Christian Discipleship: To The World
Sunday, November 16, 2025
Pastor Jojo Ma
Weekly Bulletin | Nicene Creed
Matthew 28:18-20
Matt 28:18-20 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
18 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Verse 18 is tremendous encouragement for us --- maybe for many of us who hesistate, who haven’t practiced evangelism much --- we need to remember that Jesus has all authority and he is with us to the very end.
What is authority? Authority is essentially a position of power in a given relationship.
The authority and power of Jesus is unqualified, universal, and over every relationship.
18 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
John Piper, What Jesus Demands from the World: “The basis today of any follower of Jesus telling a follower of another lord to repent and turn and follow Jesus is that Jesus has all authority in the universe…He has the right and the power to demand allegiance from every soul that exists. As the Lord of the universe, Jesus demands that everyone from every nation and every religion become his disciple.”
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…
Jesus lays claim on people through his followers, through believers evangelizing, through missionaries going, through churches being planted. Jesus uses means, not magic.
Lk 14:23 And the master said to the servant, “Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.”
Jn 20:21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
Rom 10:13-15 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
Matt 28:18-20 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
These two commands --- “go” and “make disciples” --- are actually one charge in the Greek New Testament. A literal translation would be: “having gone, disciple all nations.”
Ps 67 1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face to shine upon us, 2 that Your way may be known on earth, Your saving power among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You! 4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. 5 Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You! 6 The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. 7 God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear Him!
David Mathis: “Discipleship entails not merely the pursuit of spiritual maturity but the need for personal connection and substantial intentional investment of time, the kind of investment for which there must be ‘going’ to accomplish.”
Discipleship is about passing on the biblical faith to those who don’t yet know Christ (making disciples) and to those who are growing in Christ (maturing disciples). Discipleship applies to both believers and unbelievers.
When we make disciples, we are working to see people who do not follow Jesus come to follow him (conversion) and then teaching them to faithfully follow Jesus in every area of their lives (maturity).
Discipleship is the ordinary practice of believers. You could say that Christianity is more than discipleship, but it is not less. We are our brother’s keeper. It’s in the job description.