The Word To Live By: 1-27-26
Phil Waggoner
The eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. Matthew 28:16,17
The Word To Live By: Get a picture of this. Eleven men who had spent the last three years of their lives with Jesus, looked at Him, recognized Him, but some of them were still doubtful. Why? Because doubt and unbelief is a decision, not a feeling. It is based on what you see, not necessarily on The Truth of God’s Word. If you go back to the beginning of this chapter, you will see that several women came to the tomb to take care of the body of Jesus, whom they had seen crucified, die, and carried away to the tomb. A big rock was placed in front of it and a company of Roman soldiers was stationed guard over it. When they got there, the guards were gone and so was the body of Jesus. So, what were they thinking? There had been an earthquake before they got there so the guards must have taken Him and buried Him someplace else. But then an angel appeared to them and told them that He had risen like He said He would, and to go tell the eleven disciples that He had risen and would meet them in Galilee. They must have believed the angel because they took off for the disciples. Pay close attention to this. The women must have remembered that Jesus said He would be raised from the dead because they left the tomb quickly “with fear and great joy.” and were in a hurry to do what they were told. When they believed and did, Jesus appeared to them with further instructions. Go and do what you are told and the next steps will be revealed to you. Now we are at verses 16 and 17. Even though they all worshiped Him, some still had doubts. (I think we can surmise that was Thomas - John 20:24 - and we’ll look at that tomorrow.) I think there may be a time gap between verses 16 and 17 and verses 18-20. There were 40 days between the resurrection and the ascension. In that 40 days, Jesus appeared to more than 500 people (1 Corinthians 15:6) and spoke to them. Some believed (120) some doubted (380) (Acts 1:15). My point is seeing is not necessarily believing. The 120 that believed were the ones that were filled with the Holy Spirit because they did what Jesus said to do and that was, “Go to Jerusalem and wait for what was promised by God.” That was a ten day wait. My point is, believe what the Bible says and do it, and you will see the evidence of His power in your life.
Read through the Bible in a year: Luke 20:1-26; Genesis 35,36; Psalms 27;
Read through the New Testament and Proverbs: Proverbs 27, Matthew 14:1-18, Acts 27:
The sum of Thy Word is Truth Psalm 119:160