Last Words
Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. (Matthew 28:16)
Last words matter. If someone on their deathbed has one last statement, we want to know what it is. In Matthew 28 we find the last words of Jesus to us, the final charge from the Lord before He left Earth. They are familiar words, words that many of us have committed to memory:
“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.” (Matthew 28:18–20)
These words are a charge. They are a command. They are a commission. That’s why we call these verses the Great Commission. We are all commanded to go and make disciples. Are you doing that? Are you making disciples of others? It takes one to make one. Before you can make a disciple, you have to be a disciple.
What do flight attendants say when they announce the emergency procedures for an aircraft? If an oxygen mask drops down and you’re traveling with a child, put the mask on yourself first and then help the child. That seems counterintuitive. You want to put the needs of the child first. But you need to put your mask on first, because you can’t help the child if you’re blacking out.
The same is true of discipleship. I can’t help someone else be a disciple of Jesus if I am not first a disciple myself. Every disciple is a Christian, but not every Christian is necessarily a disciple. If you’re a true follower of Jesus, you should want to be a disciple.
Copyright © 2018 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Social media summary:Every disciple is a Christian, but not every Christian is necessarily a disciple.
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