We have been sent by Jesus to be used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus...

This week we are looking at an event from history that is recorded for us in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Matthew. After encountering Jesus after He was raised from the dead, some of the disciples wrestled with doubt that flowed from two fundamental questions.

The first question was “What now? What are we supposed to do now?” And the second question was this “How are you going to be present with us? If you are in Heaven, and we are here on earth, how is your presence going to be present in our lives?” And in this event from history Jesus makes a statement that is one of the most famous statements that is recorded for us in the entire Bible. And it is in this statement that Jesus provides the answer to the question “What are we sent to do?”  

In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus gave His disciples, and followers of Jesus throughout history, a divine directive to make disciples of all nations. In other words, as followers of Jesus, we are to strive to make disciples, or followers of Jesus, as we are living our day to day lives in the spheres of influence that we have been given.

Jesus then explained that we are to make disciples in three specific ways.  First, we are to make disciples by going to those who are far from God. Whether at home, at school, at work, or in our relationships; in whatever sphere of influence we have; we are commanded to live our lives as missionaries that are engaging, investing, and inviting those who are far from God to become followers of Jesus.

Second, we are to make disciples by baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. A major part of discipleship is to be used by God to bring those who are far from God to a place where they place their confident trust in God’s transformational activity and publicly identify themselves as partner in the community of faith that is investing their time, talent, and treasure in God’s kingdom mission.

Third, Jesus explains that we are to make disciples by “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you”. Now the word observe, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to persist in obedience. In other words, a disciple of Jesus will naturally grow in their faithfulness and obedience to Jesus over time. And as followers of Jesus and as a church, we are called to create environments where people are able to understand and embrace the message and teachings of Jesus in a way that results in their spiritual growth and spiritual good.

 

At the church where I serve, we believe that the Jesus teaches us that making disciples that are growing and maturing in their relationship with Him requires that we invest our time in a community group, our talents in a ministry, and our treasure through giving. And so often, most sermons on this event from history end tend to end here. But that is not where this event from history ends. Jesus still has more to say.

And in what Jesus says next, we see Jesus make an amazing statement that helps answer the question that flowed from some of the disciples doubt, which was as to whether or not God’s presence is present. So let’s look at this statement together, which is at the end of Matthew 28:20b:

and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Jesus grabs the attention of His disciples with what is translated in our Bibles today as lo. This would be like me standing up and saying “Yo, listen up!” Jesus wanted to have the disciples undivided attention because He was about to introduce something new; something previously unheard of; something that would have been viewed by the disciples as unusual. And what was so new and unusual was this: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age”.

Jesus here is promising His disciples, and followers of Jesus throughout history that He is fully present.  Just because God may seem silent, that does not mean that God is not present. Just because we cannot see God, that does not mean that God is not present. You see, God’s presence is evident when followers of Jesus are engaged in community with one another and on mission with one another.

When followers of Jesus gather together in community to worship, we experience God’s presence in powerful ways. When followers of Jesus gather together in community groups, we experience God’s presence in a powerful way as we support and encourage one another.  When followers of Jesus invest their talents serving God by serving others, we are used by God to reveal His presence to others. When followers of Jesus invest their treasure, we are used by God to reveal His presence to others as we create environments where people can explore faith, grow in their faith, and experience community.

We are never any closer to God’s presence here on earth than when followers of Jesus are engaged in God’s kingdom mission in community with one another, because God has divinely designed the church to be the vehicle that He uses to reveal His presence to one another and the world. And it is here, in this event from history, that we see Jesus reveal for us the timeless answer to the question “What are we sent to do?” And that timeless answer is this: We have been sent by Jesus to be used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus.

Just as it was for early followers of Jesus; just as it has been for followers of Jesus throughout history, we have been sent by Jesus to be used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus. If you do not buy the whole, Jesus Bible, church thing, this is why followers of Jesus seem to be so committed and so persistent when it comes to inviting you to church. This is why followers of Jesus seem to be so committed and persistent about inviting you to their community group or to an event involving other followers of Jesus.

The reason why followers of Jesus seem to be so committed and so persistent in their invitation to you is because they are following the example of Jesus. And just as Jesus was sent to make followers of Jesus, as followers of Jesus we have been sent by Jesus to be the vehicle that He uses to make other followers of Jesus. And once again, as followers of Jesus, we are confronted with the reality that Jesus never asks us to do something that He has not already done.

As followers of Jesus, we are used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus as we invite others to explore faith and experience genuine and authentic community. We are used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus when we invite others to invest their time in a community group as we invest our time in a community group.  We are used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus when we invite others to invest their talent on a ministry team as we invest our talent on a ministry team. And we are used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus when we invite others to invest their treasure in an open handed and generous way as we invest our treasure in an open handed and generous way.

So here is a question to consider. Are you being used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus? Are you living in such a way that you are the vehicle that Jesus uses to make other followers of Jesus? What is one step that you can take this week that will place you in a position to be used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus?