“But Some Doubted”: Studying an Intriguing Response to the Resurrection of Jesus

A replica of the Garden Tomb (Jerusalem) at The Garden of Hope in Covington, KY.

This is a photo I took of the replica of the Garden Tomb (Jerusalem) at The Garden of Hope in Covington, KY.

Matthew 28:17 includes a confusing phrase that has led to some controversy. During Christ’s post-Resurrection appearance on a hillside in Galilee, some of His disciples worshiped Him, “but some doubted.” Some critical scholars have used these three words to support their idea that the disciples were only experiencing a vision. Some Christian apologists have claimed that these three words prove it is wrong to use evidence for the Resurrection in witnessing to unbelievers, even claiming that it would be sinful to do so. Still other Christian apologists use this phrase as evidence for the authenticity of the New Testament, because they believe Matthew included an embarrassing detail about some disciples not believing in Jesus even though He was right in front of them (Geisler and Turek, pp. 276–277).

What are we to make of these claims? How could people who knew Jesus had died on the Cross possibly not believe that He had risen from the dead when He was standing right in front of them?

Who Doubted?

First, let’s take a look at the verses in question and cover a little background information.

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him they worshiped Him; but some doubted. (Matthew 28:16–17, NKJV)

On the night of His arrest, Jesus told His disciples that He would rise from the dead and then meet them in Galilee (Matthew 26:32; cf. Matthew 28:10; Mark 16:7). Our passage shows the fulfillment of that promise.

So the eleven disciples (the original twelve minus Judas who had hanged himself) went to a mountain (or hillside, the Greek word oros can mean either one) in Galilee and when Jesus appeared to them, they worshiped Him, “but some doubted.”

Who was doing the doubting? The context of this verse seems to show that it was some of the eleven disciples since no other people are mentioned here. Many Christians believe this appearance on the hillside is where Jesus appeared to “over five hundred brethren at once” (1 Corinthians 15:6). There are at least two reasons why they make this connection. First, if only the eleven disciples were present, then it must have been some of the disciples doing the doubting. However, this would be strange since they had all seen the risen Jesus at least twice before (except Thomas, who, as far as we know, had seen Him one less time), and they knew He had risen. Second, there is a desire to connect the appearances in Paul’s list with those in the Gospels. But the Gospels do not record the appearance to James (1 Corinthians 15:7), so maybe the appearance to over five hundred is not to be found in the Gospels either.

While I think it is possible that the Galilean hillside appearance was to over five hundred, there is no indication of this in Matthew’s text. Sure, he could have left out information about the size of the crowd and simply focused on the disciples. But even if it was only the disciples who were present, there is really no difficulty with the wording about doubt because the Greek term does not convey the same sort of doubt that most English speakers think of upon hearing that term.

A Big Misunderstanding

This is one of those cases where the English translation plays a role in the confusion. A careful look at the Greek term translated as “doubted” shows why the claims mentioned above are misplaced at this point.

The doubt exhibited here is not unbelief, but more like hesitation, which is what the Greek word distazo implies (see BDAG, p. 252). This is not the typical word for doubt used in the New Testament (diakrino). In fact, it is only used in one other time (Matthew 14:31, see below for explanation). Instead of refusing to believe what they were seeing, like some have said, the disciples were amazed. The concept here is somewhat comparable to our modern statements like “It’s too good to be true,” or “Pinch me, I’m dreaming.”

Craig Blomberg stated it well in his commentary on Matthew:

Distazo refers more to hesitation than to unbelief. Perhaps, as elsewhere, something about Jesus’ appearance makes him hard to recognize at first. Perhaps they fear how he may respond to them. Perhaps their Jewish scruples are still questioning the propriety of full-fledged worship of anyone but Yahweh. Or (most likely?) they may simply continue to exhibit an understandable confusion about how to behave in the presence of a supernaturally manifested, exalted, and holy being. There is no clear evidence that more than the Eleven were present, but the particular grammatical construction hoi de (“but some”) does seem to imply a change of subject from the previous clause (“they worshiped him”). So “they” probably means some of the Eleven, while “some” means the rest of the eleven. Some of the disciples worshiped Jesus at once; some were less sure how to react. (Blomberg, p. 430)

Blomberg brings up some important points that most twenty-first century Christians would rarely consider. Yes, the disciples believed that Jesus was indeed God incarnate, as Thomas had recently acknowledged (John 20:28), but verbally admitting this was perhaps easier to do than fully committing oneself to worship Him. I agree with Blomberg that it is more likely that the disciples were still confused about how to behave in the presence of a supernatural being.

Think about Peter’s behavior when he saw Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah at the Transfiguration. While he was bold enough to speak up and clearly was trying to honor Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, it seems that he wasn’t quite sure what to make of the event. As Moses and Elijah were departing, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” (Luke 9:33, NKJV). Luke adds that Peter did not know what he was saying and reveals that he was quite sleepy (vv. 32–33).

What was wrong with Peter’s statement? At first glance, it seems like he only wanted to prolong the experience; however, a closer look reveals that Peter may have been guilty of making a huge error. Robert Stein believes that Peter’s mistake was that he wrongly placed Jesus on the same level with Moses and Elijah. However, “They were not equals. The Voice from heaven explains Peter’s error. In contrast to Moses and Elijah, who were God’s servants, Jesus is God’s Son, the Chosen One. He is unique. He cannot be classed with anyone else, even two of God’s greatest servants. He is not only great but other” (Stein, pp. 285–286). It might be easy to criticize Peter at this point, but be honest, how would you respond if you witnessed the same thing?

Well that’s understandable before the Resurrection, but surely the disciples wouldn’t act in a confused way after seeing Jesus alive again, would they? If only that were true. In the Bible’s last chapter, John “fell down before the feet of the angel who showed” him the vision he had just seen. The angel essentially told him to stop it and worship God alone (Revelation 22:8–9). What’s worse is that John had just done the same thing and been warned similarly just three chapters earlier (Revelation 19:10).

The point is that the disciples were overcome with emotion when Jesus appeared to them in Galilee, and some of them were unsure how to react. They did not doubt that He had risen from the dead—they already knew this was true because they had seen Him in Jerusalem on Easter evening and eight days after that (John 20:19–29).

There are other passages that support this idea and show why the three claims listed in the introduction are illegitimate interpretations. Jesus appeared to the group of disciples (minus Thomas) on Easter night. At first, they were afraid, but He comforted them by showing them His hands and feet and telling them not to be afraid. Even after these things, we read that “they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement” (Luke 24:41, NASB). The disciples already believed Jesus had risen from the dead. Just minutes earlier they told the two disciples who had seen Jesus on the road to Emmaus: “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” (Luke 24:33–34). But now that they could see Him with their own eyes, they were amazed and rejoiced, which was the reason for their “doubt.”

Earlier in His ministry, a man with a demon-possessed son pleaded with Jesus to cast out the demons. Jesus said, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” The man’s response is intriguing—he cried out, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:14–24).

Finally, the only other place distazo appears in the New Testament is found in Matthew’s account of Peter walking on the water. Peter had enough faith to get out of the boat and walk toward Jesus on the water. “But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’” After Jesus rescued him, He asked, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:25–31).

In each of these cases, there are people who exhibit faith in Christ’s Resurrection or in His ability to perform a particular miracle. But at the same time, for whatever reason, they express some form of hesitation or doubt. Notice that none of these responses match what the critics or certain apologists claim about unbelief. We don’t see hardened skeptics standing there with arms crossed rejecting what is occurring before their eyes (Licona, p. 360).

Moving Toward Faith

Once again, it is difficult for modern Christians to comprehend exactly what was going on here because we weren’t part of the events. It would be wonderfully mind-blowing to have Jesus appear before us, but some of us have always believed that He rose from the dead. We haven’t fathomed the depths of despair that Christ’s followers experienced after His death? None of us have fully trusted in Christ before He rose from the dead; we believe after the fact. That being the case, how can we possibly know the matchless exhilaration they experienced when they saw Him alive again? When we consider these things, it’s quite simple to see why some of them thought it was too good to be true and weren’t sure how to appropriately respond.

Borchert explained that in some of the post-Resurrection appearances we see that people moving toward faith in Christ did not follow a set pattern. Commenting on Mary Magdalene’s encounter with Jesus outside of the empty tomb, he wrote the following:

The transforming process of Mary coming to recognize the risen Lord took place when Jesus called her name, “Mary,” or more precisely at this point “Miriam.” It is fascinating to note that the Johannine evangelist has described transformative recognition occurring through the use of one word at this point. In the sea story it occurred when the disciples responded obediently to the stranger on the shore and cast their nets (in what seemed to be a foolish act) on the other side of the boat (John 21:6–7). In the Lukan Emmaus story the recognition occurred in the breaking of bread. What should be concluded from these examples is that recognition of Jesus does not need to follow a single pattern. Coming to the point of conviction that Jesus is alive is probably as varied as the nature of the people who believe. (Borchert, p. 300)

Conclusion

“But some doubted.” These three words do not imply unbelief in the Resurrection on the part of the Christ’s followers. As such, this phrase does not support the idea that the disciples merely experienced visions of the risen Savior. Nor can these words be used to support the idea that it’s wrong for Christians to appeal to the evidence for the Resurrection while discussing the topic with unbelievers. Also, this may still be a somewhat embarrassing detail, it is not as bad as some make it out to be. The disciples already knew full well that Jesus had risen from the dead, and these three words are likely telling us that some of them were unsure of how to react in the midst of an astounding supernatural event.

Note: The Greek words distazo and diakrino should have a line above the “o” to indicate a long vowel sound, but I could not figure out how to do this in WordPress.

References:

Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, F. Wilbur Gingrich, and Frederick W. Danker, (BDAG) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., revised and edited by Frederick W. Danker (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2001), p. 252.

Craig Blomberg, Matthew: The New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992).

Gerald L. Borchert, John 12–21: The New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002).

Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004).

Michael R. Licona, The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2010).

Robert H. Stein, Luke: The New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992).

About Tim Chaffey

I am the founder of Midwest Apologetics and work as the Content Manager with the Attractions Division of Answers in Genesis. I have written (or co-authored) several books, including In Defense of Easter, God and Cancer, The Sons of God and the Nephilim, and The Truth Chronicles Series (see the publications page for more details). Please note: the opinions expressed on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of Answers in Genesis.

Comments

“But Some Doubted”: Studying an Intriguing Response to the Resurrection of Jesus — 22 Comments

  1. I recently ‘bumped’ into this phrase and questioned, ‘what can this mean’? So I began meditating on it and looking to see what others ‘thought’ this could mean. Having read it before and yet don’t remember struggling with its intent, I decided to see if I could ‘rightly divide’ this. I really appreciate your encouraging discussion on it. And I found that W.E.Vine also supports your thoughts: ‘distazo’, he says suggests ”to stand in two ways”. ‘dis’ meaning double; and ‘stasis’ a standing; implying uncertainty which way to take. I like your definition ‘hesitancy’. I’m thinking of ‘coming to’ or being in an intersection; and which way shall I take? This appears to help explain Peter’s ‘hesitancy’ after he had already gotten out of the boat and stood or walked and yet when he saw the ‘wind and waves’ he must have thought that this is not a good day for a ‘walk’; especially on water! LOL

  2. I do believe you are correct in stating that hesitated is a more accurate use of the word, but that still doesn’t answer what their hesitation was in response to. If we use the example of Peter walking on water to give us insight, wasn’t Peter’s hesitation ultimately with Jesus’ directive to “come”? Peter obviously believed it because he took the first step, but there was also a part of him that hesitated… and it should also be noted that he had not yet received the promised power of the Holy Spirit at this point. You get what I’m saying about the Matthew 28:17 hesitation being with Jesus’ directives and methodology?

    remember mercy,

    Dave

    • Firstly thanks GOD and Tim for an explanation to an otherwise confusing remark in the run up to such an important command from the LORD. As Luke 2:9 spoke of impact of the glory of the angel of the LORD upon the disciples; how much more and greater manifestation is our LORD’s Glory when HE appear in person and what impact they have on the disciples.

  3. I had struggled with understanding this passage, since the actions of these eleven apostles, following Pentecost, were certainly not the actions of those who did not believe. Thanks for a credible explanation of an otherwise confusing passage.

  4. Having tanked a sermon on John 20’s “Doubting Thomas” the 23rd and getting a 2nd chance to address “doubt” in John 14:1-14 on May 14, I cannot thank you enough for your article. I only wish I’d read it sooner!!

  5. Many critics of the Bible try to find fault in things they do not understand, as such,instances like these will be blown out of proportion. Your analysis is logical and most helpful especially to those who have not knowledge of Greek or Hebrew

  6. You may be surprised to learn that your explanation of this phrase is still providing insights to those studying God’s Word in 2017. As I was re-reading this account, those three words jumped off the page and caught my attention. After digging into some possible answers I ran across your article which was very helpful in offering a plausible explanation. Thank you for taking time time to write this.

  7. Thank you for your insight. During my bible reading this morning, those 3 words stopped me in my tracks. I couldn’t understand how they could doubt after just seeing Him earlier. Other commentaries say it is when the 500 people were there. I needed to further investigate. Thank you for the Greek translation. Hesitation is a great way to look at it. I thought of their fear too that held them back. Thank you again!

    • After much study and reflection on this passage, it has recently become my belief that the “doubt” was in regard to Jesus’ later instruction for them to teach others to “obey all that he had commanded”. In thinking about this scene I imagine the disciples’ response to hearing Jesus’ directive as being… dude, doing things your way got you killed and will likely get us killed too.

      • Hi Dave,
        I see a couple of problems with your understanding of this passage. First, their “doubt” (hesitation) occurred prior to the giving of the Great Commission, if we are to understand the events of v. 17 as happening prior to those in 18–20. Second, I don’t think the disciples were too scared of death after seeing Jesus alive again. They knew that their Lord had conquered death and that one day they would live again too. It’s true that the Holy Spirit had not come as of this time, but I find it hard to believe that in this moment they would be questioning what He had to say to them. Put yourself in their situation. Would you really call into question the things that He is saying after He showed His power over death? I “doubt” it. 😉
        Thanks for taking the time to read and share your thoughts.

        • Thanks for your response… that was quick. I enjoy this conversation.

          I agree that if we look at the verses chronologically, my take is extremely problematic. Additionally, if this the only communication during this gathering (v. 16-20) then the chronology completely sinks my assertion. However, if we look at the larger purpose of this meeting as being for Jesus to provide additional, specific, marching orders for their mission in the world my assertion makes some sense.

          We must not minimize the role the absence of the Holy Spirit would play in this event. A person literally cannot carry out Jesus’ commands without the power (dunamis) of the Holy Spirit… and the disciples had yet to receive this promised power and all the accompanying gifts (specifically faith). We see a hint of this in Acts 5 when Peter seems to link his boldness to the Holy Spirit who is given to those who obey. (v. 20)

          One of the reasons I have arrived at this conclusion is because I do put myself in the disciples’ position when I am confronted with Jesus’ commands and it often gives me pause when I think of the potential consequences of being fully obedient to his commands and I realize that it is not by my human effort that enables me to obey.

          • Dave,
            Thanks for the quick response, civil discussion, and explanation of the reasoning behind your position. While I agree that we must not minimize the role of the Holy Spirit (which is why I mentioned this in my response), we need to remember that earlier in Christ’s ministry, He had already sent out a group of disciples throughout Israel. So they did have some experience in this area. Also, as I explained in the post, the word simply doesn’t mean doubt, as we understand it in English. It means that they hesitated like Peter did when he stepped out of the boat and stood on the water.
            God bless!

  8. Pingback: The Reason for the ‘Go…’: Reflections on Matt 28:16-20 | Brian Harris

  9. Thanks for the well-written article. It’s incredible how many Bible commentators completely ignore these important words. Still others only make a passing comment. I appreciate the thorough way you’ve treated Matthew 28:17. I’m planning on teaching on the subject of what to do with our doubts (hesitations), and your notes will come in very helpful. Thanks again!

  10. I just wanted to ask where your references for the words “distazo” and “diakrino” in Matthew 28:17 and 14:31 came from… as according to the Greek/English interlinear Bible on Bible Hub, the Greek word used in both passages is “edistasan” or “edistasas.” I was just curious and wondered if you could add any insight to this :).

    Many Thanks,

    Heidi

    • Hi Heidi,
      Thanks for being like the Bereans in checking into these things to make sure they are accurate. The word in question is distazo. This is how it appears in what is known as its “Lemma” form, much like what we would call a dictionary form of a word. For example, the dictionary often includes an entry for a particular word, but does not have separate entries for every form that you might find associated with it. Consider the word “refute” in the dictionary. Under that entry you have these words: refuted, refuting, refutable, refutably, refuter. These words don’t get their own entry. Distazo is the main word but it can have other letters attached to it depending on how it is being used in the sentence (number, tense, etc.). That is why you see edistasan and edistasas in Matthew 28:17 and Matthew 14:31, respectively.
      Diakrino is the typical word used for “doubt” in the Bible. I didn’t state that it was the word in Matthew 14:31, but I can see how I could have written that a little clearer. I was making the point that the only other place that distazo is found is in Matthew 14:31.
      Thanks for checking up on that. I hope this was helpful.

  11. I’ll echo what Mike said: I don’t think I’d ever really thought much about these three words, but it’s interesting to read this explanation. Thank you for writing it!

  12. While I haven’t been concerned about these “three words”, because I never looked at them very closely, I am very glad to have read your study. I am always excited to see examples of the very human, still commonly understood, feelings and emotions of the real life characters in the Bible. Perhaps we have been somewhat scarred by modern movies and TV shows where very bizarre and supernatural things happen all the time with aliens or superheros, and regular folk are seen witnessing such events without shock or dismay.

    But in reality, even the Apostles would have been going through some dramatic stages as they learned to adapt to this new world where someone had TRULY risen from the dead!

    Thanks for anther good work!
    Mike

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