Jesus as a Way of Life?
What does Jesus as a way of life look like?
At the tail end of his earthly ministry, the resurrected Jesus appeared to eleven of his disciples and commanded them to continue to make disciples.
"All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go 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 I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20
Now consider this question:
How would Jesus' disciples—some of his closest friends—have understood Jesus' command to make disciples?
If you'll graciously allow me more than a little poetic license here, I'd like to take a shot at answering that question. When Jesus commanded his disciples to make disciples, I suggest that these friends of Jesus would have heard something like this:
"You know the friendship I've shared with you for the last three-and-a-half years? Repeat that in the exact same way over and over again. Starting right now, go and do exactly what I did with you... with other friends... and help them do it with their friends without ever stopping. When you tell others in your life about me, some will believe and follow me. Baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Be sure to pull them close—like I did with you—and show them how to love God, love people, and make disciples... until every community in the world has disciplemaking friends who are making more disciplemaking friends. As you life my disciplemaking way of life, you can have full assurance of my presence, power, and provision—for I am always with you."
Want to explore this more? Then this is for you. And if you like that, then you might really like this. (It's especially for Cup O' Joe with Bill readers and those who read to the end.)
At the tail end of his earthly ministry, the resurrected Jesus appeared to eleven of his disciples and commanded them to continue to make disciples.
"All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go 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 I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20
Now consider this question:
How would Jesus' disciples—some of his closest friends—have understood Jesus' command to make disciples?
If you'll graciously allow me more than a little poetic license here, I'd like to take a shot at answering that question. When Jesus commanded his disciples to make disciples, I suggest that these friends of Jesus would have heard something like this:
"You know the friendship I've shared with you for the last three-and-a-half years? Repeat that in the exact same way over and over again. Starting right now, go and do exactly what I did with you... with other friends... and help them do it with their friends without ever stopping. When you tell others in your life about me, some will believe and follow me. Baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Be sure to pull them close—like I did with you—and show them how to love God, love people, and make disciples... until every community in the world has disciplemaking friends who are making more disciplemaking friends. As you life my disciplemaking way of life, you can have full assurance of my presence, power, and provision—for I am always with you."
Want to explore this more? Then this is for you. And if you like that, then you might really like this. (It's especially for Cup O' Joe with Bill readers and those who read to the end.)
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