Doubting Thomas Bible story for kids

It was evening. The evening of that very same day, the day the tomb was found empty.

That morning, the women had come running with the news. Jesus is alive!

But now, Jesus's friends, his disciples, were together. And they were afraid. So they had locked the doors.

Click.

I wonder if they sat close together. I wonder if they talked in low voices. The Bible doesn't tell us that.

It tells us this.

Jesus came and stood in the middle of them.

Right there. In the middle.

The doors were still locked. The Bible doesn't say how he got in. It only says that he came, and he stood among them.

And the very first thing he said was this.

"Peace be to you."

He didn't start with a telling-off. He started with peace.

Then he showed them his hands and his side.

There were scars there, from the cross. A scar is where a hurt used to be. Jesus had really died. And now he was really, truly alive again. The hurt was over, forever.

The Bible says, "The disciples therefore were glad when they saw the Lord."

Glad! Imagine all those faces, one after another, lighting up.

Then Jesus said it again. "Peace be to you."

And he breathed on them. Maybe it was as soft as a sigh. And he said, "Receive the Holy Spirit!"

But one friend wasn't there.

His name was Thomas. He was the brave, loyal friend who had once said they should all go along with Jesus, whatever happened.

And Thomas had another name, too. People called him the Twin.

So maybe, somewhere, Thomas had a twin brother or a twin sister! But who? The Bible never tells us. Nobody knows.

Later, when Thomas was with his friends again, they told him. Maybe they all talked at once, tumbling over each other's words.

"We have seen the Lord!"

But Thomas couldn't believe it.

He said that unless he could see the marks in Jesus's hands for himself, and touch them with his own finger... "I will not believe."

Now, I don't think Thomas was being naughty. He had missed it. And it was the most wonderful news anyone had ever heard. I think Thomas just needed to see.

Then came the waiting.

Day after day went by.

After eight days, the friends were together inside again, with the doors locked... Thomas was with them.

He hadn't seen Jesus yet. He still couldn't believe. But there he was, with his friends.

And then, just like before, Jesus came, and stood in the middle.

"Peace be to you."

And this time, Thomas was there.

Then Jesus spoke to Thomas. He said, "Reach here your finger, and see my hands."

Did you hear that? Finger. Hands. The very words Thomas had used. Thomas's own words, coming right back to him.

And Jesus invited Thomas to reach out his hand to the mark in his side, too. And he said, "Don't be unbelieving, but believing."

I wonder how he said it. I don't think he said it crossly. Maybe he said it the way someone who loves you says, "Come here. Look. You can trust me."

The Bible never says that Thomas touched the scars. Maybe he didn't even need to. It just says, "Thomas answered him."

"My Lord and my God!"

My Lord. And my God.

In all of John's Gospel, nobody had ever said that to Jesus before. And it was Thomas who said it. The friend who couldn't believe.

Then Jesus said to Thomas, "Because you have seen me, you have believed."

And then he said something more. Something for people who weren't even in that room. People who would come later. Much, much later.

"Blessed are those who have not seen, and have believed."

Those who have not seen.

Who could that be?

That's people like you and me, little one. People who have never seen Jesus's face, or his hands, the way Thomas did, and still trust that he is alive.

That blessing is for them. All of them. Even you.

And God was with him. God was with her. God is with you, too.

Peace be to you, little one. May the same God who kept a blessing ready for everyone who would believe without ever seeing Him... be just as close to you with your eyes shut tight as He was to Thomas with his eyes wide open.