Below is part 4 (the conclusion) of an outreach and discipleship booklet I put together for my church based on an April 2013 sermon series by the same name. You can find Part 1: Give Up Your Life for Jesus, here; Part 2: Value Jesus Above All Else, here; and Part 3: Delight in the Father’s Love, here.
Help Others Follow Jesus
Jesus’ first followers were a group of common tradesmen, fishermen to be exact. They were use to long days on a boat, casting nets into the sea, and pulling in large hauls of fish. That is, if the day went well. It was a long, hard, dirty, smelly, sweaty job.
In Luke 5:1-11, Jesus got into the boat of some fisherman whose day was not going well. They had spent all day and night casting nets and going from one part of the sea to the next, but they had caught nothing. They were tired and ready to go home. Jesus told them to put back out and let down their nets once more. They protested, but still did what Jesus said.
To their surprise, their net caught so many fish they had to call another boat for help. The catch was so great that both ships, filled with fish, began to sink into the water. One man, Peter, falling to his face said to Jesus, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man.”
But Jesus told them all, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” When they got back to the land, they left everything and followed Jesus.
A little later in Luke 5:27-32, Jesus walked by the booth of a tax collector named Levi (also known as Matthew). Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Levi left everything, immediately, and followed. He then invited Jesus over to his house with a large number of his friends and coworkers, and they had a great feast. This, of course, made the Pharisees mad and they asked, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus answered, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
Then in Luke 24:46-48, after dying on the cross and three days later conquering death by rising from the grave, Jesus appeared to his followers and said:
46 “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.”
Another word to describe followers of Jesus is disciples. A disciple is one who learns from a teacher to become like that teacher (Luke 6:40). Jesus is our ultimate teacher, and he is the one we are to become like. This will happen with the work of his Spirit within us as we grow together in our relationship with him, and we come to live his word (the Bible) and reflect his character more fully (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control—see: Galatians 5:13-26).
When Jesus first called his disciples to follow, he told them they would “catch men,” or, lead others to be his disciples—the very thing Levi did by inviting his friends to Jesus. At the end of Jesus’ time on earth, he told his followers that they are supposed to tell the world about him and the forgiveness he brings to those who will turn (repent) and follow him.
In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus said it another way, “Go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you.”
If we are followers of Jesus (disciples of Jesus), then he has given us one primary task for the remainder of our lives on earth: we are to follow him in order to be like him and lead others to follow him and be like him; as disciples we are to make disciples.
In Genesis, God told the first humans to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, or to make more humans, to reproduce. As followers of Jesus we do the same, but we reproduce other followers of Jesus.
Whatever else we do for work is secondary to this. Remember, our identity is not found in the things of this world but in the ways of Jesus. So how do we make disciples?
First, we go. The gospel is given to us in words (the Bible) and communicated to us in words (someone tells us about it). To be a witness is to tell other people about Jesus, while we are living a life following Jesus. As we go throughout our day we are to make much of Jesus, as we are able. Now, when we work, of course we have to get work done. When we are in school, of course, we have to listen to the teachers.
But when we’re on our breaks, at lunch, at the coffee shop, barbequing with our neighbors, playing at the park, driving down the road, riding bikes on a trail—whenever we are living life around others we have many opportunities to talk about Jesus and the joy we have in him, to show them what it means to live for Jesus, and to invite them to join in following him. As we talk with them, we also seek to serve them. Everybody has different needs they face. We are to extend the love of Jesus by seeking to meet these needs and sharing the hope of salvation.
When Jesus said, “Go,” a better rendering of the word would be, “As you are going.” As you live life, look for opportunities to tell others about Jesus and serve them.
Second, we baptize. We mentioned this earlier, but now for a further explanation. Baptism is a ritual churches do in which they take a new follower of Jesus and dunk them under water. It paints a visual picture of death (as we go into the water), burial (as we are under the water), and resurrection to new life (as we come out of the water).
According to Romans 6, baptism represents our connection to Jesus and his life, death, and resurrection. It is a sign or symbol of our faith that visibly displays our commitment that we no longer live for ourselves but want to be found in Jesus and devoted to following Jesus.
Earlier we saw how our religious works cannot save us. Isn’t baptism a religious work? Yes, but we don’t do it to be saved, we do it because we are saved. We do it to show that we love Jesus and are committed to him. And we do it because Jesus tells us to do it, so it is a part of following him. All followers of Jesus, then, should be baptized. If you are not baptized, talk to the leaders of your church and they can tell you how to be baptized.
Finally, we teach. As we saw, a disciple is one who learns. Jesus said that as we make disciples, we will teach them to obey all he commanded. Therefore if we are disciples, we also seek to learn and to obey all that Jesus commanded.
When we think about commands, we tend to think about lists of rules that become burdens that take away all the fun things in life. Dead religion is about following such rules. This does not mean that all rules are bad.
We have already seen that God wants us to experience the good and to have joy. With Adam and Eve he gave them one negative command—do not eat of this one tree (though you can freely eat from any others). Positively stated, this command would simply be, “Trust me and listen to my word.”
Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30:
28 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
A yoke was a harness fastened to an ox in order to help it pull a load or a plow and do its job. By telling us to take his yoke upon ourselves, Jesus tells us he does have some rules for us to follow. But compared to the rules of false religion and the rules of the world, and compared to not following Jesus, his rules are easy and prove not to be burdensome. According to Matthew 22:36-40 all his rules are summarized by one word: love.
Love God with your entire being, and love others as yourself. That is the heart of the commands Jesus gives to us. We give full worship and devotion to God, and we bring God’s love and word into the lives of others as we share life with them and strive to meet their needs.
The life of love, joy, peace, and rest that God promises does not mean that everything will always go well in this life. People who follow Jesus still suffer, they still get sick and die, they still might end up poor, and other people still might hate them. But if we follow Jesus, value him above all else, and obey his commands by loving God and loving others, then we will have joy and happiness that looks beyond our circumstances. And we will spend eternity in a never ending celebration with God and with other followers of Jesus.
Are you ready to help others follow Jesus?
{ Who do you follow? }