In Matthew, chapter 28, verses 16-20, we read about Jesus’ final invitation to his disciples. They have followed him for three years. They have followed him through the craziness of his arrest, trial, beating, crucifixion, resurrection. Now this:
“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 of 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.’”
Following Jesus would now involve what might be the scariest “out of their comfort zone” experience of all, because he would no longer be with them. He has been leading them, supporting them, with his physical presence right there with them for three years. Now they will be on their own.
A few days ago, my son and daughter-in-law brought their new baby daughter from the hospital for the first time since her birth two months ago. While that felt amazing, and it means that she is doing well, it also felt quite scary because she has a heart condition. They had to be trained by hospital staff on the specialized care she receives. When you are on your own for the first time, you can feel way out of your comfort zone.
This is how the disciples were feeling. In verse 17, Matthew writes, “some of them doubted.” I wouldn’t blame them if every single one of them doubted, thinking “Jesus, don’t leave us! Stay! We don’t know if we are trained for this, if we can do this on our own.”
He will leave them, and that will be scary, but Jesus is thinking about this correctly. Why? We found out in the next post.
Photo by Mantas Hesthaven on Unsplash
Engaging Scripture 