# John 20:17: “My God and Your God.” Does Jesus Having a God Mean He Is Not God? > John 20:17 has the risen Jesus say my God and your God. Qur’an 5:117 says my Lord and your Lord. John 20:28 has Thomas call him Lord and God. - Canonical: https://apologetics.wiki/islam/my-god-and-your-god-john-20-17 - Religions: Islam - Denominations: none - Beliefs: none - Tags: islam, jesus, trinity - Updated: 2026-10-17 - Author: [Paul Ambrose](https://apologetics.wiki/author/hi-its-paul) [John 20:17](/bible/john/20/17) has the risen Jesus tell Mary that he ascends to his Father and their Father, his God and their God. [Qur’an 5:117](https://quran.com/al-maidah/117) has him say he commanded people to worship Allah, “my Lord and your Lord.” [John 20:28](/bible/john/20/28), eleven verses later, has Thomas say “My LORD and my God.” Jesus is God. Having the Father as his God is the Son speaking as man. ## Key Points - [John 20:17](/bible/john/20/17) [(1)](#ref-1) says he has not yet ascended, and he sends Mary to his brothers with “my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” - The “touch me not” is tied to that ascent. He has not yet gone to the Father. - [Qur’an 5:117](https://quran.com/al-maidah/117) [(3)](#ref-3), Saheeh International, has Jesus say he told them only what he was commanded: to worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. - [Qur’an 5:116](https://quran.com/al-maidah/116) [(4)](#ref-4) is the question just before that answer: did you tell people to take me and my mother as deities besides Allah? He says exalted are you, it was not for me to say that. - [John 20:28](/bible/john/20/28) [(2)](#ref-2) is Thomas answering the risen Jesus: “My LORD and my God.” - [Hebrews 1:8–9](/bible/hebrews/1) [(6)](#ref-6) has the Father address the Son as God, and then say the Son’s God has anointed him. Both lines are in one address. ## What John 20:17 Says In [John 20:16–17](/bible/john/20/16) [(1)](#ref-1), Mary has just recognized the risen Jesus at the tomb and called him Rabboni. He tells her, “Touch me not,” which some modern versions render “do not cling to me,” because he has not yet ascended to the Father. He sends her to his brothers. The message is that he ascends to his Father and their Father, and to his God and their God. The sentence is his. He calls the Father “my God.” Muslims read that as the same confession [Qur’an 5:117](https://quran.com/al-maidah/117) [(3)](#ref-3) puts in his mouth: he and his hearers share one Lord, and he is not that Lord. The concession is in the Gospel itself. The risen Jesus does call the Father his God. [If Jesus Is God, Why Did He Pray?](/islam/if-jesus-is-god-why-did-he-pray) is the longer account of the prayers. A servant’s voice is what [Philippians 2:7](/bible/philippians/2/7) says he took. ## What Qur’an 5:117 Says [Qur’an 5:116](https://quran.com/al-maidah/116) [(4)](#ref-4) is Allah asking Jesus, son of Mary, whether he told people to take him and his mother as deities besides Allah. Jesus says Allah is exalted, and that if he had said it, Allah would have known. [Qur’an 5:117](https://quran.com/al-maidah/117) [(3)](#ref-3), Saheeh International: > I said not to them except what You commanded me - to worship Allāh, my Lord and your Lord. And I was a witness over them as long as I was among them; but when You took me up, You were the Observer over them, and You are, over all things, Witness. “My Lord and your Lord” is the Qur’an’s pair for the Gospel’s “my God and your God.” The picture in the question is Jesus and Mary as two deities besides Allah. [Qur’an 4:171](https://quran.com/an-nisa/171) [(5)](#ref-5) says Jesus was a messenger and a word Allah directed to Mary, and it says do not say “Three,” and that Allah is exalted above having a son. Christians do not confess Mary as a deity beside God. [Qur’an 6:101](https://quran.com/al-anam/101) asks how he could have a son when he has no companion, and [Can God Have a Son?](/islam/can-god-have-a-son) takes up that objection. The Trinity is not that triad. [The Trinity](/christianity/the-trinity) is one God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. [John 20:17](/bible/john/20/17) and [Qur’an 5:117](https://quran.com/al-maidah/117) can be set side by side without pretending they say the same thing about who Jesus is. Both have him speak of God as his Lord. Only the Gospel then has a disciple answer him with “My Lord and my God.” ## What “Touch Me Not” Is About The King James “Touch me not” is the first clause of [John 20:17](/bible/john/20/17) [(1)](#ref-1). The reason is in the same verse: he is not yet ascended to the Father. Later in the chapter he tells Thomas to reach hither his finger and his hand, and thrust it into his side. The prohibition is not a permanent rule that the risen Jesus cannot be touched, and it is not a statement that he has no body. [Was Jesus Raised Bodily?](/jehovahs-witnesses/was-jesus-raised-bodily) is that question on the Jehovah’s Witness reading. Here the clause explains why Mary is sent with a message instead of keeping him there. The message is the ascent to the Father. ## What John 20:28 Says [John 20:28](/bible/john/20/28) [(2)](#ref-2) is Thomas, who was not with them the first night. Jesus shows the wounds and tells him to reach. Thomas answers, “My LORD and my God.” The Gospel does not correct him. Eleven verses after “my God and your God,” the same Jesus is called God by a disciple, to his face. [Hebrews 1:8–9](/bible/hebrews/1) [(6)](#ref-6) holds both kinds of sentence in one speech of the Father to the Son. The Father says, “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever,” and then, “therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee.” The Son is addressed as God, and he has a God. That is the incarnation, not a second god and not a denial. [My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?](/christianity/my-god-my-god-why-have-you-forsaken-me) is the cry from the cross, which is [Psalm 22:1](/bible/psalms/22/1) in the mouth of the Son. [Does Jesus Have a God?](/christianity/does-jesus-have-a-god) walks the same verses beside the claim that a God of his own means he is not God. [John 1:1](/bible/john/1/1) says the Word was God. [John 1:14](/bible/john/1/14) says the Word was made flesh. The man who says “my God” is that Word. [Biblical Unitarians](/biblical-unitarianism) and many Muslim readers stop at “my God.” The chapter they are quoting does not stop there. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What Does “Touch Me Not” Mean in John 20:17? [John 20:17](/bible/john/20/17) ties it to the ascent: he has not yet gone to the Father. He sends Mary with the message. Later in the chapter he tells Thomas to reach his hand into his side. ### What Does Qur’an 5:117 Say? In Saheeh International, Jesus answers that he said only what he was commanded and was a witness over them while he was among them. When Allah took him up, Allah was the Observer over them. ### Does Jesus Having a God Mean He Is Not God? [John 20:17](/bible/john/20/17) says the Father is his God. [John 20:28](/bible/john/20/28) says Thomas calls him God. [Hebrews 1:8–9](/bible/hebrews/1) has the Father call the Son God and then speak of the Son’s God. The Son who became man has the Father as his God. The Word is God. ### Why Does Thomas Say “My LORD and My God”? [John 20:28](/bible/john/20/28) is his answer when he sees the wounds. The King James words are “My LORD and my God.” The Gospel records them as spoken to Jesus. It does not add a rebuke. ## Keep Reading - [Does Jesus Have a God?](/christianity/does-jesus-have-a-god) - [If Jesus Is God, Why Did He Pray?](/islam/if-jesus-is-god-why-did-he-pray) - [My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?](/christianity/my-god-my-god-why-have-you-forsaken-me) - [Can God Have a Son?](/islam/can-god-have-a-son) - [The Trinity](/christianity/the-trinity) - [Is Jesus God?](/christianity/is-jesus-god) - [What Is Biblical Unitarianism?](/biblical-unitarianism/what-is-biblical-unitarianism) ## Passages Quoted on This Page ### John 20:17 King James Version. > Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. ### John 20:28 King James Version. > And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God. ### Qur’an 5:116 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/5/116) > And [beware the Day] when Allāh will say, "O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as deities besides Allāh?'" He will say, "Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen. ### Hebrews 1:8–9 King James Version. > [1:8] But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. [1:9] Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. ### John 20:16 King James Version. > Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. ### Philippians 2:7 King James Version. > But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: ### Qur’an 4:171 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/4/171) > O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allāh except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allāh and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him. So believe in Allāh and His messengers. And do not say, "Three"; desist - it is better for you. Indeed, Allāh is but one God. Exalted is He above having a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And sufficient is Allāh as Disposer of affairs. ### Qur’an 6:101 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/6/101) > [He is] Originator of the heavens and the earth. How could He have a son when He does not have a companion [i.e., wife] and He created all things? And He is, of all things, Knowing. ### Psalms 22:1 King James Version. > My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? ### John 1:1 King James Version. > In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ### John 1:14 King James Version. > And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. ## Sources Numbered to match the HTML References list. Item 1 is `#ref-1` under `#references`. Scripture links to the King James Version on this site. 1. [Gospel of John, 20:17](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/20/17). King James Version 2. [Gospel of John, 20:28](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/20/28). King James Version 3. [Qur’an, 5:117](https://quran.com/al-maidah/117) (Saheeh International. Jesus says he told them to worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.) 4. [Qur’an, 5:116](https://quran.com/al-maidah/116) (Saheeh International. Allah asks whether Jesus told people to take him and his mother as deities besides Allah.) 5. [Qur’an, 4:171](https://quran.com/an-nisa/171) (Saheeh International. Jesus is a messenger and a word from Allah, and Allah is exalted above having a son.) 6. [Letter to the Hebrews, 1:8–9](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/hebrews/1). King James Version ## See Also - [Can God Have a Son?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/can-god-have-a-son) — The Qur'an condemns the claim that God has taken a son, especially a son by a consort. Christians deny that picture and still confess the eternal Son. - [If Jesus Is God, Why Did He Pray?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/if-jesus-is-god-why-did-he-pray) — Jesus prayed, said the Father is greater, and said he did not know the hour. The same Gospel says the Word was God and was made flesh. - [Is the Holy Spirit the Angel Gabriel in Islam?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/is-the-holy-spirit-gabriel) — Ibn Kathir says the Pure Spirit is Gabriel, and Luke 1 names Gabriel and the Holy Ghost as two. Acts 5:4 says a lie to the Holy Ghost is a lie to God. - [Numbers 23:19: “God Is Not a Man.” Does This Rule Out the Incarnation?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/god-is-not-a-man-numbers-23-19) — Numbers 23:19 says God is not a man, that he should lie, in Balaam’s oracle that God will not unsay a blessing. John 1:14 says the Word was made flesh. - [Are Muslims Seeing Dreams and Visions of Jesus?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/dreams-and-visions-of-jesus) — The Qur’an and sahih hadith do not count dreams of Jesus. They call a true dream part of prophecy. Acts 2 and Deuteronomy 13 test the message.