Making of you...

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." - Matthew 28:16-20

The disciples went where Jesus had commanded. This, in many respects, goes against much of what they displayed during His earthly ministry. But here they trust in what He said. We should do the same. If He said your sins are forgiven, believe it. If He said that He will come again, believe it. If He tells you to come to Him so you might have rest, do it.

What we do see though is that just because Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah sent to save His people, the Word of God, none of that guarantees that we will believe. His own disciples, who saw Him arrested, who saw or at least heard of His death, who saw the empty tomb, and who saw the risen Lord, doubted. They stood before Him now and trusted enough to obey His call to go to the mountain, but they still had doubts. Are they celebrated for this? No. Are they condemned because of it? No. Instead they are given the same charge as the others.

Interesting that Christ begins His commission by touting His power in all creation. This comes as a preamble. As a disclaimer that He will accomplish what He will through us, regardless of what we perceive as effectiveness. Because we are commanded to make disciples of He who has saved us. Not disciples of us, or of a church, or of a religion, but of a person who did something for them.

When we make disciples, we make learners. They are not automatically perfected nor fully devoted, but are committed to learn from Christ. They are not listeners who hear Him and choose to learn or not. They are learners who are going to learn from Him and become like Him.

They are set apart through baptism. Disciples are not made through baptism, but disciples are baptized. We, when we have been baptized, are sealed by the Word through the promise of Christ. We die with Him and are raised to newness of life through His resurrection. This does not guarantee that we will continue as His disciples. Many who are baptized as infants never come to faith. Many who are baptized as believers fall away. It is faith in the promise that we are given in baptism that brings salvation.

In the same way a disciple is one that is taught. Taught what the Teacher has taught. Hears, listens, and learns what He teaches to try and understand and apply it to their life so as to live as the Teacher, not just be a passive observer.

Growth as a disciple is a participatory action. It does not have an ending, but it does have a beginning. It began in Bethlehem, in a manger when God came into the world as a baby born to die for His people. It continues to the cross that day outside Jerusalem 2000 years where the disciple's sins were taken on by the Savior in order to be buried in that tomb when He rose from the grave. The good news is that even though we may doubt or fail, because of what He did for us, He is always with us. He will never leave us because He bought us through His blood.

TW