Make Disciples

"And make disciples of all nations..." - Matthew 28:19

Over the last couple of years, I've been on a quest to find out what it looks like to "make a disciple". Oh, I've definitely seen my share of discipleship programs and initiatives. Most of them have contained good ideas, but I always felt like there was something missing. Some of these programs are basically intellectual exercises where you "learn" how to be a better disciple... sort of like a home study course. Many look like a younger person meeting with an older person once a week so the older person can tell the younger person all the stuff they know. Some use a basic strategy while others look like a graduate level theology course. Some people simply read the rest of verse 19 and 20 where it mentions baptizing and teaching and say "That's it. Discipleship is baptizing and teaching". The only problem is there are tons of people running around who have been baptized and taught lots of stuff, but they still don't look much like Jesus. We all know them. In fact, most of us have been them.

I remember sitting in my office one day, thinking and praying about discipleship. Frustrated that what I'd been taught didn't seem to play out in the real world. Then a thought came to mind... "How did Jesus do it?". I knew it was the H.S. talking. I felt like an idiot for not starting from the start. Didn't Jesus invent discipleship? Shouldn't we start by looking at his process? Not rocket science. I am slow.

How did Jesus do it?

In Matthew 4:18-22 we read an account of Jesus calling his first disciples:

18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

This is probably one of the best known scriptures in the church. As a small child, I remember hearing it in Sunday School, accompanied by a baby blue felt board and cut out disciples, boats, and fish. All very colorful. But nobody ever asks the question...

Then what?

Okay, they ditched their dad in the boat. What happened next?

As we read Matthew, we see that Jesus did something most church leaders would never do. He took his brand new very green disciples and they immediately began to do ministry together...

they were there at the sermon on the mount...

he taught them the reason why he came...

how to deal with anger and lust...

to love their enemies and care for the poor...

to invest their lives wisely...

the golden rule and how to build their lives on him...

that being a disciple may very well cost them everything...

then he calmed their anxieties by calming the storm.

Then you know what he did? He turned to them and said, "Now it's your turn. Go and do what you've seen me do. Don't be afraid, because I'll be with you... and you'll have my authority... but you have to go." 

Then it suddenly became crystal clear. Jesus didn't just baptize. He didn't just teach. He gave his life to his disciples... and he didn't wait until the crucifixion. It started in Matthew 4.

Who are you giving your life to?

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