Thomas was exclaiming in shock — like saying 'Oh my God!' He was not
calling Jesus God. Jesus is the Son of God, not God himself.
Open your NWT to . It reads: 'In answer Thomas said to him: "My Lord and my God!"' Point out three things in their own translation: (1) 'In answer' — Thomas is responding to Jesus' invitation to touch his wounds. This is a reply, not an outburst. (2) 'Said to him' — the Greek is eipen autō (dative), meaning Thomas addressed these words directly to Jesus, not to God in heaven. (3) Jesus responds 'Because you have seen me, have you believed?' — Jesus commends Thomas' faith. If Thomas had just blasphemed by calling a creature 'my God,' Jesus would have corrected him, just as the angel corrects John in . Then read : 'these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ.' Thomas' confession is the climax of John's Gospel — the moment John has been building toward since chapter 1.
Even the NWT says Thomas 'said to him' — directly to Jesus — 'My Lord and my God.' Jesus accepted it. An angel would not. A faithful creature would not. Only God would.
Thomas was exclaiming in surprise — like saying 'Oh my God!' — not calling Jesus God.
Your own NWT says Thomas 'said to him' — eipen autō in Greek — which is the dative case meaning 'addressed to him.' This is not an exclamation into the air. Thomas spoke these words to Jesus. And Jesus answered by commending his belief, not correcting his theology. If a devout Jew called a creature 'my God' in the presence of that creature, it would be the worst blasphemy imaginable. Jesus' response would have to be 'Worship God, not me' — but instead he says 'blessed are those who believe.'
John 20:31 says Jesus is the 'Son of God,' not God — that's the point of the whole Gospel.
But what does 'Son of God' mean? In John's Gospel, this title is a deity claim. says the Jews sought to kill Jesus because 'he was calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.' In Jewish understanding, the Son of God is not less than God — it means sharing God's nature. and 20:31 are not contradictions; they are complementary. Thomas confesses Jesus' deity; John explains why he recorded it.
Thomas used theos the same way John 1:1 does — Jesus is 'a god' to him, not Almighty God.
The grammar in is the exact opposite of c. Thomas says ho theos mou — "the God of me" — with the definite article. The Watchtower's own rule says the missing article in c is what justifies translating it "a god." But ho theos here has the article. By the Watchtower's own grammatical principle, the article marks the true God. That is the same construction used in (LXX) for Yahweh: "I am the first and I am the last, and besides me there is no God." Apply the Watchtower's rule consistently and says Jesus is Almighty God.
Thomas called Jesus 'Lord' and then addressed 'my God' to Jehovah in heaven.
The Greek text has a single construction: 'The Lord of me and the God of me' (ho kurios mou kai ho theos mou). Both titles are addressed to the same person — 'him' (autō). Splitting them between two addressees requires ignoring the grammar. No Greek scholar — not even the NWT translators — renders it as two separate addresses. Their own translation says 'said to him' — singular, to Jesus.
Thomas was facing Jesus, but his words 'my Lord and my God' were directed past Jesus to the Father in heaven — like an exclamation of awe.
The Greek removes that option. The text reads "apekrithē Thōmas kai eipen autō" — "Thomas answered and said to him." The dative pronoun autō ("to him") has one antecedent in the sentence: Jesus, who has just invited Thomas to touch his wounds. If Thomas were addressing the Father, John would have written "said toward heaven" or simply omitted the indirect object — as he does when characters speak into the air. Then read the very next verse, (NWT): "Jesus said to him: 'Because you have seen me, have you believed?'" Jesus treats Thomas's confession as directed at himself — and commends his belief. If Thomas had been speaking past Jesus to the Father, that response makes no sense.
Don't turn this into a Greek grammar lecture. The NWT's own English wording — 'In answer Thomas said to him' — is sufficient. Let the JW read it in their own Bible.
Read in its setting, from Thomas's absence and doubt to Jesus' reply, until you can retell the story from memory. Open the NWT at and confirm the wording yourself: 'In answer Thomas said to him: "My Lord and my God!"' The words 'said to him' carry the argument. Then read for the contrast with an angel who refuses worship. Practise the doorstep question aloud, ending with 'Why not?', and resist turning it into a Greek lesson. Expect 'Thomas was exclaiming in surprise'; rehearse pointing back to 'said to him' and to verse 29, where Jesus answers by commending Thomas's belief.