoke of ox, and shaft of plow,
Finished by the Carpenter,
Lie about the pavement now.
In the room the Craftsmanstands,
Stands and reaches out His hands.
Let the shadows veil His face
If you must, and dimly trace
His workman’s tunic, girt with bands
At His waist. But His hands—
Let the light play on them;
Marks of toil lay on them.
Paint with passionand with care
Every old scarshowing there
Where a toolslipped and hurt;
Show eachcallous;be alert
For eachdeep line of toil.
Show the soil
Of the pitch; and the strength
Grip of helve gives at length.
When night comes, andI turn
From my shop where I earn
Daily bread, let me see
Those hard hands—know that He
Shared my lot, every bit;
Was a man, every whit.
Could I fear such a hand
Stretchedtoward me? Misunderstand
Or mistrust? Doubt that He
Meets me in full sympathy?
“Carpenter!hard like Thine
Is this hand—this of mine:
I reachout, gripping Thee,
Son of man, close to me,
Close and fast, fearlessly.”
(2) The secondansweris made by God. “This is my beloved Son.” The people
of Nazareth claimedHim as theirs. He is one of us, they said. God’s answeris,
He is not yours, He is Mine. The time may come when He will be yours also;
He is not yours yet. He will be yours when you know that He is not simply an
addition of one to the population of Nazareth;He will be yours when you
know that He is not merely a man, but the Son of man. Meanwhile He is
Mine; He is the Sonof God. This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased.
This answeris not so popular in our day. It is not so comprehensive;it is said
to be not so comforting. The greatmerit, we are told, of regarding Jesus as
simply one of us is that we can then be sure of His sympathy. But is it enough
to be sure of His sympathy? Must we not also be sure of His power? It is one
thing to know that He is willing; is He also able to help us in every time of
need? He who is the beloved Son of God has all the sympathy for us that the
kindest-heartedman could have; and, much more than that, He is able to
succourthem that are tempted.
When our Lord Jesus Christ became Man, He identified Himself with
humanity, in all its weakness,in all its sorrow, and (in a figure) in all its sin.
An unflagging outpouring of sympathy, an untiring energy of benevolence, a
continuous oblation of self-sacrifice—thatwas the life of the Son of Man upon
earth. Many a man has borne his poverty more bravely because Jesus Himself
was poor; againand againit has helped men in the furnace of temptation to
think that
He knows what sore temptations mean,
For He has felt the same.
And the mourner in dark and lonely hours has found comfortin the
remembrance that Jesus wept at a human grave, and knows all the bitter
longings of his soul.1 [Note:S. C. Lowry, Lent Sermons on the Passion, 55.]
His question still, to every sufferer who needs relief, to every sinner who needs
pardon, is, “Believestthou that I am able to do this?” And the reply still is,
“Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”
(3) The third answeris againthe answerof the people—“This is indeed the
Saviour of the world.” It was the answergiven by those Samaritans who had
discoveredfor themselves that Jesus couldboth sympathize and deliver. It
was the answerof those who had had personalexperience of His saving grace
and power. “Now we believe,” they said to the woman of Samaria, “not
because ofthy speaking:for we have heard for ourselves, and know that this
is indeed the Saviour of the world.” They had taken the answerof the
inhabitants of Nazareth and the answerof God the Father and had put them
together. He was both the carpenterand God’s Son.
And this is the final answer. There is no possibility of going beyond it. The
answerof the inhabitants of Nazarethis shortsightedand very partial. God’s
answeris partial also, since it has to wait our response before it can be made
complete. But it is not short-sighted. It has within it the promise, as it has the
potency, of the salvation of the world. It is God’s own expressionof the
momentous fact of history: “Godso loved the world that he gave his only
begottenSon.” It only waits for that factto have its fulfilment—“that
whosoeverbelievethon him may not perish but have everlasting life.” The
answerof the people of Samaria is complete and it is final. All that has yet to
be done is to have its contents declaredand appropriated. What does Saviour
involve? And how is the Saviour of the world to be recognisedas mine?
(4) Thomas declared its contents. The Saviour of the world is both Lord and
God. He is Lord, for He is a man. The inhabitants of Nazarethknew that. He
is also the supreme man. They did not know that; and when He claimed it
they took Him to the brow of their hill to castHim down headlong. Thomas
had discoveredthat Jesus is Sonof man, the representative Man, the Man to
whom every man owes obedience. But He is also God. The people of Nazareth
did not know that He was God: but God the Fatherknew—“This is my
beloved Son.” That also was containedin the title which the Samaritans gave
Him—“the Saviour of the world”—thoughthey did not bring it out, and
probably were not aware of it. Thomas brought it out, knowing as he did that
no man, if he is only man, can save his brother or give to God a ransom for
him.
But Thomas not only declaredthe contents of the Samaritans’confession, he
appropriated them. He said, “My Lord and my God”;from which we see that
he was led along a path of his own, through his own personalexperience, to
this appropriation.
2. Now this is the confessionto which the Fourth Gospelhas been leading up.
St. John beganwith the statementthat the Word was God. He showedat once
that he identified the Word with Jesus of Nazareth, for he said that the Word
was made flesh and dwelt among us. Then he proceededwith the rest of the
life of Jesus, selecting his incidents in order to show that he was right in
identifying Jesus with the Word. He came quite early to the people of
Samaria, who said, “This is the Saviour of the world.” But that was not
definite enough; it was not individual enough. He proceededwith the life,
recording its wonderful words and wonderful works, till he came to the death
and the resurrection of Jesus. He reachedhis climax and conclusionin the
confessionofThomas, “My Lord and my God.” Then he brought his Gospel
to an end with that frank expressionof the purpose of it—“These are written,
that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing
ye may have life in his name.”
3. Is it not a remarkable thing that this confessionwas made by Thomas? We
speak of Thomas as the doubter. Is it not astonishing that the doubting
Thomas should have been he that rose to that greatheight of faith, and was
able to say “My Lord and my God”? It may be that we are not so much
astonishedat it as our fathers were. Tennysonhas taught us to believe that
doubt may not be undesirable. At least he has taught us to repeat comfortably
his words—
There is more faith in honestdoubt,
Believe me, than in half the creeds.
But even to us it is surely a surprise to find that that man whom we have
lookedupon as most reluctant of all the Apostles to make the venture of faith,
makes at lasta venture which must, we think, have startled the rest of the
Apostles as they heard it, calling this Jesus with whom they had companied all
these days not only Lord but also God. But let us see if Thomas was the
common doubter we have takenhim for. We know very little of his history.
Almost all we know from the Gospels is containedin four sayings.
(1) The first saying was uttered on the occasionofthe death of Lazarus. Jesus
and His disciples had left Judæa for fear of the Jews whenword reachedthem
in their seclusionthat Lazarus was dead. Jesus announcedHis intention of
returning to the neighbourhood of Jerusalem. The disciples remonstrated.
“The Jews oflate sought to stone thee; and goestthou thither again?” When
Jesus persisted, “Letus also go,” saidThomas, “that we may die with him.”
These are not the words of a vulgar doubter. They are the words of a man
who counts the cost. If he errs in counting the costtoo deliberately, at any rate
he falls into fewermistakes than the impulsive Peter. And it is the more
creditable to him that, counting the costso carefully, he makes so brave a
decisionas this.
(2) The secondsaying is spokenin the Upper Room. Jesus was trying to
prepare the disciples for the impending separation. He was going away. They
knew where He was going, did they not? “Whither I go ye know, and the way
ye know.” But they did not know; and it was Thomas who uttered their
ignorance:“Lord, we know not whither thou goest:and how can we know the
way?” There is neither doubt nor conspicuous cautionin the words;there is
simply the mind of the practicalman who is willing to go where he has to go
but would like to see the way.
(3) It is from the third saying that Thomas has obtained the name of doubter.
Jesus had risen from the dead, but Thomas could not believe it. No more
could the rest believe it until they had evidence before them. Thomas
happened to be absent when they had it, and he said, “ExceptI shall 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.” With such an expressionof
determined disbelief to his credit, it is not to be wondered at that Thomas has
receivedthe name of doubting Thomas. Yet these are scarcelythe words of a
man who doubts habitually. They are rather the determination of a cautious
and practicalman to make sure that he has evidence enough to go upon. And
God never refuses any man sufficient evidence. A few days afterwards Jesus
offered Thomas the very evidence that he demanded. Thomas was wrong in
relying so entirely on the evidence of the senses, and he was rebuked for that.
“Because thouhast seenme, thou hast believed. Blessedare they that have not
seen, and yet have believed.” But it is to the glory of Thomas that when he did
obtain sufficient evidence he believed with all his heart. As soonas he
understood, he trusted; as soonas he knew, he loved. He needed no more than
the evidence of the Resurrectionto prove the Divinity. He made the greatleap
of faith and threw himself personally into the arms of a personalSaviour—
“My Lord and my God.”
(4) “My Lord and my God.” This is the fourth saying of Thomas that we
know. Thomas the doubter has left his doubt behind. He has outstripped his
fellow-disciples. He has outstripped even the impetuous Peter, whose great
confession,”Thouart the Christ, the Sonof the living God,” lacks the
personalappropriation that marks the difference betweeninsight and faith.
Men have generallypassedon Thomas a very severe judgment. The Church,
for ages,has branded infidel on his brow. But this judgment is one that is not
justified by the facts, and cannot be entertained by us. At all times and even to
this day people are quite ready to scattersuch epithets about with an open
hand. It is an easyand complacentway of disposing of men. But it is often a
shallow enough device. We show thereby but little insight into the nature of
men or of God. If we could look into the hearts of those whom we so fling
awayfrom us, we should often find deep enough sorrows there, struggles to
which we ourselves are strangers, wrestlings fortruth and light without
receiving it, and yearnings pent up and hidden from the generaleye.1 [Note:
A. B. Davidson, The Called of God, 322.]
There is not one believer who is not assailedby moments of doubt, of doubt of
the existence ofGod. These doubts are not harmful: on the contrary, they lead
to the highest comprehensionof God. That God whom I knew became
familiar to me, and I no longer believed in Him. A man believes fully in God
only when He is revealedanew to him, and He is revealedto man from a new
side, when He is sought with a man’s whole soul.2 [Note:Tolstoy, Works, xvi.
418.]
They bade me castthe thing away,
They pointed to my hands all bleeding,
They listened not to all my pleading;
The thing I meant I could not say;
I knew that I should rue the day
If once I castthat thing away.
I graspedit firm, and bore the pain;
The thorny husks I stripped and scattered;
If I could reach its heart, what mattered
If other men saw not my gain,
Or even if I should be slain?
I knew the risks;I chose the pain.
O, had I castthat thing away,
I had not found what most I cherish,
A faith without which I should perish,—
The faith which, like a kernel, lay
Hid in the husks which on that day
My instinct would not throw away!3 [Note:Helen Hunt Jackson.]
4. How did Thomas reach his greatconfession? He reachedit through the
Deathand the Resurrection. Theseare the two events which have occurred
betweenthe time when Thomas with the rest of the disciples forsook Him and
fled, and the time when he said, “My Lord and my God.”
(1) He obtained “My Lord” first. The resurrectionof Jesus gave him that
directly. ForJesus had claimed the mastery, and to that claim God had now
setHis sealby raising Him from the dead. It was the simple confessionofthe
Messiahship. His death seemedto show that He had made the claim
unwarrantably, but the resurrectionproved that He had made it with the
approbation of God.
The title “Lord” as used at the time, had little more significance than the title
“Sir,” as we use it in addressing men to-day. But as it fell from the lips of this
man, I think I am right in saying that it came with a full and rich and spacious
meaning. I do not think for a moment you can differ from me when I say that
when Thomas on that occasionsaid, “MyLord,” in that word he recognized
the sovereigntyof Christ over his own life, and did by that word yield himself
in willing submission to that sovereignty.1 [Note:G. Campbell Morgan.]
(2) But “Lord” alone may be useless. “Ye callme Masterand Lord,” said
Jesus, “but ye do not the things which I say.” And again, He warnedthem that
many would sayto Him “Lord, Lord,” to whom He would have to make the
reply that He never knew them. To “My Lord” it is necessaryto add “My
God.”
Thomas obtained “My Lord” from Jesus’resurrection. He found “My God”
in His death and resurrectioncombined. We are apt to think that he must
have found “My God” in the power which Jesus possessedorin the authority
which He wielded; in His miracles or in His teaching. But His life and work
could do no more than show that Jesus might be God. What proved Him to be
God indeed was His suffering and death followedby His resurrection. For
now it was evident that He need not have suffered and need not have died. It
was evident that He had suffered and died purely out of love. “Greaterlove
hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” It needs
the love of God to lay down one’s life for one’s enemies. “Godcommendeth his
love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” “Godis
love,” and the Man who could not save Himself as He hung upon the cross
could be nothing less than God.
If the conclusionthat Jesus was Godwas basedmerely upon the factof
resurrection, I declare that it was not justified. Resurrectiondid not
demonstrate deity. The Hebrew Scriptures told of resurrection of certain men
from the dead. Put these out of mind if you can. Thomas had seenthree dead
ones come to life during the ministry of Jesus. He had seenHim raise the child
of Jairus; he had seenthe sonof the widow of Nain given back to his mother
after he had been laid upon the bier; and he had seenthe raising of Lazarus,
but he did not stand in the presence of Lazarus and say, My Lord and my
God, because Lazarus was alive from the dead. If the confessionwas merely
the result of resurrection, then I declare it was not justified. The factthat
Christ was risenfrom among the dead is not enough to base the doctrine of
His deity upon. But, as a sequence to all that had precededit, I claim that he
was justified. In that hour when Thomas became convincedthat the One he
had seendead was alive from among the dead, there came back againto him
with gatheredforce, focusedinto one clearbright hour of illumination, all the
facts in the life and ministry that had precededthat resurrection.1 [Note:G.
Campbell Morgan.]
Faith is not belief in fact, demonstration, or promise; it is sensibility to the due
influence of the fact, something that enables us to act upon the fact, the
susceptibility to all the strength that is in the fact, so that we are controlled by
it. Nobody canproperly define this. All we can say is that it comes by the
grace ofGod, and that failure to see the truth is not so lamentable as failure to
be moved by it.2 [Note: Mark Rutherford.]
My Lord and My God
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The Cry Of Faith And Joy
John 20:28
J.R. Thomson
If St. John begins his Gospelwith a clearand full declarationof our Lord's
Deity, he here towards its close gives his readers to understand that his
conviction was sharedby others who, like himself, had the advantage of
prolonged and continuous fellowship with Jesus.
I. THE WITNESS OF THIS CRY TO THE NATURE AND AUTHORITY
OF CHRIST.
1. This witness is all the more important, because
(1) given after our Lord's resurrectionfrom the dead, when his ministry was
completed, and when its impressionwas single and perfect; and
(2) given by an incredulous apostle, whose unbeliefwas overcome by the force
of evidence, and whose convictionwas accordinglythe more valuable.
2. This witness was full and explicit. When Thomas cried, "My Lord and my
God!" the two appellations were unquestionably addressedto one and the
same Person, who stood before him. The language constitutes a confessionof
our Lord's Divinity. This must be acknowledged, evenby those who regard
the nature of the union of the human and Divine in Christ as matter of
speculation, because unrevealed.
3. This witness was acceptedby the Savior, who would certainly have rejected
it had it been the utterance of mistakenenthusiasm. Jesus, however, in reply
to Thomas, said, "Thou hast believed," meaning by this language, "believed
the truth concerning me."
II. THE WITNESS OF THIS CRY TO THE APPROPRIATINGPOWEROF
FAITH.
1. When we cry, "My Lord and my God!" we imply that, to our apprehension,
Christ has not only given himself for us, but has given himself to us. He could
not otherwise be ours. The only claim we can have upon him is founded upon
his owngenerosityand sacrifice.
2. If we have property in Christ, it follows that we feel towards him a spiritual
and affectionate attachment.
"Jesus, thouart my Lord and God,
I joy to callthee mine;
For on thy head, though pierced with thorns,
I see a crown Divine!"
3. The appropriation by the soul of Christ himself is the appropriation of him
in all his offices. In approaching the Savior, the soul addresses him thus: "My
Prophet! my Priest!my King!"
4. When this exclamationis sincere, it is a confessionthat Christ is an all-
sufficient and an everlasting Portion. "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and
there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee!" - T.
Biblical Illustrator
And Thomas answeredand said unto Him, My Lord and my God.
John 20:28
My Lord and my God
C. H. Spurgeon.
Let us consider—
I. THE EXCLAMATION OF THOMAS. It is as much as a man could say if
he wished to assertdogmaticallythat Jesus is God and Lord (Psalm 35:23). To
escape from the force of this confessionsome have chargedThomas with
breaking the third commandment, just as thoughtless persons take the Lord's
name in vain and say, "GoodGod!" or "O Lord!" This could not have been
the case.For, in the first place, it was not the habit of a Jew to use any such
exclamationwhen surprised. The Jews in our Lord's time were particular
beyond everything about using the name of God. In the next place, it was not
rebuked by our Lord, and we may be sure He would not have suffered such
an unhallowed cry to have gone without a reprimand. Observe, too, that it
was addressedto the Lord Jesus.
1. It was not a mere outburst, acceptedby our Lord as an evidence of faith,
but a devout expressionof holy wonder at the discoverythat Jesus was his
Lord and God, and probably also at the fact that he has not seenit long
before. Had he not been present when Jesus trod the sea? &c. Now ona
sudden he does know his Lord, and such knowledge is too wonderful for him.
How I wish you would all follow Thomas!I will stop that you may do so. Let
us wonder and admire!
2. An expressionof immeasurable delight. He seems to take hold of the Lord
Jesus with both hands, by those two blessed"my's." There is here a music
akin to "my beloved is mine, and I am His." I pray you follow Thomas in this.
Before you Jesus now stands, visible to your faith. Delight yourselves in him.
3. An indication of a complete change of mind, — a most hearty repentance.
Instead of putting his finger into the print of the nails, he cried, "My Lord and
my God."
4. A brief confessionof faith. Whosoeverwill be saved, before all things it is
necessarythat he be able to unite with Thomas heartily in this creed.
5. An enthusiastic professionof his allegiance to Christ. "Henceforth, thou art
my Lord, and I will serve Thee;Thou art my God, and I will worship Thee."
6. A distinct and direct actof adoration.
II. HOW DID HE COME TO THAT EXCLAMATION?
1. He had his thoughts revealed. The Saviour had read them at a distance.
Notice that the Saviour did not say, "Put thy finger into the nail-prints in My
feet." Why not? Why, because Thomas had not said anything about His feet.
We, in looking at it, can see the exactness;bat Thomas must have felt it much
more.
2. All the past must have risen before his mind, the many occasionsin which
the Lord Jesus had exercisedthe attributes of Deity.
3. The very manner of the Saviour, so full of majesty, convinced the trembling
disciple.
4. But the most convincing were our Lord's wounds.
III. HOW WE MAY COME TO IT. If ever any one of us shall cry in spirit
and in truth, "My Lord and my God!" the Holy Spirit must teach us. We shall
so cry —
1. At conversion.
2. In deliverance from temptation.
3. In time of trouble, when we are comfortedand upheld. There have been
other occasions less trying.
4. While studying the story of our Lord.
5. In the breaking of bread.
6. In times when He has blessedour labours, and laid His arm bare in the
salvationof men.
7. In the hour of death.
8. In heaven.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
My Lord and my God
C. Hodge, D. D.
I. THIS IS NOT AN EXCLAMATION —
1. Becausesuchexclamations were abhorrent to the Jews.
2. It would be without warrant in Scripture.
3. It is by its form necessarilyan address — "Thomas saidto Him."
II. THE MEANING OF THE WORDS.
1. Lord, κύριος, means owner, and as ownershipincludes control, it expressed
—(1) The idea of ownership founded on possession, as Lord of the Vineyard,
Lord of Slaves, Lord of the whole earth.(2)The Lordship without reference to
its ground; hence kings are also called lords. So also heads of families,
husbands, &c.(3)Hence a mere title of courtesyas dominus, mister, &c.(4)As
applied to God it retains its relative meaning — the relation of God to His
creatures as their Ownerand absolute Ruler. It is substituted in the LXX. for
Jehovah, Shaddai, Elohim, and not only for Aden or Adonai. Hence in the
New Testamentit is used for Christ. He is our Lord in the sense in which
Jehovahwas the Lord of the Hebrews. Christ owns us both as Creatorand
Redeemer.
2. God. What this means passes allunderstanding and imagination. It is easy
to say, "Godis a Spirit, infinite, eternal," &c. But who can comprehend the
Infinite? We know that one infinite in His Being and perfections must be —(1)
The objectof adoration, supreme love, absolute submission.(2) The ground of
confidence.(3)One in whose favour is eternal life. All that God is, Christ is.
All that is due to God is due to Christ.
3. My means not only that Christ is the Personwhom we acknowledge and
confess to be our Lord and God, to the exclusion of all other persons out of the
Godhead; but that He stands in the relation of Lord and God to us, and that
we stand in a corresponding relation to Him; that we recognize His ownership
and authority; depend on His protection, adore, love, trust, and serve Him as
our Lord and God. This it is to be a Christian.
(C. Hodge, D. D.)
The confessionof Thomas
A. Mackennel, D. D.
The words imply —
I. SELF-KNOWLEDGE.
1. When Thomas says this he is confessing that his past life has been a
mistake. The arrogance ofhis former speechcontrasts strikingly with the
lowliness ofthis. A new revelationhad been given him, making knownthe one
greatneed of his souls Lord to control his will, and form his judgment, and
give law to his inmost spirit. Our greatwant is a ruler; submission is one of
the deepestof human needs.(1)Let self-will be ever so successful, the heart is
still unsatisfied. Ambition is soonsated;and the "head that wears a crown" is
"uneasy," not more because ofthe cares ofgovernment than because the
monarch is tired of himself. Even the partial stimulus which self-seekershave,
while yet they are striving for their object, witnessesto the same truth; a man
may choose his aim, but when he has chosenit, it controls him. No man ever
found rest till his aim in life was decidedon. Seeking an object, men for a time
are tranquil, for they are freed from self;but when their object is secured,
they fall againinto the restlessnessofbondage to a selfthat is insufficient for
them.(2) Look now at another class ofmen of nobler character. The truth-
seekeris freed from self, for he feels truth to be absolute, independent of him,
and he yields allegiance to it. The lover of right is under an eternal law of
rectitude; righteousness is not something that he invents. Right is, and is his
lord. Duty is what we owe, not what we choose to give. But what is truth? Its
seekersare all in disagreement. Whatis right? The standard of rectitude in
our England is very different from that of ancient Rome. Has duty any higher
standard than statute law, or regardfor the greatesthappiness of the greatest
number? These very words setus againupon a drifting sea of self-will. Truth,
duty, rectitude — these are cold words. To stir passionand controlaffection
they must be seenembodied in personalform. Love, reverence — these are
the heart's deep wants. Cold abstractions cannever deliver us from self
2. Thomas had found all he neededin Christ. Christ was "the Truth;" His will
absolute righteousness;duty was what he owedto Him. There was no coldness
nor vagueness inthese names when summed up in the personof His Lord.
Love rises to worship in his confession;his heart is at rest when he says, "my
Lord."(1) This is the secretofChrist's power overmen. He comes among
them as their Lord; He claims authority and submission. Christ does not
allure men by pleasures, flattering their self-will. He simply bids them
"Follow Me," andthey leave all and follow Him. He speaks to those to whom
self-will is barrenness, and there is fruitfulness. He speaks to those whose
selfishness is weakness anddisease, andin obedience to Him come health and
energy. And herein do we see the meaning of "Come unto Me all ye that
labour Take Myyoke upon you," &c. Forin meekness and obedience our
spirits find their end and purpose, and herein is rest.(2)In Christ, too, we see
how blessedto yield our wills to the will of God. He who came to tell us that
we are ruined, because we seek ourown wills and not the will of God, must
Himself be submissive. He who came revealing absolute truth and
righteousness, claiming our homage for them, must Himself yield them
homage. Christ can rule because He knows how to obey.
II. KNOWLEDGE OF THE MEANING OF LIFE.
1. It was Christ's perfectknowledge ofThomas which brought from him the
confession.(1)Christ had heard the scepticalwords;He had been with
Thomas, though Thomas had not been with Him. But Thomas could not stop
here; as none can rest in one separate instance ofHis knowledge andgrace.
He who knew this must know all. All his past life would flash upon him, and
he would recognize it all as Christ's plan to educate and bring him to
Himself.(2) Christ had done infinitely more than to simply give Thomas his
own test for the resurrection;He had brought Thomas to a better mind, and
made that test appearabsurd. The touch would only have convinced that the
risen Jesus was here;Thomas, without touching Him, calls Him "My Lord
and my God." Underlying Thomas's wish for sensible proof there had been
the unquenchable longing for personalintercourse. ThatJohn and the others
had seenChrist was nothing to him. Nothing canreveal a personalLord to us
but that Lord's communion with ourselves. Thomas's heartwas satisfiednow,
and to Christ's guidance he could absolutelysubmit.
2. It is such a guide we want; one who canread our heart and supply every
need. It is such a guide we preachin Jesus;not one who lived a few years in
Palestine;but One who was "before all things," and who is ever with His
people. He knows you, for He formed you for Himself; your life, with all its
difficulties and perplexities, is His plan for educating you for Himself and
God. Eachdoubt He is waiting to clearaway;even your wilfulness does not
drive Him from your side.
III. KNOWLEDGE OF GOD.
1. Thomas recognizedthe characterof God rather than the dignity of Christ,
and herein lay the true value of his confession. The mere confessionthat
Christ is a Divine Personis barren; the knowledge that God is come into
actualfellowship with us in Christ is new life to the spirit. The looking for
God in awful grandeur obscures the perceptionof Godin the perfection of
moral excellence, the influence by which goodness swaysthe heart. It was to
deliver men from this very error that Christ came. The disciples were ever
expecting that Christ would communicate some stupendous truth concerning
God. Gradually their conceptions of Him became exalted; Christ's own words
were fulfiled, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." Here at length from
Thomas breaks the full confessionthat this is God.
2. Thomas could not say, "My Lord," without saying also "My God;" for it is
shocking to yield the whole heart to any other than God. In the fact that he
could not but adore Jesus, that Jesus claimedand had won his homage, it was
revealedthat Jesus was Divine. If He be not God, then are we idolaters; for
idolatry is the love and service of the creature as though it were supreme; and
higher love and service than Christ has won from Christian hearts is
impossible. If He be not God, then have we two Gods:the one a name, a cold
abstraction;the other the Jesus who sways our spirits and to whom we render
the consecrationofour lives.
3. We may now see why so much importance is attachedin the New Testament
to the Divinity of Christ. The confessionofChrist is not an actof the
speculative intellect, it is the movement of the heart and the submission of the
life to Him. There are Christian Unitarians who call Christ "Lord," though
they hold back from calling Him "God." There are un-Christian Trinitarians
who call Christ "God," and yet He manifestly is not their "Lord." It is sad
that the words "My Lord and my God" should ever be separated. But he is a
Christian, whateverthe articles of his creed, who finds Christ sufficient for
the soul's need, and whose life reveals that it is under His rule.
(A. Mackennel, D. D.)
Thomas's confessionoffaith
W. Forsyth, M. A.
These words imply —
I. JOYFUL RECOGNITION. Partings are painful; but the bereavement of
the ten was over. And now the restoredfellowship of Christ brought Thomas
peace. So every new revelation of Christ brings joy to His disciples now. But
recognitions are not always joyful (1 Kings 21:20;Matthew 8:29; Mark 1:24;
Revelation1:5; Revelation6:15, 16). How different the meeting of loved ones
(Acts 12:14-16;Acts 28:15; Genesis 45:26;Genesis 46:30). So Thomas and all
disciples rejoice in Christ who, though He was dead, is alive again, and
crownedwith glory and honour.
II. DIVINE HOMAGE. Friends rise in our estimation as we know them
better. Love testedby trial. Suffering and death revealthe soul. Perhaps we
never see so clearly the greatness ofour friend as when he is takenfrom us. So
it seems to have been with the disciples. It was only after the Resurrectionthat
they beheld the fulness of His glory. What a testimony to the Divine greatness
of Jesus in this confessionHow horrified was Paul (Acts 14:15, 16); Peter
(Acts 10:25); the angel (Revelation22:9) at the thought of being worshipped;
but Jesus receivesit as His right.
III. APPROPRIATING FAITH, "My," a little word, but of deep significance.
Faith is a personalthing. Mark the difference betweenThomas's faith and —
1. The faith of devils (James 2:19; 1 John 5:10-12).
2. The faith of mere believers in historical Christianity. It is one thing to say,
"The Lord He is God," and another to say, "My Lord and my God." Luther
says that the marrow of the gospelis in the possessivepronouns.
IV. SELF-SURRENDERING LOVE. Paulsays, "Yield yourselves to God."
This is the difficulty; but never till it is done are we truly converted. But once
done it is done for ever. The sight of Jesus wins the heart. Conclusion:Happy
are those who cansay, "My Lord and my God." Here is —
1. The true bond of union (1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 10:1).
2. The noblest inspiration of life (2 Corinthians 5:14).
3. Strength for work.
4. Comfort in trouble.
5. Hope in death (2 Corinthians 4:6-8).
(W. Forsyth, M. A.)
Christ satisfying the instinct of reverence
DeanVaughan
I. THE INSTINCT.
1. Reverence is a word by itself, and has no synomym. It is not respect, regard,
fear, honour, nor even awe. It would be inaccurate to apply it to wealth, rank
or power. If we reverence their possessorit must be for something overand
above them. Even if we give it to age, royalty, or genius, it is only because
there is in these a touch of sacredness. Forreverence is the sense of something
essentiallyand not accidently above us. Old age is above in the
incommunicable sanctity of an ampler experience, and a nearerheaven;
royalty is the theory of a Divine commissionand a theocratic representation;
genius is the possessionofan originalintuition which is to be a voice for
mankind.
2. This reverence is an instinct; but there is much to support the theory of an
instinct of irreverence. The insolence of lusty youth, clevershallowness which
denies admiration, and can see in religion only a sentiment, or a thing for
ridicule, such a spirit may be common in literature and society, but it is no
instinct; it is a degeneracy. Manworthy of the name has always something
above him; and even where selfpresides at the worship, it is rather as priest
than idol
3. It is easyto misdirect this instinct. Man feels himself very little, an atom in a
mighty system. There must be something above him. What? The celestial
bodies? This instinct enforces a worship. What objectso worthy as they?
There are those now who reverence nature, and law to them is but a name for
deity, and they worship this unknown god. Others a beautiful friend, till they
find some day the idol broken in pieces or vanished. Nordo these
misdirections ceasewhenat last God becomes the object, inasmuch as
reverence for church architecture, decoration, and music may be giving His
glory to another.
II. CHRIST SATISFYING THIS INSTINCT.
1. The instinct is abroad seeking its object. It finds it not in an abstraction.
Nature cannotsatisfy it. It may be a grand thought that I am part of a system
which is the universe and whose breath is deity. Yet I, insignificant I, find no
rest in this vastness. Igo forth among my fellows, and cannot help loving and
reverencing:yet the bright illusion vanishes.
2. Shall it always be thus? I see an end of all perfection, and yet there is in me
an idea of perfection, might I but attain unto it. Is there none such? Yes, there
is God — the Infinite, Eternal, Self-existent. Yet I feel myself in the land of
things too high for me and too vast. Cannot I getnearer, until I touch? To
answerthis Christ comes forth, takes our nature, obeys, loves, suffers, dies,
and bids us follow Him with a love as devoted as it is unidolatrous, being very
man and very God.
3. Can this one heart contain all the devotions of all men? Can I be assuredof
attention in the adored of the nations? Yes. "If any man thirst," &c.
(DeanVaughan).
STUDYLIGHT RESOURCES
Adam Clarke Commentary
Thomas answered, etc. - Those who deny the Godheadof Christ would have
us to believe that these words are an exclamationof Thomas, made through
surprise, and that they were addressedto the Fatherand not to Christ.
Theodore of Mopsuestia was the first, I believe, who gave the words this turn;
and the fifth Ecumenic council, held at Constantinople, anathematized him
for it. This was not according to the spirit of the Gospelof God. However, a
man must do violence to every rule of constructionwho can apply the address
here to any but Christ. The text is plain: Jesus comes in - sees Thomas,and
addresses him; desiring him to come to him, and put his finger into the print
of the nails, etc. Thomas, perfectlysatisfied of the reality of our Lord's
resurrection, says unto him, - My Lord! and My God! i.e. Thou art indeed the
very same person, - my Lord whose disciple I have so long been; and thou art
my God, henceforth the object of my religious adoration. Thomas was the first
who gave the title of God to Jesus;and, by this glorious confession, made some
amends for his former obstinate incredulity. It is worthy of remark, that from
this time forward the whole of the disciples treatedour Lord with the most
supreme respect, never using that familiarity towards him which they had
often used before. The resurrectionfrom the dead gave them the fullest proof
of the divinity of Christ. And this, indeed, is the use which St. John makes of
this manifestationof Christ. See John20:30, John 20:31. BishopPearce says
here: "Observe that Thomas calls Jesus his God, and that Jesus does not
reprove him for it, though probably it was the first time he was calledso."
And, I would ask, could Jesus be jealous of the honor of the true God - could
he be a prophet - could he be even an honestman, to permit his disciple to
indulge in a mistake so monstrous and destructive, if it had been one?
Albert Barnes'Notes onthe Whole Bible
My Lord and my God - In this passagethe name God is expresslygiven to
Christ, in his own presence and by one of his ownapostles. This declaration
has been consideredas a clearproof of the divinity of Christ, for the following
reasons:
1. There is no evidence that this was a mere expression, as some have
supposed, of surprise or astonishment.
2. The language was addressedto Jesus himself - “Thomas … said unto him.”
3. The Saviour did not reprove him or check him as using any improper
language. If he had not been divine, it is impossible to reconcile it with his
honesty that he did not rebuke the disciple. No pious man would have allowed
such language to be addressedto him. Compare Acts 14:13-15;Revelation
22:8-9.
4. The Saviour proceeds immediately to commend Thomas for believing; but
what was the evidence of his believing? It was this declaration, and this only.
If this was a mere exclamationof surprise, what proof was it that Thomas
believed? Before this he doubted. Now he believed, and gave utterance to his
belief, that Jesus was his Lord and his God.
5. If this was not the meaning of Thomas, then his exclamationwas a mere act
of profaneness, and the Saviour would not have commended him for taking
the name of the Lord his God in vain. The passageproves, therefore, that it is
proper to apply to Christ the name Lord and God, and thus accords with
what John affirmed in John 1:1, and which is establishedthroughout this
gospel.
The Biblical Illustrator
John 20:28
And Thomas answeredand said unto Him, My Lord and my God
My Lord and my God
Let us consider
I.
THE EXCLAMATION OF THOMAS. It is as much as a man could say if he
wished to assertdogmaticallythat Jesus is God and Lord (Psalms 35:23). To
escape from the force of this confessionsome have chargedThomas with
breaking the third commandment, just as thoughtless persons take the Lord’s
name in vain and say, “GoodGod!” or “O Lord!” This could not have been
the case.For, in the first place, it was not the habit of a Jew to use any such
exclamationwhen surprised. The Jews in our Lord’s time were particular
beyond everything about using the name of God. In the next place, it was not
rebuked by our Lord, and we may be sure He would not have suffered such
an unhallowed cry to have gone without a reprimand. Observe, too, that it
was addressedto the Lord Jesus.
1. It was not a mere outburst, acceptedby our Lord as an evidence of faith,
but a devout expressionof holy wonder at the discoverythat Jesus was his
Lord and God, and probably also at the fact that he has not seenit long
before. Had he not been present when Jesus trod the sea? &c. Now ona
sudden he does know his Lord, and such knowledge is too wonderful for him.
How I wish you would all follow Thomas!I will stop that you may do so. Let
us wonder and admire!
2. An expressionof immeasurable delight. He seems to take hold of the Lord
Jesus with both hands, by those two blessed“my’s.” There is here a music
akin to “my beloved is mine, and I am His.” I pray you follow Thomas in this.
Before you Jesus now stands, visible to your faith. Delight yourselves in him.
3. An indication of a complete change of mind, a most hearty repentance.
Instead of putting his finger into the print of the nails, he cried, “My Lord and
my God.”
4. A brief confessionof faith. Whosoeverwill be saved, before all things it is
necessarythat he be able to unite with Thomas heartily in this creed.
5. An enthusiastic professionof his allegiance to Christ. “Henceforth, thou art
my Lord, and I will serve Thee;Thou art my God, and I will worship Thee.”
6. A distinct and direct actof adoration.
II. HOW DID HE COME TO THAT EXCLAMATION?
1. He had his thoughts revealed. The Saviour had read them at a distance.
Notice that the Saviour did not say, “Put thy finger into the nail-prints in My
feet.” Why not? Why, because Thomas had not said anything about His feet.
We, in looking at it, can see the exactness;bat Thomas must have felt it much
more.
2. All the past must have risen before his mind, the many occasionsin which
the Lord Jesus had exercisedthe attributes of Deity.
3. The very manner of the Saviour, so full of majesty, convinced the trembling
disciple.
4. But the most convincing were our Lord’s wounds.
III. HOW WE MAY COME TO IT. If ever any one of us shall cry in spirit
and in truth, “My Lord and my God!” the Holy Spirit must teachus. We shall
so cry
1. At conversion.
2. In deliverance from temptation.
3. In time of trouble, when we are comfortedand upheld. There have been
other occasions less trying.
4. While studying the story of our Lord.
5. In the breaking of bread.
6. In times when He has blessedour labours, and laid His arm bare in the
salvationof men.
7. In the hour of death.
8. In heaven. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
My Lord and my God
I. THIS IS NOT AN EXCLAMATION
1. Becausesuchexclamations were abhorrent to the Jews.
2. It would be without warrant in Scripture.
3. It is by its form necessarilyan address--“Thomassaidto Him.”
II. THE MEANING OF THE WORDS.
1. Lord, κύριος, means owner, and as ownershipincludes control, it expressed
LXX. for Jehovah, Shaddai, Elohim, and not only for Aden or Adonai. Hence
in the New Testamentit is used for Christ. He is our Lord in the sense in
which Jehovahwas the Lord of the Hebrews. Christ owns us both as Creator
and Redeemer.
2. God. What this means passes allunderstanding and imagination. It is easy
to say, “Godis a Spirit, infinite, eternal,” &c. But who cancomprehend the
Infinite? We know that one infinite in His Being and perfections must be
3. My means not only that Christ is the Personwhom we acknowledge and
confess to be our Lord and God, to the exclusion of all other persons out of the
Godhead; but that He stands in the relation of Lord and God to us, and that
we stand in a corresponding relation to Him; that we recognize His ownership
and authority; depend on His protection, adore, love, trust, and serve Him as
our Lord and God. This it is to be a Christian. (C. Hodge, D. D.)
The confessionof Thomas:
The words imply
I. SELF-KNOWLEDGE.
1. When Thomas says this he is confessing that his past life has been a
mistake. The arrogance ofhis former speechcontrasts strikingly with the
lowliness ofthis. A new revelationhad been given him, making knownthe one
greatneed of his souls Lord to control his will, and form his judgment, and
give law to his inmost spirit. Our greatwant is a ruler; submission is one of
the deepestof human needs.
2. Thomas had found all he neededin Christ. Christ was “the Truth;” His will
absolute righteousness;duty was what he owedto Him. There was no coldness
nor vagueness inthese names when summed up in the personof His Lord.
Love rises to worship in his confession;his heart is at rest when he says, “my
Lord.”
II. KNOWLEDGE OF THE MEANING OF LIFE.
1. It was Christ’s perfectknowledge ofThomas which brought from him the
confession.
2. It is such a guide we want; one who canread our heart and supply every
need. It is such a guide we preachin Jesus;not one who lived a few years in
Palestine;but One who was “before all things,” and who is ever with His
people. He knows you, for He formed you for Himself; your life, with all its
difficulties and perplexities, is His plan for educating you for Himself and
God. Eachdoubt He is waiting to clearaway;even your wilfulness does not
drive Him from your side.
III. KNOWLEDGE OF GOD.
1. Thomas recognizedthe characterof God rather than the dignity of Christ,
and herein lay the true value of his confession. The mere confessionthat
Christ is a Divine Personis barren; the knowledge that God is come into
actualfellowship with us in Christ is new life to the spirit. The looking for
God in awful grandeur obscures the perceptionof Godin the perfection of
moral excellence, the influence by which goodness swaysthe heart. It was to
deliver men from this very error that Christ came. The disciples were ever
expecting that Christ would communicate some stupendous truth concerning
God. Gradually their conceptions of Him became exalted; Christ’s own words
were fulfiled, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Here at length from
Thomas breaks the full confessionthat this is God.
2. Thomas could not say, “My Lord,” without saying also “My God;” for it is
shocking to yield the whole heart to any other than God. In the fact that he
could not but adore Jesus, that Jesus claimedand had won his homage, it was
revealedthat Jesus was Divine. If He be not God, then are we idolaters; for
idolatry is the love and service of the creature as though it were supreme; and
higher love and service than Christ has won from Christian hearts is
impossible. If He be not God, then have we two Gods:the one a name, a cold
abstraction;the other the Jesus who sways our spirits and to whom we render
the consecrationofour lives.
3. We may now see why so much importance is attachedin the New Testament
to the Divinity of Christ. The confessionofChrist is not an actof the
speculative intellect, it is the movement of the heart and the submission of the
life to Him. There are Christian Unitarians who call Christ “Lord,” though
they hold back from calling Him “God.” There are un-Christian Trinitarians
who call Christ “God,” and yet He manifestly is not their “Lord.” It is sad
that the words “My Lord and my God” should ever be separated. But he is a
Christian, whateverthe articles of his creed, who finds Christ sufficient for
the soul’s need, and whose life reveals that it is under His rule. (A. Mackennel,
D. D.)
Thomas’s confessionoffaith:
These words imply
I. JOYFUL RECOGNITION. Partings are painful; but the bereavement of
the ten was over. And now the restoredfellowship of Christ brought Thomas
peace. So every new revelation of Christ brings joy to His disciples now. But
recognitions are not always joyful (1 Kings 21:20;Mt Mark 1:24; Revelation
1:5; Rev_6:15-16). How different the meeting of loved ones (Acts 12:14-16;
Act_28:15;Genesis 45:26;Gen_46:30). So Thomas and all disciples rejoice in
Christ who, though He was dead, is alive again, and crownedwith glory and
honour.
II. DIVINE HOMAGE. Friends rise in our estimation as we know them
better. Love testedby trial. Suffering and death revealthe soul. Perhaps we
never see so clearly the greatness ofour friend as when he is takenfrom us. So
it seems to have been with the disciples. It was only after the Resurrectionthat
they beheld the fulness of His glory. What a testimony to the Divine greatness
of Jesus in this confessionHow horrified was Paul Acts 14:15-16);Peter(Acts
10:25); the angel(Revelation22:9) at the thought of being worshipped; but
Jesus receivesit as His right.
III. APPROPRIATING FAITH, “My,” a little word, but of deep significance.
Faith is a personalthing. Mark the difference betweenThomas’s faith and
1. The faith of devils (James 2:19; 1 John 5:10-12).
2. The faith of mere believers in historical Christianity. It is one thing to say,
“The Lord He is God,” and another to say, “My Lord and my God.” Luther
says that the marrow of the gospelis in the possessivepronouns.
IV. SELF-SURRENDERING LOVE. Paulsays, “Yield yourselves to God.”
This is the difficulty; but never till it is done are we truly converted. But once
done it is done for ever. The sight of Jesus wins the heart. Conclusion:Happy
are those who cansay, “My Lord and my God.” Here is
1. The true bond of union (1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 10:1).
2. The noblest inspiration of life (2 Corinthians 5:14).
3. Strength for work.
4. Comfort in trouble.
5. Hope in death (2 Corinthians 4:6-8). (W. Forsyth, M. A.)
Christ satisfying the instinct of reverence
I. THE INSTINCT.
1. Reverence is a word by itself, and has no synomym. It is not respect, regard,
fear, honour, nor even awe. It would be inaccurate to apply it to wealth, rank
or power. If we reverence their possessorit must be for something overand
above them. Even if we give it to age, royalty, or genius, it is only because
there is in these a touch of sacredness. Forreverence is the sense of something
essentiallyand not accidently above us. Old age is above in the
incommunicable sanctity of an ampler experience, and a nearerheaven;
royalty is the theory of a Divine commissionand a theocratic representation;
genius is the possessionofan originalintuition which is to be a voice for
mankind.
2. This reverence is an instinct; but there is much to support the theory of an
instinct of irreverence. The insolence of lusty youth, clevershallowness which
denies admiration, and can see in religion only a sentiment, or a thing for
ridicule, such a spirit may be common in literature and society, but it is no
instinct; it is a degeneracy. Manworthy of the name has always something
above him; and even where selfpresides at the worship, it is rather as priest
than idol
3. It is easyto misdirect this instinct. Man feels himself very little, an atom in a
mighty system. There must be something above him. What? The celestial
bodies? This instinct enforces a worship. What objectso worthy as they?
There are those now who reverence nature, and law to them is but a name for
deity, and they worship this unknown god. Others a beautiful friend, till they
find some day the idol broken in pieces or vanished. Nordo these
misdirections ceasewhenat last God becomes the object, inasmuch as
reverence for church architecture, decoration, and music may be giving His
glory to another.
II. CHRIST SATISFYING THIS INSTINCT.
1. The instinct is abroad seeking its object. It finds it not in an abstraction.
Nature cannotsatisfy it. It may be a grand thought that I am part of a system
which is the universe and whose breath is deity. Yet I, insignificant I, find no
rest in this vastness. Igo forth among my fellows, and cannot help loving and
reverencing:yet the bright illusion vanishes.
2. Shall it always be thus? I see an end of all perfection, and yet there is in me
an idea of perfection, might I but attain unto it. Is there none such? Yes, there
is God--the Infinite, Eternal, Self-existent. Yet I feelmyself in the land of
things too high for me and too vast. Cannot I getnearer, until I touch? To
answerthis Christ comes forth, takes our nature, obeys, loves, suffers, dies,
and bids us follow Him with a love as devoted as it is unidolatrous, being very
man and very God.
3. Can this one heart contain all the devotions of all men? Can I be assuredof
attention in the adored of the nations? Yes. “If any man thirst,” &c. (Dean
Vaughan)
.
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
Thomas answeredand said unto him, My Lord and my God.
Thomas'confessionranks among the greatestevermade, being one of the ten
New Testamentpassageswhichdeclare categoricallythat Christ is God (see
my Commentary on Hebrews, Hebrews 1:8). This confessionis the climactic
note that crowns the entire theme of John that "Jesus is God." This pinnacle
of the sustaining witness of that theme is inherent in the factthat even an
apostle who at first would not believe came back to confess, "MyLord and my
God."
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
And Thomas answeredand said unto him,.... Without examining his hands
and side, and as astonishedat his condescensionand grace, and ashamedof
his unbelief:
my Lord and my God; he owns him to be Lord, as he was both by creation
and redemption; and God, of which he was fully assuredfrom his
omniscience, whichhe had given a full proof of, and from the powerthat went
along with his words to his heart, and from a full conviction he now had of his
resurrectionfrom the dead. He asserts his interest in him as his Lord and his
God; which denotes his subjection to him, his affectionfor him, and faith in
him; so the divine word is calledin Philo the Jew, κυριος μου, "my Lord"F24.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Thomas answeredand said unto him, My Lord and my God — That Thomas
did not do what Jesus invited him to do, and what he had made the condition
of his believing, seems plain from John 20:29 (“Becausethou hast seenMe,
thou hast believed”). He is overpowered, and the glory of Christ now breaks
upon him in a flood. His exclamationsurpasses allthat had been yet uttered,
nor canit be surpassedby anything that ever will be uttered in earth or
heaven. On the striking parallel in Nathanael, see onJohn 1:49. The Socinian
invasion of the supreme divinity of Christ here manifestly taught - as if it were
a mere call upon God in a fit of astonishment - is beneath notice, save for the
profanity it charges upon this disciple, and the straits to which it shows
themselves reduced.
Robertson's WordPictures in the New Testament
My Lord and my God (ο κυριος μου και ο τεος μου — Ho kurios mou kaiho
theos mou). Not exclamation, but address, the vocative case though the form
of the nominative, a very common thing in the Koiné. Thomas was wholly
convinced and did not hesitate to address the RisenChrist as Lord and God.
And Jesus accepts the words and praises Thomas for so doing.
Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
And Thomas answeredand said unto him, My Lord and my God.
And Thomas said, My Lord and my God — The disciples had said, We have
seenthe Lord. Thomas now not only acknowledges him to be the Lord, as he
had done before, and to be risen, as his fellow disciples had affirmed, but also
confesses his Godhead, and that more explicitly than any other had yet done.
And all this he did without putting his hand upon his side.
The Fourfold Gospel
Thomas answeredand said unto him, My Lord and my God1.
My Lord and my God. We have here the first confessionof Christ as God. It
should be said in Thomas'favor that if his doubts were heaviest, his
confessionoffaith was fullest. He had more doubts as to the resurrection
because it meant more to him; it meant that Jesus was none other than God
himself.
Abbott's Illustrated New Testament
My Lord and my God. It cannotbe doubted that these terms were both
applied by Thomas personally to the Savior. The attempts to give some other
constructionto such expressions are now generallyabandoned by those who
are unwilling to admit, on any evidence, the inference which flows from them.
They find it to be easierto take the ground that the apostles themselves were
in error, than to force unnatural constructions upon language so unequivocal
as that which they often used.
Scofield's ReferenceNotes
My Lord and My God
The deity of Jesus Christ is declaredin Scripture:
(1) In the intimations and explicit predictions of the O.T.
(a) The theophanies intimate the appearance ofGod in human form, and His
ministry thus to man Genesis 16:7-13;Genesis 18:2-23 especially;Genesis
18:17;Genesis 32:28 with; Hosea 12:3-5;Exodus 3:2-14. (b) The Messiahis
expresslydeclaredto be the Sonof God Psalms 2:2-9 and God; Psalms 45:6;
Psalms 45:7; Hebrews 1:8; Hebrews 1:9; Psalms 110:1;Matthew 22:44; Acts
2:34; Hebrews 1:13; Psalms 110:4; Hebrews 5:6; Hebrews 6:20; Hebrews
7:17-21;Zechariah 6:13. (c) His virgin birth was foretold as the means
through which God could be "Immanuel," God with us; Isaiah 7:13; Isaiah
7:14; Matthew 1:22; Matthew 1:23 (d) The Messiahis expresslyinvested with
the divine names Isaiah9:6; Isaiah9:7 (e) In a prophecy of His death He is
calledJehovah's "fellow";Zechariah 13:7; Matthew 26:31. (f) His eternal
being is declared; Micah5:2; Matthew 2:6; John 7:42.
(2) Christ Himself affirmed His deity.
(a) He applied to Himself the Jehovistic I AM. (The pronoun "he" is not in the
Greek;cf John 8:24; John 8:56-58. The Jews correctlyunderstood this to be
our Lord's claim to full deity. John 8:59.
See also, John10:33; John 18:4-6 where, also, "he" is not in the original.) (b)
He claimed to be the Adonai of the O.T. Matthew 22:42-45. (See Scofield
"Genesis 15:2"). (c)He assertedHis identity with the Father; Matthew 28:19;
Mark 14:62; John 10:30, that the Jews so understoodHim is shownby; John
10:31;John 10:32;John 14:8; John 14:9; John 17:5. (d) He exercisedthe chief
prerogative of God; Mark 2:5-7; Luke 7:48-50. (e) He assertedomnipresence;
Matthew 18:20; John 3:13 omniscience, John11:11-14, whenJesus was fifty
miles away; Mark 11:6-8, omnipotence; Matthew 28:18;Luke 7:14; John
5:21-23;John 6:19, mastery over nature, and creative power;Luke 9:16;
Luke 9:17; John 2:9; John 10:28. (f) He receivedand approved human
worship,; Matthew 14:33; Matthew 28:9; John 20:28; John 20:29.
(3) The N.T. writers ascribe divine titles to Christ: John 1:1; John 20:28; Acts
20:28;Romans 1:4; Romans 9:5; 2 Thessalonians1:12;1 Timothy 3:16; Titus
2:13; Hebrews 1:8; 1 John 5:20.
(4) The N.T. writers ascribe divine perfections and attributes to Christ (e.g.)
Matthew 11:28; Matthew 18:20;Matthew 28:20;John 1:2; John 2:23-25;
John 3:13; John 5:17; John 21:17;Hebrews 1:3; Hebrews 1:11; Hebrews 1:12;
Hebrews 13:8; Revelation1:8; Revelation1:17; Revelation1:18; Revelation
2:23; Revelation11:17;Revelation22:13.
(5) The N.T. writers ascribe divine works to Christ John 1:3; John 1:10;
Colossians 1:16;Colossians 1:17;Hebrews 1:3.
(6) The N.T. writers teachthat supreme worship should be paid to Christ Acts
7:59; Acts 7:60; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Philippians 2:9;
Philippians 2:10; Hebrews 1:6; Revelation1:5; Revelation1:6; Revelation
5:12; Revelation5:13.
(7) The holiness and resurrectionof Christ prove His deity John 8:46;
Romans 1:4.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
28 And Thomas answeredand said unto him, My Lord and my God.
Ver. 28. My Lord and my God] This is true faith indeed, that individuates
God, and appropriates him to itself. {a} Were it not for this possessive
"mine," the devil might say the creedto as goodpurpose as we. He believes
there is a God and a Christ; but that which torments him is, he cansay "my"
to never an article of the faith.
{a} η πιστις ιδιοποιεται τονθεον. Chrysost.
Sermon Bible Commentary
John 20:28
I. We are, I think, hardly apt to be enough aware how much of all our
Christian faith and hope must rest on the reality of our Lord's resurrection. It
is, in the first place, the fulfilment of all prophecy. I mean, that whereas all
prophecy looks forward to the triumph of goodover evil—to its triumph not
partially merely, but entirely, and with over-measure—so the resurrectionof
Christ is, as yet, the only adequate fulfilment of these expectations;but it is
itself fully adequate. If Christ's triumph was complete, so also may be the
triumph of those that are Christ's. But without this, let hope go as far as she
will, let faith be ever so confident, still prophecy has been unfulfilled, still
experience gives no encouragement.
II. Well, then, may it be said with the apostle, that if Christ is not risen our
faith is vain. His resurrection was, indeed, almost too great a joy to be
believed. There might be illusion; the spirit of One so good, so beloved by
God, might be allowedto return to comfort His friends, to assure them that
death had not done all his work;but who could dare to hope that he should
see, not the spirit of the dead, but the very person of the living Jesus? Surelyit
was a natural convictionof such overwhelming blessedness? "ExceptI shall
see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the
nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe." Thanks be to God,
who allowedHis apostle to be thus carefulere he consentedto believe, that we
from His care might derive such perfect confidence.
III. Jesus saidunto him, "Thomas, becausethou hast seenMe, thou hast
believed: blessedare they who have not seen, and yet have believed." A few
days before Christ had prayed, not for His present disciples only, but for all
those who were to believe on Him through their word. How graciouslyis His
act in accordancewith His prayer. The beloved disciple who had seenfirst the
empty sepulchre, and who was now rejoicing in the full presence ofHim who
had been there, he was to convey what he had himself seento the knowledge
of posterity. And he was to convey it hallowedas it were by Christ's especial
message—"Blessedare they who have not seen, and yet have believed." We
have all our portion in the full conviction then afforded that He was risen
indeed; and besides all this we have receiveda peculiar blessing;Christ
Himself gives us the proof of His resurrection, and blesses us for the joy with
which we welcome it.
T. Arnold, Sermons., vol. vi., p. 172.
References:John 20:28.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxx., No. 1775;
Clergyman's Magazine, vol. v., p. 32.
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
John 20:28. Thomas answeredand said, &c.— Though the nominative often
occurs for the vocative, it is the former case whichis used here, the words συ
ει, thou art, being understood. To this the context agrees;for we are told that
these words were addressedto Jesus;wherefore they cannot be taken merely
as an exclamationof surprise, which is the Sociniangloss;but their meaning
is, "Thouart really he whom I lately followedas my Lord; and I confess thee
to be possessedofinfinite knowledge, andworship thee as my God." It is not
fair that Thomas actually touchedour Lord's wounds; and Christ himself says
afterwards, John 20:29 that his belief was built on sight; which, though it does
not exclude any evidence that might have been afforded the other senses, yet
seems to intimate, that this condescensionofour Lord, togetherwith the
additional evidence arising from the knowledge that he plainly had of that
unreasonable demand which Thomas had made in his absence, withdivine
grace accompanying the whole, quite overcame him.
Expository Notes with PracticalObservations onthe New Testament
These words may be consideredtwo ways.
1. As an abrupt speech, importing a vehement admiration of Christ's mercy
towards him, and of his own stupidity and dullness to believe.
Learn hence, that the convincing condescensionof Christ turns unbelief into a
rapture of holy admiration and humble adoration.
2. This expressionof Thomas, My Lord and my God, contain a short, but
absolute, confessionof faith. Thomas rightly collects from this resurrection,
that he was Lord, God blessedfor evermore, the true Messias,the expected
Redeemer, and accordinglywith an explicit faith he now professes his interest
in him, saying, My Lord and my God.
Yet note, that this resurrectioncould not make him God, and render him then
the objectof divine worship, if he had been only a creature before.
And farther observe, that Christ doth not reprove Thomas for owning him as
God, which shows that Thomas did not mistake in owning the divinity of
Christ.
Greek TestamentCriticalExegeticalCommentary
28.]The Socinianview, that these words, ὁ κύρ. μου κ. ὁ θεός μου, are merely
an exclamation, is refuted—(1) By the factthat no such exclamations were in
use among the Jews. (2)By the εἶπεν αὐτῷ. (3) By the impossibility of
referring ὁ κύριός μου to anotherthan Jesus:see John20:13. (4) By the N.T.
usage of expressing the vocative by the nom. with an article. (5) By the utter
psychologicalabsurdity of such a supposition: that one just convincedof the
presence ofHim whom he deeply loved, should, instead of addressing Him,
break out into an irrelevant cry. (6) By the further absurdity of supposing
that if such were the case, the Apostle John, who of all the sacredwriters most
constantly keeps in mind the objectfor which he is writing, should have
recordedany thing so beside that object. (7) By the intimate conjunction of
πεπίστευκας—seebelow. Dismissing ittherefore, we observe that this is the
highest confessionof faith which has yet been made;—and that it shews that
(though not yet fully) the meaning of the previous confessionsofHis being ‘the
Son of God’ was understood. Thus John, in the very close ofhis Gospel(see on
John 20:30-31)iterates the testimony with which he beganit—to the Godhead
of the Word who became flesh: and by this closing confession, shews how the
testimony of Jesus to Himself had gradually deepened and exalted the
Apostles’conviction, from the time when they knew Him only as ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ
ἰωσήφ (ch. John 1:46), till now when He is acknowledgedas their LORD and
their GOD.
Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament
John 20:28. αὐτῷ, unto Him) Therefore it was Jesus whom he called Lord and
God, and that too, his Lord and his God: which is in consonance withthe
language which is recordedin John 20:17 : nor do these words form a mere
exclamation. The disciples had said, τὸν κύριον, the Lord, John 20:25 : now
Thomas, being recalledto faith, not merely acknowledgesJesusto be Lord, as
previously he had himself acknowledged, and that He was risen again, as his
fellow-disciples were affirming; but even confessesHis Godhead in a higher
sense than any one had yet confessed. Moreover, the language is abrupt
through the suddenness of the feeling excited in him, in this sense, “MyLord
and my God,” I believe and acknowledgethat Thou art my Lord and my God:
and the absolute appellation has the force of an enunciation. A similar
Vocative occurs twice in John 20:16, also in Hosea 2:23, “I will say, thou, my
people, and they shall say, Thou, my God.” Artemonius in Part i. ch. 24, with
which comp. the pref. p. 20 and p. d. 2, brings forward a new explanation,
whereby Thomas is made to callJesus Lord, and the Fatherwho exists in Him
inseparably, God: but in that case Thomas wouldnot have addressedboth
titles unto Him ( αὐτῷ);but would have been addressing the one to Jesus, the
other to the Father, by a sudden apostrophe, [When the language is suddenly
turned to another personpresent or absent, differently from what was the
intention of the speakeratthe beginning. Append.] which by no means
accords with the admiring astonishment of Thomas. If this had been the
intention of Thomas, John would not have added, αὐτῷ, unto Him. Thomas
had not before expresslyrejectedfaith in God the Father, but he had, in the
case ofChrist: therefore now it is not in the Fatherthat he declares expressly
his believing again, but in Christ. [This confessionmoreoveris approved of in
the following verse.—V. g.]
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
My Lord, to whom I wholly yield and give up my self; and my God, in whom I
believe. It is observed, that this is the first time that in the Gospelthe name of
God is given to Christ; he was now by his resurrectiondeclaredto be the Son
of God with power, Revelation1:4. So as Thomas did not show more weakness
and unbelief at the first, than he showedfaith at last, being the first that
acknowledgedChristas Godover all blessedfor ever, the object of people’s
faith and confidence, and his Lord, to whom he freely yielded up himself as a
servant, to be guided and conducted by him.
Justin Edwards' Family Bible New Testament
My Lord and my God; this was addressedto Jesus Christ, and was
commended by him as a just expressionof true faith. Jesus Christ approves of
being addressedby his people as their Lord and their God. The more they
become acquainted with him, the deeperis their conviction that this is his true
character, and the more do both affectionand duty lead them thus to adore
him. Chap John 5:23.
Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools andColleges
28. Not merely the sight of Jesus but the convictionof His omniscience
overwhelms S. Thomas, as it did Nathanael(John 1:50), and the Samaritan
woman (John 4:29). His faith rises with a bound to its full height in the cry of
adoration, with which the Gospelcloses.
ὁ κύριός μ. κ. ὁ θεός μ. For the nominatives comp. John 19:3; Matthew 11:26;
Luke 8:54; Luke 12:32. Most unnatural is the Unitarian view, that these
words are an expressionof astonishment addressedto God. Against this are
[1] the plain and conclusive εἶπεν αὐτῷ;[2] ὁ κύριός μου, which is manifestly
addressedto Christ (comp. John 20:13);[3] the fact that this confessionof
faith forms a climax and conclusionto the whole Gospel. The words are
rightly consideredas an impassioneddeclarationon the part of a devoted but
(in the better sense of the term) scepticalApostle of his conviction, not merely
that his Risen Lord stoodbefore him, but that this Lord was also his God.
And it must be noted that Christ does not correctHis Apostle for this avowal,
any more than He correctedthe Jews for supposing that He claimed to be ἴσον
τῷ θεῷ (John 5:18); rather He accepts andapproves this confessionofbelief
in His Divinity.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
28. My Lord and my God—Thomas now does nobly. He has his fill of proof
and tact, and he pours heart and souland body into an actof faith and
confession. We may now see that Thomas had never been at bottom an infidel.
Even under his I will not believe there was at bottom a spirit of faith; and
when the load of despondencyis removed, he rises at a spring into a higher
confessionthan apostle everyet uttered. That Thomas here recognizedin
Christ that divinity which the greatbody of the Church attributes to Jesus,
has been the view receivedfrom antiquity to this day. It is not to be
questioned without results fundamentally dangerous.
Expository Notes ofDr. Thomas Constable
Evidently Thomas did not take up Jesus" offer. The sight of his Saviorseems
to have been enough to convince him (cf. John 20:29). Thomas then uttered
one of the most profound declarations ofsaving faith in Scripture. For a Jew
to call another human being "my Lord and my God" was blasphemy under
normal circumstances (cf. John 10:33). Yet that is precisely who Thomas
believed Jesus was. It is also who John presentedJesus as being throughout
this Gospel. Bothtitles were titles of deity in the Old Testament. Thomas had
come to believe that Jesus was his lord in a fuller sense than before, and he
now believed that Jesus was fully God.
"The repeatedpronoun my does not diminish the universality of Jesus"
lordship and deity, but it ensures that Thomas" words are a personal
confessionoffaith. Thomas thereby not only displays his faith in the
resurrectionof Jesus Christ, but points to its deepestmeaning; it is nothing
less than the revelation of who Jesus Christ is. The most unyielding sceptic
[sic] has bequeathed to us the most profound confession."[Note:Carson, The
Gospel. . ., p659.]
Now Thomas believed as his fellow disciples had come to believe (cf. John
20:25). His confessionis a model that John presentedfor all future disciples. It
is the high point of this Gospel(cf. John 1:1; John 1:14; John 1:18). John"s
other witnesses to Jesus" deitywere John the Baptist ( John 1:34), Nathanael(
John 1:49), Jesus Himself ( John 5:25; John 10:36), Peter ( John 6:69), the
healed blind man ( John 9:35), Martha ( John 11:27), and John the Apostle (
John 20:30-31).
"Nobodyhas previously addressedJesus like this. It marks a leap of faith. In
the moment that he came to see that Jesus was indeed risen from the dead
Thomas came to see something of what that implied. Mere men do not rise
from the dead in this fashion. The One who was now so obviously alive,
although he had died, could be addressedin the language ofadoring
worship." [Note:Morris, p753.]
Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament
John 20:28. Thomas answeredand said unto him, My Lord and my God. He
passes atonce from the depths of his despondencyand hesitationto the most
exalted faith. The words are certainly addressedto Jesus;and it is
unnecessaryto combat the position that they are only an expressionof the
apostle’s thankfulness to God for what he has seen. They are a triumphant
confessionofhis faith, not simply in the Resurrection, but in Him whom he
sees before him in all the Divinity both of His Personand of His work. Yet we
are not to imagine that only now for the first time did such thoughts enter his
mind. They had been long vaguely entertained, long feebly cherished. Norcan
we doubt that they had been gaining strength, when they were suddenly
dashed by that death upon the cross with which it seemedimpossible to
reconcile them. Then came the tidings of the Resurrection, evenin themselves
most startling, but to Thomas (we may well suppose)more startling than to
any of the other apostles. Were theytrue? He saw in an instant how
incalculable would be the consequences. It was this very perception of the
greatness ofthe tidings that led him to rejectthem. His state of mind had been
the same as in chap. John 11:16, where, when Jesus hinted at giving life, he
went rather to the opposite extreme, and thought of a death that would
involve not only Lazarus but them all. Thus also now. He hears that Jesus is
risen, and his first impulse is to say, ‘It cannotbe: thick darkness cannotpass
at once into such glorious light; the despair which is justified by what has
happened cannotat once be transformed into inextinguishable confidence and
hope.’ This depth of feeling prepared him for the completeness ofthe
revulsion that now took place. For a week he had been able to meditate on all
that he had both seenand heard. We cannot doubt that during that time the
sayings of his Lord about His resurrection, as well as His death, would all
return to his memory. He would see that what was said to have happened had
been foretold; after all it was not to be rejectedas impossible. He would think
with himself what kind or amount of proof could convince him that the fact
was true; and he would be unable to fall upon any harder proof than that
which his incredulity had suggestedin the moment of its first strength. But, if
that proof can be given, then how powerfully would be feel the injustice which
by his doubting he had done his Master!With what force would intimations,
once dark but now bright in the light of the supposedResurrection, come
home to him! His very highest expectations wouldseem to him to have been
warranted, and more than warranted, by the facts. We need not wonderthat,
having passedthrough a week so rich in training power, Thomas, when he did
behold the RisenLord, should have leapedat once from his former unbelief to
faith in its higheststage, orthat he should have exclaimed to Jesus, ‘My Lord
and my God.’ It may even be doubted if, before this confessionwas made, he
found it necessaryto put his finger into the print of the nails or his hand into
the wounded side. It was enoughto ‘see’(John 20:29).
One other remark may be made. Those who study the structure of the Fourth
Gospelwill hardly fail to trace in the incident thus placedat the close ofits
narrative the tendency of the Evangelistto return upon his own early steps.
He had begun with ‘the Word’ who ‘was God;’ he closeswith this highest
truth acceptedand ratified by those to whom the revelationwas given. The
last witness borne by one of them in the body of the Gospelnarrative is, ‘My
Lord and my God!
The Expositor's Greek Testament
John 20:28. Grotius, following Tertullian, Ambrose, Cyril and others, is of
opinion that Thomas availedhimself of the offered test: surely it is
psychologicallymore probable that the test he had insisted on as alone
sufficient is now repudiated, and that he at once exclaims, ὁ κύριός μου καὶ ὁ
θεός μου. His faith returns with a rebound and utters itself in a confessionin
which the gospelculminates. The words are not a mere exclamation of
surprise. That is forbidden by εἶπεν αὐτῷ;they mean “Thou art my Lord and
my God”. The repeatedpronoun lends emphasis. In Pliny’s letter to Trajan
(112 A.D.) he describes the Christians as singing hymns to Christ as God. Our
Lord does not rejectThomas’confession;but (John 20:29) reminds him that
there is a higher faith than that which springs from visual evidence: ὅτι
ἑώρακάς με … καὶ πιστεύσαντες. Jesus would have been better pleasedwith a
faith which did not require the evidence of sense:a faith founded on the
perception that Godwas in Christ, and therefore He could not die; a faith in
His Messiahshipwhich argued that He must live to carry on the work of His
Kingdom. The saying is cited as another instance of the care with which the
various origins and kinds of faith are distinguished in this gospel.
E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes
My Lord and my God. First testimony to the Deity of the risen Lord. Possibly
Thomas was using the words of Psalms 86:15, which in the Septuagint read
Kurie ho Theos, and claiming forgiveness forhis unbelief on the ground of
Exodus 34:6, to which this verse of the Psalmrefers.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged
And Thomas answeredand said unto him, My Lord and my God.
[And]. This "And" is evidently no part of the genuine text.
Thomas answeredand said unto him, My Lord and my God. That Thomas
did not do what Jesus invited him to do, and what he had made the condition
of his believing, seems plain from John 20:29 - "Becausethou hast seenMe
thou hast believed." He is overpowered, andthe glory of Christ now breaks
upon him in a flood. His exclamationsurpasses allthat had been yet uttered,
nor canit be surpassedby anything that ever will be uttered in earth or
heaven. On the striking parallel in Nathanael, sea onJohn 1:49. The Socinian
evasionof the supreme divinity of Christ here manifestly taught-as if it were a
mere call upon Gad in a fit of astonishment-is beneath notice, exceptfor the
profanity which it charges upon this disciple, and the straits to which it shows
themselves reduced.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(28) Thomas answeredand said unto him.—It is implied that he did not make
use of the tests which his Masteroffered him, but that he at once expressed
the fulness of his conviction. This is confirmed by the words of the next verse,
“Because thouhast seenMe.”
My Lord and my God.—Thesewords are precededby “saidunto him,” and
are followedby “because thouhast seenMe, thou hast believed;” and the
words “my Lord” canonly be referred to Christ. (Comp. John 20:13.)The
sentence cannottherefore, without violence to the context, be takenas an
exclamationaddressedto God, and is to be understood in the natural meaning
of a confessionby the Apostle that his Lord was also God.
Treasuryof Scripture Knowledge
And Thomas answeredand said unto him, My Lord and my God.
My Lord
The disbelief of the apostle is the means of furnishing us with a full and
satisfactorydemonstrationof the resurrectionof our Lord. Throughout the
divine dispensations every doctrine and ever important truth is gradually
revealed;and here we have a conspicuous instance of the progressive system.
An angelfirst declares the glorious event; the empty sepulchre confirms the
women's report. Christ's appearance to Mary Magdalene shewedthat he was
alive; that to the disciples at Emmaus proved that it was at the leastthe spirit
of Christ; that to the elevenshewedthe reality of his body; and the conviction
given to Thomas proved it the self-same body that had been crucified.
Incredulity itself is satisfied;and the convincedapostle exclaims, in the joy of
his heart, "My Lord and my God!"
16,31;5:23; 9:35-38;Psalms 45:6,11;102:24-28;118:24-28;Isaiah7:14; 9:6;
Isaiah25:9; 40:9-11;Jeremiah23:5,6;Malachi3:1; Matthew 14:33; Luke
24:52;Acts 7:59,60;1 Timothy 3:16; Revelation5:9-14
Ver. 28. "And Thomas answeredand said unto Him, My Lord and my God."
It runs εἶπεν αὐτῷ:therefore "My Lord and my God" is a concise expression
of deep feeling, instead of "Thou art my Lord and my God." We have here the
first passagein which Jesus is expresslyby His disciples called God,—a
confessionwhichwas soonto be the common one of the whole Christian
Church; as Pliny, in the Epistle to Trajan, records that the Christians sang
hymns to Christ as God. Thomas utters here, as his confession, onlywhat
Jesus had constantly setbefore His disciples as His doctrine. When, for
example, He said to Philip, ch. John 14:9, "He that seethMe hath seenthe
Father," and ver. 10 , "I am in the Father, and the Father in Me," He taught
that the existences ofthe Fatherand the Sonwere perfectly co-extensive, and
that in Himself dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead. Much vain industry has
been spent in evading this confessionofThomas, by those who do not accept
the doctrine of Christ's divinity. He addressedto Christ preciselythe same
words which are elsewhere addressedto the supreme God: e.g. Psalms 35:23,
"Stir up Thyself, and awake to my judgment, even unto my cause, my God
and Lord," ὁ θεός μου καὶ ὁ κύριός μου, Sirach1:1, ἐξομολογήσομαίσοι,
κύριε βασιλεῦ, καὶ αἰνέσω θεόν. We are in a sphere in which the boundary
betweenGod and the creature is drawn with the most rigid precision:comp.
Deuteronomy 6:4; Mark 12:29-30. The address ofThomas would have been
blasphemy if there had been in the Father's essence anything that came not to
manifestation in the Son. That Thomas, in the excitement of the moment,
passedfrom one extreme to another, cannot be assertedby any one who
observes that Christ acceptedhis invocation at once. (Calvin: Neverwould He
have suffered that the honour of the Father should be wrestedand transferred
to Himself.) "Thou hast believed," referring to Himself, shows that to
recognise in Christ the Lord and God, and specificallyHis own Lord and God,
is the necessarycondition of faith. (Calvin: He emphatically calls Him his own
twice, to show that he spoke from a living and solemn sense offaith.) To talk
of an "exaggeratedcry," is altogetherout of the question, in relation to a
Gospelwhich everywhere discloses a tendencyto place the divinity of Christ
in the clearestlight.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
Doubting Thomas: the Supreme Example of Faith
John 20:19-31
Dr. S. Lewis Johnsondiscusses Thomas the Apostle's encounter with the risen
Christ.
SLJ Institute > Gospelof John > Doubting Thomas:the Supreme Example of
Faith
[Message]We’re turning to John chapter 20 and verse 19 through verse 31.
As you can see, this is the conclusionof the 20th chapter. And we have one
more chapter in the expositionof this book. So in just a few weeks we will be
through with the GospelofJohn after I think about ninety messagesonthis
book. Well, I must sayafter doing that many messagesonthe book my sense is
that it probably would be better to have done one hundred and eighty instead
of ninety. It’s that greata book. But of course there are other considerations,
and doing it in ninety is probably sufficient.
We’re beginning reading with verse 19 and remember we’re in this chapter of
the resurrectionand John has given us his testimony about how he came to
faith. And then our Lord has appearedto Mary Magdalene who was at the
empty tomb. And now is his appearance to the disciples, and then the special
appearance to the disciples againin which Thomas is present. And finally,
John tells us why he wrote his book. So let’s begin at verse 19 and we will read
through verse 31.
“Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, whenthe
doors were shut where the disciples were assembledfor fearof the Jews, came
Jesus and stoodin the midst, and saith unto them, Peacebe unto you. And
when he had so said, he showedunto them his hands and his side. Then were
the disciples glad, when they saw the LORD. Then said Jesus to them again,
Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when
he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the
Holy Ghost: Whose soeversins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and
whose soeversins ye retain, they are retained. But Thomas, one of the twelve,
calledDidymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples
therefore said unto him, We have seenthe LORD. But he said unto them,
Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the
print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And
after eight days againhis disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then
came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stoodin the midst, and said, Peacebe
unto you. (You’ll notice that twice John has made reference to the factthat
the doors were shut when Jesus came in these resurrectionappearances.
Evidently that is designed to give us some indication of the spiritual nature of
our Lord’s body. We don’t have a whole lot said in the Bible about the nature
of the resurrectionbody. I think if you think about that you will understand
why, because it would be something that we are not at the present time
capable of understanding. So there are just intimations here and there of the
nature of the resurrection body. Paul describes it in 1 Corinthians in ways in
which the words tell us something about the body but not preciselywhat it
was like. And so here the body of our Lord which apparently had been swiftly
dematerialized and had passedthrough the folds which had been placed
around his body for burial. And now he is able to move right through closed
doors. That tells us something of the powerof the resurrectionbody, and that
is about all. It, of course, is something very wonderful. But nevertheless we are
not able to understand yet. We are finite, and furthermore, not only are we
finite, but we are still unsanctified. That is, we have not been brought to the
place that we shall be brought to through the ministry of the Holy Spirit and
the coming of our Lord. Now when Jesus came into the midst of them he said
to them, Peace be unto you. And he has some specialwords for Thomas and
we read in verse 27,)Then saith he to Thomas, Reachhither thy finger, and
behold my hands; and reachhither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and
be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answeredand said unto him, My
LORD and my God. Jesus saithunto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen
me, thou hast believed: blessedare they that have not seen, and yet have
believed. And many other signs truly did Jesus (Johnadds) in the presence of
his disciples, which are not written in this book (Ah, think what a lengthy
series ofmessagesit would have been had he put all of these signs in the book.
Did I hear a hallelujah? [Laughter]): But these are written, that ye might
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might
have life through his name.”
Incidentally, if you turn overto the very last verse of this book John wrote
and said, “There are also many other things which Jesus did,” the which if
they should be written, every one I suppose that even the world itself could not
contain the books that should be written. May the Lord bless this reading of
his word. And let’s bow togethernow in a moment of prayer.
[Prayer] Our heavenly Father, we come to Thee in the name of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. This very one of whom John the Apostle writes in the
chapters of his greatgospel, orgood news. We thank Thee for the fact that the
signs were performed and through the ministry of the Holy Spirit down
through the centuries many have come to a personalfaith in him who brings
eternal life. And we are grateful for the ministry that has come to us through
the Holy Spirit. And we are grateful for the wayin which we have been
brought out of darkness into his marvelous light. And we recognize, Lord, of
course, that should it have been left to us we should have perished in our sins.
But we are grateful for the saving ministry of Christ and for the ministry of
the Holy Spirit who today works mightily in the hearts of men to turn them to
faith in him whom to know is life eternal. And we are grateful that we have by
Thy grace come to know that he is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that in
that knowledge we’ve come to possesslife. We are truly blessed.
And Father, we are grateful for the promises of the word of God, which have
accompaniedhim. And we thank Thee that throughout all of the days of our
lives we know that he is with us in the Spirit and we may depend upon him in
the experiences oflife. We pray for the whole body of Christ today many of
whom do not have the privilege of the knowledge ofthe word of God that
others have because they have limited access to the Scriptures or to the
expositions of the word of God that we have, but who nevertheless form part
of that body. And we are grateful for eachone, and we pray Lord that today
through the ministrations of our greatGod in heaven and through the
agenciesofthe gifted men that Thou hast given, the church may be
strengthenedand edified and built up and that the purposes of God for this
age may be accomplished. And we look forward to his coming againwhen he
shall take us to himself.
We pray Thy blessing on the ministry and outreach of the church. And we
pray Lord especiallyfor Believers Chapel, its elders, and its deacons, and its
members, and its friends. And we pray, Lord, for its ministries to the
teachers, its publication ministry, its radio ministries, and the various other
forms of ministry that are carried out through the Chapel. May, oh God, we
experience Thy blessing. Give us faithfulness. Give us submissionto the will of
God and to the word of God. May, Lord, we be an effective instrumentality in
the purpose of the ages. We pray for our country, for our President. We pray
for the sick, for the disturbed, for the weak, andfor the helpless, and for the
bereaving, and for others who have difficult problems to solve, we commit
them all to Thee confident, Lord, that Thou wilt meet our needs. And we pray
that Thou wilt be with us through the experiences oflife on into the presence
of the eternalGod.
We give Thee thanks. And we pray that in the meetings as it progressestoday
and in the singing of the hymn, in the ministry of the word we may be
strengthenedand edified. For Jesus’sake. Amen.
[Message]One of the things that characterizedthe early church was their
observance ofthe Lord’s Supper every Sunday. That is a well documented
fact from the early church writings. And it is, of course, the practice of
Believers Chapelto observe the Lord’s Supper in an open meeting each
Sunday night. Another thing that characterizedthe early church, of course,
was waterbaptism. And in the early church frequently baptism was on the
spur of belief. That is the conditions were such that it was possible for a
person to come to faith and be immediately baptized. It’s very difficult for us
to do that in our societytoday. But we do seek to baptize as often and as soon
as we canafter individuals come to faith in Christ. We don’t have a Jordan
River flowing by the side of Believers Chapelthat if a person comes to faith in
Christ in our morning service we may go out immediately afterwards upon
confessionoffaith and immediately baptize them in the water. In fact, on a
day as cold as this, perhaps that’s a very nice thing to think about.
But we do observe waterbaptism, and tonight as the concluding part of our
evening service after the observance ofthe Lord’s Supper we are going to
baptize sevenor eight who have professedtheir faith in Christ. And I say
sevenor eight because ofthe interviews is a little bit up in the air at the
present time, which is a necessarybefore baptism. As most of you know who
have been here, we do interview all of those who have professedin Christ, to
just as best as we are able as human beings to see that the testimonies are
genuine testimonies of faith. So we may baptize eight tonight, I hope we do,
but we will baptize at leastsevenwho have professedtheir faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ. The ordinances were so important to our Lord that he laid stress
upon them. And we too should find them an integral part of our Christian life
and testimony. We invite you to come tonight for the Lord’s Supper at 6:30.
And then at the conclusionof that we shall observe the ordinance of water
baptism.
But this morning we are turning to the Gospelof John chapter 20 verse 19
through verse 31, and our subjectis “Doubting Thomas, the Supreme
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
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Jesus was lord and god
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Jesus was lord and god
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Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
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Jesus was lord and god
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Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
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Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
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Jesus was lord and god
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Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
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Jesus was lord and god
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Jesus was lord and god
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Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
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Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
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Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
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Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
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Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
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Jesus was lord and god
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Jesus was lord and god
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Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
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Jesus was lord and god
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Jesus was lord and god
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Jesus was lord and god
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Jesus was lord and god
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Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god
Jesus was lord and god

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Jesus was scoffed at by the phariseesJesus was scoffed at by the pharisees
Jesus was scoffed at by the pharisees
 
Jesus was clear you cannot serve two masters
Jesus was clear you cannot serve two mastersJesus was clear you cannot serve two masters
Jesus was clear you cannot serve two masters
 
Jesus was saying what the kingdom is like
Jesus was saying what the kingdom is likeJesus was saying what the kingdom is like
Jesus was saying what the kingdom is like
 
Jesus was telling a story of good fish and bad
Jesus was telling a story of good fish and badJesus was telling a story of good fish and bad
Jesus was telling a story of good fish and bad
 
Jesus was comparing the kingdom of god to yeast
Jesus was comparing the kingdom of god to yeastJesus was comparing the kingdom of god to yeast
Jesus was comparing the kingdom of god to yeast
 
Jesus was telling a shocking parable
Jesus was telling a shocking parableJesus was telling a shocking parable
Jesus was telling a shocking parable
 
Jesus was telling the parable of the talents
Jesus was telling the parable of the talentsJesus was telling the parable of the talents
Jesus was telling the parable of the talents
 
Jesus was explaining the parable of the sower
Jesus was explaining the parable of the sowerJesus was explaining the parable of the sower
Jesus was explaining the parable of the sower
 
Jesus was warning against covetousness
Jesus was warning against covetousnessJesus was warning against covetousness
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Jesus was explaining the parable of the weeds
Jesus was explaining the parable of the weedsJesus was explaining the parable of the weeds
Jesus was explaining the parable of the weeds
 
Jesus was radical
Jesus was radicalJesus was radical
Jesus was radical
 
Jesus was laughing
Jesus was laughingJesus was laughing
Jesus was laughing
 
Jesus was and is our protector
Jesus was and is our protectorJesus was and is our protector
Jesus was and is our protector
 
Jesus was not a self pleaser
Jesus was not a self pleaserJesus was not a self pleaser
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Jesus was to be our clothing
Jesus was to be our clothingJesus was to be our clothing
Jesus was to be our clothing
 
Jesus was the source of unity
Jesus was the source of unityJesus was the source of unity
Jesus was the source of unity
 
Jesus was love unending
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Jesus was our liberator
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Jesus was lord and god

  • 1. JESUS WAS LORD AND GOD EDITED BY GLENN PEASE John 20:28 Thomas answeredand said unto him, My Lord and my God. GreatTexts of the Bible My Lord and My God It was a strange confessionthis, to be addressedby a pious Jew, who knew the meaning of his faith, to the man Christ Jesus, with whom as man he had companied, with whom he had eatenand drunk, whom he had heard speak in human words through human lips. The Jew believed in a God who had createdmen, who workedthrough them and ruled them, who was conversant with all their ways, who spoke to them and had spokenthrough them. But it was a God who was more immeasurably distant than imagination could bridge, whose ways were higher than men’s ways, and His thoughts than men’s thoughts, as high as the heaven is from the earth. He had spoken through men, but it is in that very consciousnessofthe prophets that the distance betweenGod and man becomes mostsignificant. It emphasizes just where man is highest; for in proportion to man’s goodnessdoes he become conscious ofhis own sinfulness in the presence of the high and holy God. “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seenthe King, the Lord of hosts”—thathad been the cry of Isaiah. “Ah, Lord God! behold I cannot speak:for I am a child”—that had been the confessionof Jeremiah’s weakness.There was not one of these holy men of God who, if we had
  • 2. proposedto offer him the sort of reverence that is due to God, would have hesitatedfor a moment to rebuke it in the language ofSt. Peter, “Stand up; for I myself also am a man.” The last of the prophets, he who is calledgreater than the prophets, is conspicuous forthis self-effacementin the presence of God, though in his case he took off the glory of his prophetic crownto castit at the feetof Christ. Truly a strange confessionthis, to see one who knew the meaning of his belief in the one and only unapproachable God, and hear him speak to One who was truly Son of Man, truly Jesus ofNazareth, in the words “My Lord and my God.” 1. The text forms the climax of the Fourth Gospel. It is St John’s answerto the question, “Who then is this?” That question was askedby the people when Christ stayedthe storm on the Sea of Galilee. Theywere astonishedwithout measure, we are told, and said one to another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” Four answers have been given to that question. (1) First there is the answerwhich the people themselves gave. “Is not this the carpenter’s son?” they said. He was one of themselves. He had been born in Bethlehem; He had followedHis father’s trade; He had lived amongstthem, and they believed that they knew Him. They knew Him and all His kindred: “Is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, andJoses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us?” He simply made an addition of one to the population of the town of Nazareth. And this answeris given still. In our day there is scarcelya more popular answerthan this. Jesus is a man; He makes an addition of one to the population of the world. He is a man, it is added, of supreme ability, originality, and earnestness. He is a man of most exceptionalgoodness. Those
  • 3. who make this answerhave a little difficulty in agreeing as to just how good He was. Some go so far as to saythat He seems to have been sinless, or at any rate that nothing sinful is reported of Him. But most will not go so far as that. They cannot believe that any man whose father and mother we know could be sinless. In the shop of Nazareth Pungent cedarhaunts the breath. ’Tis a low Easternroom, Windowless, touchedwith gloom. Workman’s bench and simple tools Line the walls. Chests and stools, Yoke of ox, and shaft of plow, Finished by the Carpenter, Lie about the pavement now.
  • 4. In the room the Craftsmanstands, Stands and reaches out His hands. Let the shadows veil His face If you must, and dimly trace His workman’s tunic, girt with bands At His waist. But His hands— Let the light play on them; Marks of toil lay on them. Paint with passionand with care Every old scarshowing there Where a toolslipped and hurt; Show eachcallous;be alert
  • 5. For eachdeep line of toil. Show the soil Of the pitch; and the strength Grip of helve gives at length. When night comes, andI turn From my shop where I earn Daily bread, let me see Those hard hands—know that He Shared my lot, every bit; Was a man, every whit. Could I fear such a hand
  • 6. Stretchedtoward me? Misunderstand Or mistrust? Doubt that He Meets me in full sympathy? “Carpenter!hard like Thine Is this hand—this of mine: I reachout, gripping Thee, Son of man, close to me, Close and fast, fearlessly.” (2) The secondansweris made by God. “This is my beloved Son.” The people of Nazareth claimedHim as theirs. He is one of us, they said. God’s answeris, He is not yours, He is Mine. The time may come when He will be yours also; He is not yours yet. He will be yours when you know that He is not simply an addition of one to the population of Nazareth;He will be yours when you know that He is not merely a man, but the Son of man. Meanwhile He is Mine; He is the Sonof God. This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
  • 7. This answeris not so popular in our day. It is not so comprehensive;it is said to be not so comforting. The greatmerit, we are told, of regarding Jesus as simply one of us is that we can then be sure of His sympathy. But is it enough to be sure of His sympathy? Must we not also be sure of His power? It is one thing to know that He is willing; is He also able to help us in every time of need? He who is the beloved Son of God has all the sympathy for us that the kindest-heartedman could have; and, much more than that, He is able to succourthem that are tempted. When our Lord Jesus Christ became Man, He identified Himself with humanity, in all its weakness,in all its sorrow, and (in a figure) in all its sin. An unflagging outpouring of sympathy, an untiring energy of benevolence, a continuous oblation of self-sacrifice—thatwas the life of the Son of Man upon earth. Many a man has borne his poverty more bravely because Jesus Himself was poor; againand againit has helped men in the furnace of temptation to think that He knows what sore temptations mean, For He has felt the same. And the mourner in dark and lonely hours has found comfortin the remembrance that Jesus wept at a human grave, and knows all the bitter longings of his soul.1 [Note:S. C. Lowry, Lent Sermons on the Passion, 55.] His question still, to every sufferer who needs relief, to every sinner who needs pardon, is, “Believestthou that I am able to do this?” And the reply still is, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”
  • 8. (3) The third answeris againthe answerof the people—“This is indeed the Saviour of the world.” It was the answergiven by those Samaritans who had discoveredfor themselves that Jesus couldboth sympathize and deliver. It was the answerof those who had had personalexperience of His saving grace and power. “Now we believe,” they said to the woman of Samaria, “not because ofthy speaking:for we have heard for ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world.” They had taken the answerof the inhabitants of Nazareth and the answerof God the Father and had put them together. He was both the carpenterand God’s Son. And this is the final answer. There is no possibility of going beyond it. The answerof the inhabitants of Nazarethis shortsightedand very partial. God’s answeris partial also, since it has to wait our response before it can be made complete. But it is not short-sighted. It has within it the promise, as it has the potency, of the salvation of the world. It is God’s own expressionof the momentous fact of history: “Godso loved the world that he gave his only begottenSon.” It only waits for that factto have its fulfilment—“that whosoeverbelievethon him may not perish but have everlasting life.” The answerof the people of Samaria is complete and it is final. All that has yet to be done is to have its contents declaredand appropriated. What does Saviour involve? And how is the Saviour of the world to be recognisedas mine? (4) Thomas declared its contents. The Saviour of the world is both Lord and God. He is Lord, for He is a man. The inhabitants of Nazarethknew that. He is also the supreme man. They did not know that; and when He claimed it they took Him to the brow of their hill to castHim down headlong. Thomas had discoveredthat Jesus is Sonof man, the representative Man, the Man to whom every man owes obedience. But He is also God. The people of Nazareth did not know that He was God: but God the Fatherknew—“This is my beloved Son.” That also was containedin the title which the Samaritans gave Him—“the Saviour of the world”—thoughthey did not bring it out, and probably were not aware of it. Thomas brought it out, knowing as he did that
  • 9. no man, if he is only man, can save his brother or give to God a ransom for him. But Thomas not only declaredthe contents of the Samaritans’confession, he appropriated them. He said, “My Lord and my God”;from which we see that he was led along a path of his own, through his own personalexperience, to this appropriation. 2. Now this is the confessionto which the Fourth Gospelhas been leading up. St. John beganwith the statementthat the Word was God. He showedat once that he identified the Word with Jesus of Nazareth, for he said that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Then he proceededwith the rest of the life of Jesus, selecting his incidents in order to show that he was right in identifying Jesus with the Word. He came quite early to the people of Samaria, who said, “This is the Saviour of the world.” But that was not definite enough; it was not individual enough. He proceededwith the life, recording its wonderful words and wonderful works, till he came to the death and the resurrection of Jesus. He reachedhis climax and conclusionin the confessionofThomas, “My Lord and my God.” Then he brought his Gospel to an end with that frank expressionof the purpose of it—“These are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in his name.” 3. Is it not a remarkable thing that this confessionwas made by Thomas? We speak of Thomas as the doubter. Is it not astonishing that the doubting Thomas should have been he that rose to that greatheight of faith, and was able to say “My Lord and my God”? It may be that we are not so much astonishedat it as our fathers were. Tennysonhas taught us to believe that doubt may not be undesirable. At least he has taught us to repeat comfortably his words—
  • 10. There is more faith in honestdoubt, Believe me, than in half the creeds. But even to us it is surely a surprise to find that that man whom we have lookedupon as most reluctant of all the Apostles to make the venture of faith, makes at lasta venture which must, we think, have startled the rest of the Apostles as they heard it, calling this Jesus with whom they had companied all these days not only Lord but also God. But let us see if Thomas was the common doubter we have takenhim for. We know very little of his history. Almost all we know from the Gospels is containedin four sayings. (1) The first saying was uttered on the occasionofthe death of Lazarus. Jesus and His disciples had left Judæa for fear of the Jews whenword reachedthem in their seclusionthat Lazarus was dead. Jesus announcedHis intention of returning to the neighbourhood of Jerusalem. The disciples remonstrated. “The Jews oflate sought to stone thee; and goestthou thither again?” When Jesus persisted, “Letus also go,” saidThomas, “that we may die with him.” These are not the words of a vulgar doubter. They are the words of a man who counts the cost. If he errs in counting the costtoo deliberately, at any rate he falls into fewermistakes than the impulsive Peter. And it is the more creditable to him that, counting the costso carefully, he makes so brave a decisionas this. (2) The secondsaying is spokenin the Upper Room. Jesus was trying to prepare the disciples for the impending separation. He was going away. They knew where He was going, did they not? “Whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.” But they did not know; and it was Thomas who uttered their ignorance:“Lord, we know not whither thou goest:and how can we know the way?” There is neither doubt nor conspicuous cautionin the words;there is
  • 11. simply the mind of the practicalman who is willing to go where he has to go but would like to see the way. (3) It is from the third saying that Thomas has obtained the name of doubter. Jesus had risen from the dead, but Thomas could not believe it. No more could the rest believe it until they had evidence before them. Thomas happened to be absent when they had it, and he said, “ExceptI shall 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.” With such an expressionof determined disbelief to his credit, it is not to be wondered at that Thomas has receivedthe name of doubting Thomas. Yet these are scarcelythe words of a man who doubts habitually. They are rather the determination of a cautious and practicalman to make sure that he has evidence enough to go upon. And God never refuses any man sufficient evidence. A few days afterwards Jesus offered Thomas the very evidence that he demanded. Thomas was wrong in relying so entirely on the evidence of the senses, and he was rebuked for that. “Because thouhast seenme, thou hast believed. Blessedare they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” But it is to the glory of Thomas that when he did obtain sufficient evidence he believed with all his heart. As soonas he understood, he trusted; as soonas he knew, he loved. He needed no more than the evidence of the Resurrectionto prove the Divinity. He made the greatleap of faith and threw himself personally into the arms of a personalSaviour— “My Lord and my God.” (4) “My Lord and my God.” This is the fourth saying of Thomas that we know. Thomas the doubter has left his doubt behind. He has outstripped his fellow-disciples. He has outstripped even the impetuous Peter, whose great confession,”Thouart the Christ, the Sonof the living God,” lacks the personalappropriation that marks the difference betweeninsight and faith.
  • 12. Men have generallypassedon Thomas a very severe judgment. The Church, for ages,has branded infidel on his brow. But this judgment is one that is not justified by the facts, and cannot be entertained by us. At all times and even to this day people are quite ready to scattersuch epithets about with an open hand. It is an easyand complacentway of disposing of men. But it is often a shallow enough device. We show thereby but little insight into the nature of men or of God. If we could look into the hearts of those whom we so fling awayfrom us, we should often find deep enough sorrows there, struggles to which we ourselves are strangers, wrestlings fortruth and light without receiving it, and yearnings pent up and hidden from the generaleye.1 [Note: A. B. Davidson, The Called of God, 322.] There is not one believer who is not assailedby moments of doubt, of doubt of the existence ofGod. These doubts are not harmful: on the contrary, they lead to the highest comprehensionof God. That God whom I knew became familiar to me, and I no longer believed in Him. A man believes fully in God only when He is revealedanew to him, and He is revealedto man from a new side, when He is sought with a man’s whole soul.2 [Note:Tolstoy, Works, xvi. 418.] They bade me castthe thing away, They pointed to my hands all bleeding, They listened not to all my pleading; The thing I meant I could not say;
  • 13. I knew that I should rue the day If once I castthat thing away. I graspedit firm, and bore the pain; The thorny husks I stripped and scattered; If I could reach its heart, what mattered If other men saw not my gain, Or even if I should be slain? I knew the risks;I chose the pain. O, had I castthat thing away, I had not found what most I cherish, A faith without which I should perish,— The faith which, like a kernel, lay
  • 14. Hid in the husks which on that day My instinct would not throw away!3 [Note:Helen Hunt Jackson.] 4. How did Thomas reach his greatconfession? He reachedit through the Deathand the Resurrection. Theseare the two events which have occurred betweenthe time when Thomas with the rest of the disciples forsook Him and fled, and the time when he said, “My Lord and my God.” (1) He obtained “My Lord” first. The resurrectionof Jesus gave him that directly. ForJesus had claimed the mastery, and to that claim God had now setHis sealby raising Him from the dead. It was the simple confessionofthe Messiahship. His death seemedto show that He had made the claim unwarrantably, but the resurrectionproved that He had made it with the approbation of God. The title “Lord” as used at the time, had little more significance than the title “Sir,” as we use it in addressing men to-day. But as it fell from the lips of this man, I think I am right in saying that it came with a full and rich and spacious meaning. I do not think for a moment you can differ from me when I say that when Thomas on that occasionsaid, “MyLord,” in that word he recognized the sovereigntyof Christ over his own life, and did by that word yield himself in willing submission to that sovereignty.1 [Note:G. Campbell Morgan.] (2) But “Lord” alone may be useless. “Ye callme Masterand Lord,” said Jesus, “but ye do not the things which I say.” And again, He warnedthem that many would sayto Him “Lord, Lord,” to whom He would have to make the
  • 15. reply that He never knew them. To “My Lord” it is necessaryto add “My God.” Thomas obtained “My Lord” from Jesus’resurrection. He found “My God” in His death and resurrectioncombined. We are apt to think that he must have found “My God” in the power which Jesus possessedorin the authority which He wielded; in His miracles or in His teaching. But His life and work could do no more than show that Jesus might be God. What proved Him to be God indeed was His suffering and death followedby His resurrection. For now it was evident that He need not have suffered and need not have died. It was evident that He had suffered and died purely out of love. “Greaterlove hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” It needs the love of God to lay down one’s life for one’s enemies. “Godcommendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” “Godis love,” and the Man who could not save Himself as He hung upon the cross could be nothing less than God. If the conclusionthat Jesus was Godwas basedmerely upon the factof resurrection, I declare that it was not justified. Resurrectiondid not demonstrate deity. The Hebrew Scriptures told of resurrection of certain men from the dead. Put these out of mind if you can. Thomas had seenthree dead ones come to life during the ministry of Jesus. He had seenHim raise the child of Jairus; he had seenthe sonof the widow of Nain given back to his mother after he had been laid upon the bier; and he had seenthe raising of Lazarus, but he did not stand in the presence of Lazarus and say, My Lord and my God, because Lazarus was alive from the dead. If the confessionwas merely the result of resurrection, then I declare it was not justified. The factthat Christ was risenfrom among the dead is not enough to base the doctrine of His deity upon. But, as a sequence to all that had precededit, I claim that he was justified. In that hour when Thomas became convincedthat the One he had seendead was alive from among the dead, there came back againto him with gatheredforce, focusedinto one clearbright hour of illumination, all the
  • 16. facts in the life and ministry that had precededthat resurrection.1 [Note:G. Campbell Morgan.] Faith is not belief in fact, demonstration, or promise; it is sensibility to the due influence of the fact, something that enables us to act upon the fact, the susceptibility to all the strength that is in the fact, so that we are controlled by it. Nobody canproperly define this. All we can say is that it comes by the grace ofGod, and that failure to see the truth is not so lamentable as failure to be moved by it.2 [Note: Mark Rutherford.] My Lord and My God BIBLEHUB RESOURCES Pulpit Commentary Homiletics The Cry Of Faith And Joy John 20:28 J.R. Thomson If St. John begins his Gospelwith a clearand full declarationof our Lord's Deity, he here towards its close gives his readers to understand that his conviction was sharedby others who, like himself, had the advantage of prolonged and continuous fellowship with Jesus. I. THE WITNESS OF THIS CRY TO THE NATURE AND AUTHORITY OF CHRIST. 1. This witness is all the more important, because
  • 17. (1) given after our Lord's resurrectionfrom the dead, when his ministry was completed, and when its impressionwas single and perfect; and (2) given by an incredulous apostle, whose unbeliefwas overcome by the force of evidence, and whose convictionwas accordinglythe more valuable. 2. This witness was full and explicit. When Thomas cried, "My Lord and my God!" the two appellations were unquestionably addressedto one and the same Person, who stood before him. The language constitutes a confessionof our Lord's Divinity. This must be acknowledged, evenby those who regard the nature of the union of the human and Divine in Christ as matter of speculation, because unrevealed. 3. This witness was acceptedby the Savior, who would certainly have rejected it had it been the utterance of mistakenenthusiasm. Jesus, however, in reply to Thomas, said, "Thou hast believed," meaning by this language, "believed the truth concerning me." II. THE WITNESS OF THIS CRY TO THE APPROPRIATINGPOWEROF FAITH. 1. When we cry, "My Lord and my God!" we imply that, to our apprehension, Christ has not only given himself for us, but has given himself to us. He could not otherwise be ours. The only claim we can have upon him is founded upon his owngenerosityand sacrifice. 2. If we have property in Christ, it follows that we feel towards him a spiritual and affectionate attachment. "Jesus, thouart my Lord and God, I joy to callthee mine; For on thy head, though pierced with thorns, I see a crown Divine!" 3. The appropriation by the soul of Christ himself is the appropriation of him in all his offices. In approaching the Savior, the soul addresses him thus: "My Prophet! my Priest!my King!"
  • 18. 4. When this exclamationis sincere, it is a confessionthat Christ is an all- sufficient and an everlasting Portion. "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee!" - T. Biblical Illustrator And Thomas answeredand said unto Him, My Lord and my God. John 20:28 My Lord and my God C. H. Spurgeon. Let us consider— I. THE EXCLAMATION OF THOMAS. It is as much as a man could say if he wished to assertdogmaticallythat Jesus is God and Lord (Psalm 35:23). To escape from the force of this confessionsome have chargedThomas with breaking the third commandment, just as thoughtless persons take the Lord's name in vain and say, "GoodGod!" or "O Lord!" This could not have been the case.For, in the first place, it was not the habit of a Jew to use any such exclamationwhen surprised. The Jews in our Lord's time were particular beyond everything about using the name of God. In the next place, it was not rebuked by our Lord, and we may be sure He would not have suffered such an unhallowed cry to have gone without a reprimand. Observe, too, that it was addressedto the Lord Jesus. 1. It was not a mere outburst, acceptedby our Lord as an evidence of faith, but a devout expressionof holy wonder at the discoverythat Jesus was his Lord and God, and probably also at the fact that he has not seenit long before. Had he not been present when Jesus trod the sea? &c. Now ona sudden he does know his Lord, and such knowledge is too wonderful for him. How I wish you would all follow Thomas!I will stop that you may do so. Let us wonder and admire!
  • 19. 2. An expressionof immeasurable delight. He seems to take hold of the Lord Jesus with both hands, by those two blessed"my's." There is here a music akin to "my beloved is mine, and I am His." I pray you follow Thomas in this. Before you Jesus now stands, visible to your faith. Delight yourselves in him. 3. An indication of a complete change of mind, — a most hearty repentance. Instead of putting his finger into the print of the nails, he cried, "My Lord and my God." 4. A brief confessionof faith. Whosoeverwill be saved, before all things it is necessarythat he be able to unite with Thomas heartily in this creed. 5. An enthusiastic professionof his allegiance to Christ. "Henceforth, thou art my Lord, and I will serve Thee;Thou art my God, and I will worship Thee." 6. A distinct and direct actof adoration. II. HOW DID HE COME TO THAT EXCLAMATION? 1. He had his thoughts revealed. The Saviour had read them at a distance. Notice that the Saviour did not say, "Put thy finger into the nail-prints in My feet." Why not? Why, because Thomas had not said anything about His feet. We, in looking at it, can see the exactness;bat Thomas must have felt it much more. 2. All the past must have risen before his mind, the many occasionsin which the Lord Jesus had exercisedthe attributes of Deity. 3. The very manner of the Saviour, so full of majesty, convinced the trembling disciple. 4. But the most convincing were our Lord's wounds. III. HOW WE MAY COME TO IT. If ever any one of us shall cry in spirit and in truth, "My Lord and my God!" the Holy Spirit must teach us. We shall so cry — 1. At conversion. 2. In deliverance from temptation.
  • 20. 3. In time of trouble, when we are comfortedand upheld. There have been other occasions less trying. 4. While studying the story of our Lord. 5. In the breaking of bread. 6. In times when He has blessedour labours, and laid His arm bare in the salvationof men. 7. In the hour of death. 8. In heaven. (C. H. Spurgeon.) My Lord and my God C. Hodge, D. D. I. THIS IS NOT AN EXCLAMATION — 1. Becausesuchexclamations were abhorrent to the Jews. 2. It would be without warrant in Scripture. 3. It is by its form necessarilyan address — "Thomas saidto Him." II. THE MEANING OF THE WORDS. 1. Lord, κύριος, means owner, and as ownershipincludes control, it expressed —(1) The idea of ownership founded on possession, as Lord of the Vineyard, Lord of Slaves, Lord of the whole earth.(2)The Lordship without reference to its ground; hence kings are also called lords. So also heads of families, husbands, &c.(3)Hence a mere title of courtesyas dominus, mister, &c.(4)As applied to God it retains its relative meaning — the relation of God to His creatures as their Ownerand absolute Ruler. It is substituted in the LXX. for Jehovah, Shaddai, Elohim, and not only for Aden or Adonai. Hence in the New Testamentit is used for Christ. He is our Lord in the sense in which
  • 21. Jehovahwas the Lord of the Hebrews. Christ owns us both as Creatorand Redeemer. 2. God. What this means passes allunderstanding and imagination. It is easy to say, "Godis a Spirit, infinite, eternal," &c. But who can comprehend the Infinite? We know that one infinite in His Being and perfections must be —(1) The objectof adoration, supreme love, absolute submission.(2) The ground of confidence.(3)One in whose favour is eternal life. All that God is, Christ is. All that is due to God is due to Christ. 3. My means not only that Christ is the Personwhom we acknowledge and confess to be our Lord and God, to the exclusion of all other persons out of the Godhead; but that He stands in the relation of Lord and God to us, and that we stand in a corresponding relation to Him; that we recognize His ownership and authority; depend on His protection, adore, love, trust, and serve Him as our Lord and God. This it is to be a Christian. (C. Hodge, D. D.) The confessionof Thomas A. Mackennel, D. D. The words imply — I. SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 1. When Thomas says this he is confessing that his past life has been a mistake. The arrogance ofhis former speechcontrasts strikingly with the lowliness ofthis. A new revelationhad been given him, making knownthe one greatneed of his souls Lord to control his will, and form his judgment, and give law to his inmost spirit. Our greatwant is a ruler; submission is one of the deepestof human needs.(1)Let self-will be ever so successful, the heart is still unsatisfied. Ambition is soonsated;and the "head that wears a crown" is "uneasy," not more because ofthe cares ofgovernment than because the monarch is tired of himself. Even the partial stimulus which self-seekershave, while yet they are striving for their object, witnessesto the same truth; a man
  • 22. may choose his aim, but when he has chosenit, it controls him. No man ever found rest till his aim in life was decidedon. Seeking an object, men for a time are tranquil, for they are freed from self;but when their object is secured, they fall againinto the restlessnessofbondage to a selfthat is insufficient for them.(2) Look now at another class ofmen of nobler character. The truth- seekeris freed from self, for he feels truth to be absolute, independent of him, and he yields allegiance to it. The lover of right is under an eternal law of rectitude; righteousness is not something that he invents. Right is, and is his lord. Duty is what we owe, not what we choose to give. But what is truth? Its seekersare all in disagreement. Whatis right? The standard of rectitude in our England is very different from that of ancient Rome. Has duty any higher standard than statute law, or regardfor the greatesthappiness of the greatest number? These very words setus againupon a drifting sea of self-will. Truth, duty, rectitude — these are cold words. To stir passionand controlaffection they must be seenembodied in personalform. Love, reverence — these are the heart's deep wants. Cold abstractions cannever deliver us from self 2. Thomas had found all he neededin Christ. Christ was "the Truth;" His will absolute righteousness;duty was what he owedto Him. There was no coldness nor vagueness inthese names when summed up in the personof His Lord. Love rises to worship in his confession;his heart is at rest when he says, "my Lord."(1) This is the secretofChrist's power overmen. He comes among them as their Lord; He claims authority and submission. Christ does not allure men by pleasures, flattering their self-will. He simply bids them "Follow Me," andthey leave all and follow Him. He speaks to those to whom self-will is barrenness, and there is fruitfulness. He speaks to those whose selfishness is weakness anddisease, andin obedience to Him come health and energy. And herein do we see the meaning of "Come unto Me all ye that labour Take Myyoke upon you," &c. Forin meekness and obedience our spirits find their end and purpose, and herein is rest.(2)In Christ, too, we see how blessedto yield our wills to the will of God. He who came to tell us that we are ruined, because we seek ourown wills and not the will of God, must Himself be submissive. He who came revealing absolute truth and righteousness, claiming our homage for them, must Himself yield them homage. Christ can rule because He knows how to obey.
  • 23. II. KNOWLEDGE OF THE MEANING OF LIFE. 1. It was Christ's perfectknowledge ofThomas which brought from him the confession.(1)Christ had heard the scepticalwords;He had been with Thomas, though Thomas had not been with Him. But Thomas could not stop here; as none can rest in one separate instance ofHis knowledge andgrace. He who knew this must know all. All his past life would flash upon him, and he would recognize it all as Christ's plan to educate and bring him to Himself.(2) Christ had done infinitely more than to simply give Thomas his own test for the resurrection;He had brought Thomas to a better mind, and made that test appearabsurd. The touch would only have convinced that the risen Jesus was here;Thomas, without touching Him, calls Him "My Lord and my God." Underlying Thomas's wish for sensible proof there had been the unquenchable longing for personalintercourse. ThatJohn and the others had seenChrist was nothing to him. Nothing canreveal a personalLord to us but that Lord's communion with ourselves. Thomas's heartwas satisfiednow, and to Christ's guidance he could absolutelysubmit. 2. It is such a guide we want; one who canread our heart and supply every need. It is such a guide we preachin Jesus;not one who lived a few years in Palestine;but One who was "before all things," and who is ever with His people. He knows you, for He formed you for Himself; your life, with all its difficulties and perplexities, is His plan for educating you for Himself and God. Eachdoubt He is waiting to clearaway;even your wilfulness does not drive Him from your side. III. KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 1. Thomas recognizedthe characterof God rather than the dignity of Christ, and herein lay the true value of his confession. The mere confessionthat Christ is a Divine Personis barren; the knowledge that God is come into actualfellowship with us in Christ is new life to the spirit. The looking for God in awful grandeur obscures the perceptionof Godin the perfection of moral excellence, the influence by which goodness swaysthe heart. It was to deliver men from this very error that Christ came. The disciples were ever expecting that Christ would communicate some stupendous truth concerning
  • 24. God. Gradually their conceptions of Him became exalted; Christ's own words were fulfiled, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." Here at length from Thomas breaks the full confessionthat this is God. 2. Thomas could not say, "My Lord," without saying also "My God;" for it is shocking to yield the whole heart to any other than God. In the fact that he could not but adore Jesus, that Jesus claimedand had won his homage, it was revealedthat Jesus was Divine. If He be not God, then are we idolaters; for idolatry is the love and service of the creature as though it were supreme; and higher love and service than Christ has won from Christian hearts is impossible. If He be not God, then have we two Gods:the one a name, a cold abstraction;the other the Jesus who sways our spirits and to whom we render the consecrationofour lives. 3. We may now see why so much importance is attachedin the New Testament to the Divinity of Christ. The confessionofChrist is not an actof the speculative intellect, it is the movement of the heart and the submission of the life to Him. There are Christian Unitarians who call Christ "Lord," though they hold back from calling Him "God." There are un-Christian Trinitarians who call Christ "God," and yet He manifestly is not their "Lord." It is sad that the words "My Lord and my God" should ever be separated. But he is a Christian, whateverthe articles of his creed, who finds Christ sufficient for the soul's need, and whose life reveals that it is under His rule. (A. Mackennel, D. D.) Thomas's confessionoffaith W. Forsyth, M. A. These words imply — I. JOYFUL RECOGNITION. Partings are painful; but the bereavement of the ten was over. And now the restoredfellowship of Christ brought Thomas peace. So every new revelation of Christ brings joy to His disciples now. But recognitions are not always joyful (1 Kings 21:20;Matthew 8:29; Mark 1:24;
  • 25. Revelation1:5; Revelation6:15, 16). How different the meeting of loved ones (Acts 12:14-16;Acts 28:15; Genesis 45:26;Genesis 46:30). So Thomas and all disciples rejoice in Christ who, though He was dead, is alive again, and crownedwith glory and honour. II. DIVINE HOMAGE. Friends rise in our estimation as we know them better. Love testedby trial. Suffering and death revealthe soul. Perhaps we never see so clearly the greatness ofour friend as when he is takenfrom us. So it seems to have been with the disciples. It was only after the Resurrectionthat they beheld the fulness of His glory. What a testimony to the Divine greatness of Jesus in this confessionHow horrified was Paul (Acts 14:15, 16); Peter (Acts 10:25); the angel (Revelation22:9) at the thought of being worshipped; but Jesus receivesit as His right. III. APPROPRIATING FAITH, "My," a little word, but of deep significance. Faith is a personalthing. Mark the difference betweenThomas's faith and — 1. The faith of devils (James 2:19; 1 John 5:10-12). 2. The faith of mere believers in historical Christianity. It is one thing to say, "The Lord He is God," and another to say, "My Lord and my God." Luther says that the marrow of the gospelis in the possessivepronouns. IV. SELF-SURRENDERING LOVE. Paulsays, "Yield yourselves to God." This is the difficulty; but never till it is done are we truly converted. But once done it is done for ever. The sight of Jesus wins the heart. Conclusion:Happy are those who cansay, "My Lord and my God." Here is — 1. The true bond of union (1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 10:1). 2. The noblest inspiration of life (2 Corinthians 5:14). 3. Strength for work. 4. Comfort in trouble. 5. Hope in death (2 Corinthians 4:6-8). (W. Forsyth, M. A.)
  • 26. Christ satisfying the instinct of reverence DeanVaughan I. THE INSTINCT. 1. Reverence is a word by itself, and has no synomym. It is not respect, regard, fear, honour, nor even awe. It would be inaccurate to apply it to wealth, rank or power. If we reverence their possessorit must be for something overand above them. Even if we give it to age, royalty, or genius, it is only because there is in these a touch of sacredness. Forreverence is the sense of something essentiallyand not accidently above us. Old age is above in the incommunicable sanctity of an ampler experience, and a nearerheaven; royalty is the theory of a Divine commissionand a theocratic representation; genius is the possessionofan originalintuition which is to be a voice for mankind. 2. This reverence is an instinct; but there is much to support the theory of an instinct of irreverence. The insolence of lusty youth, clevershallowness which denies admiration, and can see in religion only a sentiment, or a thing for ridicule, such a spirit may be common in literature and society, but it is no instinct; it is a degeneracy. Manworthy of the name has always something above him; and even where selfpresides at the worship, it is rather as priest than idol 3. It is easyto misdirect this instinct. Man feels himself very little, an atom in a mighty system. There must be something above him. What? The celestial bodies? This instinct enforces a worship. What objectso worthy as they? There are those now who reverence nature, and law to them is but a name for deity, and they worship this unknown god. Others a beautiful friend, till they find some day the idol broken in pieces or vanished. Nordo these misdirections ceasewhenat last God becomes the object, inasmuch as reverence for church architecture, decoration, and music may be giving His glory to another. II. CHRIST SATISFYING THIS INSTINCT.
  • 27. 1. The instinct is abroad seeking its object. It finds it not in an abstraction. Nature cannotsatisfy it. It may be a grand thought that I am part of a system which is the universe and whose breath is deity. Yet I, insignificant I, find no rest in this vastness. Igo forth among my fellows, and cannot help loving and reverencing:yet the bright illusion vanishes. 2. Shall it always be thus? I see an end of all perfection, and yet there is in me an idea of perfection, might I but attain unto it. Is there none such? Yes, there is God — the Infinite, Eternal, Self-existent. Yet I feel myself in the land of things too high for me and too vast. Cannot I getnearer, until I touch? To answerthis Christ comes forth, takes our nature, obeys, loves, suffers, dies, and bids us follow Him with a love as devoted as it is unidolatrous, being very man and very God. 3. Can this one heart contain all the devotions of all men? Can I be assuredof attention in the adored of the nations? Yes. "If any man thirst," &c. (DeanVaughan). STUDYLIGHT RESOURCES Adam Clarke Commentary Thomas answered, etc. - Those who deny the Godheadof Christ would have us to believe that these words are an exclamationof Thomas, made through surprise, and that they were addressedto the Fatherand not to Christ. Theodore of Mopsuestia was the first, I believe, who gave the words this turn; and the fifth Ecumenic council, held at Constantinople, anathematized him for it. This was not according to the spirit of the Gospelof God. However, a man must do violence to every rule of constructionwho can apply the address here to any but Christ. The text is plain: Jesus comes in - sees Thomas,and addresses him; desiring him to come to him, and put his finger into the print of the nails, etc. Thomas, perfectlysatisfied of the reality of our Lord's
  • 28. resurrection, says unto him, - My Lord! and My God! i.e. Thou art indeed the very same person, - my Lord whose disciple I have so long been; and thou art my God, henceforth the object of my religious adoration. Thomas was the first who gave the title of God to Jesus;and, by this glorious confession, made some amends for his former obstinate incredulity. It is worthy of remark, that from this time forward the whole of the disciples treatedour Lord with the most supreme respect, never using that familiarity towards him which they had often used before. The resurrectionfrom the dead gave them the fullest proof of the divinity of Christ. And this, indeed, is the use which St. John makes of this manifestationof Christ. See John20:30, John 20:31. BishopPearce says here: "Observe that Thomas calls Jesus his God, and that Jesus does not reprove him for it, though probably it was the first time he was calledso." And, I would ask, could Jesus be jealous of the honor of the true God - could he be a prophet - could he be even an honestman, to permit his disciple to indulge in a mistake so monstrous and destructive, if it had been one? Albert Barnes'Notes onthe Whole Bible My Lord and my God - In this passagethe name God is expresslygiven to Christ, in his own presence and by one of his ownapostles. This declaration has been consideredas a clearproof of the divinity of Christ, for the following reasons: 1. There is no evidence that this was a mere expression, as some have supposed, of surprise or astonishment. 2. The language was addressedto Jesus himself - “Thomas … said unto him.” 3. The Saviour did not reprove him or check him as using any improper language. If he had not been divine, it is impossible to reconcile it with his honesty that he did not rebuke the disciple. No pious man would have allowed such language to be addressedto him. Compare Acts 14:13-15;Revelation 22:8-9. 4. The Saviour proceeds immediately to commend Thomas for believing; but what was the evidence of his believing? It was this declaration, and this only.
  • 29. If this was a mere exclamationof surprise, what proof was it that Thomas believed? Before this he doubted. Now he believed, and gave utterance to his belief, that Jesus was his Lord and his God. 5. If this was not the meaning of Thomas, then his exclamationwas a mere act of profaneness, and the Saviour would not have commended him for taking the name of the Lord his God in vain. The passageproves, therefore, that it is proper to apply to Christ the name Lord and God, and thus accords with what John affirmed in John 1:1, and which is establishedthroughout this gospel. The Biblical Illustrator John 20:28 And Thomas answeredand said unto Him, My Lord and my God My Lord and my God Let us consider I. THE EXCLAMATION OF THOMAS. It is as much as a man could say if he wished to assertdogmaticallythat Jesus is God and Lord (Psalms 35:23). To escape from the force of this confessionsome have chargedThomas with breaking the third commandment, just as thoughtless persons take the Lord’s name in vain and say, “GoodGod!” or “O Lord!” This could not have been the case.For, in the first place, it was not the habit of a Jew to use any such exclamationwhen surprised. The Jews in our Lord’s time were particular beyond everything about using the name of God. In the next place, it was not rebuked by our Lord, and we may be sure He would not have suffered such an unhallowed cry to have gone without a reprimand. Observe, too, that it was addressedto the Lord Jesus.
  • 30. 1. It was not a mere outburst, acceptedby our Lord as an evidence of faith, but a devout expressionof holy wonder at the discoverythat Jesus was his Lord and God, and probably also at the fact that he has not seenit long before. Had he not been present when Jesus trod the sea? &c. Now ona sudden he does know his Lord, and such knowledge is too wonderful for him. How I wish you would all follow Thomas!I will stop that you may do so. Let us wonder and admire! 2. An expressionof immeasurable delight. He seems to take hold of the Lord Jesus with both hands, by those two blessed“my’s.” There is here a music akin to “my beloved is mine, and I am His.” I pray you follow Thomas in this. Before you Jesus now stands, visible to your faith. Delight yourselves in him. 3. An indication of a complete change of mind, a most hearty repentance. Instead of putting his finger into the print of the nails, he cried, “My Lord and my God.” 4. A brief confessionof faith. Whosoeverwill be saved, before all things it is necessarythat he be able to unite with Thomas heartily in this creed. 5. An enthusiastic professionof his allegiance to Christ. “Henceforth, thou art my Lord, and I will serve Thee;Thou art my God, and I will worship Thee.” 6. A distinct and direct actof adoration. II. HOW DID HE COME TO THAT EXCLAMATION? 1. He had his thoughts revealed. The Saviour had read them at a distance. Notice that the Saviour did not say, “Put thy finger into the nail-prints in My feet.” Why not? Why, because Thomas had not said anything about His feet. We, in looking at it, can see the exactness;bat Thomas must have felt it much more. 2. All the past must have risen before his mind, the many occasionsin which the Lord Jesus had exercisedthe attributes of Deity.
  • 31. 3. The very manner of the Saviour, so full of majesty, convinced the trembling disciple. 4. But the most convincing were our Lord’s wounds. III. HOW WE MAY COME TO IT. If ever any one of us shall cry in spirit and in truth, “My Lord and my God!” the Holy Spirit must teachus. We shall so cry 1. At conversion. 2. In deliverance from temptation. 3. In time of trouble, when we are comfortedand upheld. There have been other occasions less trying. 4. While studying the story of our Lord. 5. In the breaking of bread. 6. In times when He has blessedour labours, and laid His arm bare in the salvationof men. 7. In the hour of death. 8. In heaven. (C. H. Spurgeon.) My Lord and my God I. THIS IS NOT AN EXCLAMATION 1. Becausesuchexclamations were abhorrent to the Jews. 2. It would be without warrant in Scripture. 3. It is by its form necessarilyan address--“Thomassaidto Him.”
  • 32. II. THE MEANING OF THE WORDS. 1. Lord, κύριος, means owner, and as ownershipincludes control, it expressed LXX. for Jehovah, Shaddai, Elohim, and not only for Aden or Adonai. Hence in the New Testamentit is used for Christ. He is our Lord in the sense in which Jehovahwas the Lord of the Hebrews. Christ owns us both as Creator and Redeemer. 2. God. What this means passes allunderstanding and imagination. It is easy to say, “Godis a Spirit, infinite, eternal,” &c. But who cancomprehend the Infinite? We know that one infinite in His Being and perfections must be 3. My means not only that Christ is the Personwhom we acknowledge and confess to be our Lord and God, to the exclusion of all other persons out of the Godhead; but that He stands in the relation of Lord and God to us, and that we stand in a corresponding relation to Him; that we recognize His ownership and authority; depend on His protection, adore, love, trust, and serve Him as our Lord and God. This it is to be a Christian. (C. Hodge, D. D.) The confessionof Thomas: The words imply I. SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 1. When Thomas says this he is confessing that his past life has been a mistake. The arrogance ofhis former speechcontrasts strikingly with the lowliness ofthis. A new revelationhad been given him, making knownthe one greatneed of his souls Lord to control his will, and form his judgment, and give law to his inmost spirit. Our greatwant is a ruler; submission is one of the deepestof human needs. 2. Thomas had found all he neededin Christ. Christ was “the Truth;” His will absolute righteousness;duty was what he owedto Him. There was no coldness nor vagueness inthese names when summed up in the personof His Lord.
  • 33. Love rises to worship in his confession;his heart is at rest when he says, “my Lord.” II. KNOWLEDGE OF THE MEANING OF LIFE. 1. It was Christ’s perfectknowledge ofThomas which brought from him the confession. 2. It is such a guide we want; one who canread our heart and supply every need. It is such a guide we preachin Jesus;not one who lived a few years in Palestine;but One who was “before all things,” and who is ever with His people. He knows you, for He formed you for Himself; your life, with all its difficulties and perplexities, is His plan for educating you for Himself and God. Eachdoubt He is waiting to clearaway;even your wilfulness does not drive Him from your side. III. KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 1. Thomas recognizedthe characterof God rather than the dignity of Christ, and herein lay the true value of his confession. The mere confessionthat Christ is a Divine Personis barren; the knowledge that God is come into actualfellowship with us in Christ is new life to the spirit. The looking for God in awful grandeur obscures the perceptionof Godin the perfection of moral excellence, the influence by which goodness swaysthe heart. It was to deliver men from this very error that Christ came. The disciples were ever expecting that Christ would communicate some stupendous truth concerning God. Gradually their conceptions of Him became exalted; Christ’s own words were fulfiled, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Here at length from Thomas breaks the full confessionthat this is God. 2. Thomas could not say, “My Lord,” without saying also “My God;” for it is shocking to yield the whole heart to any other than God. In the fact that he could not but adore Jesus, that Jesus claimedand had won his homage, it was revealedthat Jesus was Divine. If He be not God, then are we idolaters; for
  • 34. idolatry is the love and service of the creature as though it were supreme; and higher love and service than Christ has won from Christian hearts is impossible. If He be not God, then have we two Gods:the one a name, a cold abstraction;the other the Jesus who sways our spirits and to whom we render the consecrationofour lives. 3. We may now see why so much importance is attachedin the New Testament to the Divinity of Christ. The confessionofChrist is not an actof the speculative intellect, it is the movement of the heart and the submission of the life to Him. There are Christian Unitarians who call Christ “Lord,” though they hold back from calling Him “God.” There are un-Christian Trinitarians who call Christ “God,” and yet He manifestly is not their “Lord.” It is sad that the words “My Lord and my God” should ever be separated. But he is a Christian, whateverthe articles of his creed, who finds Christ sufficient for the soul’s need, and whose life reveals that it is under His rule. (A. Mackennel, D. D.) Thomas’s confessionoffaith: These words imply I. JOYFUL RECOGNITION. Partings are painful; but the bereavement of the ten was over. And now the restoredfellowship of Christ brought Thomas peace. So every new revelation of Christ brings joy to His disciples now. But recognitions are not always joyful (1 Kings 21:20;Mt Mark 1:24; Revelation 1:5; Rev_6:15-16). How different the meeting of loved ones (Acts 12:14-16; Act_28:15;Genesis 45:26;Gen_46:30). So Thomas and all disciples rejoice in Christ who, though He was dead, is alive again, and crownedwith glory and honour. II. DIVINE HOMAGE. Friends rise in our estimation as we know them better. Love testedby trial. Suffering and death revealthe soul. Perhaps we never see so clearly the greatness ofour friend as when he is takenfrom us. So it seems to have been with the disciples. It was only after the Resurrectionthat
  • 35. they beheld the fulness of His glory. What a testimony to the Divine greatness of Jesus in this confessionHow horrified was Paul Acts 14:15-16);Peter(Acts 10:25); the angel(Revelation22:9) at the thought of being worshipped; but Jesus receivesit as His right. III. APPROPRIATING FAITH, “My,” a little word, but of deep significance. Faith is a personalthing. Mark the difference betweenThomas’s faith and 1. The faith of devils (James 2:19; 1 John 5:10-12). 2. The faith of mere believers in historical Christianity. It is one thing to say, “The Lord He is God,” and another to say, “My Lord and my God.” Luther says that the marrow of the gospelis in the possessivepronouns. IV. SELF-SURRENDERING LOVE. Paulsays, “Yield yourselves to God.” This is the difficulty; but never till it is done are we truly converted. But once done it is done for ever. The sight of Jesus wins the heart. Conclusion:Happy are those who cansay, “My Lord and my God.” Here is 1. The true bond of union (1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 10:1). 2. The noblest inspiration of life (2 Corinthians 5:14). 3. Strength for work. 4. Comfort in trouble. 5. Hope in death (2 Corinthians 4:6-8). (W. Forsyth, M. A.) Christ satisfying the instinct of reverence I. THE INSTINCT. 1. Reverence is a word by itself, and has no synomym. It is not respect, regard, fear, honour, nor even awe. It would be inaccurate to apply it to wealth, rank or power. If we reverence their possessorit must be for something overand
  • 36. above them. Even if we give it to age, royalty, or genius, it is only because there is in these a touch of sacredness. Forreverence is the sense of something essentiallyand not accidently above us. Old age is above in the incommunicable sanctity of an ampler experience, and a nearerheaven; royalty is the theory of a Divine commissionand a theocratic representation; genius is the possessionofan originalintuition which is to be a voice for mankind. 2. This reverence is an instinct; but there is much to support the theory of an instinct of irreverence. The insolence of lusty youth, clevershallowness which denies admiration, and can see in religion only a sentiment, or a thing for ridicule, such a spirit may be common in literature and society, but it is no instinct; it is a degeneracy. Manworthy of the name has always something above him; and even where selfpresides at the worship, it is rather as priest than idol 3. It is easyto misdirect this instinct. Man feels himself very little, an atom in a mighty system. There must be something above him. What? The celestial bodies? This instinct enforces a worship. What objectso worthy as they? There are those now who reverence nature, and law to them is but a name for deity, and they worship this unknown god. Others a beautiful friend, till they find some day the idol broken in pieces or vanished. Nordo these misdirections ceasewhenat last God becomes the object, inasmuch as reverence for church architecture, decoration, and music may be giving His glory to another. II. CHRIST SATISFYING THIS INSTINCT. 1. The instinct is abroad seeking its object. It finds it not in an abstraction. Nature cannotsatisfy it. It may be a grand thought that I am part of a system which is the universe and whose breath is deity. Yet I, insignificant I, find no rest in this vastness. Igo forth among my fellows, and cannot help loving and reverencing:yet the bright illusion vanishes.
  • 37. 2. Shall it always be thus? I see an end of all perfection, and yet there is in me an idea of perfection, might I but attain unto it. Is there none such? Yes, there is God--the Infinite, Eternal, Self-existent. Yet I feelmyself in the land of things too high for me and too vast. Cannot I getnearer, until I touch? To answerthis Christ comes forth, takes our nature, obeys, loves, suffers, dies, and bids us follow Him with a love as devoted as it is unidolatrous, being very man and very God. 3. Can this one heart contain all the devotions of all men? Can I be assuredof attention in the adored of the nations? Yes. “If any man thirst,” &c. (Dean Vaughan) . Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible Thomas answeredand said unto him, My Lord and my God. Thomas'confessionranks among the greatestevermade, being one of the ten New Testamentpassageswhichdeclare categoricallythat Christ is God (see my Commentary on Hebrews, Hebrews 1:8). This confessionis the climactic note that crowns the entire theme of John that "Jesus is God." This pinnacle of the sustaining witness of that theme is inherent in the factthat even an apostle who at first would not believe came back to confess, "MyLord and my God." John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible And Thomas answeredand said unto him,.... Without examining his hands and side, and as astonishedat his condescensionand grace, and ashamedof his unbelief: my Lord and my God; he owns him to be Lord, as he was both by creation and redemption; and God, of which he was fully assuredfrom his omniscience, whichhe had given a full proof of, and from the powerthat went along with his words to his heart, and from a full conviction he now had of his resurrectionfrom the dead. He asserts his interest in him as his Lord and his
  • 38. God; which denotes his subjection to him, his affectionfor him, and faith in him; so the divine word is calledin Philo the Jew, κυριος μου, "my Lord"F24. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Thomas answeredand said unto him, My Lord and my God — That Thomas did not do what Jesus invited him to do, and what he had made the condition of his believing, seems plain from John 20:29 (“Becausethou hast seenMe, thou hast believed”). He is overpowered, and the glory of Christ now breaks upon him in a flood. His exclamationsurpasses allthat had been yet uttered, nor canit be surpassedby anything that ever will be uttered in earth or heaven. On the striking parallel in Nathanael, see onJohn 1:49. The Socinian invasion of the supreme divinity of Christ here manifestly taught - as if it were a mere call upon God in a fit of astonishment - is beneath notice, save for the profanity it charges upon this disciple, and the straits to which it shows themselves reduced. Robertson's WordPictures in the New Testament My Lord and my God (ο κυριος μου και ο τεος μου — Ho kurios mou kaiho theos mou). Not exclamation, but address, the vocative case though the form of the nominative, a very common thing in the Koiné. Thomas was wholly convinced and did not hesitate to address the RisenChrist as Lord and God. And Jesus accepts the words and praises Thomas for so doing. Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes And Thomas answeredand said unto him, My Lord and my God. And Thomas said, My Lord and my God — The disciples had said, We have seenthe Lord. Thomas now not only acknowledges him to be the Lord, as he had done before, and to be risen, as his fellow disciples had affirmed, but also
  • 39. confesses his Godhead, and that more explicitly than any other had yet done. And all this he did without putting his hand upon his side. The Fourfold Gospel Thomas answeredand said unto him, My Lord and my God1. My Lord and my God. We have here the first confessionof Christ as God. It should be said in Thomas'favor that if his doubts were heaviest, his confessionoffaith was fullest. He had more doubts as to the resurrection because it meant more to him; it meant that Jesus was none other than God himself. Abbott's Illustrated New Testament My Lord and my God. It cannotbe doubted that these terms were both applied by Thomas personally to the Savior. The attempts to give some other constructionto such expressions are now generallyabandoned by those who are unwilling to admit, on any evidence, the inference which flows from them. They find it to be easierto take the ground that the apostles themselves were in error, than to force unnatural constructions upon language so unequivocal as that which they often used. Scofield's ReferenceNotes My Lord and My God The deity of Jesus Christ is declaredin Scripture: (1) In the intimations and explicit predictions of the O.T. (a) The theophanies intimate the appearance ofGod in human form, and His ministry thus to man Genesis 16:7-13;Genesis 18:2-23 especially;Genesis
  • 40. 18:17;Genesis 32:28 with; Hosea 12:3-5;Exodus 3:2-14. (b) The Messiahis expresslydeclaredto be the Sonof God Psalms 2:2-9 and God; Psalms 45:6; Psalms 45:7; Hebrews 1:8; Hebrews 1:9; Psalms 110:1;Matthew 22:44; Acts 2:34; Hebrews 1:13; Psalms 110:4; Hebrews 5:6; Hebrews 6:20; Hebrews 7:17-21;Zechariah 6:13. (c) His virgin birth was foretold as the means through which God could be "Immanuel," God with us; Isaiah 7:13; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22; Matthew 1:23 (d) The Messiahis expresslyinvested with the divine names Isaiah9:6; Isaiah9:7 (e) In a prophecy of His death He is calledJehovah's "fellow";Zechariah 13:7; Matthew 26:31. (f) His eternal being is declared; Micah5:2; Matthew 2:6; John 7:42. (2) Christ Himself affirmed His deity. (a) He applied to Himself the Jehovistic I AM. (The pronoun "he" is not in the Greek;cf John 8:24; John 8:56-58. The Jews correctlyunderstood this to be our Lord's claim to full deity. John 8:59. See also, John10:33; John 18:4-6 where, also, "he" is not in the original.) (b) He claimed to be the Adonai of the O.T. Matthew 22:42-45. (See Scofield "Genesis 15:2"). (c)He assertedHis identity with the Father; Matthew 28:19; Mark 14:62; John 10:30, that the Jews so understoodHim is shownby; John 10:31;John 10:32;John 14:8; John 14:9; John 17:5. (d) He exercisedthe chief prerogative of God; Mark 2:5-7; Luke 7:48-50. (e) He assertedomnipresence; Matthew 18:20; John 3:13 omniscience, John11:11-14, whenJesus was fifty miles away; Mark 11:6-8, omnipotence; Matthew 28:18;Luke 7:14; John 5:21-23;John 6:19, mastery over nature, and creative power;Luke 9:16; Luke 9:17; John 2:9; John 10:28. (f) He receivedand approved human worship,; Matthew 14:33; Matthew 28:9; John 20:28; John 20:29. (3) The N.T. writers ascribe divine titles to Christ: John 1:1; John 20:28; Acts 20:28;Romans 1:4; Romans 9:5; 2 Thessalonians1:12;1 Timothy 3:16; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8; 1 John 5:20. (4) The N.T. writers ascribe divine perfections and attributes to Christ (e.g.) Matthew 11:28; Matthew 18:20;Matthew 28:20;John 1:2; John 2:23-25; John 3:13; John 5:17; John 21:17;Hebrews 1:3; Hebrews 1:11; Hebrews 1:12;
  • 41. Hebrews 13:8; Revelation1:8; Revelation1:17; Revelation1:18; Revelation 2:23; Revelation11:17;Revelation22:13. (5) The N.T. writers ascribe divine works to Christ John 1:3; John 1:10; Colossians 1:16;Colossians 1:17;Hebrews 1:3. (6) The N.T. writers teachthat supreme worship should be paid to Christ Acts 7:59; Acts 7:60; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Philippians 2:9; Philippians 2:10; Hebrews 1:6; Revelation1:5; Revelation1:6; Revelation 5:12; Revelation5:13. (7) The holiness and resurrectionof Christ prove His deity John 8:46; Romans 1:4. John Trapp Complete Commentary 28 And Thomas answeredand said unto him, My Lord and my God. Ver. 28. My Lord and my God] This is true faith indeed, that individuates God, and appropriates him to itself. {a} Were it not for this possessive "mine," the devil might say the creedto as goodpurpose as we. He believes there is a God and a Christ; but that which torments him is, he cansay "my" to never an article of the faith. {a} η πιστις ιδιοποιεται τονθεον. Chrysost. Sermon Bible Commentary John 20:28 I. We are, I think, hardly apt to be enough aware how much of all our Christian faith and hope must rest on the reality of our Lord's resurrection. It
  • 42. is, in the first place, the fulfilment of all prophecy. I mean, that whereas all prophecy looks forward to the triumph of goodover evil—to its triumph not partially merely, but entirely, and with over-measure—so the resurrectionof Christ is, as yet, the only adequate fulfilment of these expectations;but it is itself fully adequate. If Christ's triumph was complete, so also may be the triumph of those that are Christ's. But without this, let hope go as far as she will, let faith be ever so confident, still prophecy has been unfulfilled, still experience gives no encouragement. II. Well, then, may it be said with the apostle, that if Christ is not risen our faith is vain. His resurrection was, indeed, almost too great a joy to be believed. There might be illusion; the spirit of One so good, so beloved by God, might be allowedto return to comfort His friends, to assure them that death had not done all his work;but who could dare to hope that he should see, not the spirit of the dead, but the very person of the living Jesus? Surelyit was a natural convictionof such overwhelming blessedness? "ExceptI shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe." Thanks be to God, who allowedHis apostle to be thus carefulere he consentedto believe, that we from His care might derive such perfect confidence. III. Jesus saidunto him, "Thomas, becausethou hast seenMe, thou hast believed: blessedare they who have not seen, and yet have believed." A few days before Christ had prayed, not for His present disciples only, but for all those who were to believe on Him through their word. How graciouslyis His act in accordancewith His prayer. The beloved disciple who had seenfirst the empty sepulchre, and who was now rejoicing in the full presence ofHim who had been there, he was to convey what he had himself seento the knowledge of posterity. And he was to convey it hallowedas it were by Christ's especial message—"Blessedare they who have not seen, and yet have believed." We have all our portion in the full conviction then afforded that He was risen indeed; and besides all this we have receiveda peculiar blessing;Christ Himself gives us the proof of His resurrection, and blesses us for the joy with which we welcome it. T. Arnold, Sermons., vol. vi., p. 172.
  • 43. References:John 20:28.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxx., No. 1775; Clergyman's Magazine, vol. v., p. 32. Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible John 20:28. Thomas answeredand said, &c.— Though the nominative often occurs for the vocative, it is the former case whichis used here, the words συ ει, thou art, being understood. To this the context agrees;for we are told that these words were addressedto Jesus;wherefore they cannot be taken merely as an exclamationof surprise, which is the Sociniangloss;but their meaning is, "Thouart really he whom I lately followedas my Lord; and I confess thee to be possessedofinfinite knowledge, andworship thee as my God." It is not fair that Thomas actually touchedour Lord's wounds; and Christ himself says afterwards, John 20:29 that his belief was built on sight; which, though it does not exclude any evidence that might have been afforded the other senses, yet seems to intimate, that this condescensionofour Lord, togetherwith the additional evidence arising from the knowledge that he plainly had of that unreasonable demand which Thomas had made in his absence, withdivine grace accompanying the whole, quite overcame him. Expository Notes with PracticalObservations onthe New Testament These words may be consideredtwo ways. 1. As an abrupt speech, importing a vehement admiration of Christ's mercy towards him, and of his own stupidity and dullness to believe. Learn hence, that the convincing condescensionof Christ turns unbelief into a rapture of holy admiration and humble adoration. 2. This expressionof Thomas, My Lord and my God, contain a short, but absolute, confessionof faith. Thomas rightly collects from this resurrection, that he was Lord, God blessedfor evermore, the true Messias,the expected
  • 44. Redeemer, and accordinglywith an explicit faith he now professes his interest in him, saying, My Lord and my God. Yet note, that this resurrectioncould not make him God, and render him then the objectof divine worship, if he had been only a creature before. And farther observe, that Christ doth not reprove Thomas for owning him as God, which shows that Thomas did not mistake in owning the divinity of Christ. Greek TestamentCriticalExegeticalCommentary 28.]The Socinianview, that these words, ὁ κύρ. μου κ. ὁ θεός μου, are merely an exclamation, is refuted—(1) By the factthat no such exclamations were in use among the Jews. (2)By the εἶπεν αὐτῷ. (3) By the impossibility of referring ὁ κύριός μου to anotherthan Jesus:see John20:13. (4) By the N.T. usage of expressing the vocative by the nom. with an article. (5) By the utter psychologicalabsurdity of such a supposition: that one just convincedof the presence ofHim whom he deeply loved, should, instead of addressing Him, break out into an irrelevant cry. (6) By the further absurdity of supposing that if such were the case, the Apostle John, who of all the sacredwriters most constantly keeps in mind the objectfor which he is writing, should have recordedany thing so beside that object. (7) By the intimate conjunction of πεπίστευκας—seebelow. Dismissing ittherefore, we observe that this is the highest confessionof faith which has yet been made;—and that it shews that (though not yet fully) the meaning of the previous confessionsofHis being ‘the Son of God’ was understood. Thus John, in the very close ofhis Gospel(see on John 20:30-31)iterates the testimony with which he beganit—to the Godhead of the Word who became flesh: and by this closing confession, shews how the testimony of Jesus to Himself had gradually deepened and exalted the Apostles’conviction, from the time when they knew Him only as ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἰωσήφ (ch. John 1:46), till now when He is acknowledgedas their LORD and their GOD. Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament
  • 45. John 20:28. αὐτῷ, unto Him) Therefore it was Jesus whom he called Lord and God, and that too, his Lord and his God: which is in consonance withthe language which is recordedin John 20:17 : nor do these words form a mere exclamation. The disciples had said, τὸν κύριον, the Lord, John 20:25 : now Thomas, being recalledto faith, not merely acknowledgesJesusto be Lord, as previously he had himself acknowledged, and that He was risen again, as his fellow-disciples were affirming; but even confessesHis Godhead in a higher sense than any one had yet confessed. Moreover, the language is abrupt through the suddenness of the feeling excited in him, in this sense, “MyLord and my God,” I believe and acknowledgethat Thou art my Lord and my God: and the absolute appellation has the force of an enunciation. A similar Vocative occurs twice in John 20:16, also in Hosea 2:23, “I will say, thou, my people, and they shall say, Thou, my God.” Artemonius in Part i. ch. 24, with which comp. the pref. p. 20 and p. d. 2, brings forward a new explanation, whereby Thomas is made to callJesus Lord, and the Fatherwho exists in Him inseparably, God: but in that case Thomas wouldnot have addressedboth titles unto Him ( αὐτῷ);but would have been addressing the one to Jesus, the other to the Father, by a sudden apostrophe, [When the language is suddenly turned to another personpresent or absent, differently from what was the intention of the speakeratthe beginning. Append.] which by no means accords with the admiring astonishment of Thomas. If this had been the intention of Thomas, John would not have added, αὐτῷ, unto Him. Thomas had not before expresslyrejectedfaith in God the Father, but he had, in the case ofChrist: therefore now it is not in the Fatherthat he declares expressly his believing again, but in Christ. [This confessionmoreoveris approved of in the following verse.—V. g.] Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible My Lord, to whom I wholly yield and give up my self; and my God, in whom I believe. It is observed, that this is the first time that in the Gospelthe name of God is given to Christ; he was now by his resurrectiondeclaredto be the Son of God with power, Revelation1:4. So as Thomas did not show more weakness and unbelief at the first, than he showedfaith at last, being the first that
  • 46. acknowledgedChristas Godover all blessedfor ever, the object of people’s faith and confidence, and his Lord, to whom he freely yielded up himself as a servant, to be guided and conducted by him. Justin Edwards' Family Bible New Testament My Lord and my God; this was addressedto Jesus Christ, and was commended by him as a just expressionof true faith. Jesus Christ approves of being addressedby his people as their Lord and their God. The more they become acquainted with him, the deeperis their conviction that this is his true character, and the more do both affectionand duty lead them thus to adore him. Chap John 5:23. Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools andColleges 28. Not merely the sight of Jesus but the convictionof His omniscience overwhelms S. Thomas, as it did Nathanael(John 1:50), and the Samaritan woman (John 4:29). His faith rises with a bound to its full height in the cry of adoration, with which the Gospelcloses. ὁ κύριός μ. κ. ὁ θεός μ. For the nominatives comp. John 19:3; Matthew 11:26; Luke 8:54; Luke 12:32. Most unnatural is the Unitarian view, that these words are an expressionof astonishment addressedto God. Against this are [1] the plain and conclusive εἶπεν αὐτῷ;[2] ὁ κύριός μου, which is manifestly addressedto Christ (comp. John 20:13);[3] the fact that this confessionof faith forms a climax and conclusionto the whole Gospel. The words are rightly consideredas an impassioneddeclarationon the part of a devoted but (in the better sense of the term) scepticalApostle of his conviction, not merely that his Risen Lord stoodbefore him, but that this Lord was also his God. And it must be noted that Christ does not correctHis Apostle for this avowal, any more than He correctedthe Jews for supposing that He claimed to be ἴσον τῷ θεῷ (John 5:18); rather He accepts andapproves this confessionofbelief in His Divinity.
  • 47. Whedon's Commentary on the Bible 28. My Lord and my God—Thomas now does nobly. He has his fill of proof and tact, and he pours heart and souland body into an actof faith and confession. We may now see that Thomas had never been at bottom an infidel. Even under his I will not believe there was at bottom a spirit of faith; and when the load of despondencyis removed, he rises at a spring into a higher confessionthan apostle everyet uttered. That Thomas here recognizedin Christ that divinity which the greatbody of the Church attributes to Jesus, has been the view receivedfrom antiquity to this day. It is not to be questioned without results fundamentally dangerous. Expository Notes ofDr. Thomas Constable Evidently Thomas did not take up Jesus" offer. The sight of his Saviorseems to have been enough to convince him (cf. John 20:29). Thomas then uttered one of the most profound declarations ofsaving faith in Scripture. For a Jew to call another human being "my Lord and my God" was blasphemy under normal circumstances (cf. John 10:33). Yet that is precisely who Thomas believed Jesus was. It is also who John presentedJesus as being throughout this Gospel. Bothtitles were titles of deity in the Old Testament. Thomas had come to believe that Jesus was his lord in a fuller sense than before, and he now believed that Jesus was fully God. "The repeatedpronoun my does not diminish the universality of Jesus" lordship and deity, but it ensures that Thomas" words are a personal confessionoffaith. Thomas thereby not only displays his faith in the resurrectionof Jesus Christ, but points to its deepestmeaning; it is nothing less than the revelation of who Jesus Christ is. The most unyielding sceptic
  • 48. [sic] has bequeathed to us the most profound confession."[Note:Carson, The Gospel. . ., p659.] Now Thomas believed as his fellow disciples had come to believe (cf. John 20:25). His confessionis a model that John presentedfor all future disciples. It is the high point of this Gospel(cf. John 1:1; John 1:14; John 1:18). John"s other witnesses to Jesus" deitywere John the Baptist ( John 1:34), Nathanael( John 1:49), Jesus Himself ( John 5:25; John 10:36), Peter ( John 6:69), the healed blind man ( John 9:35), Martha ( John 11:27), and John the Apostle ( John 20:30-31). "Nobodyhas previously addressedJesus like this. It marks a leap of faith. In the moment that he came to see that Jesus was indeed risen from the dead Thomas came to see something of what that implied. Mere men do not rise from the dead in this fashion. The One who was now so obviously alive, although he had died, could be addressedin the language ofadoring worship." [Note:Morris, p753.] Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament John 20:28. Thomas answeredand said unto him, My Lord and my God. He passes atonce from the depths of his despondencyand hesitationto the most exalted faith. The words are certainly addressedto Jesus;and it is unnecessaryto combat the position that they are only an expressionof the apostle’s thankfulness to God for what he has seen. They are a triumphant confessionofhis faith, not simply in the Resurrection, but in Him whom he sees before him in all the Divinity both of His Personand of His work. Yet we are not to imagine that only now for the first time did such thoughts enter his mind. They had been long vaguely entertained, long feebly cherished. Norcan we doubt that they had been gaining strength, when they were suddenly dashed by that death upon the cross with which it seemedimpossible to reconcile them. Then came the tidings of the Resurrection, evenin themselves
  • 49. most startling, but to Thomas (we may well suppose)more startling than to any of the other apostles. Were theytrue? He saw in an instant how incalculable would be the consequences. It was this very perception of the greatness ofthe tidings that led him to rejectthem. His state of mind had been the same as in chap. John 11:16, where, when Jesus hinted at giving life, he went rather to the opposite extreme, and thought of a death that would involve not only Lazarus but them all. Thus also now. He hears that Jesus is risen, and his first impulse is to say, ‘It cannotbe: thick darkness cannotpass at once into such glorious light; the despair which is justified by what has happened cannotat once be transformed into inextinguishable confidence and hope.’ This depth of feeling prepared him for the completeness ofthe revulsion that now took place. For a week he had been able to meditate on all that he had both seenand heard. We cannot doubt that during that time the sayings of his Lord about His resurrection, as well as His death, would all return to his memory. He would see that what was said to have happened had been foretold; after all it was not to be rejectedas impossible. He would think with himself what kind or amount of proof could convince him that the fact was true; and he would be unable to fall upon any harder proof than that which his incredulity had suggestedin the moment of its first strength. But, if that proof can be given, then how powerfully would be feel the injustice which by his doubting he had done his Master!With what force would intimations, once dark but now bright in the light of the supposedResurrection, come home to him! His very highest expectations wouldseem to him to have been warranted, and more than warranted, by the facts. We need not wonderthat, having passedthrough a week so rich in training power, Thomas, when he did behold the RisenLord, should have leapedat once from his former unbelief to faith in its higheststage, orthat he should have exclaimed to Jesus, ‘My Lord and my God.’ It may even be doubted if, before this confessionwas made, he found it necessaryto put his finger into the print of the nails or his hand into the wounded side. It was enoughto ‘see’(John 20:29). One other remark may be made. Those who study the structure of the Fourth Gospelwill hardly fail to trace in the incident thus placedat the close ofits narrative the tendency of the Evangelistto return upon his own early steps. He had begun with ‘the Word’ who ‘was God;’ he closeswith this highest
  • 50. truth acceptedand ratified by those to whom the revelationwas given. The last witness borne by one of them in the body of the Gospelnarrative is, ‘My Lord and my God! The Expositor's Greek Testament John 20:28. Grotius, following Tertullian, Ambrose, Cyril and others, is of opinion that Thomas availedhimself of the offered test: surely it is psychologicallymore probable that the test he had insisted on as alone sufficient is now repudiated, and that he at once exclaims, ὁ κύριός μου καὶ ὁ θεός μου. His faith returns with a rebound and utters itself in a confessionin which the gospelculminates. The words are not a mere exclamation of surprise. That is forbidden by εἶπεν αὐτῷ;they mean “Thou art my Lord and my God”. The repeatedpronoun lends emphasis. In Pliny’s letter to Trajan (112 A.D.) he describes the Christians as singing hymns to Christ as God. Our Lord does not rejectThomas’confession;but (John 20:29) reminds him that there is a higher faith than that which springs from visual evidence: ὅτι ἑώρακάς με … καὶ πιστεύσαντες. Jesus would have been better pleasedwith a faith which did not require the evidence of sense:a faith founded on the perception that Godwas in Christ, and therefore He could not die; a faith in His Messiahshipwhich argued that He must live to carry on the work of His Kingdom. The saying is cited as another instance of the care with which the various origins and kinds of faith are distinguished in this gospel. E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes My Lord and my God. First testimony to the Deity of the risen Lord. Possibly Thomas was using the words of Psalms 86:15, which in the Septuagint read Kurie ho Theos, and claiming forgiveness forhis unbelief on the ground of Exodus 34:6, to which this verse of the Psalmrefers. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged And Thomas answeredand said unto him, My Lord and my God.
  • 51. [And]. This "And" is evidently no part of the genuine text. Thomas answeredand said unto him, My Lord and my God. That Thomas did not do what Jesus invited him to do, and what he had made the condition of his believing, seems plain from John 20:29 - "Becausethou hast seenMe thou hast believed." He is overpowered, andthe glory of Christ now breaks upon him in a flood. His exclamationsurpasses allthat had been yet uttered, nor canit be surpassedby anything that ever will be uttered in earth or heaven. On the striking parallel in Nathanael, sea onJohn 1:49. The Socinian evasionof the supreme divinity of Christ here manifestly taught-as if it were a mere call upon Gad in a fit of astonishment-is beneath notice, exceptfor the profanity which it charges upon this disciple, and the straits to which it shows themselves reduced. Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers (28) Thomas answeredand said unto him.—It is implied that he did not make use of the tests which his Masteroffered him, but that he at once expressed the fulness of his conviction. This is confirmed by the words of the next verse, “Because thouhast seenMe.” My Lord and my God.—Thesewords are precededby “saidunto him,” and are followedby “because thouhast seenMe, thou hast believed;” and the words “my Lord” canonly be referred to Christ. (Comp. John 20:13.)The sentence cannottherefore, without violence to the context, be takenas an exclamationaddressedto God, and is to be understood in the natural meaning of a confessionby the Apostle that his Lord was also God. Treasuryof Scripture Knowledge And Thomas answeredand said unto him, My Lord and my God. My Lord
  • 52. The disbelief of the apostle is the means of furnishing us with a full and satisfactorydemonstrationof the resurrectionof our Lord. Throughout the divine dispensations every doctrine and ever important truth is gradually revealed;and here we have a conspicuous instance of the progressive system. An angelfirst declares the glorious event; the empty sepulchre confirms the women's report. Christ's appearance to Mary Magdalene shewedthat he was alive; that to the disciples at Emmaus proved that it was at the leastthe spirit of Christ; that to the elevenshewedthe reality of his body; and the conviction given to Thomas proved it the self-same body that had been crucified. Incredulity itself is satisfied;and the convincedapostle exclaims, in the joy of his heart, "My Lord and my God!" 16,31;5:23; 9:35-38;Psalms 45:6,11;102:24-28;118:24-28;Isaiah7:14; 9:6; Isaiah25:9; 40:9-11;Jeremiah23:5,6;Malachi3:1; Matthew 14:33; Luke 24:52;Acts 7:59,60;1 Timothy 3:16; Revelation5:9-14 Ver. 28. "And Thomas answeredand said unto Him, My Lord and my God." It runs εἶπεν αὐτῷ:therefore "My Lord and my God" is a concise expression of deep feeling, instead of "Thou art my Lord and my God." We have here the first passagein which Jesus is expresslyby His disciples called God,—a confessionwhichwas soonto be the common one of the whole Christian Church; as Pliny, in the Epistle to Trajan, records that the Christians sang hymns to Christ as God. Thomas utters here, as his confession, onlywhat Jesus had constantly setbefore His disciples as His doctrine. When, for example, He said to Philip, ch. John 14:9, "He that seethMe hath seenthe Father," and ver. 10 , "I am in the Father, and the Father in Me," He taught that the existences ofthe Fatherand the Sonwere perfectly co-extensive, and that in Himself dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead. Much vain industry has been spent in evading this confessionofThomas, by those who do not accept the doctrine of Christ's divinity. He addressedto Christ preciselythe same words which are elsewhere addressedto the supreme God: e.g. Psalms 35:23, "Stir up Thyself, and awake to my judgment, even unto my cause, my God and Lord," ὁ θεός μου καὶ ὁ κύριός μου, Sirach1:1, ἐξομολογήσομαίσοι,
  • 53. κύριε βασιλεῦ, καὶ αἰνέσω θεόν. We are in a sphere in which the boundary betweenGod and the creature is drawn with the most rigid precision:comp. Deuteronomy 6:4; Mark 12:29-30. The address ofThomas would have been blasphemy if there had been in the Father's essence anything that came not to manifestation in the Son. That Thomas, in the excitement of the moment, passedfrom one extreme to another, cannot be assertedby any one who observes that Christ acceptedhis invocation at once. (Calvin: Neverwould He have suffered that the honour of the Father should be wrestedand transferred to Himself.) "Thou hast believed," referring to Himself, shows that to recognise in Christ the Lord and God, and specificallyHis own Lord and God, is the necessarycondition of faith. (Calvin: He emphatically calls Him his own twice, to show that he spoke from a living and solemn sense offaith.) To talk of an "exaggeratedcry," is altogetherout of the question, in relation to a Gospelwhich everywhere discloses a tendencyto place the divinity of Christ in the clearestlight. PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES Doubting Thomas: the Supreme Example of Faith John 20:19-31 Dr. S. Lewis Johnsondiscusses Thomas the Apostle's encounter with the risen Christ. SLJ Institute > Gospelof John > Doubting Thomas:the Supreme Example of Faith [Message]We’re turning to John chapter 20 and verse 19 through verse 31. As you can see, this is the conclusionof the 20th chapter. And we have one more chapter in the expositionof this book. So in just a few weeks we will be
  • 54. through with the GospelofJohn after I think about ninety messagesonthis book. Well, I must sayafter doing that many messagesonthe book my sense is that it probably would be better to have done one hundred and eighty instead of ninety. It’s that greata book. But of course there are other considerations, and doing it in ninety is probably sufficient. We’re beginning reading with verse 19 and remember we’re in this chapter of the resurrectionand John has given us his testimony about how he came to faith. And then our Lord has appearedto Mary Magdalene who was at the empty tomb. And now is his appearance to the disciples, and then the special appearance to the disciples againin which Thomas is present. And finally, John tells us why he wrote his book. So let’s begin at verse 19 and we will read through verse 31. “Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, whenthe doors were shut where the disciples were assembledfor fearof the Jews, came Jesus and stoodin the midst, and saith unto them, Peacebe unto you. And when he had so said, he showedunto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the LORD. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soeversins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soeversins ye retain, they are retained. But Thomas, one of the twelve, calledDidymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seenthe LORD. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days againhis disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stoodin the midst, and said, Peacebe unto you. (You’ll notice that twice John has made reference to the factthat the doors were shut when Jesus came in these resurrectionappearances. Evidently that is designed to give us some indication of the spiritual nature of our Lord’s body. We don’t have a whole lot said in the Bible about the nature of the resurrectionbody. I think if you think about that you will understand why, because it would be something that we are not at the present time capable of understanding. So there are just intimations here and there of the
  • 55. nature of the resurrection body. Paul describes it in 1 Corinthians in ways in which the words tell us something about the body but not preciselywhat it was like. And so here the body of our Lord which apparently had been swiftly dematerialized and had passedthrough the folds which had been placed around his body for burial. And now he is able to move right through closed doors. That tells us something of the powerof the resurrectionbody, and that is about all. It, of course, is something very wonderful. But nevertheless we are not able to understand yet. We are finite, and furthermore, not only are we finite, but we are still unsanctified. That is, we have not been brought to the place that we shall be brought to through the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the coming of our Lord. Now when Jesus came into the midst of them he said to them, Peace be unto you. And he has some specialwords for Thomas and we read in verse 27,)Then saith he to Thomas, Reachhither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reachhither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answeredand said unto him, My LORD and my God. Jesus saithunto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessedare they that have not seen, and yet have believed. And many other signs truly did Jesus (Johnadds) in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book (Ah, think what a lengthy series ofmessagesit would have been had he put all of these signs in the book. Did I hear a hallelujah? [Laughter]): But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” Incidentally, if you turn overto the very last verse of this book John wrote and said, “There are also many other things which Jesus did,” the which if they should be written, every one I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. May the Lord bless this reading of his word. And let’s bow togethernow in a moment of prayer. [Prayer] Our heavenly Father, we come to Thee in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This very one of whom John the Apostle writes in the chapters of his greatgospel, orgood news. We thank Thee for the fact that the signs were performed and through the ministry of the Holy Spirit down through the centuries many have come to a personalfaith in him who brings eternal life. And we are grateful for the ministry that has come to us through
  • 56. the Holy Spirit. And we are grateful for the wayin which we have been brought out of darkness into his marvelous light. And we recognize, Lord, of course, that should it have been left to us we should have perished in our sins. But we are grateful for the saving ministry of Christ and for the ministry of the Holy Spirit who today works mightily in the hearts of men to turn them to faith in him whom to know is life eternal. And we are grateful that we have by Thy grace come to know that he is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that in that knowledge we’ve come to possesslife. We are truly blessed. And Father, we are grateful for the promises of the word of God, which have accompaniedhim. And we thank Thee that throughout all of the days of our lives we know that he is with us in the Spirit and we may depend upon him in the experiences oflife. We pray for the whole body of Christ today many of whom do not have the privilege of the knowledge ofthe word of God that others have because they have limited access to the Scriptures or to the expositions of the word of God that we have, but who nevertheless form part of that body. And we are grateful for eachone, and we pray Lord that today through the ministrations of our greatGod in heaven and through the agenciesofthe gifted men that Thou hast given, the church may be strengthenedand edified and built up and that the purposes of God for this age may be accomplished. And we look forward to his coming againwhen he shall take us to himself. We pray Thy blessing on the ministry and outreach of the church. And we pray Lord especiallyfor Believers Chapel, its elders, and its deacons, and its members, and its friends. And we pray, Lord, for its ministries to the teachers, its publication ministry, its radio ministries, and the various other forms of ministry that are carried out through the Chapel. May, oh God, we experience Thy blessing. Give us faithfulness. Give us submissionto the will of God and to the word of God. May, Lord, we be an effective instrumentality in the purpose of the ages. We pray for our country, for our President. We pray for the sick, for the disturbed, for the weak, andfor the helpless, and for the bereaving, and for others who have difficult problems to solve, we commit them all to Thee confident, Lord, that Thou wilt meet our needs. And we pray that Thou wilt be with us through the experiences oflife on into the presence of the eternalGod.
  • 57. We give Thee thanks. And we pray that in the meetings as it progressestoday and in the singing of the hymn, in the ministry of the word we may be strengthenedand edified. For Jesus’sake. Amen. [Message]One of the things that characterizedthe early church was their observance ofthe Lord’s Supper every Sunday. That is a well documented fact from the early church writings. And it is, of course, the practice of Believers Chapelto observe the Lord’s Supper in an open meeting each Sunday night. Another thing that characterizedthe early church, of course, was waterbaptism. And in the early church frequently baptism was on the spur of belief. That is the conditions were such that it was possible for a person to come to faith and be immediately baptized. It’s very difficult for us to do that in our societytoday. But we do seek to baptize as often and as soon as we canafter individuals come to faith in Christ. We don’t have a Jordan River flowing by the side of Believers Chapelthat if a person comes to faith in Christ in our morning service we may go out immediately afterwards upon confessionoffaith and immediately baptize them in the water. In fact, on a day as cold as this, perhaps that’s a very nice thing to think about. But we do observe waterbaptism, and tonight as the concluding part of our evening service after the observance ofthe Lord’s Supper we are going to baptize sevenor eight who have professedtheir faith in Christ. And I say sevenor eight because ofthe interviews is a little bit up in the air at the present time, which is a necessarybefore baptism. As most of you know who have been here, we do interview all of those who have professedin Christ, to just as best as we are able as human beings to see that the testimonies are genuine testimonies of faith. So we may baptize eight tonight, I hope we do, but we will baptize at leastsevenwho have professedtheir faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The ordinances were so important to our Lord that he laid stress upon them. And we too should find them an integral part of our Christian life and testimony. We invite you to come tonight for the Lord’s Supper at 6:30. And then at the conclusionof that we shall observe the ordinance of water baptism. But this morning we are turning to the Gospelof John chapter 20 verse 19 through verse 31, and our subjectis “Doubting Thomas, the Supreme