“The Basics: Make, Connect, & Teach”

Scripture: Mathew 28:16-20

Jesus had spent his entire life amazing people. His birth had been prophesized many years before (Isaiah 9:1-7), but no one was truly prepared for what would come of that beautiful event. We see very little of his life before his ministry began, except for the 3 days he spent in the temple when he was 12, astounding the elders and rabbis with his Godly wisdom (Luke 2:41-52).
But everything Jesus did, whether recorded or not, whether in his childhood or in his ministry, everything either amazed or challenged, blessed or angered, revealed or frightened the people. The Sanhedrin thought that they had finally rid themselves of this royal thorn in their side at Calvary, and good riddance! But everything that he did, regardless of how it was perceived, was God-Breathed and God-Blessed, including his death and resurrection, and that is a gift that is desperately needed by the people of earth. Jesus was given to us so that the Church could become a true and righteous reality.
And as much as he gave and did during those 33 years of human existence, Jesus gave us two more things before he ascended into heaven. Luke 24:9 and Acts 1:8, which we focused on the past 2 weeks, tell us that he promised the arrival of the Holy Spirit, and the closing verses of Matthew 28, our text for today, reveals his final instructions to the Church. And this is where we begin today.

Read Matthew 28:16-18

There was still some doubt, wasn’t there! (verse 17) Are you surprised? We shouldn’t be! Things had been moving so fast those past 2 months that the 11 were still trying to sort it all out. But even our doubt, no matter how great, will never cause the Lord to hesitate – his plan has a purpose and it doesn’t wait for anyone.
And so, possibly to allay their concerns, he tells them one more time that all Authority is his – all Authority! - and by implication, he lets them know that whatever is his, is also theirs. And how had he revealed his authority before?
- When he finished his Sermon on the Mount, he never had to say he had authority to teach – it just was! And the people knew that he had it. Matthew 7:28-29 tells us that the crowds were amazed at what they had heard, “because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.” Jesus didn’t have to proclaim his authority, it was felt.
- Throughout the Gospels, Jesus heals broken and sickly and even deathly bodies, and again, he seldom states that he has authority to do so, it is seen.
- And he uses healing to prove that he also has the authority to forgive sin. In Luke 5:17-26, his healing of the paralytic is used in just this way. The proof was in his doing.

And so, with that very Authority, he begins to convey that same authority to all believers by granting it first to the 11. Remember 1 Peter 2:9-10? You are “his chosen, his royal priesthood”? You have been given the authority of Jesus, and you can do all things through faith in him. (Philippians 4:13) In John 14:12-14, Jesus tells us that “anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these... You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
Believe me when I say that we could NEVER do these things of faith without Jesus, but with him, there are no limitations or restrictions whatsoever!
So what does he want us to do in his name? Here is the first.

Read Matthew 28:19a

Make disciples of all nations. And what is a disciple? The term is fairly broad, and describes anyone who is studying the ways of Jesus, those who may be new students of the Lord, right up through those who are strong in faith and have given their lives to the Lord. And it doesn’t necessarily mean that we are the ones who teach them in the faith, but it does mean that we are to be the ones who lead them to faith in Jesus.
But this is easier said than done. It isn’t easy to witness to the grace of God with those who don’t seem to want to hear!

Rev. James Harnish writes:
Where do you find the power to hang in there in this world?
Where do you find the power to keep going when the going really gets tough?
Where do you find the power to continue to believe in love in a world that is filled with hate?
Where do we find the power to continue to work for peace in a world that is addicted to violence?
Where do we find the power to continue to believe in good in a world that is filled with so much suffering and pain?
Where do we find the power to continue to believe that ultimately God's kingdom will come and God's will, as revealed in Jesus, will be done in all of the creation?
Where do you find the power to be a disciple of Jesus in this world?
--James A. Harnish, Out of Sight! Tampa, Fla. 19 May 1996.

Being a disciple who makes disciples is one who relies wholly on the Spirit to lead and inspire them, and who claims the authority that Jesus offers to all who will believe. And quite honestly, if we are a disciple of Jesus, we can’t NOT reach out to the world to tell them of the One who offers them infinite love and eternal life.

Read Matthew 28:19b

This is the second step that the Church is to take, but not the last. First, Make Disciples, then help them to become fully connected and involved in the Church. We sometimes mistakenly take Jesus’ words as meaning that when we are baptized, it is then that we become his disciples. Not so. It must be the other way around. First, become a disciple – a follower of Jesus, then become part of the Church.
In 1996, a white paper titled “By Water and the Spirit” was produced by the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church. It stirred up quite some controversy, as it implied that Christian baptism was equated to regeneration, or “new birth”. Before that paper could be published though, another document which discounted that concept, titled “Not By Water Alone”, was put forward stating that without the presence of the Holy Spirit, without a commitment to Jesus Christ, baptism has little or no significance. (If anyone would like copies of either of these documents, let me know.)
I believe that when Jesus talked about baptism, he was talking about a life changing event, and not some mechanical action. In Matthew 3:11-17, John tells the people that his baptism with water is about repentance, while Jesus’ baptism “will be with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Both of these forms point toward a life changing event. Repentance is about letting go of those things of earth that have no eternal worth, and baptism by the Spirit and fire are about righteous purification.
Without commitment and without Spirit and purification, baptism is only a cleansing of the human body. But with commitment and the Spirit, all things will be made new, and life in the Church can then begin.

Read Matthew 28:20

And now we have the third instruction for the Church – teach, and continue to teach, regarding Jesus’ way of new life. But implied in this commandment is the fact that teaching must result in learning! If learning doesn’t occur, if understand isn’t gained, then teaching has not been effective.
And note that the Lord doesn’t call us to teach the things that we like, the things that are easy to do – he tells us to instill in the Church ALL of his commands – easy and difficult alike.

And what does this include? It means the concepts in his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). It means the truth behind his parables. It means all 4 of the Gospels. Jesus never gives us any exceptions. His teaching is absolute and perfect, and we have no right to make changes or to omit a single verse.

And he finishes with his instructions to the Church by reminding us that he will be with us for eternity. While this may not be an call to action per se, it is certainly a vital aspect of the charge he gives. Jesus is with us, and he is with the Church, through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. And without Jesus, we are lost. In John 15:1-11 he compares our relationship with him to that of vines and branches. When we are separated from the Lord, we wither and die, but when we remain in him, we will bear good spiritual fruit.

This is the first and most basic call on the life of the Church. Make disciples, connect them to the Body of Christ, and constantly teach them to obey Jesus’ commandments about the righteous life. And it is not just his word for the Church in general, it is his call on our individual lives as well.
But there are other calls on the Church as well, and we’ll look at some of them next week.