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Matthew 28 · a question people ask

"but some doubted" (28:17). Who doubted, and what did they doubt?

In the text

Here is the verse: "When they saw him, they bowed down to him; but some doubted." (28:17). Matthew doesn't name those who doubted, doesn't say what they doubted, and says nothing more about it. These notes don't either. Favor's Matthew 14 studies the verb, which the New Testament has only here and in 14:31 (tap doubted).

The verses

“But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had sent them. When they saw him, they bowed down to him; but some doubted.”
Matthew 28:16-17 · World English Bible
“Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?””
Matthew 14:31 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Matthew 28

Matthew 28: I am with you always

The stone that had been sealed (27:66) was rolled away by an angel of the Lord, who sat on it (28:2), and he told the women, "He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said" (28:6). Jesus's last words in Matthew are "Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (28:20).

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Last reviewed October 4, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions