I wrote yesterday about the minimal instruction Jesus seemed to leave the disciples with after the resurrection.

Did you ever consider that immediately before his ascension, Jesus entrusted doubters with the Great Commission?

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28.16 – 20, ESV, emphasis mine)

Consider the audience of the Great Commission from Luke 24:

²⁵  Then he said to them, “So thick-headed! So slow-hearted! Why can’t you simply believe all that the prophets said?
²⁶  Don’t you see that these things had to happen, that the Messiah had to suffer and only then enter into his glory?”
²⁷  Then he started at the beginning, with the Books of Moses, and went on through all the Prophets, pointing out everything in the Scriptures that referred to him…
⁴⁴  Then he said, “Everything I told you while I was with you comes to this: All the things written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms have to be fulfilled.”
⁴⁵  He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way.
⁴⁶  He said, “You can see now how it is written that the Messiah suffers, rises from the dead on the third day,
⁴⁷  and then a total life-change through the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in his name to all nations—starting from here, from Jerusalem!

Jesus left the most important mission in history to thick-headed, slow-hearted doubters! Terrific! I’m qualified, right along with the “unqualified” Apostle Paul:

I’m so grateful to Christ Jesus for making me adequate to do this work. He went out on a limb, you know, in trusting me with this ministry. The only credentials I brought to it were invective and witch hunts and arrogance. But I was treated mercifully because I didn’t know what I was doing—didn’t know Who I was doing it against! Grace mixed with faith and love poured over me and into me. And all because of Jesus. Here’s a word you can take to heart and depend on: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. I’m proof—Public Sinner Number One—of someone who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy. And now he shows me off—evidence of his endless patience—to those who are right on the edge of trusting him forever. (1 Timothy 1.12 – 16, MSG)