Disciples make disciples

March 6, 2021 (Saturday)

 

I have been covering discipleship. The reason is because Jesus left very few direct instructions to His church. Basically they are found in Matthew 28:19 – 20, “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.” [ESV]

 

If you remember the KJV, it does not say “make disciples.” Instead it reads, “teach all nations.” Maybe this has created part of the confusion/problem. When the early American church woke up to the need to actively evangelize the lost, they didn’t have a concept of discipleship. Most of the old sermons focused on these verses were about baptism or the doctrine of the Trinity. Those that did have an evangelistic flavor focused on evangelism, often missions work.

 

Another point of confusion, the word translate “disciples” is not the typical work for disciple. In fact of the 28 times disciple is mentioned in the New Testament, this word is only used four times. Matthew uses it three times. In the other two instances, Matthew uses it in the sense of “becoming.”

 

What we find in Matthew, Jesus is instructing His disciples to make people who are becoming ones who are following Jesus. In other words, Jesus is focusing on the PROCESS. In some sense, we are always becoming. I like the new song that prays that we become “a little more like Jesus and a little less like me.” 

 

In America, I’m not sure we like the process. We tend to focus on single point events. Hey, we can count single point events and that’s how churches and pastors are measured. While single point events (conversion or sanctification) are important they can also be deceptive. The deception comes in the belief that once the crisis experience is resolved, we think we are done.

 

Unfortunately for that theology, Christianity is a process. Jesus Himself told us, “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” [Matthew 7:14 ESV] Please, think about the whole verse. Jesus teaches there are two things: the gate and the way. The crisis experience and the progressive experience. BOTH are necessary and BOTH lead to life.

 

Possibly the reason few find it is because we have our easy way mapped out. Possibly we miss it because we find the gate, but never enter. Possibly we enter, but mistake the finding of the gate for the finding of the beginning of the journey. We never take more than the first few steps of a very hard path to life.

 

Seriously, who WANTS to pick up a cross and suffer in sacrifice? Who wants to love others unconditionally, especially people who are not like us or people we are inclined to dislike?

 

Really, how many of us WANT to actually follow Jesus’ teaching? “Obey” is a four letter word that is more offensive than barnyard language. Don’t believe me? Say this to someone (wife, children, etc…) “Obey me.” Just see what happens.  

 

Actively cultivating a lifestyle that mimics Jesus’ character will cut against our culture. It seems people are not interested unless we can get them angry or terrified about the latest something something or other.

 

Discipleship. Becoming like Jesus. We cannot make disciples, unless we are first disciples.