LIFE SCRIPTS

Jesus drew near and said to them, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18‭-‬20 GNBDC

A person’s last words are cherished. It is no exception here. Christ’s last words are so significant to us as believers that these three last verses of the book of Matthew have a special name…The Great Commission. It’s important to note that Christ had called His disciples. He desired to meet with them in order to speak to them these words. These words were not uttered in an ordinary manner. They were words chosen deliberately to speak to a group of people deliberately gathered by Christ. This was after deliberate instructions were given twice to women messengers to deliver to His disciples. ‘Being deliberate’ was the central message in this passage. Several salient points stick out from this passage:

1. Christ makes known to us the authority He has (vs 18)
   Even before starting to speak, Christ’s body language said it all…Jesus drew near and said to them (vs 18a)… The approach towards His disciples was a gesture…An authoritative gesture. It was meant to let them know that He’s in charge…He’s in control. The same Christ they had seen subdued, humiliated and defeated on the cross had defeated death and was standing in the position of authority. All authority in heaven and on earth had been granted to Him. Who granted Him this authority? God the Father Himself. Just as it’s stated in the book of Philippians, as He humbled Himself on the cross, God the Father exalted Him above all…that at the sound of His name every knee shall bow and tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.
2. Christ commands us to go (vs 19)
   In times before, Christ walked and ministered as His disciples followed Him. This time, He was instructing them to ‘go’!! As they go, they would be walking in His authority. What He was able to do while on earth, they would do as they go in His name because His name bore authority. However, what did He tell them to go to do? To make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Just in the same way Christ made disciples as He walked on earth, He was commissioning His disciples (and by extension us) to ‘go and make other disciples’. He was sending His disciples to mentor others in the faith just in the same way He had mentored them. Discipleship is a deliberate effort. It involves investing in people’s lives…it involves taking risks through them…it involves depositing value in them not knowing whether it will pay back or not…it involves mentoring. Christ was making it clear that for the gospel to spread and make a difference, as His followers, we have to be ready to pay the cost and invest in others just as others before us have invested in us! Evangelism is the first part of the discipleship story. It involves sowing a seed that leads to a new birth. However the process of making disciples is real parenthood and hard work. It involves moving out of our comfort zones and reaching out to others with the love of Christ. It’s a process, not a destination…a continuum not an end…it requires commitment, love and compassion for people. Just as Christ reached out to His disciples we must be ready to reach out to others and mentor them in the faith. God has placed many opportunities around us for disciple making. Are we ready to ‘go’? Do we have family members? Go! Do we have neighbours? Go! Do we have workmates? Go! Christ is calling on us to go!
3. Christ instructs us to instruct others what we have heard from Him. Not only that, He also tells us that He shall be with us always to the end of the age (vs 20)
   As we make disciples, we must remember to follow the way of Christ. People who listen to us copy our walk rather than our talk. So as we speak what Christ instructed us to speak, we must be ready follow the speech with tangible action. Paul tells the Galatians to ‘follow me as I follow Christ’. This is the high calling Christ is making to us. To teach others what He has commanded us. To follow His example. To walk in His steps. To tread on the path He’s made for us. He gives us a promise as we do so…that He will ‘be with you always till the end of the age’. These last words are not there by default but by design. Following Christ fully calls for sacrifice. It calls for abandoning sinful ways and staying committed to Him. It sometimes calls for going against the current. But in the midst of this all He promises us that He is and will be with us always till the end of the age. We need not fear because Christ will always be with us.