Turn over to Matthew 28. This passage might be pretty familiar to you, but that’s ok. When you get to Matthew 28, we’ll read verses 19-20. Pay attention to this passage…as it lays the foundation for what we’re studying today. Let’s read our passage for today…again, it’s Matthew 28:19-20.
It says: “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.”
If you were here a couple of weeks ago, you’ll recall Mac Burberry spoke about what churches in other nations are doing…that seems to have been forgotten in the American Christian Church. He talked about how…the purpose of all of this…the reason you exist once you come to Jesus and are baptized and become a part of his church…is to follow the instructions which Jesus gives here at the end of Matthew.
What Jesus said to his disciples around 2000 years ago still applies. We are supposed to “Go” into all the world and…make…disciples…of all nations. Then we’re ordered to baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and teach them to obey everything that we’ve been commanded by Jesus. But where we as a church…where we as Christians seem to struggle…is with understanding what a disciple is…what disciples are to do…and how we go about “making” them.
*So, spring-boarding from Mac’s message…we’re going to take the next several weeks to focus on this important and vital call to the church. But to start…we need to understand what a disciple is. Because… again…we can be confused about what a disciple is. We’re going to look at three aspects this morning to help us learn…or be reminded…of what it means that we are disciples. If we’re going to make disciples…we need to know what it means that we’re disciples.
**Often we identify ourselves as “Christians,” right? Because that’s the word that was first used at the town of…Antioch…right? And we’re comfortable with that title. But…for a lot of “Christians”…it’s merely that…a title. And so they show up to church once, twice, or maybe even three times a week and they think that they’re all good.
But what we should maybe identify ourselves as…are disciples. Now, I know that there were only 12 men who were Jesus’ personal disciples. And I’m not talking about the more “liberal” branch of the Stone-Campbell Movement. But Jesus told his disciples to make more disciples…and that’s what we are. So what should that mean for us? First, it means that a disciple is a repenter.
Apparently, “repenter” isn’t a word. Every time I would type it, the red, squiggly line would show up underneath it. So maybe I’m creating a new word. But it describes what we are supposed to be as a disciple. We…need to be repenters.
That’s one of the first things we need to do when we make the decision to become a “Christian.” We need to repent. Why? Well… because that’s what Jesus says we need to do. Do you know what the first words of Jesus’ first sermon were?
If you don’t…that’s ok. Turn to Matthew 4. Here, Jesus has already been tempted by Satan and rejected him three times. And his cousin John the Baptizer has been put in prison. So he went throughout the land to fulfill what the prophet Isaiah had said…and in verse 17 we read the words of Jesus’ first sermon. It was short. It was simple: “Repent…for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
Before Jesus ever called one of his disciples…he was telling the people what they needed to do. They needed to repent. They needed to stop living how they had been living…which was in sin…and turn around and live for God instead. If they had already been living for the Lord, that wouldn’t have needed to be his message, would it? But the people…because the kingdom of heaven was near…needed to repent.
You’ve heard that word, right? It means that…if you’re living a life of sin…you do a 180* turn and do the opposite of living a life of sin. Instead you live for God. You do what he’s commanded you to do. That’s one of the first things we do when we come to Jesus and are baptized, right? Or at least it should be.
It’s not that we’re having our sins washed in the water and them being forgiven by God. Making that choice also meant that you became a repenter. And it meant you needed to repent time and time again if you went back to a life of sin. Do we know what that means? If we go back on our repentance…and start living for this world and its sins once again…then we aren’t truly being a disciple of Jesus. …
Now…get this. Jesus’ words here aren’t the only time when repenting was spoken as an important part of being a disciple. Turn now to Acts 2. Once Jesus had gone into heaven…and his disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit…do you remember how Peter concluded his message to the crowd in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost?
*When the people were cut to the heart…they asked him what they needed to do. And Peter responded in Acts 2:38: “Repent…and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” If you are going to be a disciple of Jesus…if that’s what you consider yourself to be today…you need to be a repenter.
**But even that’s not enough. Being a repenter…living a life of repentance…where you stop living for the sins and sinful things of this world…isn’t enough. Because being a disciple is about more than simply “not doing bad things.” So what else does it mean for us to be a disciple?
Let’s turn to Matthew 4 again. Right after Jesus had spread his message of: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near”…he started assembling his team. He began to gather his disciples. And what were his words to Simon Peter and Andrew as they were casting a net into the Sea of Galilee? Well, Matthew writes in 4:19: “‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’” Here, we see that a disciple is a follower.
You could also say that being a disciple means that you’re a “fisher of men.” But…that’s kind of implied when you consider that a disciple is a follower. And…before we get too far down the road without saying it…being a disciple means that you’re a follower of Jesus. Again…we are called “Christians.”
But that’s the case for a disciple. Just read through the gospels. Once Jesus had called those twelve men…they followed him. They went everywhere with him. They saw him, they heard him. Their lives were devoted to him. They were his followers. That’s how they were identified. As Jesus was getting ready to be crucified, there were people in the crowd who recognized Peter as one of Jesus’ followers… one of his disciples.
And for us today…we who identify ourselves as Christians…are given the same call as Peter and Andrew and 10 others. If we are Christians…it means we follow Jesus. Of course…if we’re going to follow Jesus…we need to understand what that means…what that looks like.
For one instruction on what it means to follow Jesus, let’s turn to Matthew 19. Jesus has been approached by a young man who wants to know what good thing he must do to get eternal life. They talk back and forth about obeying the commandments. But the young man wants to know what he’s still lacking.
And Jesus gives his reply in 19:21. He says: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Jesus tells this young man to do what Andrew and Peter and ten others had done. Give up the worldly stuff you’re living for and follow me. …
*Are you following Jesus? Are you his disciple in that way? Most of us would like to think that we are. But think about all the other things that you follow or give your attention to in your life. Think about all the possessions you have which prevent you from spending time following Jesus. Your job or your hobbies. One or all of those things can keep you from following Jesus in the way that he told the young man to follow him.
But that’s not even the scary part. The scary part is that most people in churches…most people who consider themselves Christians… aren’t following him that way…yet they think that they are. Does that describe you this morning? You aren’t willing to get rid of or give away what you have…so that you can more closely follow Jesus the Messiah.
*He says in Luke 14:27 that “Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” If you don’t deny your selfish, worldly wants and desires…to the point that you would be willing to die for the cause of Jesus…then you aren’t really following him…and you’re not really his disciple. If you’re not a true disciple…then you aren’t a true Christian. That hurts a lot of us when it’s put that way, doesn’t it? …
**Now, there’s one other thing we need to know that it means to be a disciple. Because being a disciple means we’re a repenter and it means we’re a follower. But before we wrap up this morning there’s one other aspect we should talk about. You see…a disciple is a student.
What being a student imply? That there is a teacher. And who is the teacher? Well…in our journey to becoming a Christian and, hopefully, a disciple…we’ve maybe had several different teachers. If you’re like me, and I know that some of you are…your parents taught you about what it means to be a Christian, disciple, repenter, follower.
And there could be many other teachers. Maybe a preacher, or a Sunday School teacher, or someone else in the church. Or perhaps a dean or faculty leader at a week of Camp. Or some other kind of authority figure has taught you about what it means to be a Christian and disciple. So you’ve been a student to those people.
But being a disciple of Jesus…means that you’re a student of Jesus. After all, he was called “Rabbi” by some in the gospels, wasn’t he? And “Rabbi” means “teacher.” So that’s what Jesus was. He was a teacher. And his disciples? They were his students. And when he gave his commission which we started with this evening, what did he tell them to do? Jesus said to “Teach them everything that I have taught you.”
Jesus is the teacher. And if we are his disciples, then that means we need to learn from him. But there’s something that Jesus says about this “teacher/student” dynamic that we need to make sure we understand. Because it’s crucial to living as a disciple of Jesus. Turn over to Luke 6.
There, Jesus is in the midst of a variety of teachings, and he gets to the issue of judging others. Then listen to what he says in 6:40: “A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.” Do we get what Jesus is saying? He’s saying that none of us are going to be as great as he is. None of us are above him. But…if we learn from him…then we will become more and more like him.
*Are you becoming more and more like Jesus in your life? If you aren’t…then it’s because you’re not being his student. He isn’t your teacher. Obviously, you’re allowing something or someone else to teach and train you. If that’s the case…then you definitely aren’t being a student of Jesus. And if you aren’t a student of Jesus…then you aren’t his disciple. ….
****Here’s the point. If you’re a disciple of Jesus…then he needs to be the one you repent…the one you turn to. He needs to be your leader…the one who you follow. He needs to be your teacher…the one who you are a student under. If he isn’t any one of those things…then you’re going to struggle with being his disciple. And if you struggle with being Jesus’ disciple…then you’re going to have a hard time making more disciples…which is the whole point and purpose of being a Christian.
We’re going to get into how we go about making disciples in the coming weeks. But we needed to start things off today by making sure that we ourselves are living as disciples of Jesus. And if we aren’t…then we need to make ourselves into his disciples. We need to repent and follow and learn. Then…then we’ll be better equipped to go and make disciples and baptize them…just as Jesus commanded his twelve disciples nearly 2000 years ago.
Invitation
