Matthew 28:18-20 (The Message)
Go out and train every one you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the three-fold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I commanded you. I‘ll be with you as you do this, day after day, right up to the end of the age.
“Jesus is my homeboy!” read the shirt.
Along with its Jim Morrison-like caricature of Jesus, this piece of clothing not only got my attention but stirred a bevy of emotions. I took captive all the thoughts that ran rampant through my head (see LifeTogether, 25 November, Clean and Unclean) and held them to the Truth of the Word. After a few minutes, I decided that the shirt did speak truth and allowed it to linger in head. Despite its controversial and hip marketing ploy, Jesus is indeed my homeboy. Not only my homeboy, but a homeboy to his disciples. And, in a way, a disciple himself. Jesus provided us the perfectly balanced example of discipleship, the ultimate example of both a disciple and a disciple-maker.
To disciple successfully, you must first be a disciple. The word disciple, by its very definition, means a person who is “a learner, a pupil, an adherent to the doctrines of another.”
Consider Jesus. We’re given only brief glances of Jesus as an adolescent in the Gospels. But in each, we find him learning and growing in knowledge and wisdom, things coming directly from his interaction with the Heavenly Father (see Luke 2:41-52). This only continues as Jesus explodes onto the scene during his ministry. We witness him pulling off to solitary places to spend time with the Father. We witness him quoting Scriptures and speaking with authority straight from the Father. We witness him submit his will to take on that of the Father. And on and on…
In the process, Jesus began discipling others, hand-picking twelve to plant his heart into and spend the vast majority of his time with. From the time he called them, he accomplished the three things we discussed on Tuesday (Living out the Life-Change, Feeding spiritual milk, Offering encouragement and help), among many, many others. Jesus wasn’t only an example to them, he was perfection personified. Daily, he walked through the human condition with all its struggles, lusts, and entanglements. Yet without sin. At each and every opportunity, Jesus taught them- from physical miracles to metaphorical parables- the deep Truth of God. All with the purpose of displaying the glory of God and the hope found through him. And finally, offering encouragement and mercy at every turn. Each time they failed to learn a lesson or stumbled under the pressure of what was asked of them, he picked them up, dusted them off, and continued to pour into them. All the way up to our “verses of the week” in Matthew, collectively known as the Great Commission.
There aren’t words in the English language (or any other language for that matter) which adequately describe the heart of Jesus. But our glimpse of him from the Gospels and our own experiences, shows us that he chooses to make disciples. And, for some unexplainable reason, he chooses you and I to help.
Your move…
