18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20)
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
(“But you will receive power and ability when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses [to tell people about Me] both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 Amplified Bible)
Key thoughts from these commands out of our LORD’S mouth which are often overlooked or ignored: “make disciples” “teaching them” “be witnesses” “be My witnesses” “tell people about Me”; all of these are ways to say the same thing. Be a Spirit-filled teacher of the Gospel, the Good News; project the Savior of the world, to others through teaching Jesus the Christ.
Jesus, when He walked this earth among us, was all things to all people. What did they need? That is Who He was in the moment of their need. However, as one watched the activities of Jesus through the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), we see at once that His leading activity was in teaching, revealing Light in a darkened world; giving hope from the same. Yes, He healed, He delivered, He touched, He fed, but it seems it all came from the context of His teaching ministry.
“Make disciples.” How did Jesus go about making disciples? How did He acquire those He discipled?
Well, this has a two-fold answer. First, we see that He began His ground work by His public teaching; sharing Kingdom concepts and such. His teachings were unlike anything anyone had heard; plus, He spoke with an authority, bathed in love, which they had not yet experienced. He was building interest and intrigue.
Secondly, and none the less important, He prayed to the Father at great lengths and fervor for the ones He would pour His life and Kingdom teaching into. The Father made it known to the Son who His first and key disciples should be. And Jesus made Himself keenly aware of what the Father was doing around Him. He knew the Father’s choices by watching Him work around Him. The chosen ones responded to the divine invitation, with ground work: “Come, follow Me.”
Jesus taught from a stance of great compassion for the people, while knowing and understanding that the evil one was swaying the hearts and minds of a lost humanity. After all, Jesus was here to be the Victor over that enemy of God and man. He, Jesus, had a greater degree of understanding and compassion for the dilemma of man than either the man, or even the devil who planted the seed of dilemma.
Then, let it be observed that in the close, personal, teaching moment, the compassion of Jesus for the people would rise up within Him and He was compelled to do what was needful in the moment. So, He touched them in their sicknesses and healed them from what ailed them; He delivered them from what antagonized them. And, He fed them in their hunger.
Beloved believer, what we see in the discipling methods of Jesus must be what the world of lost sinners sees in us and our interactions with them as we seek to disciple the world before us. Do you not see, Jesus did not command or instruct believers to be their judge, but to be their discipler/teacher/model and helper.
Beloved, in this time of pandemic, I believe our time would be better spent gathering fruit by being more as Jesus was as He walked the earth among us. Is that not what the Church is called to be; Jesus in us walking among the people? The world in this time of great anxiety does not need the Church to point out who we think to be the fault of this virus (some blame the people; others blame God). Perhaps we have forgotten about Job and his desire to know where the fault lay with his severe struggles. (Read Job 38:1-18)
After being mute during the conversations between Job and his friends, God irrevocably articulates to Job beyond the whirlwind. God, at no time, answers their questions concerning Job’s guilt or innocence, but instead speaks about the created order of things and distinguishes between what God can do along with what man is able to do.
Job had longed for an audience with God. He needed answers directly from Him. Was he at fault for the things he suffered? Was he innocent? Was there any hope? If Job is innocent, God should tell him. If he is guilty, God should tell him what needs to be fixed, changed, confessed, to end the suffering.
God neither declares Job innocent or guilty. He does not even address the questions; rather He talks about the wonders God’s creation. All through this spoken communication, God reminds Job that man could have never pulled off any of this. Why? Sometimes God will not directly answer our questions. Not that the questions are unanswerable, but rather our ability to comprehend His answers has extreme limitations. There are mysteries beyond human conception, such as, how to speak a world into existence, or how to explain a world-wide pandemic where seemingly innocent persons suffer.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.” (Isaiah 55:8)
Job is counseled to acknowledge man’s limits and trust God with what we cannot know or do.
Also, we can find wonders of God, and His ability to sustain what He has created, thereby embracing hope. What can believers do in this world trauma? Be Jesus. Be encouraging. Comfort. Feed. Teach. Heal. Love. Give hope. Give an answer for the hope that you have.
Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, thank You that everything in our lives will be worked out for good according to Your purpose, because You called us by Your love. May we trust in Your divine love, mercy, and grace by Your Spirit guiding. Enlarge our understanding of who we can reach, and what we can do, to encourage and guide others into Your Kingdom. Allow us to recognize that this is a time to rescue others from the grips of the evil one, not simply to condemn actions. May we see, and be a part of, a great outpouring of Your Spirit in these troubling days, saving millions of men and women and girls and boys, to Your glory in Jesus, Amen!
Church, Pray On!
