Jesus’ command carries His heavenly authority, giving His approval, together with His resources, to all discipleship relationships. Christ sends and empowers His disciples to do that which they are not able to do in their own strength – to make followers, disciples of Jesus from among all other people in our lives.
Text: Matthew 28:19a
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…
Jesus’ disciples are to MAKE disciples of other people in Jesus’ place. This is not for some Christians, but for all believers.
MAKING disciples begins by taking the message of Jesus Christ to people who do not want to follow Him. This requires hard work, sacrifice, long hours of Bible study in preparation, and prayer. It means persevering, NOT giving up on people quickly, just as Jesus patiently perseveres with us.
MAKING disciples requires going somewhere. We may need to go to the next house, to the next neighbourhood, to the next town, or possibly to another country. But we must be willing to leave our homes and go, leaving comfort and the things we enjoy doing to do the things Jesus enjoys us doing, which is making disciples. Going starts as an attitude, then it leads to behaviour. Going is not always easy, not always comfortable, and not always understood by other people, but we must go.
As we look at all the people in our lives from Jesus’ perspective, there are only 2 groups available for you to make disciples of.
Non-believers. Unsaved sinners who need to hear the gospel and repent of their sin by placing faith in Jesus Christ as their substitute on the Cross of Calvary. You can find these people anywhere, some may even be attending a church already, but do not know Christ. These may be family or work friends.
These are younger in their faith than you are. These people may have genuine faith in Jesus as Lord and Saviour, but they are walking alone in their Christian life even though they may attend Church services. They need us to disciple them so that they grow to become more mature in their faith, in their doctrine, and in their behaviour.
Discipleship gives personal help to these believers, growing a friendship with them, spending time with them, listening and talking with them, sharing the Bible with them, and praying with them. We do everything to help them grow to become more Christlike.
Jesus tells us to make disciples from all nations. These disciples may not be like us, they may be culturally different to us, even speaking another language. They may be from a different tribe, from a different race, and people with different coloured skin. All types of different people are given to us by Jesus Christ for us to make disciples of. Some don’t know Christ yet, while others are babies in Jesus. But all need us to walk with them and teach them how to mature in Christ. This is the task Jesus calls every one of us to under His authority. Go… make disciples of all nations…
