Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 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, 20 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.” Amen. (NKJV)
Jesus won back all the authority in Heaven and Earth by His finished work. We have been empowered by this to "Go therefore." If the power and authority were only for the age of the Apostles, then
- making disciples
- baptism
- teaching of the Word
Mark 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” 19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen. (NKJV)
In Mark, this is again mentioned - we are to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel". To know who has believed and who has not, see the signs that follow in His name:
- casting out demons
- speaking in new tongues
- taking up serpents
- not being harmed by deadly poisons
- laying on of hands to heal the sick
Luke 24:46 Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And you are witnesses of these things. 49 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” (NKJV)
As if to confirm this, the Gospel of Luke ends with an instruction from the Lord to wait in Jerusalem for the power, the coming of the Holy Spirit, before heading out.
There is no similar ending in the Gospel of John, but in one of the last words that Jesus spoke to His disciples, He said:
John 20:21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” (NKJV)
Wow! Big boots for them to fill! No wonder they needed the power of the Holy Spirit - Jesus is saying that in the same manner He was sent to earth by the Father, He was now commissioning the disciples (not just the Apostles).
If we look at the word "disciple" a little closer, we need to understand that one of the key goals of a disciple is to become like his or her master. The early disciples were told to "make disciples" which means that if we get it right, we should all be like the Master. This is why Paul went on this line of thought in more than one place:
1 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore I urge you, imitate me. (NKJV)
1 Corinthians 11:1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. (NKJV)
Ephesians 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. (NKJV)
Now unless we are endued with the same power and abilities as our Master, it would be a pertinently unfair request that we do as the Master has done, nor to imitate Him at any level. Some will say that we are to imitate His morals or His lifestyle, but reading the Word honestly for what it is, I cannot come to that conclusion. Even so, which among us can live our lives anywhere like His morally, if not for His empowerment?
The Word meant what it said. Imitate God. Be like Him in all aspects. What would Jesus do (WWJD) when faced with the sick? Heal them. What would He do with many of life circumstances? Speak to them, like He asked us to speak to the mountain and doubt not. John put it this way:
1 John 4:17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. (NKJV)
We cannot be like Him in this world without His Holy Spirit working in us. We cannot do the things He has asked us to do without His power. We cannot be good disciples without being like Him.
Thank God He gave us His power in the promise of the Holy Spirit before He left. Now we can go and do as He did, be sent as the Father sent Him, make disciples that would imitate Him.
In the natural, we give birth to children whom we hope will be the same or better than us. If we expect our future generations to be weaker from one to the next, living shorter, meaner and unhealthier lives, something is wrong. Why then should we expect this to be the model of discipleship for the Church?
Jesus said:
Mark 8:38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this
adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed
when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” (NKJV)
In the honesty of our hearts, are we afraid that some of the things that He said, like John 14:12 and Mark 16:17-18, aren't going to work and we would rather not believe these? Are we ashamed of these words, choosing to hide behind a human explanation of why they don't work then to believe that what He said was true, but not obvious in our lives because we don't fully understand nor believe?
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