Of all the time periods in the Scriptures that I would love to know more about, the 40 days between Jesus' resurrection and His ascension ranks right near the top. It's an odd interval. Jesus is alive! But his disciples are struggling to figure out what that means. Jesus is here! They can see him and touch him, share some fish with him, but then he's gone again. The Apostle Paul fills in a little bit of the gap when he tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 that Jesus appeared to 500 of the brothers at one time, but it's still interesting to me that we don't have more data from those 40 days.

But beyond just wondering what happened, there's a curious theme that is developed. Doubt. Of course, the account of "Doubting Thomas" refusing to believe the resurrection until he sees some proof comes to mind. But the verse that always gets me is at the end of Matthew's Gospel, right before the words of Jesus that we often call "The Great Commission." It's a short phrase, but it speaks volumes. As the 11 gather with Jesus, we are told: "They worshipped him, but some doubted."

Wow. They had spent three years with him in his ministry. They saw him heal the sick, give sight to the blind, and even raise the dead! And now they've seen him - the one who was crucified and laid in tomb - fully and completely alive and well. And still ..."some doubted"?

But it's really the reaction of Jesus both to Thomas and to those doubting disciples on the mountain that gives me great hope. In his grace and mercy, Jesus goes straight to Thomas the next time he visits the disciples. He shows them his hands and his side. And on the mountain, though he knows the doubts of some of those disciples, he goes on to remind them that he has all authority in heaven and on earth, and with that authority he sends them out to make disciples.

Grace for doubters.