Enemies of the holy Trinity, mainly Muslims, have employed John 20:17 in their attempted refutation of the Trinity. What does John 20:17 really say? Here is the verse:
Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
I will concede one thing right here and now. If this verse had no clear context within the chapter, book, or Bible as a whole, it could be interpreted in either a Unitarian or Trinitarian way. Unfortunately for the opponents of our Lord, there is a context; a very clear Trinitarian context.
If we keep reading, the Lord Jesus Christ says to Thomas:
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
– John 20:27
Now, we get a very Trinitarian response from Thomas.
Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
We notice here that Thomas refers to Jesus as his Lord and God. According to Islam the Messiah Jesus and the disciple Thomas are both Muslims. This doesn’t sound very Islamic. However, we know that Thomas and Jesus both believed in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament whenever Lord and God are paired together, they always refer to almighty God. Here are some examples:
Awake, and rise to my defense! Contend for me, my God and Lord.
– Psalm 35:23
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
– Deuteronomy 6:4
Now, the only thing for Jesus Christ to do if he’s a Muslim is to repudiate a mistaken apostle. Instead he says this:
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed;blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Sounds pretty Trinitarian to me. This shows that the Lord Jesus Christ and the apostle Thomas were both Trinitarian and therefore not Muslim. Since this is in the context of John 20:17, there is no other option to than to interpret this verse is a Trinitarian fashion. The Unitarian interpretation is crushed by the context.
The irony of this verse is that it’s almost the best verse out there for refuting Modalism. This is the heresy that God is one person but has three different modes. This verse, along with John 1:3 show a clear distinction of the persons of the Father and the Son which is exactly what the Trinity states.
When a Muslim brings this up, we should just tell them that all this verse does is show that the Father and the Son are two separate persons. The Muslim has refuted Modalism. A more primitive version of the doctrine of multiple persons in the Godhead can also be found in the Torah. In Genesis 19:24 we read:
Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens.
All that John does in chapter 20 is give the distinct identity of Father and Son to these two figures.
However, I would like to hear the Muslim response to this. If any Muslim reading this piece feels that I’m incorrect in my exegesis, feel free to write a response below. God bless.
There is also something else going on in John 20:17. Jesus says “My Father AND YOUR Father, My God AND YOUR God.” He clearly implied that there’s difference in the way the Father is Father and God of Christ and of Christ’s disciples.
Yeah but I’ve learned that anti-Trinitarians aren’t that much into interpreting the text. They just want soundbites.
God bless
By the way, this passage “My Lord and your Lord” is one of the very few that gets something near to an exact quote in the Qur’an (in ayah 5:72). The author of the Qur’an also seems not to have been that much into interpreting the text, and gives a quote that shows the opposite of what he intends to show.
–The irony of this verse is that it’s almost the best verse out there for refuting Modalism. This is the heresy that God is one person but has three different modes. This verse, along with John 1:3 show a clear distinction of the persons of the Father and the Son which is exactly what the Trinity states.–
I like John 17:1-5 as well, where in the Oneness Pentecostal position it would rightly be read as:
When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Myself, the hour has come; glorify Me that I may glorify Me, since I have given Me authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom I have given Me. And this is eternal life, that they know Me, the only true God, and Myself whom I have sent. I glorified Me on earth, having accomplished the work that I gave Me to do And now, Myself, glorify Me in My presence with the glory that I had with Me before the world existed.