Worship Not Doubt
Read This Week: Matthew 28
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:16-20 NIV
Have you ever wondered what it must have been like to be a disciple after the resurrection? It must have been terrifying, exciting, and awe-inspiring at the same time to witness the arrest of Jesus, know of His violent death on the cross, be aware that He had been buried in a borrowed tomb, and then see Him alive again. Then the mind goes to what it must have been like to be on that mountain in Galilee when Jesus laid out his mission for the world. Ideally, one would hope to be eager, prepared, and full of anticipation and reverence. But reality indicates that we would be probably somewhere in the variance of worship and doubt like the disciples.
In Matthew 28, Jesus had been raised from the dead and appeared to many. He then told his followers to go to the precise place where he wanted to commission them for His work on earth. Then verse 17 tells us of the mixed reaction of the remaining 11 disciples:
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.
Some worshiped, and some doubted. The word doubt in this context means “to hesitate or be uncertain.” They held their belief in Jesus, but their hesitation and lack of faith prevented them from worshipping him. And this lack of worship could hinder their effectiveness on their mission.
But Jesus speaks into them with all of His divine authority that we saw in the last chapter and says:
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Like us, even when the faith of the disciples was sincere, it was weak and shaky. Yet Christ gives them convincing proof of his resurrection and the authority of His word, so their faith could triumph over doubt. He does the same thing for us. He gives us His Word as undeniable proof and the power available to us to carry out His eternal and purposeful mission on earth. The Bible and Holy Spirit empower us to do life with God, and when they fill us, we transform from doubters into worshippers who share the Good News with others.
The contrast of reactions in the disciples can be a microcosm of our Christian experience. In a moment, the Gospel eternally alters our lives. Jesus saves and changes us by his resurrection power. He reveals Himself in ways we cannot imagine while calling us to be on a mission with Him. All the while, some worship, and some doubt. The church is filled with worshippers and doubters, redeemed people exercising faith in Christ or a debilitating lack of it. But believers have the constant presence of God to counter human, emotional doubt. There is no day or hour that the Lord Jesus is not present with His church and the family of God. Jesus makes this promise in verse 20: And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
The prayer of Christians should be that we not get caught up long in the discrepancy of worship and doubt. We must stay connected and seek God constantly, so our role in His mission for the world is not hindered by ambiguous faith. The desire of our heart should be for Jesus to receive glory in the world through our worship. And in every area of our lives, allow Him to help us be worshippers and not doubters.
In Matthew 28 Jesus was resurrected. Resurrection is living again in a new body. He ascended into heaven and continues to reign as a resurrected man; still, fully man and fully God. The resurrection is what He promised. The rolling away of the stone is so that others could see in and be persuaded that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. The cross was the payment for our sins, the resurrection showed His payment was accepted. When we see the place they laid Him, we see that God did not forsake Jesus, and we see that death is conquered. God used women to share the news of His resurrection and to share the good news. They were assured they would see the resurrected Jesus; they would continue to have a relationship with Him.
When Jesus appeared to them, they worshiped Him. Jesus later demanded His disciples to go, and he commands us to go. It is His authority that sends us, guides us, and empowers us. He wants us to make disciples for Him and spread Christianity to other people. We are to teach them about Jesus. We are to work with Him. His presence in our life means protection, power, and peace.
What this said to me is as long as I am living on this earth, I am to continue spreading the good news about Him and what He did for us. I need to let His love and power continue to flow through me to others. I need to freely give my heart to him, and quit trying to do things my way and in my power.
Wonderful commentary, Kathy, and your post is certainly a perspective that is needed for us to live as worshippers and not doubters. This line captures the essence of resurrection living:
As long as I am living on this earth, I am to continue spreading the good news about Him and what He did for us. I need to let His love and power continue to flow through me to others.
I pray God and His Holy Spirit will empower us to be active worshippers so that can make an impact on every person, situation, and environment that He calls us to be in and go to.
God gave me a song this week from Matthew 28 called, “Come to the Lord”:
Come all, come all come to the Lord our Father
Don’t be afraid, our Father is alive
He has risen for you and me
Our sins are forgiven
His love for you and me it’s overwhelming
We have eternal life with him
He’s always near, helping, and giving you and me spiritual guidance
Let’s walk hand in hand, walk hand in hand
Let’s walk hand in hand with our Lord
Dancing and singing
Come all, come all come to the Lord our Father. Amen.
It’s a true blessing just knowing our Father is always with us. Even when we doubt it, He is always working. It’s about us realizing and asking him for help.
I resonate with this so much, Alma. It is a wonderful truth and a promise to know that God is always near and with us and invites us to come to Him and approach Him with boldness.
As you said, He’s always near, helping, and giving you and me spiritual guidance. What a gift that we get to receive spiritual guidance for our lives from the Creator of the universe.
Matthew 28:18-20 says, Jesus, came up and said to them, “All authority (all power of absolute rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age.”
The Great Commission is Jesus giving us a job, a mission, to go and make disciples, were to help others to learn what He had come here to teach us, as we learn we teach others, we learn from others that Love God too. One thing my Pastor taught me was to always remember your on-the-job training every day. We don’t graduate until we get to heaven, today is a new day to continue to learn, grow, and share what we learn with others.
Discipleship is a lifelong experience of learning to follow Jesus. God’s Great commission calls us all to share the good news everywhere we go. He loves it when we want to, desire to, seek Him with our whole heart. I feel in my heart that it blesses Father God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit when they are always on our heart, our mind, and our ears open to listen and respond to them.
God is saying to me that I am right there for you always. It’s not always easy to share, but when you do it someone will be blessed, even if it sometimes seems like nothing happened always remember you did it with Me and I know what is happening so trust Me in the process, miracles do happen. Thank you, Father God, that we get to serve others with You. I love you so much
I love this post, Heidi. Just like Kathy’s comments, yours epitomize the life of a worshipper and not a doubter. Someone who is fueled and empowered by the Holy Spirit to be on mission for God and share His good news with others. This part stood out to me:
Discipleship is a lifelong experience of learning to follow Jesus. God’s Great commission calls us all to share the good news everywhere we go. He loves it when we want to, desire to, seek Him with our whole heart.
The Christian life was never meant to be stuck at the starting line. We are to be on a lifelong journey of discovery, growth, and maturity as we seek God every day. As you also said, eternity is the finish line but until then, we are to pursue God, embrace His mission, and bless and share with others wherever we find ourselves.
Ty Jason I love what you said about our lifelong journey of discovery, I love discovering new things to help me grow into what God has for me I love to bless Him because He is so good me
Thank you, Heidi! I love how you are always putting an emphasis on the journey of discovery and staying connected to God and His word. It is encouraging and challenging for us all. It is exciting to learn and grow each day with the Lord and I appreciate the way you always highlight that. Blessings to you.