Doubting Worshipper

Whenever I come to nearly the end of one of the gospels I get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach because I am going to have to read about Jesus' final days. And once they put Him on that cross, I have to read to the end because I cannot bear leaving Him hang there until the next days reading.

I finished the book of Matthew yesterday and noticed a few things.

When He revealed Himself to the Mary's after His resurrection, He greeted them with the words, "Rejoice!" And they came running to Him and fell down before Him and held on to His feet and worshiped Him. And then He said, "Don't be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."

I like how He trusted the women with telling the details because I've got to tell you that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, don't exactly have all their details the same about who said what and who did what right after the resurrection, but I forgave them for that long ago. (If you were standing on one side of the Grand Canyon and I were standing on the other, we would have a similar description but not identical descriptions but it would all still be about the Grand Canyon just as the end of the gospels describe all about the Resurrection in a similar but not identical fashion.) Some would say that Jesus knew that women like to talk, but I'll forgive you for that as well.

This is not a big deal, probably, but I just love that they held on to His feet.

Sometimes, my toddlers would hold on to my feet and I would drag them around while I worked in the kitchen and say, "I wonder where so-and-so is....where could he be?" And they would laugh with delight and hold on even tighter. It worked best if they were in a one piece sleeper because they could slip around better when no skin would be hitting the floor.

I can imagine how hard those women would have held on to His feet, especially since they thought they had lost Him for good. I wouldn't have let go for a long time.

And the other thing I noticed was what happened when He revealed Himself to the disciples on a Galilean mountain. It says, "When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted."

And in that setting of worship and doubt, He gave them what we call "The Great Commission."

"All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

I love that He made room for the doubting worshippers.
I love that He gave them a holy calling in spite of their doubt.

As a doubting worshipper myself,
I am grateful for His mercy
and His call.

Dear and Holy God.