The I AM

In The Name Of The Triune God

10.14.18 [Mark 10:1-16] River of Life (21st Sunday after Pentecost)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God our Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. 

There are times when we’re reading the Bible, and we’re imagining ourselves in the place of the people we’re reading about, and we’re not surprised when someone doubts God. 

When God told Abraham and Sarah that they would have their first child at the ages of 100 and 90, we are not surprised when Gen. 18:12 Sarah laughs out loud at that promise. Even after all the ways the Lord had provided for them, this was unimaginable. 

When God called Gideon, the least powerful man from the weakest clan in Israel, to deliver God’s people from the Midianites. The Midianties were like Judges 6:5 swarms of locusts ravaging the land and the Lord wanted Gideon to fight them with just 300 men armed with torches and trumpets. Doubts in that situation make sense to us. 

And of course, there are the disciples. That little band of twelve men who gave up their former lives to follow Jesus wherever he went. As we read about them in the throes of a furious storm on the Sea of Galilee, and Jesus is sleeping in the stern of the boat, it makes sense when they wake him up and shout Mk. 4:38 Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?  

There are plenty more examples of people who doubted the Triune God that do not surprise us. But this one, in Matthew 28, feels different, doesn’t it? Matthew tells us that Mt 28:16 the eleven disciples went to Galilee to the mountain where Jesus told them to go. This is after his death and resurrection—somewhere in that window of 40 days between Easter Sunday and Ascension Thursday. And we can probably even narrow it down further. A week after Easter Sunday, these men are still hiding behind locked doors out of fear, when Jesus appears to them a second time and invites Thomas to put his hand into his pierced side. That was in Jerusalem, before they had left for Galilee. 

Then in John 21, we have an account of a breakfast with Jesus in Galilee. This is when Peter and John have a second miraculous catch of fish. That was Jn. 21:13 the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead. 

So it seems, if we can piece together a proper timeline of these events, that our reading in Matthew 28 is Jesus’ fourth appearance to his disciples after he was raised from the dead. That’s what makes this so surprising to read. Mt. 28:17 When they saw him, they worshipped him. But some doubted. How on earth could they still have doubts? 

This is where it’s helpful to recognize that not all doubts are the same. There is a common word for doubt in Greek, which we see in John 20 with the one we usually call doubting Thomas. That word is unbelief. And you can hear that in Thomas’ challenge of Unless I put my fingers and hands into his wounds, I won’t believe. That’s unbelief throwing down the gauntlet. And that’s why Jesus says Jn. 20:27  Stop doubting and believe. 

But the Greek word for doubt here is quite rare in the New Testament. It’s only used one other time, when Peter walks on water. If you remember that account, the twelve disciples see Jesus walking on the water during a terrible storm and they think he’s a ghost and they’re terrified. So Jesus says to them: Mt. 14:27 Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid. Then Peter replies: Mt. 14:28 Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water. Peter believes. He acts. And then, as the wind and the waves kick up, he grows fearful, and as he’s beginning to sink, he cries out Lord, save me! Mt. 14:31 Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

So this is a doubt that is commingled with faith. A hesitancy. Certainly nothing to be applauded for, nor is it a feather in the cap of the disciples.  

Have you been there? Even after you’ve been brought to the knowledge of the truth, even after you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and you trust that you have life in his name, you still doubt? Have you ever found yourself in the middle of worship, or mid-prayer, and there is some part of you that doubts God’s goodness, power, wisdom, or love? 

Maybe, for you, it’s the Creation account. We live in a world where every science and history book assumes that the world is millions of years old and came to be by some great accident. Maybe you don’t believe all that Big Bang stuff, but you find it hard to wrap your mind around a six, 24-hour day creation. 

Or maybe it’s the reliability of the rest of Scripture. Perhaps you’re troubled by the role that sinful people play in writing & preserving the living Word of God. How could they not massage the message just a little? How could they not have made a mistake?

Perhaps you struggle with God’s commands for Christian living. Do I really need to turn the other cheek? Must I pray for my enemies? Must I submit to the governing authorities even when I know how corrupt they are? How can God tell wives to submit to their own husbands or declare that only men can serve as pastors? 

Or maybe you find yourself subliminally doubting God’s power in times of difficulty. You doubt that he hears or answers your prayers. You doubt that he is working out all things for the good of those who love him. You doubt that he will provide you with your daily bread. You doubt that his kingdom is being advanced when it seems so many are turning their backs on him & his Church.  

You have seen him. You worship him. And yet you doubt him, some of the time, in some situations, in some of his promises. 

Yet even when we are faithless, God remains faithful. He is merciful to those who doubt. He is patient with those who do not deserve it. Our Triune God is love, love that creates, love that comes to those who are doubting, and love that calls the wavering, weary, and weak worshiper to carry that love to all nations. 

That’s how Matthew ends his Gospel. At this point, you and I would want to cut the disciples from the team. We’d put them on a performance plan. We wouldn’t promote them. But we are not God.

Matthew tells us Mt. 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

There was nothing about their track record that warranted this. But our God chooses the weak ones, the foolish people so that his strength and wisdom might be seen all the more clearly. 2 Cor. 4:7 We have this same treasure in jars of clay, to show that this all-surpassing power is from God, and not from us. 

The power has always been God’s. He has always wielded that power through his Word. After all, that is how the Triune God made everything in this world. He spoke, and it came to be. He said: Let there be light. And there was light. And it was good. 

And when it was no longer good, God used his same powerful Word to redeem his creation. He promised to send a Redeemer, who is the Word made flesh, his one and only Son. This Son loved the Word. 

In his humbled human nature, he learned the Word as a child. He grew in wisdom. He learned what his Father wanted and obeyed everything perfectly—even laying down his life for our sins. When God the Father and God the Holy Spirit raised him back to life, he was given all the divine authority once again. But now he had it as the Son of God and the Son of Man. 

And what is the first thing he does with that authority? He blesses his followers. He gives them the power to forgive sins. He gives them the authority to baptize in the Triune name. He gives them the wise words to speak to detractors and inquisitors. He gives them comfort in times of sorrow and hope in moments of despair. He blesses them with his presence and promises it will never leave them. Mt. 28:20 Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

And he has done no less for you and for me. Being baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is a divine privilege. But it’s not just lip service. It is a gift of God. It is our Triune God taking eternal legal action on our behalf. He is adopting us. He is putting his name on us. He is redeeming us. You were bought at a price, the holy, precious, and innocent blood of his own Son. You were bought with something precious. Is it any surprise that you are precious in his sight? And you have been given a precious gift, too!

So go, with the presence of your Savior and the power of his Word, and make disciples. Use the gifts God has given to his people—his Word and his gift of Baptism. Wash away sins and teach them about Jesus. 

As we contemplate this great commission, it’s easy to get lost in our doubts once more. Who am I? Will anyone listen? Won’t they reject us and this message? How can we teach anyone to obey everything when none of us can do it perfectly? Our doubts are no different than those of Sarah and Gideon and the disciples. We doubt because we are looking within for wisdom, for power, for the capability to be and do. Faith never looks within. Faith looks to our Triune God. 

Jesus comes to us again and again and reminds us who our God is. Who has our back. God is our heavenly Father. Jesus is our beloved Brother. The Holy Spirit makes our bodies his Temple and serves as our Advocate and Guide. We have the power of the Triune God driving us, preparing us, equipping us, and working through us. When we step back and see who made us, who redeemed us, and who sanctifies us, our doubts seem pretty small, don’t they? Amen.