Matthew 28:17

17 When they saw Him, they worshiped,^[a] but some doubted.

Matthew 28:17 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 28:17

And when, they saw him, they worshipped him
With divine adoration, as the eternal Son of God; for so he was now declared to be by his resurrection from the dead, ( Romans 1:4 ) ,

but some doubted;
or "some of them", as the Syriac and Arabic versions render it; that is, some of the eleven disciples: not that they doubted now that Christ was risen from the dead; since he had appeared several times to them before this, and had given them all the proofs of the truth of his resurrection they could desire; but they, who worshipped him now in Galilee, had doubted before in Jerusalem; not only Thomas, but all of them: they looked upon the words of the women as idle tales; nor did the rest believe the two disciples, with whom Christ travelled to Emmaus: wherefore he upbraids them for their unbelief, ( Luke 24:11 ) ( Mark 16:11 Mark 16:13 Mark 16:14 ) , or else the sense is, that some of them, though they believed Christ was risen from the dead, of which they had had the strongest assurance; yet they doubted whether what they then saw on the mountain was he, or whether it was not a spirit, or a mere phantom; and therefore, as in the next verse, he "came" nearer to them, when they knew him: or else this may be understood of some of the seventy disciples, or of the five hundred brethren, who saw him at this time, and at first had some doubts of his resurrection, but were afterwards fully satisfied.

Matthew 28:17 In-Context

15 So they took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been spread among Jewish people to this day.

16 The 11 disciples traveled to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had directed them.

17 When they saw Him, they worshiped, but some doubted.

18 Then Jesus came near and said to them, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Footnotes

• [a]. Other mss add Him