As You...Go | A SOAP Devotional by Pastor Jamie

Read Matthew 28 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+28&version=NLT   Matthew 28:17-19a- 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..."

In the final verses of Matthew's gospel we have the Great Commission, which serves as our marching orders as Jesus' church that as we are going through life we will help Jesus make disciples. But I am always struck by what happens before that call as well. The disciples- all of whom by now had been in the presence of the resurrected Lord- followed the directions of Jesus to get to the mountain where He told them to go. Obedience by definition is listening carefully to God and following through faithfully. They were in just the right place at just the right time, but as they saw Jesus, the resurrected Lord, Matthew tells us some of them doubted. Take note that it tells us they all worshiped Jesus and some of them doubted, which means their doubt wasn't getting in the way of their worship. I also find it fascinating that Jesus ignored their doubts and pressed on with the point of the gathering- to commission each of them- even the disciples who brought their doubts about Jesus' resurrection to this moment- to make disciples in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as they freely and joyfully shared their faith.

A lot of times we consider doubt as the enemy of faith. I'm not so sure about that. Perhaps apathy or hate is the enemy of faith, but the disciples had already exercised a degree of faith in the midst of their doubt by choosing to show up on the mountain just as Jesus instructed. They were obedient, and Jesus trusted they would continue to work through any remaining doubts that they had about Him as the resurrected Lord as they trusted in Him as the One who had "been given all authority in heaven and on earth," which is precisely what happened in the first century church. It seems to me that as Jesus calls us to be obedient He doesn't get all that stressed out about our moments of doubt. Perhaps it would serve us to ignore some of our own doubts the same way Jesus did. Jesus didn't say, "Well, I can't commission you while you still cling to some degree of doubt about me;" instead, He was went right ahead with sharing the faith they had. Since Jesus was graceful towards His doubting disciples in these verses maybe we can be graceful toward ourselves when doubts crop up for us from time to time. Maybe we can be graceful with ourselves about letting God lead us to ways that are natural and normal for us to share our faith with family, friends, acquaintances, and anyone else God might invite us to share with as He nudges us. How might God help you "recapture the beauty, joy, and centrality of evangelism" in 2026 in your sphere of influence?

Dear Lord, thank You for the faith we have today in You. Help us be as graceful to ourselves in the midst of any remaining doubts we may have as You have been to us. Keep pouring Your love and grace into us as we seek to be well equipped to live lives of humble boldness as we walk alongside others with the full gospel to lead them to Christ. Help us never settle for apathy when it comes to the passionate need for others to have a living relationship with Jesus Christ. Amen.

"When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, 'We want to hear more about this later.' That ended Paul’s discussion with them, but some joined him and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the council, a woman named Damaris, and others with them." (Acts 17:32-34),    Pastor Jamie   P. S. - To find out more about our Vision Team and our Strategic Priorities go to: https://universitycarillon.net/vision/