Monday, September 25, 2017
Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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, 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."
MAKE DISCIPLES
Jesus says to go and make disciples. That's a pretty tall and daunting task. In fact it's so daunting that anyone who makes an honest introspective inventory of their gifts and abilities will have to admit, "I'm not up to the task." And isn't this exactly what Satan loves for us to do? Because when we stop looking to Jesus and focus on ourselves one of two things will always happen. We will either become like the Pharisees who thought too highly of their ability to please the Lord in and of themselves. Or we will be led to utter despair as we consider our sinful flesh and our inability to please the Lord in and of ourselves.
When it comes to making disciples, we look to Jesus not to ourselves. We look to the life-changing message of sins forgiven because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. That changes individuals from misled followers of the devil, the world, and the sinful flesh into followers of Jesus. It's the Holy Spirit who calls, gathers, and enlightens every single disciple of Jesus. Sure, Jesus uses us to deliver Gospel in word and sacrament to accomplish the making of disciples, but the power is in the message, not in the one who delivers it. And praise be to God for the power of His Gospel because it takes the pressure off of the one who delivers that message and refreshes and encourages us for the privilege of being His ambassadors!
When Jesus says to go and make disciples, He's not giving us another law to keep or another work to be accomplished. He's simply giving us the privilege of announcing the Good News of everything that His work on the cross has already accomplished.
