Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him – but some of them doubted!
Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.
Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20 NLT
It’s a myth. The thought that real Christians don’t doubt is untrue and has absolutely no biblical basis. There are many places in the Gospels and New Testament that testify to the opposite. Doubt is normal, it is not unbelief, and is often a catalyst for much greater faith.
I could name quite a few notables from the Old Testament, way before Jesus fulfilled all their hopes and dreams, who doubted in the journey of great faith. The New Testament authentically records many more, but none more eloquently than these words recorded in Matthew.
The disciples, the first “real” Christians, had been through it. They had run and hid in their disillusionment and doubt when Jesus was arrested, tried, crucified as a criminal, and buried. Then they saw the risen Jesus, ate with Him, laughed, talked, and learned from Him. Their doubts were settled. Well, some of them. They knew He was God. But they didn’t know exactly what that meant for them and for the future.
But doubt can be the impetus that drives us to the truth. “Faith grows through seeking truth, and the seeker must ask questions, and questioning means ‘honest doubt,’” write Gordon and William Brown in Romans: Gospel of Freedom and Grace. “The original meaning of the Greek word for ‘doubt,’ skeptikos, is ‘inquirer.’” There’s something especially faith-filled in the inquiries, the questions, which come from a heart that genuinely wants to know and follow Jesus.
In the disciples’ case, we don’t know which ones doubted. I’m glad they didn’t take names. We know all eleven were there – all of the names we consider “real Christians.” And look what Jesus didn’t do. He didn’t shame them. He didn’t even separate them for a different assignment. He gave them ALL the assignment of spreading His good news. He gave them ALL authority to represent Him. He told every single one He would be with them always. He knew that through their doubts they would keep finding He was faithful and true.
Jesus is always tender with doubters. Fear not. He will help you believe.
- What questions do you need to trust to Jesus and just keep being a disciple?