Bible Figure
Thomas the Apostle
one of the Twelve Apostles in the New Testament
Thomas was one of the Twelve apostles. He is especially prominent in John's Gospel, where he shows courageous loyalty, asks Jesus an important question at the Last Supper, initially doubts the other disciples' report of the resurrection, and then responds to the risen Christ with the confession, 'My Lord and my God.'
Biography
Thomas, whose name is associated with the meaning 'twin' and who is also called Didymus, appears in the apostolic lists but receives his fullest portrait in John. When Jesus announced His intention to return to Judea after Lazarus died, Thomas urged the other disciples to go with Him even if it meant dying with Him. During the Last Supper discourse, Thomas admitted that the disciples did not know where Jesus was going and asked how they could know the way. Jesus answered with the declaration that He is the way, the truth, and the life. After the resurrection, Thomas was absent when Jesus first appeared to the gathered disciples and refused to accept their testimony without tangible evidence. Eight days later Jesus appeared again and invited Thomas to examine His wounds. Thomas answered, 'My Lord and my God.' Jesus then pronounced a blessing upon those who have not seen and yet believe. Thomas is also present in John 21 when the risen Jesus appears by the Sea of Galilee. Later traditions about his missionary work, particularly in the East and India, are historically important traditions but extend beyond the biblical record.
Biblical Significance
Thomas is significant because his story joins honest questioning, weakness, evidence, and one of the New Testament's strongest confessions of Jesus' divine identity. His encounter with the risen Christ also leads directly to John's emphasis on the blessedness of later believers who receive the apostolic testimony without seeing Jesus physically.