Sunday 2 May – Burley Parish Church

Doubting Thomas

Today we are going to look at the story of Doubting Thomas. The reason Thomas earned his name as Doubting Thomas was because he didn’t believe Jesus to be real, until he appeared before him and allowed him to touch him in the flesh. Are you someone who likes to see something or someone before you believe something is real or true? It can be anything from seeing a seed growing into a beautiful flower or meeting someone special, who you have heard a lot about but never actually met in person. Below is the story of Doubting Thomas for you to read about and a few fun and interesting facts about him. There are also a couple of YouTube clips about Doubting Thomas and some word searches and craft activities. I hope you have fun learning all about Doubting Thomas.

Who Was Doubting Thomas?

Thomas the Apostle—often referred to as “Doubting Thomas”—was one of the twelve main disciples of Jesus Christ. In the Gospel of John, Thomas famously doubted Jesus’ resurrection, telling the other disciples, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25).

Jesus then appeared and offered to let him do just that.

Upon seeing Jesus in the flesh with his own eyes (and possibly touching the wounds), Thomas proclaimed, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). Jesus responded with one of the most powerful and prophetic statements about faith in all of Scripture: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).

Thomas’ moment of scepticism earned him the nickname “Doubting Thomas,” which evolved into a term for anyone who needs proof before they believe something.

In this guide, we’ll highlight the things we can observe about Thomas from the Bible.

Here are some quick facts about Thomas the apostle: