5/11/13. Matthew 28:16-20.  THEREFORE GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES – my devotional

Matthew 28:16-20                                                                                       Kevin E. Jesmer

Key Verse: 28:19a                                                                                       5/11/13

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…”

     Dear Lord heavenly Father, thank you for always being there and for your friendship. Thanks for guiding my heart every day. I look forward ton what you want to teach me through your word and your spirit.  Please help me to understand a little more about your world mission command through this passage. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Part 1: All Authority In Heaven And On Earth (16-18)

Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth and he imparts that authority to his disciples for a very special purpose. Verses 16-19a read, “Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…”

Jesus is the Creator and Sovereign Lord of heaven and earth. The Father entrusted all things to the Son. Jesus has all authority and power. The power and glory belong to him. With that authority and power he can forgive sins, heal the sick, open closed and bitter hearts and raise the dead. He can establish his church and his people in this world.

Jesus’ disciples met him in Galilee. They worshiped him, but some doubted. They were humanly weak. They were shaken by Jesus’ suffering and death. When Jesus was on the cross many abandoned him. Peter even denied his Lord three times. How could this motley crew be the seeds for a grand world mission outreach for the Christian faith? On their own they could not, but with Jesus at their side they could conquer the world with the love and the truth of God.

Jesus entrusted his gospel work to forgiven sinners. He came and died to purchase our forgiveness and eternal salvation, and God raised him from death. He chose to commit this precious gospel to the hands of these weak and doubtful disciples.

Jesus wants to impart his power and his authority to his disciples of this time. How can “To Every Tribe” go to unreached people groups with the gospel of Jesus? How can UBF send missionaries to the campus’ on 6 continents? How can we, at KBC, think about sending missionaries to the Native people of NW Ontario? How can I think about being a Bible teacher and mentor to others, how can I think how to be an “off site” co-ordinator for the sending of missionaries to NW Ontario? I don’t have any formal theological training? I have no official credentials and authority on my own. Missionaries go to the ends of the earth with no authority of their own. But they go and Jesus works through them. They bear fruit for God. God puts his seal of approval on them. How can they do this? It is because Jesus has given his disciples his authority to do the will of God. Lord, today I hold onto your authority as I stand as a disciple and a servant of God.

Part 2: Go And Make Disciples (19-20)

Jesus gives his disciples of all time a great mission. Look at verses 19-20, “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 commanded his disciples to be disciple-makers. This is more than just introducing them to Jesus and praying that they become believers. Disciple means follower. Such a person is student of Jesus. They study Jesus’ words and his life. They put what they learn into practice. They are led by the Spirit of God, daily as they mature in their faith. They are trained by Jesus and his word until we can obey his commands.

I was involved in campus ministry. I prayed to raise disciples of Jesus and God, by his grace helped me to do so. But not in the way that I was expecting and demanding. I wanted people to accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, yes. But I seldom prayed for them to grow in a love relationship with Jesus. I seldom prayed that they may grow in the fullness of God. My prayers were mostly for the people to be regular SWS attendants and the give their lives to serve Jesus (within the context of my ministry). Any people becoming disciples that were to be established through my ministry, had to meet certain criteria or they were not recognized by me as being disciples of Jesus. But, how wrong I was! God was raising up people as disciples in his own way and in his time. There have been several disciples established through my family’s service and prayers, but none fit the ministry model I was involved in. My kids are disciples of Jesus. All these people are still disciples of Jesus and God is working through them and they are growing. Praise the Lord, that God still used me and worked through me despite my shallow – legalistic prayers. It is only by his grace.

We are called to mentor people with a hope and prayer that they will be baptized into the name of Jesus Christ. Baptism represents mean turning from the world and commitment to Jesus and to his Body. This means that Jesus’ disciples are called to pray and create an environment where a person can make such a commitment to Christ.

It is not easy to introduce Jesus to someone and then nurture them until they want to be baptized. In the past I had too high a standard about baptism. I was mixing the idea of baptism with the activity of being a Bible teacher and growing leader within my ministry. It did not involve simply loving Jesus and having faith in God. This was wrong. As a result not many people were able to reach the high standard and I never saw very many people being baptized.  But despite of my legalism God used me to lead a few people to this point. My kids have been baptized. Rich and Jennifer got baptized. I baptized Stephen. A few people are on the verge of baptism, which I pray may happen in the near future. I pray that I can continually help other people to believe in Jesus and be baptized into his name.

Mentoring people to the point of baptism is different for each culture. Raising disciples in American culture does involve some sort of program and meeting measurable criteria. But in the Canadian Native culture it means something much different. Here is an excerpt from an interview with a missionary…

“As a missionary, we want to gain results and we want to see measurable conversions. But we can not operate by these guidelines. It is best to live in community with the people. We need to live like them and work as they work.  Sure, we should have spiritual objectives, but more importantly, the Native people have to know that you are there to be their friend. The objective changes. It goes from, “ I want to convert you” to “I want to  be your friend. I want to walk with you. Let’s relate simply because I enjoy being with you and relating with you.”  We must not portray the attitude, “I am a missionary. I have something for you and you must accept it and be saved.” This may be true, but you must come with the intent on establishing relationships. The intent is to gain good relationships through which God can work, by just being there and living there. Try to understand the people, their dreams, ideas, visions and perceptions. The end result is the same however, helping people to make commitments to Christ and come to maturity as a believer.”

May God grant me wisdom on how to make disciples of Jesus, who are baptized in the name of Christ, in this western society of DeKalb Illinois and among the Natives of NW Ontario. May God raise up American missionaries who can mentor Native people to the point of baptism into the name of Jesus.

Disciple-makers must teach the Bible and help others to obey it. Look at verse 20a again, “and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. …” We can not teach people to obey by pushing them from behind and simply telling them to obey. We need to practice servant leadership. We need to mentor others in the faith. We can do this by prayer, teaching, setting the example and going on ahead of the flock, serving and supporting, etc. Then, God will step in. He will inspire people to obey. There will be a point when you will start to see the leading of the Holy Spirit in your friend’s life. You will confess that it is no longer you leading the person but God himself. I have noticed this transition in several people over the years.

When faced with the world mission command of Jesus, we may think it is impossible. And it is on out own. But we must remember that God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit seal his covenant with the believer. And Jesus promised, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (20b) Jesus is with us, by our side and giving us his power and authority. He is going on ahead of us in the hearts of those whom we are praying for. How hard it is to make a breakthrough with campus mission. There are years of sacrifice to be had. There is slow growth and change. But Jesus is with us.

But one thing is essential. We need to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. We need to ward off the tendency of becoming like Old Wineskins, by very up-to-date, sincere and public confession and repentance and then recommitment to do what God wants you to do here and now. Then Jesus, who is at our side, can be free to bless His discipleship ministry through us.

How hard it is raise disciples of Jesus among the Native people. There are so cultural differences and also geographical differences. But if we are called by God, then he will do it. He will raise his people in his way and in his time. We simply need to go forth and trust Jesus who is with us.

Craig Smith states that the traditional Native beliefs do not have a commission to go and tell as a mandate. It is hard for them to understand the strong motivating force behind Christians constantly trying to preach the Gospel. They also don’t appreciate having their traditional beliefs called into question. We, as Christians need to be culturally sensitive and wait for the leading of the Holy Spirit when working with Native people. And the Native people, when they accept Christ, must also obey Jesus’ world mission command to go and make disciple of all nations also.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for helping me to be Jesus’ disciple. Help me to follow you and obey your command to be a disciple-maker trusting that you are going on ahead, doing your work in the peoples’ hearts.

One Word: Make disciples of all nations