Read John 20:24-25

1. What has been your impression of "doubting Thomas" before today? Where did that impression come from?
2. Summarize what happens in John 20 before we get to Thomas. How do the other disciples respond to the resurrection before they see Jesus, and what does that tell us about whether Thomas is unique in his doubt?
3. Given that the other disciples were in the same position as Thomas before they saw Jesus, why do you think we tend to read Thomas more negatively than the others?
4. If Thomas is not unique among the disciples, why does John include this story? What is it about Thomas's situation that mirrors our own and everyone who has come after the first witnesses?
5. Have you ever struggled to believe something about Jesus, his resurrection, his forgiveness, his goodness? What makes it hard? Why do you think genuine doubt is such a common experience for followers of Jesus?

Read John 20:26-27

1. What strikes you about the way Jesus responds to Thomas? What does his response reveal about the character of the risen Jesus?
2. Jesus greets his disciples with "Peace be with you." Why does the resurrection make that greeting more than just a pleasantry? What grounds it?
3. Thomas responds by confessing "My Lord and my God." How does that confession connect to Jesus offering peace? What is Thomas actually saying about who Jesus is and what that means for us?
4. Is there an area of your life where you find it hard to receive the peace Jesus offers? What gets in the way?

Read John 20:24-31

1. We are like Thomas in our doubt, but unlike Thomas in that we will not have his experience of seeing and touching the risen Jesus. According to this passage, what has God given us instead, and how should that shape the way we handle doubt?
2. Thomas should have trusted the testimony of the other disciples but did not, and needed Jesus to come to him directly. What does that suggest about what we owe one another as a community when someone is struggling to believe?
3. What would it actually look like for this community to be the kind of place where doubt is normal and expected, but where people are genuinely helped toward faith rather than left alone in it?
4. Is there someone in your life, inside or outside the church, who is where Thomas was at the beginning of this story? What might it look like for you to bear witness to them?