Disciple Making—Genesis 1:26-2:3; Matthew 28: 16-20
My friend tells of the first and last time he played baseball. He was instructed from the very beginning of playing, when the ball is hit, and you hear, “Go!” you need to run the bases. He memorized this over and over till it was ingrained in his memory. So, true to form, by the third game, there’s a crack of the bat, the ball is hit hard and goes way, way up in the air. He hears the adults shouting, “Go! Go! Go!” so based on his training and memory, he starts at base one, runs to base two, then three, and home. He’s celebrating a homerun, only, he realizes no one is cheering with him. You see, there was a problem. He was playing the outfield, not batting, and they were saying, “Go…catch the ball.”
Sometimes church is clear as mud too. Growing up in church years ago, there was an emphasis on people coming to the church. We sang, “Bring Them In,” and “Bringing in the Sheaves,” which is in fact “sheaves” and not “sheep.” And if it was a particularly hard-hitting sermon, “Rescue the Perishing” was dusted off and toddled out as a closing hymn. Then something changed in the mid-2000s, and we were told to “Go!” We got the hymns, “You Shall Go Out with Joy,” and “Send Me Out,” and “Follow You Anywhere.” Don’t come, but go, but when you go also, remember to come…and bring them with you, but still go and also still come back, both and yes.
For a bit of clarity, let’s look at what Jesus actually says for us to do. We are instructed to go, to baptize, and to teach, with some being clearer than others. First, we are told by Jesus to “go and make disciples of all the nations.” There’s a bit of instruction there—to go AND make disciples, but also, it’s pretty vague on the whole game plan, the where and how of it all. This is where the rest of the gospel comes in handy. Feed people, be kind to them, lift them up when they are broken, seek gentleness instead of being right, and nourish their souls—these are the ways we make disciples.
You don’t need a bouncy house, a $50 million dollar youth and family budget, a coffee shop, and a fog machine. Private jets are also optional. People need to simply see that example of Jesus in us loving them, lifting them up, praying for them, and bringing some hope and care into their lives. It’s as simple as bringing a meal or sitting at the hospital with someone who is worried. People will gravitate towards a church home where they feel loved and welcomed, and where they feel they can make a difference themselves. It’s on ongoing cycle of going and making disciples, who come and go out to make other disciples.
Next, we are told to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This one is more straightforward. Baptism was part of the faith from the very get-go. Jesus came to be baptized by John. Believers throughout history have professed their faith and commitment through baptism or been brought into a faith they would later confirm with baptism. It’s based in this idea of redemption.
One of the best parts of the gospel stories is that Jesus never left people unchanged where he found them. In some way every story is about healing, teaching, inspiring, confronting old and exhausted bad ideas and behaviors. Jesus was about the work of redemption—of changing or challenging people for the better. In baptism we try to do the same by reorienting people towards the one who created the and redeems them from sin.
This work seems straightforward, but it’s not always easy. An old preacher friend of mine, near the end of his career, was talking about baptism. He said that he estimates that he had baptized well over 200 people in his 40+ years of ministry—adults by full immersion. Then he added, “Some of them I should have held under.” The excitement of disciple making and baptizing people gets really dulled and strained when we see them behaving badly not soon after. But as humans we struggle, and redemption can be a bit of a process. Following Christ does not lead us to perfection in life. It leads us to hope, to grace, to a way that teaches love and mercy, but people will still mess up. They’re going to be embarrassed, and we’re going to be frustrated.
That’s why Jesus rounds it out with “teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.” A life of faith is a life that is always growing. Now I know modern audiences have trouble with that word, “obey.” It hits a little harsh on our sensibilities because it is so connected to obedience at the end of strict discipline and punishment. But that’s not Jesus’s example. Obeying Christ simply means following even if there is a cost and finding our way back if we mess up.
As people of faith, we teach peace and love, not violence. We teach humility and sacrifice—like the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross—not winning, power, and no holds-barred fighting. A friend of mine, who is a principal at a rough high school, said, “When the students come to violence and fighting, it is not my job to fight with them. It’s my job to make them shut up, sit down, and sing ‘Kum-bah-ya’ together until we find peace.” In a world that likes to fight and stoke the worst fears within us, that’s hard task.
But Christ came into this world to teach peace, redemption, and a faith that moves us beyond human feuds. And so it is our job as well to show the world how to be quiet, sit down, and sing “Kum-bah-ya” together until there is some semblance of peace. If we are God’s people living out God’s calling in this world, and we act just as horrible as the world around us, what is going to be left to offer grace, to save those who are lost and hurting? Like it or not, we are called to both do better and teach others to do better.
The why is simple. We read in Genesis, “Then God said, ‘Let us create human beings in our image, to be like us…So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God, he created them; male and female he created them.’” There’s something special and amazing about being created in God’s own image. For all the trials, the suffering, the sickness, the struggle we deal with here on earth, and for all the things that make us so mad and irritated, we are still made in God’s image. We can teach others to obey God because we know how much God truly loves us and wants us. And no matter what nightmare we face, we know God is with us here on earth.
So today let’s be grateful that God gives us some guidance. My poor friend thought he was doing the absolute right thing when he ran all four bases for a home run. He had the right idea, but in the wrong context. For us, God is clearer—go and make disciples, baptize all the nations, and teach them to obey or follow the wisdom and pattern that Christ gave us. Go, baptize, teach, and in doing these things we will fulfill what Christ has given us as the Great Commission.
I pray that we have hearts eager for these things. God has called us, God has equipped us, and God will continue to use our going out to make a difference in this world. So may we take this great calling, or great commission, and may it be our guiding encouragement each and every day. Get ready, now go, baptize, and teach. The world is waiting for you.
Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/135591876198608