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. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Jesus modeled this perfectly for us during His life here on earth. He poured His life, His time, and His energy into teaching and training 12 men. Yes, Jesus performed miracles and healings while on earth but primarily He spent His time investing in 12 ordinary men (His disciples). These men would disappoint Him, hurt Him, and even one would reject Him (Judas) yet Jesus still focused all of His energy in teaching them of His Father's plan, training them, and modeling in front of them what it looks like to love God and love others. He labored over these men and He loved them deeply. Jesus knew He would eventually die on the cross leaving the gospel message in the hands of these 12 (really 11) men. Did He invest so much time in these men for them to keep quiet and never train others? Absolutely not.
Before Jesus ascended into heaven in Acts 1:8 - He commanded them to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, and all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. What if these men had not been obedient to Jesus' commands? What if they never taught others and invested in others the way Jesus invested in them? What if they refused to be Jesus' witnesses to the ENTIRE world? Would we have the gospel message today? In Acts 17:6 - it says they turned the world UPSIDE down for Jesus! That is obedience! Jesus modeled for us what it looks like to make disciples. It goes much further than sharing the gospel. It means teaching and training others on Father's plan - how to love God, love others, serve others, and make disciples. Often times, the gospel is shared but then there is no training on how to live this life for the Lord?!
In the Greek, verse 19 reads this way, "Therefore as you go, make disciples..." A lot of times I think people take this verse as GO - go to another country, go overseas, go far far away and make disciples of all nations which is why I love to point out what this verse says in the Greek. As you go, wherever you are going, wherever you are, MAKE disciples. That means your home, your community, your church, your work place, and for some it may be other states or countries!
Why make disciples? For me it's simple - Jesus commanded it - it's the GREAT commission. Not only did Jesus command it but He modeled it - He did it Himself. He is not asking us to do anything that He hasn't already done. Investing in the lives of others will never be a waste of time - it's an eternal investment. It's not always easy and those you invest in aren't guaranteed to become disciples or disciple-makers but it's still worth it. It's not my job or your job to produce obedient disciples of Jesus - leave that to the Holy Spirit - it's just my job and your job to be obedient to what Jesus commanded. I cannot imagine where I would be had someone not invested in me spiritually - teaching me and loving me enough and Father enough to show me what it looks like to live this life for Him no matter the costs. Thank God for obedient disciple-makers!
What do you say?
I say we do what Jesus commanded & did Himself!
Jesus never verified what Paul wrote thus indicating any made up stories can be present in the New Testament.
ReplyDeleteNone of the Church Father ever quote Matthew 28:19 or 1John5:7 in their early days, however in the 4th century concept of 'three gods in oneness' were added to the original texts of Matthew 28:19 and 1John 5:7 thus showing how twisted were the minds of men inventing lies.
Early Church Fathers believed that there is only One Father the creator, creating all including God Son and Holy Spirit.