How Disciples are Made: Disciples Making Disciples

Transcription

1 How Disciples are Made: Disciples Making Disciples Summary and Goal The Great Commission isn t something that happens somewhere else. It begins when every believer takes seriously the imperative of Jesus to make disciples of all nations, and it s rooted in the promise that Jesus will be with us as we fulfill His mission. Main Passages Matthew 28:18-20 Session Outline 1. Authority for the Sent (Matthew 28:18) 2. Making Disciples, Not Just Converts (Matthew 28:19-20a) 3. Power Attends the Disciple Maker (Matthew 28:20b) Theological Theme The Great Commission s clear directive was for disciples to multiply themselves in the lives of others, helping them grow in their relationship with Christ until they also produce other disciples. Christ Connection The Great Commission was essentially Jesus command for His disciples to follow the example He provided as He taught them. Missional Application The purpose of the church making disciples is empowered by the authority of Christ and affected by His constant presence with believers as they minister to those around them. 1 Leader Guide

2 Historical Context of Matthew Purpose Matthew probably wrote his Gospel in order to preserve written eyewitness testimony about the ministry of Jesus. Matthew s Gospel emphasizes certain theological truths. First, Jesus is the Messiah, the long-awaited King of God s people. Second, Jesus is the new Abraham, the founder of a new spiritual Israel consisting of all people who choose to follow Him. This new Israel will consist of both Jews and Gentiles. Third, Jesus is the new Moses, the deliverer and instructor of God s people. Fourth, Jesus is the Immanuel, the virgin-born Son of God who fulfills the promises of the Old Testament. Author The author did not identify himself in the text. However, the title that ascribes this Gospel to Matthew appears in the earliest manuscripts and is possibly original. Titles became necessary to distinguish one Gospel from another when the four Gospels began to circulate as a single collection. Many early church fathers (Papias, Irenaeus, Pantaenus, and Origen) acknowledged Matthew as the author. Papias also contended that Matthew first wrote in Hebrew, implying that this Gospel was later translated into Greek. Date Written Determining the date of composition of Matthew s Gospel depends largely on the relationship of the Gospels to one another. Most scholars believe that Matthew utilized Mark s Gospel in writing his own gospel. If this is correct, Matthew s Gospel must postdate Mark s. However, the date of Mark s Gospel is also shrouded in mystery. Irenaeus (ca a.d. 180) seems to claim that Mark wrote his Gospel after Peter s death in the mid-60s. However, Clement of Alexandria, who wrote only 20 years after Irenaeus, claimed that Mark wrote his Gospel while Peter was still alive. Given the ambiguity of the historical evidence, a decision must be based on other factors. Special Features It seems fitting that the first book of the New Testament the Gospel of Matthew begins with these words: the historical record of Jesus Christ. This Gospel was written from a strong Jewish perspective to show that Jesus truly is the Messiah promised in the Old Testament. As the first book in the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew serves as a gateway between the two testaments. Of the New Testament books, and certainly of the four Gospels, Matthew has the strongest connections to the Old Testament. Matthew gave us God s entire plan from Genesis to Revelation. Matthew looked back and referred to Hebrew prophecies about 60 times ( was fulfilled and so that what was spoken... might be fulfilled ). He also looked forward by dealing not only with Messiah s coming and His ministry, but also His future plan for His church and kingdom. Excerpted and paraphrased from the Holman Christian Standard Study Bible, Holman Bible Publishers, Date of My Bible Study: 2

3 1 Session Plan How Disciples are Made: Disciples Making Disciples For Further Discussion Who have been the most influential people in your life as it pertains to your growth in Christ? Introduction If someone were to ask you what it means to disciple someone, what ideas or actions would you include in your response? Why did you pick those? What examples of disciple making do you recall in the Bible (other than Jesus and His disciples)? What similar characteristics or elements do those examples share? In this week s session, Matthew recorded Jesus giving of the Great Commission to the eleven disciples following His resurrection. His instructions were pointed and clear. Jesus reminded them that all authority over everything was His, then gave them their marching orders. The disciples were to make other disciples, understanding that in the face of this monumental task, Jesus was with them through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 1. Authority for the Sent (Matthew 28:18) Immediately, Jesus began His preparatory instruction to His disciples in light of their new role in the redemptive work of God in the world. For the past three years, the disciples had journeyed with Him, observed Him, questioned Him, and even fulfilled divine tasks of being sent out in pairs to mimic the ministry of Jesus. What does it mean to have authority? Who currently has the ability to exercise authority over you in your various circles of life? How does that change how you relate to them? Where do you personally exercise authority home, work, school, civic functions, etc.? What responsibilities come with your ability to do so? What boundaries does your personal authority have? 3 Leader Guide 2. Making Disciples, Not Just Converts (Matthew 28:19-20a) The authority of Jesus over all things meant that He had the absolute right to give His followers orders. However, His authority was not limited to

4 giving a commission; He also exerted authority over all with whom they would come into contact. The tense of the verb, Go, has been widely emphasized. The force of the word communicated that the directions to follow were to be done in an ongoing fashion. As you are going would be a suitable translation, so long as the directive nature of the word was understood. There was nothing casual or haphazard about Jesus tone. When you read Go as, As you are going, what places that you normally visit come to mind? Which of the people in those familiar locales strikes you as needing the investment of being made a disciple? How does that involve you? With which of those you come into contact regularly have you initiated gospel conversations? How would you start one of those conversations with someone? 3. Power Attends the Disciple Maker (Matthew 28:20b) Matthew closed his Gospel by including Jesus promise to be with His disciples until the end of the age. The end of the age referred to the end of human history, at which point Christ would return in bodily form. The presence of Christ with His disciples was realized with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which was to be inaugurated in these first disciples at Pentecost. John explained much more in depth in his Gospel how the Holy Spirit would affect the believer (John 13-17). For Matthew, however, the promise that the disciples would never be left or forsaken was enough. With a copy of the full canon of Scripture, the twenty-first century believer can appreciate the incredible importance of knowing that Christ is always with him or her. How does recognizing that Jesus has authority over everyone you engage in gospel conversations with inform your confidence to be faithful? Conclusion If Jesus has authority over all things (and He does), what does that mean for His commission to make disciples? Why do you think believers frequently treat something as optional that Jesus never intended to be optional? For Further Discussion How does knowing that Jesus will never leave you or forsake you frame the way you view challenges and rejections that come along with sharing your faith? How confident do you feel initiating gospel conversations with people you come into contact with? Who do you know that would be a great person to learn from in that regard? How can you take a step in that direction this week? How are you personally growing in Christ right now? How can your own discipleship fuel your obedience to be a disciple maker for others? Session 1 4

5 Expanded Session Content 1 How Disciples are Made: Disciples Making Disciples Introduction The Great Commission has come to immediately be associated with evangelism throughout the church. While such an association has obvious biblical merit, there is a tendency in the modern church culture to separate one idea into two separate components. In the minds of the New Testament writers and their constituents, the idea of separating evangelism and discipleship into two distinct functions of the believer would have been unthinkable. In the modern church culture, however, the discipline of making disciples is frequently viewed as altogether different from the discipline of sharing one s faith with the desire of leading others to Christ. The danger of separating the two should be apparent. Believing that fulfilling the Great Commission only pertains to creating as many converts as possible may result in many coming to Christ, but it also leaves in its wake a huddled mass of Christians in their spiritual infancy. In such a state, those spiritual babes are no more able to lead another to Christ, ward off temptation, and discern the most faithful ways to follow Christ ten years after their conversion than they were ten minutes after. On the other hand, focusing only on developing robust, theologically-sound, deep-thinking believers frequently results in Christians with no influence on unbelievers because they no longer know any. Disciple making, then, must include the seamless reunification of both aspects of following Christ. In his book Making Disciples: Developing Lifelong Followers of Jesus, pastor and author Ralph Moore explains, Disciple making targets the goal of Christian maturity if you define maturity as the ability to reproduce yourself. Again, this is not about gathering facts but about getting caught up in the net of fishing for men and women. If I make a disciple who does not disciple others, then I am a failure. This process is all about reproduction and multiplication. 1 5 Leader Guide

6 Who have been the most influential people in your life as it pertains to your growth in Christ? If someone were to ask you what it means to disciple someone, what ideas or actions would you include in your response? Why did you pick those? What examples of disciple making do you recall in the Bible (other than Jesus and His disciples)? What similar characteristics or elements do those examples share? Session Summary In this week s session, Matthew recorded Jesus giving of the Great Commission to the eleven disciples following His resurrection. His instructions were pointed and clear. Jesus reminded them that all authority over everything was His, then gave them their marching orders. The disciples were to make other disciples, understanding that in the face of this monumental task, Jesus was with them through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 1. Authority for the Sent (Matthew 28:18) Jesus giving of the Great Commission, as recorded in Matthew s Gospel, was directly preceded by the disciples faithfulness to travel to Galilee and wait for His arrival. Appearing to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, Jesus told them not to be afraid and to tell the disciples to travel to Galilee, where Jesus would meet them. The disciples traveled to the specified mountain and, upon seeing Him, worshiped Him. The doubt that Matthew mentioned as part of the disciples response had more to do with hesitation than disbelief. Certainly, there was ample reason for them to tread lightly in approaching the resurrected Christ. How would He treat them in light of their desertion at the cross? Did the resurrected Christ look different than the Jesus they had walked with? Perhaps it was general confusion over being in the presence of the inexplicably supernatural. Absolute Authority The language Jesus used powerfully drove home the expanse of His authority. The word used, exousia, referred to absolute power and jurisdiction. Nothing could withstand His bringing His will to bear. Philippians 2:9-11 reinforces the truth that all will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord willingly or otherwise. Immediately, Jesus began His preparatory instruction to His disciples in light of their new role in the redemptive work of God in the world. For the past three years, the disciples had journeyed with Him, observed Him, questioned Him, and even fulfilled divine tasks of being sent out in pairs to mimic the ministry of Jesus. Now, however, they would move into a much more significant role than they had ever experienced. Anticipating their response in the coming days, Jesus reminded them that all authority had been given to Him in heaven and on earth. Nothing was beyond His limitless jurisdiction. In language that recalled Daniel 7:13-14, which would not have been lost on His Jewish disciples, Jesus affirmed that He was not only the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecy, but also that He was, without doubt, God. Session 1 6

7 What does it mean to have authority? Who currently has the ability to exercise authority over you in your various circles of life? How does that change how you relate to them? Where do you personally exercise authority home, work, school, civic functions, etc.? What responsibilities come with your ability to do so? What boundaries does your personal authority have? Jesus both presented a clear indication of His divinity and kept a measure of distinction between Himself and God the Father. The difference was underscored by Matthew s use of the divine passive, All authority has been given to me Jesus received the authority that God the Father lovingly extended to Him following His resurrection, which God the Father affected through the power of the Holy Spirit. The beautifully intricate and elegantly simple depiction of the various roles of the three Persons of the Godhead forms the foundation of a biblical understanding of the Trinity. 2. Making Disciples, Not Just Converts (Matthew 28:19-20a) The authority of Jesus over all things meant that He had the absolute right to give His followers orders. However, His authority was not limited to giving a commission; He also exerted authority over all with whom they would come into contact. The tense of the verb, Go, has been widely emphasized. The force of the word communicated that the directions to follow were to be done in an ongoing fashion. As you are going would be a suitable translation, so long as the directive nature of the word was understood. There was nothing casual or haphazard about Jesus tone. The activity the disciples were to undertake was to have a lasting impact on those they engaged. The verb mathetuo literally meant, to make a learner. Making a learner obviously had a broader scope than merely a brief encounter. As scholar Robert Mounce explained, A disciple is not simply one who has been taught but one who continues to learn. 2 The elements of making a disciple, then, included baptism, teaching, and modeled obedience. These three elements would have begun at the point of accepting Christ as Savior, so evangelism was clearly intended. Teaching and the corresponding obedience, however, were equally part of what it meant to make a disciple. Because that was true, the process of making a disciple was time-consuming, personal, and relational. 7 Leader Guide

8 When you read Go as, As you are going, what places that you normally visit come to mind? Which of the people in those familiar locales strikes you as needing the investment of being made a disciple? How does that involve you? With which of those you come into contact regularly have you initiated gospel conversations? How would you start one of those conversations with someone? Referring to all nations made the commission that Jesus gave immediately larger than the disciples could have ever accomplished alone. This is particularly true given the complementary nature of the baptizing and teaching. Scholar Craig Blomberg carefully noted that baptizing will be a once-for-all, decisive initiation into Christian community. [Teaching] proves a perennially incomplete, life-long task. 3 There was nothing of an instant nature in the making of a disciple in Jesus directive. The heart of disciple making, then, was the teaching of Jesus commands to the point at which the new believer began to follow those commands faithfully. Only when such was the case could evangelism be considered holistic. A Unified Plurality Jesus returned to a Trinitarian teaching on God in His formula for baptism. Blomberg notes, The singular name followed by the threefold reference to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit suggests both unity and plurality in the Godhead. Here is the clearest Trinitarian formula anywhere in the Gospels Power Attends the Disciple Maker (Matthew 28:20b) Matthew closed his Gospel by including Jesus promise to be with His disciples until the end of the age. The end of the age referred to the end of human history, at which point Christ would return in bodily form. The presence of Christ with His disciples was realized with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which was to be inaugurated in these first disciples at Pentecost. John explained much more in depth in his Gospel how the Holy Spirit would affect the believer (John 13-17). For Matthew, however, the promise that the disciples would never be left or forsaken was enough. With a copy of the full canon of Scripture, the twenty-first century believer can appreciate the incredible importance of knowing that Christ is always with him or her. For the call to holistic evangelism, though, the unceasing presence of Christ has a more immediate impact. As Jesus had opened His brief address to the disciples by declaring His authority over everything, His promise to always be with them on the heels of His commissioning them to make disciples resonates with reassurance. The One who was sending them was also the One who had the power to make their witness effective and their teaching beneficial. The disciples success or failure, as perceived by the world, was not ultimately dependent on them then. The initiator of their mission, the authority for its priority, and the yielder of its fruit were eternally and gloriously One in the same. Session 1 8

9 How does recognizing that Jesus has authority over everyone you engage in gospel conversations with inform your confidence to be faithful? How does knowing that Jesus will never leave you or forsake you frame the way you view challenges and rejections that come along with sharing your faith? These three verses at the close of Matthew s Gospel actually tied all the way back to Matthew 1:23, in which Matthew explained the words of the angel to Joseph regarding Jesus coming birth. In fulfillment of prophecy, Matthew reminded his readers that Jesus name would be called Immanuel God with us. Now at the conclusion of his Gospel, Matthew underscored the fulfillment of that promise in the giving of the Holy Spirit to believers. God with us is an eternal reality for those who are in Christ. Blomberg gloriously declared, In Jesus, God remains with us for now and eternity! What more do we need to persevere in Christian living? We must go out and obey His commission. But the final word of the gospel remains Christ-centered. Even when we fail, He remains faithful. 5 Conclusion Making disciples is a frequent topic of discussion in the local church. Systems, structures, and processes abound for the manner in which to do so most effectively. The reality is disciple making is an intentional, time-consuming, sometimes frustrating investment. However, this is precisely what Jesus called His followers to do. In light of that, here are some things to note from this week s passage. First, Jesus is absolutely authoritative, without rival. This foundational truth is desperately important to remember. Everything in our culture would fervently seek to obscure that fact. Where numerous sectors of society would push that Jesus was just a good man, an insightful teacher, a fraud, or the punch line to a crass joke, the reality remains that He is limitlessly authoritative and sovereign over all things. His authority gives both undeniable credence to His commission and ultimate control over its fruitfulness. This is what gives disciple making its mandate. Second, disciple making requires significant personal investment. Understanding this on the front end can alleviate tremendous frustration when the process does not go as quickly as planned, is slowed by mistakes, or even seems to stall for a season. Bear in mind, disciple making involves a person coming to Christ, changing allegiances from the world to Jesus, and then learning to apply His truth to be conformed to a new manner of living in obedience. 9 Leader Guide

10 Considering the vast change that requires, it is safe to expect a wheel to come off every now and again in the sanctification process. Third, gospel conversations are an integral part of disciple making. Gospel conversations are great in-roads to gradually (or not so gradually, depending on the person) open a person to knowing Christ. In light of that, developing confidence and skill in initiating those conversations is an important part of each believer s personal discipleship. Fourth, discipleship is never ending for the believer. That means for a believer to delay gospel conversations until he or she feels like a significant amount of the Christian journey has been mastered is an exercise in futile disobedience. It is futile because no believer ever reaches full maturity in Christ on this side of eternity. It is disobedience because Jesus commanded those following Him to be disciple makers immediately. Disciple making means helping others grow in Christ, as the believer grows in Christ. If Jesus has authority over all things (and He does), what does that mean for His commission to make disciples? Why do you think believers frequently treat something as optional that Jesus never intended to be optional? How confident do you feel initiating gospel conversations with people you come into contact with? Who do you know that would be a great person to learn from in that regard? How can you take a step in that direction this week? How are you personally growing in Christ right now? How can your own discipleship fuel your obedience to be a disciple maker for others? Prayer of Response Ask the Father to give you a renewed sense of urgency to share the gospel with those around you. Pray that our church would seek to make disciples of all people. Pray that you would grow as a disciple as you disciple others. Additional Resources Follow Me by David Platt Gospel-Centered Discipleship by Jonathan Dodson Transformational Discipleship by Eric Geiger Session 1 10

11 For Next Week Session Title --Who is a Disciple? Main Passages --Matthew 4:18-22 Session Outline 1. Believing and Following Jesus (Matthew 4:18, 20) 2. Being Changed by Jesus (Matthew 4:19) 3. Living on Mission With Jesus (Matthew 4:21-22) Memorize 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... - Matthew 28:19, HCSB 11 Leader Guide

12 Extended Commentary Matthew 28: :18 Verses bring us to the climax and conclusion of Matthew. Jesus is passing the torch to his disciples, even as he promises to be with them forever spiritually, not physically to empower them for future mission. Jesus can make the claim of v. 18 only if he is fully God, inasmuch as the whole universe is embraced in the authority delegated to him. And yet he is still in some sense distinct from his Heavenly Father, so that Matthew can use the divine passive in speaking of his having been given this authority. Clear allusions to the heavenly Son of Man figure of Dan 7:13 14 appear here. Christ s exaltation, as the result of his resurrection, means that one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil 2:9 11), whether or not they do so voluntarily as part of his redeemed people. Because of this authority, Jesus has the right to issue his followers their marching orders, but he also has the ability to help them carry out those orders. 28:19a The main command of Christ s commission is make disciples (mathēteusate). Too much and too little have often been made of this observation. Too much is made of it when the disciples going is overly subordinated, so that Jesus charge is to proselytize merely where one is. Matthew frequently uses go as an introductory circumstantial participle that is rightly translated as coordinate to the main verb here Go and make (cf. 2:8; 9:13; 11:4; 17:27; 28:7). Too little is made of it when all attention is centered on the command to go, as in countless appeals for missionary candidates, so that foreign missions are elevated to a higher status of Christian service than other forms of spiritual activity. To make disciples of all nations does require many people to leave their homelands, but Jesus main focus remains on the task of all believers to duplicate themselves wherever they may be. The verb make disciples also commands a kind of evangelism that does not stop after someone makes a profession of faith. The truly subordinate participles in v. 19 explain what making disciples involves: baptizing them and teaching them obedience to all of Jesus commandments. The first of these will be a oncefor-all, decisive initiation into Christian community. The second proves a perennially incomplete, life-long task. All nations translates panta ta ethnē. The two main options for interpreting ethnē are Gentiles (non-jews) and peoples(somewhat equivalent to ethnic groups). The former translation is popular among those who see either Jesus or Matthew as believing that God once-for-all rejected the Jews. Matthew s most recent uses of ethnē (24:9, 14; 25:32) Session 1 12

13 seem to include Jews and Gentiles alike as the recipients of evangelism and judgment. God is not turning his back on Jewish people here. What has changed is that they can no longer be saved simply by trusting in God under the Mosaic covenant. All who wish to be in fellowship with God must now come to him through Jesus. 28:19b Without further qualification, baptism will most naturally refer to that which John and Jesus have already practiced (see under 3:1 17; cf. John 3:26; 4:1 3). Them (autous) shifts to the masculine pronoun from the neuter peoples (ethnē) and therefore implies a shift from groups to individuals (as in 25:32). Hence, the missiological debate about the validity of group conversions cannot be settled by any appeal to this text. In [or into] the name means declaring allegiance to or becoming associated with the power and authority of Jesus. The singular name followed by the threefold reference to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit suggests both unity and plurality in the Godhead. Here is the clearest Trinitarian formula anywhere in the Gospels, and it is therefore often accused of being a very late development and not at all something Jesus himself could have imagined. But this view misjudges both the speed of the development of New Testament theology (cf. Jesus as God already in Acts 3:14 15 unless by circular reasoning this passage is also dismissed as late because of its high Christology), as well as how technical a formula this is. Acts 2:38 demonstrates that other baptismal formulae were also used in the earliest stages of Christianity. Jesus has already spoken of God as his Father (Matt 11:27; 24:36), of himself as the Son (11:27; 16:27; 24:36), and of blasphemy against God s work in himself as against the Spirit (12:28). 28:20a Teaching obedience to all of Jesus commands forms the heart of disciple making. Evangelism must be holistic. If non-christians are not hearing the gospel and not being challenged to make a decision for Christ, then the church has disobeyed one part of Jesus commission. If new converts are not faithfully and lovingly nurtured in the whole counsel of God s revelation, then the church has disobeyed the other part. Key implications for preaching appear here. There must be a balance between evangelistic proclamation and relevant exposition of all parts of God s Word, including the more difficult material best reserved for the mature (cf. 1 Cor 2:1 5 with 2:6 10). So, too, the ministries of the church overall must reflect a healthy balance of outreach and inreach. Individuals who have differing gifts should be encouraged to expend most of their energies developing their strengths, whether evangelizing or nurturing, speaking or serving. Nevertheless, Jesus calls all Christians to be both witnesses and disciplers. Jesus words further demonstrate that Christian ethics and morality should first of all focus on Jesus teaching, even though the Old Testament still 13 Leader Guide

14 remains relevant, as one sees how it is fulfilled in Christ (Matt 5:17 20), and even though the rest of the New Testament remains relevant as further explanation of the significance of Christ and his teachings. But the testimony of the Gospels and the commands Jesus issued (of which more are found in Matthew than in Mark, Luke, or John) must comprise the central core of Christian faith and proclamation. 28:20b Matthew closes his Gospel with Jesus promise to be spiritually present with his followers until the end of this age, that is, until his return, when he will once again be present bodily (although the end of the age might be an idiom roughly equivalent to forever). John describes how Jesus had explained this provision in much more detail as the ministry of the Holy Spirit (John 13 17). Acts 2 will describe the decisive moment of the fulfillment of this promise at Pentecost. Matthew chooses to leave his readers here. The disciples represent everyone in the church to which he writes and, derivatively, everyone who professes to follow Christ in any age. The Lord is now risen! He calls his people to become disciple makers, and he promises to be with them irrespective of their successes or failures. Verse 20b forms an inclusio with v. 18, which indicates the central focus of Jesus closing words. Despite the Great Commission, Matthew wants to end his Gospel centering more on Christ s attributes than on the disciples task. Verses link back with 1:23 to frame the entire Gospel with references to Immanuel God with us. In Jesus, God remains with us for now and eternity! What more do we need to persevere in Christian living? We must go out and obey his commission. But the final word of the Gospel remains Christ-centered. Even when we fail, he remains faithful. 6 References 1. Moore, Ralph. Making Disciples: Developing Lifelong Followers of Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, Mounce, Robert H. Matthew. New International Biblical Commentary. Peabody, MA.: Hendrickson Publishers, Blomberg, Craig L. Matthew. New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman Press, Ibid. 5. Ibid. 6. Ibid. Session 1 14