worship and doubt

And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.

Matthew 28:17

This is a stunning bit of information in the post-resurrection gospel story. It is included in the text because it really happened that way. Jesus rose from the dead and even those closest to Him struggled with it when they saw and heard Him themselves. They worshiped. Some doubted.

Now if the resurrection of Jesus were pure fable and fiction, it would make more sense for this doubting detail to never make the official accounts. We read it today never having seen Jesus, asked to believe that He said and did what is recorded and that He rose from the grave. This inclusion of the disciples’ own doubt is a test to our own faith. But the doubt was very real because the fact of the resurrection is very real. I mean I would seriously doubt my experience if I went to a funeral only to bump into the deceased a few days later in a town down the road! Jesus did what NEVER happens. He rose from the dead.

And Jesus gave this band of eleven worshipers peppered with a few amazed skeptics the command to continue His kingdom work. He had all authority in heaven and earth. They needed to make more disciples, continuing to follow Jesus’ commanding authority as Lord. They would go from there, making disciples by baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as well as teaching them to observe all that Jesus says. Doubt would dissipate in obedience.