Be Like Jesus Series

Matthew 4:18-22

When we read the Great Commission in Matthew 28 it can become easy for the church – followers of Jesus – to take it in with a “been there, done that” kind of attitude. After all, we’ve heard those words repeatedly, many of us for our entire lives.

But this morning ask yourself a couple of questions that I’m not sure we’ve often considered: Who exactly was Jesus speaking to, and what did they think when he said these words?

Matthew 28:18-20

We’ll come back to the second question, “what did the disciples think when Jesus said this?” later, so leave that for now. But ask yourself again, in light of the words of Jesus, “To whom was Jesus speaking in Matthew 28:19-20?”

Peter, James, John and company, right? Sure! But who were those guys? Or put another way, “Why say these things to these people at this time?”

The answer, before you start talking specific names, is pretty simple. Jesus was talking to his disciples when he gave them their commission. It wasn’t so much that he spoke to Peter, as he spoke to his disciples, in the general sense. Not just those 11 people, but everyone who would be called a disciple of Jesus, ever.

That’s so important this morning. We’re starting to talk about what it looks like to be a disciple of Jesus – every day. We’re looking for a biblical job description if you will. Discipleship is an identity that is directly related to what we do rather than what we know.

If you’re like me, your earliest understanding of a disciple came right from the pages of the Gospels as you heard the stories of Jesus and his 12 closest friends – Peter, Andrew, James, John, et al. I’m glad I learned about them when I was a kid, but the way it happened I’m afraid that I got some misconceptions. What I mean is that, because they were kind of “heroes of the faith,” they were also doing something original or unique for that day, and something that I couldn’t attain to.

Both of those are untrue. A disciple is a follower, a student, a learner. Disciples were common in the days Jesus lived; every teacher had some. In fact, John the Baptist had disciples and a couple of them – John and Andrew – left John to follow Jesus. The fact that a disciple is simply a student or a follower – in this case, of Jesus – means that I’m completely capable of being his disciple as well.

We said discipleship is an identity related to what we do rather than what we know. A lot of folks seem to equate Christianity with knowing a lot of factual information about Jesus. I was really proud as a kid when I learned the names of all twelve of the Apostles. I know men and women older than me who specialize in acquiring knowledge about Jesus. But here’s the rub: what they do seems to conflict with what they know.

The goal of a true disciple wasn’t just to know stuff about their master; they wanted to be their master. A disciple follows someone in hopes of eventually becoming what the teacher is.” Disciples want to “do.” Disciples in Jesus’ day didn’t just watch or listen – they imitated, assuming that if the teacher did something that action held value for them as well.

A great example of this in the Bible is the relationship between the prophets Elijah and Elisha.

Charley Lau was a major league baseball player in the 50’s and 60’s before becoming one of the most celebrated hitting coaches in MLB history in the 70’s and 80’s. His influence was such that, as a kid I remember hearing repeatedly that this hitter or that coach was a “disciple of the Charley Lau school of hitting.” What did that mean? Did they learn what he taught and then do their own thing? No! They learned his principles and sought to use them as they coached and played. Charley Lau understood hitting, and his disciples wanted to understand as he did, then put their knowledge into action.

Disciples of Jesus aren’t so much called to accumulate knowledge about Jesus as they are to be like Jesus. We study his life, read about his actions and teachings so that we can put them into practice in our own lives. That’s exactly what Jesus told the first disciples that he called.

Matthew 4:18-22

It’s important to understand the context when people speak. A good example is the phrase, “The customer is always right,” when used in a commercial/retail setting. It all depends on how you interpret the word, “always.” If by always you mean, “No matter what,” then anything goes. People constantly want Walmart to give them refunds on products they have damaged, misused, or even stolen, stating, “The customer is always right.”