It’s a muscular charge, the way Matthew renders Jesus’ last earthly instruction to his followers:
And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.”
Authority…. Go and make… Obey… Commanded…. This is not language of invitation and inspiration – or love. It has fostered some of the worst of Christian behavior in world history. It’s not so hard to justify crusades and conquistadors when you take your marching orders from this verse – and this verse has had more influence than many in the bible. We even call it The Great Commission.
We can chalk some of this up to Matthew’s style – his version of stories and sayings often seem to me more legalistic than others. Writing forty or so years after the events he records, in the face of persecution and unrest and competing factions in the Christian movement, he may have felt it important to stress Jesus’ authority and command. In answer to those who wanted to reserve Jesus’ blessing to Jewish believers, he may have wanted to remind them that these gifts were for all nations, that spreading the Good News is in the church’s DNA. In a time when alternate readings of Christian revelation were already sprouting, the apostles called people back to the teachings and commandments of Christ.
How do we take these words and live into them, aware of the harm and the good they’ve often caused? How might we rediscover the joy of sharing Good News in Jesus’ name, not holding back the blessing we have received?
Let’s ponder what it means to “make disciples.” It does not mean to force a discipline on another, or to manipulate allegiance. A disciple, one who takes on the discipline of a master or teacher, needs to choose that or they will lack the motivation to follow through. (Has anyone ever successfully been forced to diet?). Those who chose to follow Jesus in his earthly ministry caught his passion and wanted to be a part of what he was doing. That’s how people still become his disciples. If we want to share in this mission of God, we will rediscover and share our own passion for the love of God and the Way of Jesus. Otherwise, we’re just going to church.
When someone has caught the passion for loving God, we invite her to be baptized to mark this new commitment. (Note the passive verb form... baptism is something we receive more than "do.") We invoke the Holy Spirit to fill and equip her. And yes, we teach him all that Jesus has commanded, in all its counter-intuitive glory – to love enemies, value the poor more than our own, seek peace over being right, to name a few. And we train her to walk in the Spirit, so that choosing to obey Jesus’ commands gradually becomes a desire, not just a duty.
Making disciples starts with us. Do you consider yourself a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord? Why or why not? If you’re not, and you want to be, you can pray, “Okay, Jesus, I want to follow you… show me how.” And ask someone you consider to be a disciple already to walk alongside you.
Is there someone you know whom you might mentor in the faith, helping them discover discipleship? You can start by praying for God to bless that desire and give you openings.
Making disciples is a little more complex than “just add water.” Yet when it's God's work, we can entrust the outcome to God.
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