disciple-making

BEING A DISCIPLE and BECOMING A DISCIPLER

May 26, 2024 by Eddie Leave a Comment

Our passage today is the last passage from the last chapter of the gospel by Matthew. This passage is usually called “The Great Commission”, when Jesus said: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

This passage from Matthew is very similar to the last passage of the last chapter of Mark’s gospel. And in Mark’s version, he adds a little detail saying that after Jesus gave these instructions, He was lifted up into heaven. While that ascension of Jesus is indeed a marvelous spectacle (and how we wish we were there to witness it), we want to relish these words of Jesus because they were the LAST words He ever spoke in person, and I encourage you to continue to reflect on these words in the coming days so that you will appreciate how much importance Jesus wanted to place in these words that He left for His disciples, and for you and me and all mankind.

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WHY DO YOU SPEAK IN PARABLES?

July 27, 2023 by Eddie Leave a Comment

You’re all familiar with the parable of the sower and the seed, and what it meant, right? Well, here’s a bit of trivia. Did you know that this is the first parable that the synoptic gospel writers (Matthew, Mark and Luke) recorded? And, also, did you know that when Jesus spoke this parable to the large crowds, he didn’t explain it to the crowd? Mark says, in Mark 4:10, “When He was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables.”

In fact, I like the way Matthew recorded the question that the disciples asked Jesus about this parable when they were away from the crowds already. They asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?’” (Matt 13:10). In other words, why tell the crowds a story, but not explain what it means? What’s your point in doing this?

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ALL THE COMMANDS OF JESUS

May 4, 2021 by Eddie 1 Comment

In an earlier article entitled LISTING DOWN ALL THAT JESUS COMMANDED, I wrote about my desire to have a list of all the commands of Jesus. This was in connection with what Jesus said in Matt 28: “teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.” So, I went back to all the four gospels and listed all the commands that Jesus gave to his disciples, and which in my mind, I thought He wanted all His disciples then, and now and forever, to follow.

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LISTING DOWN ALL THAT JESUS COMMANDED

May 3, 2021 by Eddie 1 Comment

The parting instruction of Jesus about making disciples captures in one sentence and four key words what is involved in the complex task of making disciples. First is to baptize them. And second, we see the four disciple-making key words: which are: “teach”, “obey”, “commands”, and “everything”.

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