In Matthew 28, Jesus told his disciples to make disciples of all nations, and his methods of teaching gave them incredibly powerful tools to execute the vision. This series of reflections based on the book of John shows that Jesus is the model for our own discipling and we should look to him, learn from him, and seek to be like him in our ministry.

Posts in this series:

1. Hospitality
2. Mission
3. Emotion
4. Monologue & Dialogue
5. Stupid Questions
6. The Heart
7. Testing
8. Object Lessons
9. Discomfort
10. Sending & Praying
11. Pointing to the Father
12. Pointing to the Spirit
13. Dying
14. Jesus Equips
15. Jesus’ Teaching Methods

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Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. (Matt. 16:13–20)

In this Scripture, Jesus uses his rhetorical style to lead Peter to understand his role. Jesus doesn't ask questions because he needs to know the answer; he asks questions to cause the subject to think.

Observational Question

Jesus asks the disciples a question that has concrete observable answer. They answer it correctly, giving the several categories of Jesus' identity.

Follow-up Question

After receiving an accurate answer, Jesus drills down to the point: "Who do YOU say I am?" At this point Jesus knows they've identified what the crowds think, and he knows they've thought about it. Now he calls on them personally to take a risk and tell him what they really think.

Confirmation and Affirmation

When Peter answers the question correctly Jesus exclaims that he is correct, giving him both confirmation and affirmation on what he just said. He will likely not forget that the teacher was so pleased with his answer.

Explanation

Jesus could have ended with a confirmation, but he didn't. It would have likely gone to Peter's head. Jesus takes this as a teaching time so that they learn that faith isn't by deductive reasoning, inductive hypothesis, or emotional experience--it's the active work of the Father in heaven.

Empowerment

Finally, Jesus used the lessons that the disciples learned through this interaction to empower them to use the knowledge. Jesus paints the picture of a quite extraordinary circumstance. This fisherman was not only going to go to heaven, but have the keys--how could this be? He was going to somehow assault the gates of hell with more power and authority than all of the demons that hold them in place?

Knowing that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God has enough authority to give sinners a seat in heaven and the power to stare down the gates of hell and all of its demons and be unafraid, because of the unlimited power of God the Father.

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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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."(Matt. 28:18-20)

How did Jesus equip his disciples for disciple-making?

In Matthew 28, Jesus told the disciples to make disciples of all nations. This is one of the largest tasks ever attempted--seemingly impossibly large, but he also gave them unimaginably powerful tools to execute the vision. How do 11 guys make several billion disciples? We will answer this question in several parts.

Jesus rose from the dead and gave them a mission.

This could be an easy point to miss, but they had the motivation of seeing a dead man rise to spur them on to the mission to which Jesus called them. They saw the gospel in action. This isn't some philosophical or religious superstition--when dead men rise, the power of God is present.

Eleven ordinary guys need to somehow make billions of disciples. Logic would dictate that many photocopies of an already less-than-perfect set of men will lead to a real jacked-up church in the future. But God has given his disciples a set of tools.

Jesus gives the power to baptize.

Anyone can dunk another person in water. It can be done at a carnival with a softball, or in a toilet by a bully at school, but it takes the authority and work of God to put someone underwater as a symbol of their being crucified with Christ and raised again to live in the power of Christ for the work of the Gospel. The disciples have been given the gift of baptism, meaning that they have been given the power that was once reserved for only the most holy of priests and prophets. Now these fishermen who spent about enough time to get a community college degree from Jesus are able to carry that kind of authority--and they'll need it to work towards the immense task they've been given.

Jesus gives them the directive to teach.

Jesus taught the disciples all they would need to know for the mission he's given them. They have the Old Testament, they have the teaching of Jesus, and they have the Holy Spirit--this is sufficient, and now they must teach others. They must preach, they must be ready to give an answer for the hope within them, they must model Christ-like living, they must raise children who honor God, model families that honor the Lord, and build communities that bow down before the throne.

Jesus will remain with them.

Jesus promises that they are never alone in their mission. The Father is always watching from his throne--holding the earth and everything that's on it in place. Jesus is beside him, fully sovereign over everything on earth, and the Spirit is actively moving among the hearts and minds of the disciples. Jesus is with them--to the very end.

Conclusion

These things that God gave may not seem like enough--we want a staff like Moses that does magical things, or the ability to walk on water, or something that shows that we have power. But what we have is more--it's the authority of the King.

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Jesus dies for his disciples

Perhaps the most important of all of the intentions of Jesus with his disciples is that he died for them. He humbled himself, came down to their level, and paid with his own blood, sweat, tears, and life so that they could have eternal life.

We cannot die for our disciples in the same way Jesus does, but we can die in the Galatians 2 way of being crucified with Christ and not living of our own accord, but that Christ is living, active, and working through us. What we need to do is not die for our disciples, but point them to the One who did with such vigor that they can't get around it.

They must know that Jesus died for them.

Conclusion

Jesus is the great teacher. He used object lessons two millennia before any megachurch pastor drove a tank on to a stage. He preached in such a way that thousands traveled for days to hear his words. He prayed with a fervor that no one has experienced yet. Jesus is the model for our discipling. We must look to him, learn from him, and seek to be like him in our ministry.

This is a series of reflections on how Jesus made disciples, based on the book of John.

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Jesus points the disciples to the power of the Holy Spirit

At the last supper Jesus points to the coming of the Spirit, which will allow them to continue in the work that he's started. Jesus is under no illusion that the sheep have become smart enough to stay away from the dangers of wolves, disease, bad pastures, and the like. He knows they will need guidance, they will need power, and they will be given all of that by the Spirit.

Jesus makes sure that they know that the Spirit is operating out of the same authority from the Father that he was given. He tells them that they are dependent on the Spirit for everything they will need.

We must point our disciples to the Spirit. They need him. They need his power. The Spirit is often avoided because he's not defined in the flesh and blood way the Son is, nor is he as obvious as the Father, but the Spirit is full of power, and is omnipresent, and is omni-powerful, and is good, and is essential to the salvation of all people. Disciples need the Spirit, without the Spirit you have sheep leading sheep off a cliff or into a wolf's den. We need the Spirit to guide us, to convict us, to empower us, to lead us to repentance, and to continue to point us to the cross of Christ.

This is a series of reflections on how Jesus made disciples, based on the book of John.

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Jesus points the disciples to the Father

When Jesus is given praise and admiration he passes it straight over to the Father by saying that it is by his Father's authority that he does signs and miracles. When he is taken to task by his doubters he does not try to personalize the repudiation, but tells them to take it up with the Father. This is infuriating to those who think they own God, and is a sign of great hope to those who understand that God owns them.

Even at the hour of his death Jesus talks about the cup that he's been given by the Father, which is pain, suffering, and death at the cross. This authority that the Father has is serious, and it is at times a great joy and at times very physically painful, but ultimately full of joy.

This is a series of reflections on how Jesus made disciples, based on the book of John.

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Jesus sends his disciples ahead of him

Jesus is comfortable leading passively from a distance at times, and lets his disciples go out before him on their own. We don't have a clear description of what they are doing when they go out before him, but you can infer that they are living the life that Jesus is teaching them about outside of the structure of Jesus physically being present with them.

When they are on the boat after the miraculous feast of 5,000, they were most certainly processing what just occurred. Jesus wasn't there to tell them explicitly, but he gave them a framework to understand the sovereignty of the Father over something as simple as the conservation of mass—yeah there were two pounds of bread, but God can make it into two tons and feed an army.

We can see Jesus' intentionality in giving his disciples time to synthesize what they are learning. The lessons are becoming more than head knowledge, and becoming part of who they are.

Jesus prays for his disciples

Jesus cares deeply about his disciples. He speaks of them as his sheep and of himself as the shepherd who will gladly die for their safety, cries when his friend dies, and spends his last minutes praying for them in his high priestly prayer.

Jesus doesn't just trust that they will be okay, but pleads with the Father that he would continue the work that has begun.

This is a series of reflections on how Jesus made disciples, based on the book of John.

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Jesus brought the disciples out of their comfort zone

When Jesus walks on water his disciples are horrified. They've seen Jesus break the laws of nature several times over, but this miracle pushes them outside of their level of comfort. Jesus reassures them, and they take comfort in God's sovereignty by seeing that his power has no bounds—he can do literally anything, even walk on water.

Jesus also puts the disciples in situations where danger is imminent. The Jews wanted to stone Jesus because he kept saying that he was God, and the disciples thought it prudent to hunker down and let the mob's anger pass. When Jesus hears of Lazarus' death, the disciples protest going back to Judea in hopes to save their own tails. Jesus responds by telling them that if they are doing good before God, why hide before men? They are putting their safety before the saving of Lazarus' life, and Jesus pushes them through their fear gently—not in a rebuking manner, but in a clear, focused, and resolved manner.

This is a series of reflections on how Jesus made disciples, based on the book of John.

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Jesus used practical object lessons

Jesus didn't pick the smartest, the coolest, or the most likely to succeed to be his disciples--he went straight to the bottom of the barrel and picked the fisherman, and he taught them in very practical ways. He brought them almost everywhere he went and taught them along the way.

Jesus would pick up a loaf of bread and use it as an example of our dependance on God. He would use his signs and miracles as a way of showing that he has power over death and the effects of sin by raising Lazarus and giving sight to the blind man. He uses his own service of washing their feet as a way to show that they must serve, and even feeds five thousand people to show that even though he is one man, his work can feed the many.

We can't use the same type of object lessons that Jesus did because we aren't the Messiah, but we can follow Jesus' example by using metaphor, speaking in plain English, and creating circumstances that allow us to teach our disciples.

This is a series of reflections on how Jesus made disciples, based on the book of John.

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Jesus tested his disciples

It's simply amazing to see the wisdom that Jesus uses when talking to Philip before he multiplies the fish and loaves. Jesus and Philip know that they don't have enough money to buy food for the ocean of people sitting before them, so Jesus puts the ball in Philip's court and asks him what they should do. Philip says "We could give each person a crumb."

Philip's worldview says, "We can buy this much bread and divide it by the number of people, and the quotient will be a crumb for each person." His math is poor in God's arithmetic--Jesus is infinite in his power, and infinity divided by any number is still infinity. Jesus can provide enough bread for everyone, and still have enough left over for lunch the next day. He tested the disciples, and they learned through their failure to believe.

This is a series of reflections on how Jesus made disciples, based on the book of John.

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