We are on our way to change the world. We have in our arsenal everything that the eleven disciples had when they began the revolution. We have an opportunity to live like they lived and do what they did. Let’s listen carefully to Jesus final instructions that unleashed the power of God throughout the entire planet. See what might be here for you.
Jesus final words were perhaps His most powerful words. He spoke these words with authority and when He spoke them, He passed that authority on to His disciples. Centuries later, that same authority passes on to us as we obey the instructions of the risen King.
Matthew 28:18-20 records Jesus’ final words…
"And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.'"
Jesus’ final words include the most elemental instructions for the disciples and for all Christ-followers until the end of time. In the original language, the simplicity of His instructions is seen in the fact that there is only one verb, one command, “make disciples.” Everything else revolves around this command.
The command to “make disciples” would have been readily understood in Jesus’ day. The most common use of the word was to describe an apprentice. To learn a trade, a new learner would attach themselves to a master in the trade. They would follow them around and learn what it looked like operate as a master.
This makes perfect sense knowing that Christ lived His life with the most amazing mastery of humanity. He was fully human, tempted in every way just like us; and yet, He lived without sin. He lived as a man full of the Holy Spirit, carrying out assignments as He received them from Father. During the last three years of His life, He invited the disciples to be His apprentices and to learn how life was meant to be lived in the kingdom.
The goal of making disciples, then, is to help people learn to live life in the same way Jesus lived, with the same integrity, with the same love, and with the same mastery of the supernatural through the instructions received from the Father.
Jesus also gives two more details to further explain what He meant by making disciples. One, we baptize people in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Baptism, the immersion in water, was a symbol used by religious sects in Jesus’ day to indicate that someone was leaving behind their old way of life to join the sect.
Our first task, then, is to guide people into a relationship with God through faith in Jesus. Then, to inaugurate them into the faith, we baptize them in the name of the Father who invites them in, the Son who made the relationship possible, and the Spirit who makes His home in them.
It is interesting that what we call “evangelism” today, was never meant to be separate from making disciples. Guiding people into the kingdom and helping them take those first steps is a part of making disciples. From the moment we first speak to someone about the kingdom, we are teaching them to follow Jesus.
Two, we teach them to obey. Being a disciple is rooted in obedience. The idea of the word “observe” is to hold onto, to keep, to guard. It carries the idea of rhema with the emphasis on receiving rhema, processing it through to the end, and sticking with it to the point of obedience.
From day one, as we guide people toward what it means to follow Jesus with all their heart, we start teaching them to obey. Each slice of truth learned by a new disciple must be followed through to fruitfulness and obedience. There is no part of Scripture that was intended just for knowledge. Jesus said specifically to “…teach them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
Jesus’ words also include the means by which we will be able to carry out these simple instructions. First, Jesus says, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” We can make disciples with confidence because Jesus sits on the throne at the right hand of the Father and whatever He commands is done. When gives us instructions on where to make disciples or how to make disciples, it will be done.
Second, Jesus says, “…lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." We can make disciples with confidence because when Jesus instructs us to go somewhere or do something, He goes with us. Where He commands, He goes. And when He goes with us, His presence carries all the power and authority of the kingdom. We are never alone. We are always accompanied by Jesus, always and forever.
By the way, in this passage, there is no command to go. The only command is to make disciples. Jesus’ instruction is not some special command for people who go to the ends of the earth as kingdom workers. The final instructions of Jesus are for everyone. The proper translation of the Greek would be, “As you are going, make disciples…”
Doesn’t this make more sense? We get our assignments from the Father, then as we go, whenever we go, wherever we go, we are about the work of inviting people into the kingdom and guiding them toward maturity. As we go to work, we make disciples. As we go home, we make disciples. As we got to the gym, we make disciples. As we go to the ends of the earth, we make disciples.
And where do we go? We go wherever the Father instructs us to go. We get our assignments from Him. Today, He may tell us to stay here and make disciples. Tomorrow, He may tell us to go to another city to make disciples. The next day He may tell us He wants us to make disciples of business leaders, or young moms, or athletes, or prisoner, or coworkers, or Muslims, or Mormons, or neighbors, or prostitutes. We go wherever He tells us to go.
Jesus repeats His final instructions with more detail in Acts 1:4-5…
"Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, 'Which,' He said, 'you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.'"
What had the Father promised the disciples? He had promised them that the Holy Spirit would come and live in them. Just as we have been reminded about the coming of the Spirit in the last thirty-eight days, the disciples were anticipating His coming. What they did not realize was that the Holy Spirit would come upon them, just as He had come upon Jesus.
Just as Jesus was baptized in the Holy Spirt and the crowd saw the Spirit descending on Jesus in the form a dove, the disciples would also be baptized. And just like Jesus began His ministry after receiving the Spirit, the disciples would do the same. Jesus was saying to His followers, "Because you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit, just like I was baptized by the Holy Spirit, you will also do the works that I have done."
Luke 24:44-45 describes more of what Jesus said at this time…
"Now He said to them, 'These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.' Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures…."
During His final hours with His closest followers, Jesus took them back through all the places in the Bible where His coming, death, resurrection and exaltation had been prophesied. But speaking to His followers was not enough, He opened their minds so they could put all the pieces together and fully understand God’s story of redemption from the beginning of time.
Then, in Luke 24:45-47…
"…He said to them, 'Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.'"
Jesus, in His own words describes the core of the good news of the kingdom. It was prophesied that Jesus would suffer, die, and rise again from the dead on the third day. But the good news of the kingdom does not stop here. It was also prophesied that an offer to enter the kingdom would be proclaimed to all the nations.
Specifically, the proclamation includes an offer of “repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” Jesus capsulizes the most basic message of the kingdom we carry to those around us, the message of repentance. “Repentance” is an about face. It literally means to change one’s mind. And specifically, in the context of the kingdom, it refers to a change of mind regarding our self, regarding Jesus, and regarding the direction of our lives.
With regard to ourselves, we recognize that we are separated from God by our sin and unable to do anything about us. Regarding Jesus, we conclude that He died and rose to take the punishment for our sins. With regard to the direction of our lives, we entrust our lives to Jesus and commit ourselves to follow Him in every way. As a result, forgiveness and the kingdom of God are ours.
Luke 24:48-49 describe the remainder of Jesus’ instructions…
"You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."
Without the rest of Jesus’ instructions, the disciples would have been baffled as to how they might possibly proclaim the message of Jesus to all the nations. He reminds them about the promised Holy Spirit. Jesus is not going to send them, until He sends the promised Holy Spirit. And until the Spirit comes, they are to stay in the city of Jerusalem.
And how will they know when the Holy Spirit comes? They will know because of His power. The idea of the Holy Spirit being present and powerless was inconceivable for Jesus because He had been filled with the power of the Spirit since the moment He was baptized.
For the disciples, He describes the coming of the spirit in everyday terms. They are to wait in the city until they are “clothed with power from on high.” “Power” here is dunamis, the same word used for miracles, the mighty acts of power done by Jesus. When the Holy Spirit comes upon us, it is as obvious to us as the clothing we wear and as powerful as the miracles of Jesus.
Jesus words recorded in Acts 1:8 sound very familiar…
"… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."
Jesus confirms what had already been promised us, that we will the Holy Spirit and His accompanying power. The two go hand in hand. You cannot have the Spirit without power. He is God. He comes with all the power and authority of God and offers that to us to build the kingdom.
Here Jesus uses a legal term to describe our role in building the kingdom. He says, “…you shall be My witnesses.” As witnesses, we are called to the witness stand to speak the truth about the kingdom of God. We have been invited in. We have been transformed. We have experienced the kingdom and we get to tell others how truly amazing it is. There is nothing like it.
Some people talk about “witnessing” as if it is something we must do. But it is not an obligation; it is a privilege. It is not some daunting task. When we have been transformed by the Spirit of God within us and by our relationship with Jesus, we will simply not be able to keep it inside. We will want to give it away. We will have a burning desire to invite others to join us. And when they decide to enter in, we have the privilege of walking with them to maturity.
After speaking these powerful words, Jesus ascended into heaven and took His place on the throne. This is where He sits today. Power and authority flow from the throne to His children, all over the world, every single one of them.
Today, we have an invitation from God to enter in, to experience the fullness of the kingdom, to be His disciples, and to make disciples under the direction and power of the King. This is what it means to be sent.
WORSHIP: Worship the God who invites us to participate in the greatest movement in the history of mankind. His power and authority have changed the world and will continue to change the world. He is the King. All authority belongs to Him. Nothing can stand against Him. He is the Almighty. He is the Mighty Warrior. Worship Him as the God who is able to empower us to change the world.
PRACTICE: The final instructions from Jesus to you i simple, “Make disciples.” It is not a program, it is life on life, one person passing on to another what they know of the kingdom of God. Making disciples includes everything from the first conversation about the kingdom to the deep teaching of the King. Take your journal out and write down the names of people God might want you to lead into the kingdom and lead into discipleship. He will guide you. This is for everyone. Everyone should be leading disciples and being led by a disciple. Once you have you list done. Ask God how He wants you to move forward. Is there a phone call you need to make? An email to send? Someone to visit? Whatever He reveals, do it, don’t delay.
MEDITATION: For your meditation today, focus all of your attention on this verse: “"And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.'" – Matthew 28:18-20 Write it out. Read it over. Let it fill your mind. Let God speak to you through the verses.
ABIDING: By this time, it is very possible that the Father, your Spiritual Director, has led you to a place in Scripture where He wants you to abide. As you go back and read through this teaching one more time, ask the Father if there is anything in these passages specifically for you. Look for the things that reinforce what God is teaching you at this time. Write down anything you hear from Him. Spend some extra time listening to see if the Spirit has anything more to say to you or if there is a deeper teaching for you today. Write down whatever you hear. Ask the Father if there is someone, He wants you to share this with and follow through with His assignment.
© 2020, John Santaferraro.