Making disciples – The way Jesus did
But
the last few weeks of those three and half years had been really confusing for
them, their expectations were shattered, their dream of a kingdom lay in ruins,
they were on the run, terrified and lost. Their master was caught, beaten and crucified
like an ordinary criminal, He had foretold them many times about His death and
they remembered how He had also told them that He will rise again from the dead
on the third day. Indeed that one event gave them immense joy, after all the
turmoil that they had been through, they had seen him alive, He appeared to
them at different times, they touched His nail-pierced hands and felt Him, they
sat and talked with Him and had food with Him but that didn’t last for long.
Their master whom they loved dearly and followed so closely was going to leave
them but not for long, He said that He is going to go away and prepare a place
for them and will come back again and take them with Him to live with Him
forever.
Just
before Jesus ascended into heaven He took them to a nearby mountain and told
them His last few words on this earth, words that will set the direction and
purpose for the rest of their lives, words that will inspire them to attempt
extraordinary things that will change the course of human history and for the
Church, words that even today reverberate and touch millions of people who
claim to be His followers to surrender their lives in joyous abandon to this
one command, to attempt things that they have never tried before, to go where
no one has gone, to leave everything behind and to consider all worldly
accomplishments as rubbish in comparison to this one calling of following the
Master. These last few words of Jesus is recorded in all the four Gospels in
different forms. In its clearest and crystal form, one of His disciples Mathew
has captured it for us in his last chapter 28:18 to 20. “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, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 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 revealed His master plan to them, a plan that God the
Father had initiated long ago for restoring the fallen mankind to Himself,
right at the beginning in Genesis chapter 3: 15; Jesus was that provision for
man’s rebellion and sin, He is the only way to God, He had come that no one
should perish, that everyone should have a chance to hear about Him and respond
to His unconditional love and whoever believes in Him will have eternal life.
The only plan he had to get this message across to the people was through His
disciples - mortal and fallible human beings who took those words seriously and
laid down their very lives for it which was later followed by millions of
followers of Jesus and today we who believe in Jesus and claim to follow Him
are the results of that response. It is
no ordinary person who is sending us; all authority in heaven and on earth is
now given to Him, He is the king of Kings and Lord of Lords, He is the
sovereign one and He is asking us to Go and Make disciples of all people and
nations.
These last words of Jesus is famously called the great
commission passage by the Church but sadly that is also the “great omission”
too by the Church. Imagine if the followers of Jesus takes this seriously
today, the command is to “Make disciples”- which means to multiply and
reproduce spiritually and multiplication results in exponential growth. But
that is not what is happening today, it is neglected and sidelined in most of
the churches, very few Christians are obeying this call, and many still think
that this call is only for the pastors and missionaries and not for them. But this call is for everyone who chooses to follow the master,
everyone who believes in Him and professes to love Him, irrespective of his or
her profession or vocation, one is called to be the salt and light wherever God
has placed them, there is no secular and sacred divide here. As the great
writer A.W. Tozer puts it, “there is nothing secular, everything is sacred for
a child of God”. It is an open invitation for every believer in every age to be
involved in what God is doing- “exalting His name among the nations” an
incomparable privilege and honour to labour along with this king in His harvest
field.
In order to “Make disciples” we need to go back to the
Master and learn from Him; how He went about making disciples. Dr. Robert
Coleman, in His classic book, “The Masterplan for Evangelism” says, “Like a
General plotting his course of battle, the Son of God calculated to win. He
could not afford to take a chance. Weighing every alternative and variable
factor in human experience, He conceived a strategy that would not fail”.
The eleven and then the 120 in the first chapter
of Acts were His method, they were His strategy, people were His method, and
today we the believers- His body is His strategy. He invested in them
intentionally, spend time with them, taught them specifically and modelled for
them to see. It was after much prayer and waiting upon the Lord, the gospel writer
Luke in 6:12 says after a whole night of prayer, that He chose the twelve to be
the Apostles or as Dr. Dann Spader puts it in his book “Movement building from
the Life of Christ” he calls them “the leaders” whom Jesus chose to lead His
flock. Later you see Jesus sending out the 72 and the Gospel writer’s record
that multitudes were always following Him.
On many
occasions we see Jesus ‘Sowing widely’ (sharing to a large crowd) to the
multitudes whether it is the Sermon on the Mount or feeding the thousands that
had gathered around Him. But it is interesting to note that from these
multitudes He choose carefully the few with whom He will work closely. Even among
the 12 Jesus chose to work closely with the three; Peter, James and John, it
was not partiality as some would call it, it was intentional disciple making. Sowing
widely and selecting the few to disciple; who are eager to grow is the DNA of disciple-making.
Making
disciples is not rocket science that needs to be unravelled in mind-boggling formulas, Dr. Bill Bright has put is so beautifully when he said, it is simply sharing Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit wherever
one is. In fact the command is ‘as you go’ ‘make disciples’, that means ‘as a
way of life’ which means as one goes to his work place, as one interacts to his
colleague, as one commutes in a public transport system, or as one goes to the
market we are to be the salt and light. Salt and light permeates the environment, both always
makes a difference where ever it is added. And remember, the key is not in our words or our
eloquence or our wisdom but in the Power of the Holy Spirit.
As believers
we are indwelt by God the Holy Spirit, we do not have to tarry and wait like the
first century church in the Book of Acts, all we need to do is yield and
surrender the control of our lives to this third person of the trinity who is living in us and
allow Him to have absolute sway over our lives. He will open doors, give us divine
appointments and touch the hearts of people and turn them towards Jesus. But
are we willing? The time is now, look around and see, the field is ready for
Harvest and as Prophet Hanani says, “the eyes of the Lord is going to and fro throughout
the whole earth to show Himself strong and mighty on behalf of those whose hearts
are loyal to Him”. He is on the lookout for people who are passionate for God
and His Glory among the nations.
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