Matheteusate

When Jesus chose His final words to His disciples, He gave them a clear commission: they were to make disciples from all the nations. But to understand how they would fulfill Jesus' words, we have to understand the previous three years. When Jesus called His disciples, He invested in their lives in specific ways, developing them as people and equipping them for mission. They were there when Jesus preached to the masses; then He brought them together to explain what He had said. They saw His miracles and actually participated in ministry with Him. In this way, Jesus reproduced Himself and His ministry by investing in this small group of guys. For them to make other disciples meant that they were to follow Jesus' lead, investing in a small group of people while also preaching to crowds. Now, as He was about to leave, He passed the baton---with the goal for them to make disciples of Jesus---not disciples of Peter, James, and John. A disciple is a learner who is a committed follower. This is our task as well, to make disciples of Jesus by investing in smaller groups of people while also preaching to our whole city with our eyes on the world.