Tag: doubt

Bowing & Doubting

Great Commission #1

I want to spend this week on the blog focusing on the Great Commission left to us by Jesus Himself. Matthew’s Gospel records a set of commands which Jesus gave to His disciples, and these extend to us as well. They have become very familiar words, and the phrase “Great Commission” is famous among churches. But do we really know what it means?

If I asked you to sum up the Great Commission, what would you say? I wager that most would answer by saying, “Telling others about Jesus!” This is true, in a broad sense, but the Great Commission is rather more specific than that.

Matthew’s Gospel records the following:

But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had sent them. 17 When they saw him, they bowed down to him; but some doubted. 18 Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Matthew 28:16-20 (WEB)

Bowing and Doubting

After Jesus’ death and resurrection, He makes an appointment with His disciples to meet Him in Galilee. This is a town in the north of Israel, and meant the disciples having to travel up from Jerusalem after Jesus’ death.

Before we examine Jesus’ commands,, let us first look at the important words leading up to them.

Verse 16 shows us that they went to Galilee, and then up the mountain as agreed. There, Jesus appears to them, and it records that they bow down. This, to me at least, implies that all eleven of them did indeed bow to the Risen Lord. They recognised Him, and not just the Person of Jesus, but His now revealed power and stature as the Risen Christ. Recognising His divinity will be important when we consider Jesus’ authority in a moment.

Then, verse 17 makes a note that many of us may skip over. Some of them doubted… This is astonishing to me. This is not some large group barely familiar with Jesus, but the Eleven, the inner circle. They have travelled with Jesus for three years, seeing Him heal and raise the dead. They watched as He was crucified, and yet now stands before them, alive and well. Still, some of them doubted.

They all bowed, but some of them doubted. Faith and doubt are not mutually exclusive it seems #Bible #Jesus #GreatCommission

What this says to me is that faith and doubt are not mutually exclusive. We can have faith at the same time we are wrestling with doubt. Putting it another way, faith is not the absence of doubt, and nor is doubt the absence of faith.

We know that these men went on to die for what they believed, and some in horrendous ways such as Peter who was crucified upside down. Despite having “doubts” they did not allow them to hamper their world-changing faith.

For us, I think the lesson is that it is ok to have questions. There is much we do not understand, and it is simply not possible to have all the answers before we commit to Jesus. We should take our questions to the Lord and prayerfully seek the truth.

All Authority

Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.

Matthew 28:18 (WEB)

Before we examine Jesus’ commission to us in the coming days, we must first understand His authority. Here, He states quite clearly that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. That means, simply put, He is in charge.

Jesus does not offer guidance here, nor advice, nor encouragement. Instead, He sets out His total authority over all things and then tells us what to do. It is not optional, and we cannot ignore it.

Consider if you went to court and the judge ordered you to do something. It is not optional for you, but the authority of the court now compels you to follow its instructions. To not comply could lead to hefty fines or worse incarceration.

When Jesus gives us these commands, He expects them to be followed and He is backed by all authority under heaven. Do we treat His words accordingly?

The point I want to make, as we begin this series, is to understand that Jesus sets out His authority because He expects us to do what He says. We will look at what is involved in this in the coming days, but let us begin by submitting to His authority, and deciding in our hearts that we will do whatever it is He is about to ask us.

What will you do?

At the end of each post on the Great Commission, I will ask you this question: what will you do in response to what you have read?

Today, I ask:

  • How can you bow down to the Risen Christ?
  • Do you have doubts? If so, how can you bring them to the Lord?
  • Are you prepared to fully submit yourself to Jesus’ authority? Be honest, and take the answer to God in prayer.

Ask and Believe

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post entitled “Ask” which you can read here. It was all about encouraging us to ask of our generous and gracious God.

At that time, I prayed a specific prayer to the Lord and am thrilled to say that it was fulfilled this week. The content of the prayer is not for sharing, but please do join me in thanking and praising our Wonderful Lord for His faithfulness.

Here’s the thing though… I was more than a little surprised when the answer came. What does that say about my faith in general, or in that particular prayer? If we are surprised when God answers our prayers, it is because we did not expect Him to do so. Let me be clear; if we do not expect any answer to our prayers, then why pray in the first place? Prayer is not simply “wishing!”

I am truly humbled to see this answer come, and God has challenged me to not just pray big, but to really expect the answer to come. I have heard Christians pray for something, say “Amen!” and then immediately say, “That probably won’t happen…” Why do we undo our prayers like that!

In the first chapter of the letter of James, it says this:

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

James 1:5-8 (NIV)

James is clearly talking about the subject of wisdom here, and yet what he says about not doubting applies to all that we ask of God.

Verse six tells us to believe but at the same time, not to doubt. These are two separate instructions, I think. Belief and doubt are not mutually exclusive. For the prayer I referred to above, I did believe God when I asked, but I also doubted it would happen. My doubt was not necessarily in God Himself, but rather in a) my deserving b) that it was His will and c) that the ask was too big for me and my faith right now.

I can say wholeheartedly that I did believe when I asked, otherwise I would not have asked at all. But in the gap between the ask and the result, I began to doubt that the answer would come. Can you relate?

James uses the example of a wave to illustrate his point. A wave is neither on the beach nor out to sea. One minute it is in, and the next it is out. I am fortunate to live by the coast, and so when we take a walk alone the shoreline, I am reminded of this truth. I do not wish to be like the wave. When I pray, I want to be fully in – believing that God will come through and not doubting either Him or myself.

That is why it is so important to pray with the Bible. If we are not entirely sure if something is God’s will, then it is hard to have complete faith in it. However, when we pray with the Word of God, we can be sure that what we are asking for is promised by Him. It gives us full assurance of His faithfulness.

So I am going to continue to pray, and pray big! In an attempt to learn my lesson from this experience, I am going to focus on the Generous God we serve, and try not to allow doubt to talk me out of it. If God shows me that the answer is no, then I shall move on to the next thing!

Tell me your praise reports and prayer testimonies. Are you ever surprised by God answering your prayers? Let’s steadfastly remain in Him, trusting in His goodness and glory.

As ever, do send me your prayer requests. I would love to pray for you in whatever capacity I can. Comment below or get in touch. May your prayers be fruitful this week!