Facts About Thomas the Apostle

Thomas Didymus is one of the lesser known disciples. There is one major event in the Bible that he is known for however. When Jesus was resurrected and appeared before the disciples, Thomas was not present. When he was told about the resurrection, Thomas initially had doubts. It was not until he physically touched the scars from the crucifixion on Jesus’ body. This unfortunately earned Thomas the nickname “Doubting Thomas”. Thomas’ doubts, however, turned into incredibly strong faith that is often overlooked when talking about him. Thomas is one of the greatest cases in the Bible of doubts being used be God to create a more powerful faith. Thomas ministered in Parthia, Persia, and India. He was martyred for his faith by being run through with a spear. His symbols in the Catholic church is a group of spears, stones, and arrows.

Name: Thomas

Family: Unknown

Nicknames: Doubting Thomas, Didymus

  • Doubting Thomas comes from the fact that he did not believe Jesus came back from the dead until he touched his wounds physically
  • Didymus was his Greek name

Personality:

  • Pessimist
  • Often bewildered
  • A man of courage
  • Did not believe in things until he physically saw them

Life before Christ:

  • Lived in Galilee
  • Not much else is told of Thomas before he was called to follow Christ

Accomplishments:

  • Ministered in Parthia, Persia, and India
  • Doubted the resurrection of Christ until he could physically touch His scars
  • Was present at the resurrection of Lazarus
  • Transformed his doubts of Christ’s resurrection into incredibly strong faith
  • It is often believed that he was commissioned to build a palace for the king of India
  • Was martyred for his faith

Death:

  • Was run through by a spear while spreading the faith