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A Job to Do: The Great Commission

“I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

(Matthew 28:18-20)

What began as a call to become disciples ended as a commission to make disciples. 

In the wake of Jesus’ resurrection, the apostles were on the brink of a future they could not imagine. His words in Matthew 28:18–20 gave them their marching orders: 

“I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” 

Jesus gave purpose and direction to the disciples’ potential, to their burning desire to share all they had seen and heard. He channeled their energy into an unprecedented evangelical explosion. He removed the barriers standing in their way. Before long, it wasn’t only Jerusalem that was in play for them; it was the entire Roman Empire. It was Asia Minor, Europe, India, and lands beyond. All nations were prospective destinations. 

Jesus gave his disciples the authority to speak for and about him. With that authority came great power— power that was unmistakably divine. That power enabled Peter and John to heal the disabled and drive demons out of the possessed. 

With that power came great responsibility as well. The apostles’ role changed from students to teachers, leaders, counselors, mentors, and proclaimers. Christians today share that same responsibility to share the message of Jesus with the world. 

And with that responsibility comes support. Though Jesus returned to heaven, his Spirit accompanies his followers wherever we go. 

The Great Commission, as it is called, is Jesus’ final spoken message recorded in the Gospel of Matthew.  

LIFE LESSON:

Christ’s mission was (and still is) surprisingly simple: he trained twelve original disciples who would make disciples, who would make disciples . . .

This blog post has been adapted from The Twelve Apostles, a special-edition magazine now available in stores. 

No Appointment, No Problem: Jesus and the Children

When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them. 

(Mark 10:14–16)

  

Who wouldn’t want to be a gatekeeper? A gatekeeper wields power. A gatekeeper determines who gets in and who’s left out.

So it was with the disciples. As the crowds swelled around Jesus, so did the strain on his time and attention. Everyone wanted to see him, talk to him, be healed by him, and find purpose and direction through him. There weren’t enough hours in the day to accommodate everyone who sought an audience with Jesus. 

In certain cases, the disciples took it upon themselves to manage Jesus’ schedule, to decide who got a backstage pass and who didn’t. Their intentions were good, for the most part. They wanted to protect Jesus’ much-needed alone time. Their track record as gatekeepers, however, left something to be desired. 

One day, while Jesus and his entourage were in Judea, a group of parents brought their children to be blessed by Jesus. The disciples turned them away. Apparently children and parents weren’t high on the apostles’ VIP list. To add insult to injury, the disciples scolded the parents and children for “bothering” Jesus. 

That’s when they discovered what really bothered Jesus. 

When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them. (Mark 10:14–16) 

Jesus’ rebuke was especially pointed because the disciples represented him. If he hadn’t intervened, those children would have returned to their homes not knowing that he considered them part of his kingdom. 

The disciples eventually became extraordinary ambassadors for Jesus. The number of transformed lives left in their wake testifies to this fact. Their example should encourage us to assess how we represent Jesus to others. Do we avoid sharing the message of Jesus with certain types of people? Or are we unafraid to share the good news of Jesus with people from all walks of life?

LIFE LESSON:

Like the first disciples, we modern-day Christ followers are called to help men, women, and children get to Jesus—not keep them away from him. Seek to be an ambassador, not a gatekeeper, and watch God transform lives. 

This blog post is adapted from The Twelve Apostles, a special edition magazine that is now available in stores. 

What is Mustard Seed Faith?

Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:19-21)

The mustard seed is a useful analogy for faith. The seed starts small and inconsequential, as did the disciples’ first attempts at ministry. Case in point: their inability to drive out a demon in Matthew 17.

Faith, like a tiny seed, has the potential to emerge from humble beginnings into something magnificent. Jesus tended to his disciples’ growth, encouraging them to branch out. According to Mark 6, he sent them out in pairs to preach from village to village. Their instructions were clear. They were to take no money or food on their journey. Each of them was allowed only a walking stick, a pair of sandals, and a coat.

They had no Bibles, no Scripture to take with them. They would preach what Jesus had taught them. They had no reservations, no itineraries, no contacts in the villages before them. They depended on those to whom they preached for food and shelter.

The experience must have strengthened their faith. In time, like the mustard seed, they blossomed and produced fruit. The Bible makes clear that the same potential exists in any follower of Jesus today.

LIFE LESSON:

God can take small, shaky faith, nurture it, grow it, and cause it to blossom into something amazing.

This blog post has been adapted from The Twelve Apostles, a special-edition magazine that is available in stores.

The First Disciples

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 

What could compel ordinary men to unhesitatingly drop everything in their lives to follow a man they had only just met? 

It’s not that these men were looking for an escape. It’s not that they were impetuous, bored with their lives, or easily distracted. Men like Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Levi (Matthew) responded to Jesus’ call because they recognized something in him that demanded immediate attention and action. 

One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him. (Matthew 4:18–20) 

Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him. (Luke 5:27–28) 

Many Bible studies have been built on the premise that Jesus could recognize something in his disciples that no one else saw. He was able to see past their rough exteriors and into their hearts. He didn’t recruit them based on who they were; he recruited them based on who they could become. Where others saw insignificance, Jesus saw potential.

Perhaps, though, to a lesser extent, the reverse was true as well. Perhaps those Jesus chose were disciple material because they could see something in him that others couldn’t. Perhaps his words triggered an inexplicable—and irresistible—reaction in them.

Consider the question two followers of Jesus asked in Luke 24:32 after realizing the man they had been conversing with was the risen (yet unrecognizable) Jesus. Acknowledging they should have known it was him, they said, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us?”

Perhaps the twelve apostles experienced a similar burning-heart sensation when Jesus said, “Follow me.” 

Like the apostles, we also have the opportunity to discover who Jesus is and respond to his invitation to follow him. How will you respond to Jesus? 

LIFE LESSON:

Like every great journey, the spiritual life begins with a response: the willingness to accept God’s invitation to leave what we know in hopes of finding something far better. 

This post has been adapted from The Twelve Apostles, a special-edition magazine that is now available in stores.