Two important questions to ask when we make disciples of Jesus for the advancement of kingdom of God:
- What came into the minds of the twelve disciples when Jesus said to them, “Go into all the world and make disciples?”
- How did the disciples do ministry because of the training they had received from Jesus?
The disciples had spent three intensive years with Jesus being trained by him to be his disciple. The books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John show the means by which Jesus trained his disciples and what lesson he taught them.
The Means
The means by which Jesus trained them was, a) by being in a friendship with them and , b) by placing them in a community of thirteen people. The twelve disciples lived with the teacher as he coached them on how to belong to that community.
(I am reminded of the debate the disciple had on which one of them was the greatest. Jesus took that opportunity to teach them to consider the others as more important.)
The Lesson
The lesson he taught them was love. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-3 This lesson was learned by the experience of Jesus laying down his life for them.
The Take Aways
To make disciples of Jesus you will need to give your disciples access to your life. This is part of the laying down of your life for your disciple. It does cost.
Engraft your disciple into a group with other disciples. This can be difficult and will take longer than you expect. Jesus took three years with his disciples.