John 20:17 NIV
“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.’‘”
Some Muslims and Unitarians use this verse to argue that Jesus cannot be God because He refers to the Father as "my God." However, this interpretation overlooks the Christian understanding of the dual nature of Christ—both fully God and fully man.
Jeremiah 32:27 NIV
“I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?”
The Bible consistently affirms that the LORD is the God of all humanity. Jesus, in His incarnation, fully participated in the human experience. This means that, as a man, He naturally related to God the Father in the same way all humans do—acknowledging Him as God. This, however, does not contradict His divine nature as the Son of God.
Psalm 22:9-10 NIV
“Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast. From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.“
Psalm 22 is a Messianic prophecy that reflects Jesus' deep identification with humanity. In these verses, the psalmist speaks of a relationship with God that begins from birth—a relationship that Jesus, in His humanity, shares. This passage helps us understand why Jesus, while living on Earth as a human, referred to the Father as "my God."
In John 20:17, Jesus’ reference to the Father as "my God" reflects His genuine human experience. As the eternal Word made flesh (John 1:14), Jesus lived fully as a man, acknowledging the Father as His God in His human nature. This acknowledgment does not diminish His divinity but rather confirms the mystery of the Incarnation: that Jesus is both fully God and fully man, bridging the gap between humanity and divinity.