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TableTalk is a growing archive of snippets and stories from the heart of our fellowship. Some…doubted? May 1, 2002
Posted by Lindquist in : Editorial , add a comment“When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them…, ”Go…and make disciples” (Matthew 28:17,18,19).
It is incredible, don’t you think? In recent days the blessed disciples had witnessed Heaven’s final victory over Death. But now, we are told, they doubt. The earth shook; rocks were split in two. “The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised” (Matthew 27:51,52). Dead brothers and sisters came out of their graves and mingled with the disciples in Jerusalem. But now they are unsure.
Jesus himself met them (Matthew 28:9). Paul reports that the Risen Lord appeared “to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time” (1 Corinthians 15:6). He was the Crucified One. Now he was the Resurrected Victor.
I wonder what the disciples found to doubt?
The word translated “doubt” comes from a pair of words in Greek: “dis,” meaning twice or double, and “stasis,” meaning standing. Distazo means “to stand in two ways.” It means “to think twice” or “to have a second thought.” It connotes “wavering” – having a “double mind.”
It might be that the disciples doubted the resurrection itself. Perhaps they “thought twice” about the event and wondered if it were for real. But I don’t think so. Jesus was very plainly resurrected, it seems. He stood before them, after all. He showed them the print of the nails in his hands.
What was not clear, however, was what all of this should mean for the disciples’ lives and futures. They might indeed have had “second thoughts” about that. It may not have been so comfortable to stand before the Resurrected King of the Universe. How would you greet him – except to fall at his feet in awe and surrender?
Eugene Peterson captures the sentiment perfectly. “The moment they saw him they worshiped him. Some, though, held back, not sure about worship, about risking themselves totally” (Matthew 28:17). If they genuinely acknowledged what their faith perceived, their lives would never be the same again. Maybe doubting is not so incredible after all. Maybe it is
a natural defense mechanism.
But for those who would acknowledge his Resurrected Lordship, “risking themselves totally,” Jesus described a first and lasting priority. “Go…and make disciples of all nations.” In a way, it is the only logical response to the stupendous news of the Resurrection.
Or will you waver?
"The Way I See It", May 2002
© Copyright 2002 (World Mission Prayer League). All rights reserved.