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DISCIPLESHIP from JESUS'S PERSPECTIVE

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Contents

Part One: Jesus's Perspective: Rediscovery Knowing the Master's Objective.........................1I. Exegesis of Pivotal Passages....................................................................3II. Implications of Exegesis.......................................................................38III. Other Statements That Reveal Perspective......................................................83Part Two: Jesus's Perspective: Reinstitution Keeping the Master's Imperatives.....................103Section One: Spiritual Infant......................................................................109Section Two: Spiritual Toddler.....................................................................175Section Three: Spiritual Preschooler...............................................................229Section Four: Spiritual Schooler...................................................................297Section Five: Spiritual Adolescent.................................................................369Section Six: Spiritual Adult.......................................................................437

Chapter One

In order to arrive at the perspective of Jesus Christ on any matter it is imperative that those passages in the gospels that record his particular viewpoint are fully considered. Modern scholarship has tended to shy away from such an exercise in suspicion that the text is somehow not trustworthy. The assumption is that the original words of Jesus must have been tampered with in order to control the direction of the Church in a way that best suited those who remained.

Placing new words in the mouth of the original leader does not necessarily guarantee any results; for as it is today, those words are either forgotten or manipulated on the interpretive and applicative levels. We can basically make the Master say whatever we want regardless of what is actually written. Therefore, it is not necessary to change the original.

Nor can I imagine it a remote possibility that any such fabrication would have been tolerated by the early Church whose heart and soul breathed the oral gospel tradition. To alter the original message of the gospels would defeat the primary reason for their existence. They were written for the very purpose of making disciples of Jesus, not to further personal political agendas.

Inherent in these doubts about the reliability of the documents is also a lack of faith toward any possibility that God's hand was uniquely involved in their preservation or that anyone had a serious enough relationship with Christ that it would render such a miserable deed unimaginable. Scholarship that is agnostic at its core should not become the gathering point for all future discussion on such critical matters of faith. To demythologize scripture is to remove the supernatural, for the Bible is not a book of myths. To remove the supernatural is to remove deity. To remove deity is to remove any reason for further discussion about spiritual matters: hence we have uncovered the plot of Satan.

The author of this manuscript does not share the presupposition that the "historical Jesus" is someone very different from the person presented to us in the gospels. On the contrary, scripture is valued as the most trustworthy source available and therefore indispensable to arriving at a reasonable conclusion on any matter. I accept those gospel records that were canonized and reject those that were not. I consider this issue of determining what is and what is not accepted as a gospel to have long since been resolved. It is not about changing the original writings as much as it is having the courage to accept them at face value. The point at which they are being tampered with today is not so much on the written level as it is on the level of their interpretation and application.

On the issue of how disciples are to be made, there is only one passage that actually addresses it directly. Yet it is addressed and with great detail and significance. For it is in what is known as the Great Commission that we find the process spelled out in a manner that leaves no doubt whatsoever as to the Lord's original intentions. It is especially noteworthy that these instructions are among the final words to the Church prior to Jesus's ascension. Knowing that this would be His last chance for direct communication, Christ is presented as laying out the ground rules for how His church is to function henceforth.

If there is a desire to know what discipleship is all about the place to begin is Matthew 28:18b-20: "I was given all authority in heaven and upon earth. Therefore, having gone, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all things that I commanded to you. And behold, I myself am with you every day until the end of the world" (author's translation).

MATTHEW 28:18-20

At first glance there appears to be a smattering of ideas with little to gather it in a singular direction. It is only by looking beneath the surface and discovering the actual Greek infrastructure that everything begins to fall into place. A clear pattern emerges that cannot be denied. As will become apparent in the unfolding commentary, the central issue revolves around one single expression in the original Greek. This one word that translates into two in English is the mandate that pumps the life-giving blood to the rest of the body. It is the verb [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII.] (matheteusate), which represents the primary activity that is to define Christianity, namely to "make disciples."

After a careful study of the syntax and grammatical structure, it can be said with full confidence that this one term is the center of the universe for the Christian Church. The sun does not revolve around the earth but the earth revolves around the radiant splendor of this fiery orb called discipleship. Furthermore, it is just such an accurate understanding the nature and order of things that means life or death for the kingdom of God. There is a rare atmosphere that one experiences when approaching this portion of scripture. It is as if Jesus has appeared on the scene once again as the eternal Logos to set in place the principles by which this spiritual universe will continue to function in an orderly sequence from henceforth. Let us examine this passage line by line so as not to overlook any important detail.

In 18, it says, "I was given all authority in heaven and upon earth." The context is the risen Messiah in Galilee meeting with the nucleus of the church in order to provide them with final instructions for the continued advancement of his kingdom in his absence. He approaches them as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords as the victor over hell and the grave. As such He is appropriately "worshipped," in verse 17, yet some still doubted. Perhaps it is that very doubt that causes Him to reemphasize at this point His supreme authority. However, it is also necessary when laying down the policy and procedure for all future engagement that one's right to do so is firmly established. Furthermore, as a message to all future generations it will serve them well as a reminder of just who is supposed to ultimately be in charge. This is not for Christ's sake, as if He is desperate to hold on to power, but for the sake of those who will...