As We Go About Our Life, Make Disciples

The main text for today’s thoughts is

Matthew 28:16-20.

Lets hear it again.

16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

This text is often called the Great Commission.

Every pastor,

every Christian who is interested in mission and outreach

has read, studied and talked about this text.

Go and make disciples.

However there is something that we need to be aware of.

In verse 19 and 20 most English translations really don’t express clearly what Jesus was saying.

You see there is one major instruction in the Great Commission.

Let’s look closely at verse 19 and 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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

That major instruction is MAKE DISCIPLES!!

And many scholars suggest verse 19 should sound more like….

As you go about your life, make disciples.

Many people are under the impression that before they can be effective as a Christian they need to go somewhere, go anywhere.

They feel they need to leave this place and go.

They feel they need to leave this town and go.

They feel they have to go to another country.

Now that is part of the Christian mission, but it is not the only part.

And going is not Jesus main instruction in the Great Commission, making disciples is.

As you go about your lives, make disciples.

Christine as you go to work at the construction firm Jesus is saying to you make disciples.

Veronica as you be a mother and a student, Jesus is saying make disciples.

Elfrieda as you go to university Jesus is saying make disciples.

Max as you go to work at the Insurance office, Jesus is saying make disciples.

Grandparents as you mix with your children and grandchildren Jesus is saying to you make disciples.

Infact whatever we are doing in our daily lives, Jesus says to us asyou go about your lives make disciples.

Sounds like a major task…

Sounds difficult.

But it is not that difficult.

Jesus gives us some more instructions.

And the first of these instructions is baptize people.

Now Max I am not asking you to lug the baptismal fount to work.

Imagine lugging that thing out of here.

Jesus doesn’t say you are to baptise on your own.

Remember the early church was a group of people.

A community of people.

A group of disciples.

And that’s how they thought about things.

And that’s how we are to think about things, as a community.

Your job is not to physically baptize people.

Your job is to introduce people to God through this community known as the church.

To encourage them to be baptised.

To encourage your family and friends to be baptised.

To encourage them to develop a relationship with God and other Christians.

This morning at Devonport we baptised a little baby, Jack.

And during that service it was made clear that baptism is God at work.

God at work welcoming Jack into His family.

In baptism that’s what is happening;

we are welcomed into God’s family of disciples.

And its not the end of the discipleship process but the start.

Think about your baptism.

Your baptism is the start of Jesus making you one of His disciples.

But the challenge is still there.

As you go about your life as one of my disciples, Jesus says make disciples.

We should be aware as we look at this text it highlights something else.

It highlights that we don’t do this by ourselves.

We have each other, the community

But more importantly we have Jesus.

In verse 18 Jesus says all authority has been given to me.,

therefore as you go about your life make disciples.

And jumping down to verse 20

Jesus says I am with you always to the end of the age.

I am with you always.

Jesus gives us the authority to make disciples and he is with us all the time as we go about our life making disciples.

And so the second thing Jesus says to us,

as we go about our life making disciples.

Jesus says teach.

There are two ways we teach.

One is through what we say.