And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.

Wesley's Notes

20:28 And Thomas said, My Lord and my God - The disciples had said, We have seen the 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.

Scofield Reference Notes

[1] My Lord and My God

The deity of Jesus Christ is declared in Scripture:

(1) In the intimations and explicit predictions of the O.T.

(a) The theophanies intimate the appearance of God in human form, and His ministry thus to man Gen 16:7-13 18:2-23 especially Gen 18:17 32:28 with Ho12:3-5 Ex 3:2-14.

(b) The Messiah is expressly declared to be the Son of God Ps 2:2-9 and God Ps 45:6,7 Heb 1:8,9 Ps 110:1 Mt 22:44 Acts 2:34 Heb 1:13 Ps 110:4 Heb 5:6 6:20 7:17-21 Zech 6:13.

(c) His virgin birth was foretold as the means through which God could be "Immanuel," God with us Isa 7:13,14 Mt 1:22,23

(d) The Messiah is expressly invested with the divine names Isa 9:6,7

(e) In a prophecy of His death He is called Jehovah's "fellow" Zech 13:7 Mt 26:31.

(f) His eternal being is declared Mic 5:2 Mt 2:6 Jn 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 Jn 8:24 8:56-58. The Jews correctly understood this to be our Lord's claim to full deity. Jn 8:59.

See also, Jn 10:33 18:4-6 where, also, "he" is not in the original.)

(b) He claimed to be the Adonai of the O.T. Mt 22:42-45. See Scofield Note: "Gen 15:2".

(c) He asserted His identity with the Father Mt 28:19 Mk 14:62 Jn 10:30, that the Jews so understood Him is shown by Jn 10:31,32 14:8,9 17:5.

(d) He exercised the chief prerogative of God Mk 2:5-7 Lk 7:48-50.

(e) He asserted omnipresence Mt 18:20 Jn 3:13 omniscience, Jn 11:11-14, when Jesus was fifty miles away; Mk 11:6-8, omnipotence Mt 28:18 Lk 7:14 Jn 5:21-23 6:19, mastery over nature, and creative power Lk 9:16,17 Jn 2:9 10:28.

(f) He received and approved human worship, Mt 14:33 28:9 Jn 20:28,29.

(3) The N.T. writers ascribe divine titles to Christ: Jn 1:1 20:28 Acts 20:28 Rom 1:4 9:5 2Th 1:12 1Tim 3:16 Ti 2:13 Heb 1:8 1Jn 5:20.

(4) The N.T. writers ascribe divine perfections and attributes to Christ (e.g.) Mt 11:28 18:20 28:20 Jn 1:2 2:23-25 3:13 Jn 5:17 21:17 Heb 1:3,11,12 13:8 Rev 1:8,17,18 2:23 Rev 11:17 22:13.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

28. Thomas answered and 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 Joh 20:29 ("Because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed"). He is overpowered, and the glory of Christ now breaks upon him in a flood. His exclamation surpasses all that had been yet uttered, nor can it be surpassed by anything that ever will be uttered in earth or heaven. On the striking parallel in Nathanael, see on [1922]Joh 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.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

20:26-29 That one day in seven should be religiously observed, was an appointment from the beginning. And that, in the kingdom of the Messiah, the first day of the week should be that solemn day, was pointed out, in that Christ on that day once and again met his disciples in a religious assembly. The religious observance of that day has come down to us through every age of the church. There is not an unbelieving word in our tongues, nor thought in our minds, but it is known to the Lord Jesus; and he was pleased to accommodate himself even to Thomas, rather than leave him in his unbelief. We ought thus to bear with the weak, Ro 15:1,2. This warning is given to all. If we are faithless, we are Christless and graceless, hopeless and joyless. Thomas was ashamed of his unbelief, and cried out, My Lord and my God. He spoke with affection, as one that took hold of Christ with all his might; My Lord and my God. Sound and sincere believers, though slow and weak, shall be graciously accepted of the Lord Jesus. It is the duty of those who read and hear the gospel, to believe, to embrace the doctrine of Christ, and that record concerning him, 1Jo 5:11.